Long before the Sabbat or the Camarilla, in the first few centuries after Christ, during the reign of Julian the Apostate, a trio of Lasombra formed a pact to discover the source and nature of their shadowy discipline, Obtenebration. They studied Thaumaturgy; they took spirit journeys; they bargained for and stole information.
Finally, after having little success, they began a new avenue of approach. Inspired by passages in the Book of Nod and the Lillith Cycles detailing Caine's own realization of his powers, they turned to blood experimentation. Convinced that their Discipline arose from the shadows of hell itself, they set out to delve deeper into their only "lead." They hunted down and capture darker fae, specifically the Unseelie faeries who hid among the shadows and spoke with the dead. They bartered with an unnamed Teutonic magi for a vial of the "blood of Zeernebooch, a god of the underworld."
The "bravest" of the trio, the fifth generation Lasombra Marconius, volunteered his vitae for the experiment. Although they began at first with mere samples, a lack of results pushed the three to more desperate measures. Through transfusion and experimentation, they altered Marconius' very soul, and he became something only part vampire. The fae blood and essence and the supposed blood of the Teutonic deity drastically transformed Marconius.
He grew thin and gaunt, even for one of the undead, and he grew by more than a foot in height, dwarfing his erstwhile companions. His eyes deepened and clouded over, turning completely black, without any sign of pupil or schlera. His skin assumed an almost perfectly smooth feel, becoming nearly translucent and almost an otherworldly white. His fingers stretched out. His eyes, nose, and cheek bones took on a more defined and angular look to them. His ears sharpened to slight points. And his hair became silken-smooth and light, even the slightest breeze sent locks wafting into the air.
Marconius became something that looked otherworldly and ethereal. He became something no longer wholely vampiric.
Needless to say, the Lasombra were little pleased by the groups endeavors, and Marconius' companions were slain. Marconius, luckily, was spared. Some say that it was because the Lasombra were led to believe that the local fae wanted to deal with the creature themselves.
They pushed Marconius into the wilderness, leaving him to the fae, and put the whole nasty issue out of their minds. After all, even if the fae left him alone, how could such freakish monstrosity survive?
For nearly a thousand years it seemed that they were right, until Strasbourg.
The Ventrue of that region of France were frantic, giving reports of "pale, gaunt monsters with the Devil's own luck." From the detailed words of their spies in the Ventrue courts, the Lasombra knew the attackers to be Marconius and several childer. Not only had Marconius survived, but he had managed to do well enough to Embrace several others. It seemed that the fae had not punished Marconius, but had instead given him succor.
Evidencing odd powers and a dangerous unpredictability, Marconius and his Kiasyd, as he named his childer, defeated the Ventrue and took the city. The Lasombra debated stepping in, but decided against it. After all, the bloodline was small, and they were bothering the Ventrue, the Lasombra's major rival in politics, and it seemed that Marconius bore no ill-will toward his former Clan. Also, many believed Marconius' success to be a mere quirk of fate. He got lucky and nothing more. They were unaware how right they were.
Save for their appearance at Strasbourg, the Kiasyd are known to be a very passive bloodline, as a whole. They have gained a reputation as quiet scholars, although younger members of the bloodline commonly go through a period often lasting a few centuries pursuing dramatic adventure in the name of knowledge.
Marconius still holds Strasbourg to this day, despite repeated attempts by the Ventrue and their allies from France and Germany to retake it. He rules loosely, as few vampires live in the city regularly. A few of his brood dwell there, with him, but most Kiasyd have their own, personal havens in libraries or historic ruins around the world.
Speculation on their Fae Origins
No one is quite sure just what happened over 16 centuries ago to create the Kiasyd, and no one is sure just where Marconius was during the 800 years before taking Strasbourg, but there are theories.
As far as the experiment itself, many believe that the Lasombra trio used powerful magics to capture several Unseelie Sluagh and perhaps Sidhe. They point to the Kiasyd's appearance and quiet, dignified manner.
They then melded their faerie souls with the blood they obtained from the magi (the blood of "Zeernebooch, god if the underworld") and applied the mixture to the unsuspecting Marconius.
Less forgiving theorists say that Marconius, perhaps full of the power of "Zeernebooch's" blood, consumed the fae whole, drinking their blood and their souls, fully aware of what he was doing.
Another variant on this is the idea that Marconius (or another of the trio) Embraced the fae and then diablerized them. There is little to support this idea, however.
Either way, the Kiasyd have fae blood as well as kindred vitae flowing through their dead veins.
As for where Marconius was after his exile and before Strasbourg, even less is known. Marconius has refused to ever speak of it, even flying into a rage at persistent questioners, breaking his usual calm demeanor with terrifying brutality.
The most commonly believed rumor is that Marconius was taken to Arcadia by Unseelie nobles and taught his powers of Mytherceria. Those more knowledgeable in Fae Lore and Gremayre dispute this, claiming that no fae would trust a vampire so much as to bring them into Arcadia. It is much more likely, they say, that Marconius was taken into an Earthbound freehold or into the Near Dreaming.
They are also doubtful to any claims that the Unseelie Sidhe sheltered Marconius out of a feeling of kinship, pessimistically saying that the Sidhe wanted to study Marconius to understand the transformation.
There is mention of a Sidhe Changeling (rare in that time) who wanted to incarnate into mortality permanently and become immortal. He lived in Spain, the center of Clan Lasombra's power, and disappeared just after the disastrous experiment. Most Lasombra believed that the Fae had left the local vampiric court out of anger at the experiment. The suspicious and conspiracy theorists believe that the HighBorn reappeared in Strasbourg just before Marconius and his childer, based on sketchy descriptions from frantic Ventrue.
Whatever the case, even the most optimistic of Kiasyd are deeply bothered by the fact that the gates to Arcadia closed forever a scant two centuries...a blink of an eye for an Elder...after Marconius' return and capture of Strasbourg.
