Mekhet

We are shadows.  Shadows do not indulge.  They do not rule.  They are not even given a second thought.  And that is the way it has to be.  Because we know so much, we have seen the true meaning in the darkness.   We know what it really means to be dead.  We know the old secrets and curses, the old gods and the old magics.  But more then this - we also know what it was you did last night.   And the night before that.

The Mekhet are the masters of secrets, whispering hints of ancient wisdom from their places in the shadows. At a time when ignorance and fear run rampant, they are a clan whose traditions exalt the knowing and keeping of knowledge. They are a reminder of everything that was lost when the great ancient civilizations fell, and symbolize a time of learning and understanding that seems lost in these dark nights.

Masters of Shadows, it is said that the Mekhet travel the world without leaving a mark or sign of their passage. So successful are they at remaining hidden that they dwelt in Africa for thousands of years without giving rise to any native vampire myths. They stood along the Nile before the pyramids, before the Sphinx, but they have traveled out far from their ancestral home. Some say that they brought Theban Sorcery to the Lancea et Sanctum, others claim that the Mekhet have preserved the teachings and blood rites of the old pagan gods.

The latter view is that which dominates conversation whenever the Mekhet are mentioned.  For the Mekhet are a Clan that has found itself scandalized throughout Europe, from the Court at London to the Holy Roman Empire.  No Kindred survived the Massacre of Jerusalem to give witness to what happened there, but those Christian Kindred in Antioch and other cities in the Holy Land tell a story of the Mekhet giving rise to horrible demons, of aligning themselves with dark and ancient forces, and using the blackest of magic in order to destroy the Christian Kindred who had taken the city.  Dozens of Kindred, many connected to the great political dynastic families of Europe, where destroyed, and the ash was laid completely at the feet of the Clan of Shadows.  While the mortal Christian armies managed to hold onto the Holy City, many Kindred consider the First Crusade a devastating failure, and it is rumored that no Kindred has stepped foot in the city since.

The Mekhet have a different story to tell about what happened during the First Crusade, but few have shown an interest in hearing it.  Mekhet found themselves tossed from Courts across Europe, others were outright hunted and destroyed by Kindred who lost family in the Massacre, those that remain have had to constantly be on the guard for attack.  Kindred memories stretch back very far, and there may still be others who are still nursing a grudge.   The Mekhet of Europe, then, have been driven into the dark corners of the night. They form carefully alliances with Lords who are willing to overlook their reputation in exchange for the favors of their Clan.  They move carefully, unseen, through society. As, really, they have since the dawn of civilization.

Character Concepts: Keeper, Spy, Local Scholar