|
|
 tim bradstreet- artist |  ASSAMITES |
vampires are the killers of the night, and none moreso than the assamites, slayers of both kindred and kine. called in regularly by the world's justicars as archons and by princes as assassins, no clan is more feared by the kindred. secretive and taciturn, assamites will travel anywhere in search of their targets, accepting as payment the blood of their employers.
while assamites spend much of their time in the same solitary pursuits as other kindred, they are best known for their skills as hired killers. in exchange for using their unique talents against the enemies of princes and anarchs alike, assamites demand a portion of their employer's vitae. they do not accept every petition for aid, but once they have accepted a "contract", they consider themselves honor-bound to carry out the exact word of the agreement.
the clan was founded more than a millenium ago in the hinterlands of the turkish mountains, and has always fiercely protected its privacy. assamites are fundamentalists of a bizarre brand, practicing a faith that is a mixture of many middle eastern religions and kindred mythology. they believe that the only way for vampires to reach heaven is to become closer to Caine- and the only means of doing this is to lower one's generation.
for much of the clan's early history the assamites engaged in diablerie, seeking always to bring themselves closer to "The One". they became the most feared killers among the kindred. assamite legend claims the clan founder slew two of the second-generation Cainites by his own hand.
unfortunately for the clan, it is no longer possible for assamites to engage in diablerie. during the middle ages (during the period of the sabbat uprising), the assamites found it easy to hunt their prey. so many elders were killed that the camarilla declared a Blood Hunt against the entire assamite clan. after a period of seven years, alamut, the clan's ancient fortress sanctuary, was close to being discovered. for the first time in its history, the clan sued for peace and negotiated a complicated treaty.
the assamites agreed never again to hunt other kindred for their blood and, in exchange, the Blood Hunt against them was called off. the clan was forced to allow the Tremere Council of Seven to cast a great ritual upon all its members. this ritual made it impossible for assamites to drink the blood of other kindred.
however, the assamites managed to adapt some of the most ancient rites of their clan into an approximation of diablerie. the blood they take as pay from those who hire them is collected and then used in a ritual of creation. when the clan holds its five-year gatherings at alamut, its members are able to brew potions using the blood thus collected. these potions can reduce the effective generation of a clan member.
(of interest to gamers: )any assamite hoping to reduce her generation must gather 200 "blood points" from non-assamite vampires of equal or lower generation for the potion to be effective-- it usually takes decades to gather that much blood. each assamite gives her sire a tenth of the blood she gathers.
while not blood-bound or dominated into following clan traditions, individual assamites are usually fanatically loyal to the clan. should anyone try to cheat an assamite, or attack her under circumstances other than an assassination attempt, the weight of the entire clan will crash upon the offender's head.
should an assassin be killed by a target, however, the clan will take no additional revenge. its members will not accept any other contracts for that person's head, and will even honor her when they are given a chance.
once a contract has been accepted, the assassin will not stop trying to fulfill it until the target is dead or the assamite has proof that the employer violated her trust (for example--told her the target vampire was ninth generation when he was sixth, or neglected to mention that the target was protected by a pack of Lupines!- don't you hate it when that happens?)
