Tlacique

An extinct bloodling in all eyes but their own, the Tlacique played only a small part in Kindred history. Although the others clans have all but forgotten them, the children of Tezcatlipoca have not forgotten those who invaded their home—and they've certainly never forgiven them.

Kindred who came to Mexico with the Conquistadors found that the cities of the New World - far larger and more prosperous then they'd expected from "barbarous heathens" - hosted an active population of native vampires. Some were Gangrel, some Nosferatu, but the most influential native bloodline was the Tlacique. The claimed descent from Tezcatlipoca, the Jaguar, god of night, mirrors, smoke and black magic. They ruled openly, in a fashion not seen since Carthage, in small family groups called cliques. The nahualli, Tlacique blood sorcerers, removed the hearts of sacrifices atop the great pyramids and drank of their blood. The Tlacique proclaimed themselves gods, and their people worship them.

The Camarilla could have claimed a great ally, for the natives treated the Spaniards as honored guests, and the Tlacique were happy to negotiate with the foreign Kindred. And negotiate they did—until smallpox devastated their people and the Conquistadors plundered their cities and plunged their worshippers into near slavery. This was hardly the fault of the European Kindred; mortal greed, not Cainite influence, steered the course of the Spanish explorers. But the Tlacique, who ruled their own people, could not conceive that the Europeans did things differently. If the newcomers oppressed the natives, it must be so because the Camarilla Kindred wished it so.

The Tlacique learned that they could not confront the newcomers alone. They had learned, however, of another faction of Kindred, newly arrived from Europe, a sect that counted the Camarilla among its enemies. The Tlacique allied with the struggling Sabbat.

This alliance lasted only as long it took to drive the Camarilla from Mexico. The Tlacique soon realized that the Sabbat exalted violence. The Tlacique had innumerable bloody traditions and rituals, but the Black Hand was all form with no meaning; their enthusiasm for adopting the Tlacique's rites was rooted in sadism, not faith. Their erstwhile allies were more depraved and more dangerous than the Camarilla Kindred they'd driven from their lands.
The Tlacique battled the Sabbat in turn—and lost miserably. The Sabbat all but eliminated the outnumbered natives and diablerized their elders. The few surviving Tlacique scattered to distant communities. The Black Hand thought them dead and gone; the Camarilla forgot them in the face of Sabbat aggression. The Tlacique became an obscure legend in the lands they once ruled.

After four centuries of hiding, that "legend" is vengeful and hungry. Perhaps fewer than a few score Tlacique exist tonight, hidden throughout South and Central America and the southwestern US. Slowly, they reestablish lines of communication. For the first time, they work together as a unified bloodline. They seek the resting places of those slumbering elders the Sabbat missed in their purge. They launch guerrilla assaults on Sabbat enclaves, determined to take back their stolen homelands.

The Sabbat is again at war—they just haven't yet figured out with whom.

Nickname: None. Nobody knows they exist; who's going to give them a nickname?

Sect: The Tlacique claim no allegiance to either sect, but they have one budding alliance. Their interest in purging the Sabbat from Central America and their links to the Aztecs and Maya provide common ground with the Pisanob branch of the Giovanni. Negotiations remain tentative at this point, but the elders of the Sabbat and Camarilla would shudder to think of what these two groups could accomplish together, if only they knew the Tlacique existed at all.

Appearance: The few surviving Tlacique elders are natives of Central America. Some younger Tlacique come from immigrants now dwelling in the US, though most are drawn from populations south of the border. Whether they dwell in a Third-World, poverty-striken village or a bustling metropolis, the Tlacique try to blend in with the surrounding populace.

Haven: Tlacique in large cities reside just about anywhere, from apartments to abandoned basements. Those dwelling in less sophisticated or rural areas prefer houses and huts with well-constructed celllars. A few paranoid Tlacique who have mastered Earth Meld keep no haven at all, sinking into the soil with every sunrise. Most Tlacique decorate their havens with native crafts and other reminders of their heritage—and purpose.

Background: The Tlacique consider anyone of South of Central American descent for the Embrace, so long as she proves both sympathetic and useful to the cause.

Character Creation: Because they are so few and scattered throughout enemy territory, the Tlacique look for self-reliance in their progeny, either in terms of Abilities or Demeanor. Primary Attributes vary based on why the individual was chosen for the Embrace. They also seek those who show signs of social responsibility, particularly in the areas of native rights and cultural preservation. Although the bloodline remain conservative and dislike undisciplined childer, the elders relax this restriction somewhat in the modern nights.

Clan Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Protean (The "default" predatory form for Shape of the Beast is a jaguar, rather than a wolf).

Weaknesses: The Tlacique suffer exceptionally harsh penalities from sunlight and other illumination (such as a spotlight).

Organization: The Tlacique still struggle to establish a new social order, much to the chagrin of the elders who yearn for the structure of nights long past. Status is based on age, though young members are respected simply because they are so much more capable of coping with the modern world. Ancillae hold the real power, receiving blessing and instruction from the elders and mentoring the activities of the neonates. Status is also influence by mastery of Nahuallotl.

blodslinje
page revision: 5, last edited: 15 Feb 2011 11:01
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