Daeva

There is something about the way a priest raises the challace before a church full of believers.  The way a butcher sinks his knife into the flesh of a boar.  The way a craftsman glides his hands over a plane of sanded wood.   Even the way a farmer lets the seeds fall from his hand to the ground below.  We Daeva do not simply lust for life - we lust for all those things that make it worth living. 

The Daeva seem to be the image of everything that was lost when Rome fell: beauty, class, sophistication. They play the role of the seducer, stir the passions of those around them, and give inspiration for brilliant creations. What others call sin, the Daeva call celebration of life and undeath. As such, most Daeva zealously pursue the pleasures of life: the searing love affairs, the generous feasting, and the poetic revenge.

Under this, however, lies a coiled serpent ready to strike. The Daeva bring with them more then the ancient traditions of the courtesans, they bring poison, corruption, disease, and death. Where there has been beauty, where there has been the greatest of civilizations, there have been Deava. And they have always left little more then wasted husks in their wake.

There are still stories that exist among the Daeva of Lilith, the first of the Daeva, the originator of the Clan.  Who exactly Lilith was, however, depends upon who you ask. Those of an older faith see themselves as having descended from the priestess of an ancient goddess. Others of a more Christian heritage see her as the first woman, who was cast out by the first man after refusing to submit to him. However one views her, however, Lilith gives the Daeva the notion that they are descended from a great, beautiful, and bloody Goddess, and her inheritance is theirs alone.

London has a great deal of appeal for the Deava.  The city is a cross roads, a place where ideas are exchanged, goods from all over the known world are traded, and where more and more of the policy for Europe is made.  The Angevin Empire is not perhaps great yet - but if Henry II can hang on, it has the promise to become the most powerful force in Christendom.  And if that happens, the Deava plan to be coiled upon London's chest, ready for the opportunity to strike.

There are some Deava among the old Saxon guard of the city.  They are merchants and politicians, and perhaps even a few have found themselves within the embrace of the Lancea + Sanctum.  But more prominent are those Normans who washed up on the shore with William the Conqueror.  They are the courtiers and knights, the Lord and Ladies who are trying to bring the culture of the Courts of Love to the British isle.  

Character concepts include: Daeva Baron, Chamberlain, Prisci, Lady of the Court, Harpy, Merchant, Knight