From: [p f strack] at [gibbs.oit.unc.edu] (Paul Strack) Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf Subject: Alternate New Orleans: Ahrimanes Date: 9 Jun 1994 13:10:38 GMT Warning: Serious spoilers from the Sabbat Storyteller's guide. ALTERNATE NEW ORLEANS by Paul Strack and Stacey Lawless CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE AHRIMANES Louisiana is the home of one of the younger Sabbat bloodlines, the Ahrimanes. The bloodline is small, having perhaps two dozen members, half of whom live in the Louisiana/ Alabama/ Mississippi area. The line consists solely of vampires that have gone through a special ritual know as the Rite of the Third Birth. This ritual was learned centuries ago by the line's founder, Muricia. At her insistence, the ritual has only been used on Gangrel antitribu, and only on women, whom she considers spiritually pure. The ritual grants the recipient a new Discipline, Spiritus, giving the vampire some access to the spirit world. However, it thins the vampire's blood, so that the vampire may no longer sire, create ghouls, or blood bond other kindred. For more information on the Ahrimanes powers, see the Sabbat Storyteller's Guide. For those of you who do not have this book, a summary of Spiritus follows. Level 1 allows you to see and speak to spirits. Level 2 allows you to summon spirits of animals, that can manifest and fight as if they were normal creatures. Level 3 lets you receive gifts from various animals spirits, e.g. speed from Stag, leaping from Frog, etc. Level 4 lets you consume Spirits to replenish your Willpower. Level 5 allows you to assume a powerful half-cat form, resembling the Crinos form of the Bastet. The nomadic Sabbat's survival in Louisiana is largely due to Muricia. She is very familiar with the wilds of the region and the shape-shifters who live there. She is often at odds with John Murrell about the priorities of the Sect in this area. Muricia and her Children have long engaged in a war with the Setites, and fears that a Sabbat invasion of New Orleans would be as much an opportunity for the Snakes as for the Sect. Because of the Ahrimanes inability to bond other kindred, they have some difficulty with Viniculum. Because of Muricia's power in this region, some (though not all) of her children maintain an independent existence, not a member of any pack, thus avoiding being bound to vampires that cannot be bound to her. This is another major point of connection between Murrell and Muricia. MURICIA Muricia was a young Spanish peasant girl, embraced by a Sabbat Gangrel for their war against the elders and the inquisition. She was among one of the first packs to travel to the new world. Her pack landed in Mexico, and traveled north, attempting to reach the United States. In the land that would become Louisiana, they met a group of Garou, and all but Muricia were slaughtered. Muricia almost certainly would have died, but she stumbled across a group of Qualmi Bastet. Muricia was not old enough to smell of the Wyrm, and the Qualmi had never met Kindred before. They took this strange creature in, for they hated the Garou more than anything else in those days. Muricia learned the ways of the Bastet, and eventually adopted their life-style. She lived alone, with a small tribe of indians as her "protectorate". The Qualmi had regular moots, and Muricia would often attend. At one of these moots that a strange Bastet arrived, one of the mysterious Bubasti. This egyptian Bastet knew Muricia for what she was, and spoke with her long into the night. It was then that Muricia first learned the Rite of the Third Birth, and began down her path of Spiritual awakening. The Bubasti disappeared, and Muricia became obsessed with studying her new found spiritual powers. There were many secrets still unknown to her, not the least of which was the origins of the Rite. She had some sense that it had been performed before, in ancient Egypt, as part of the war against Set. She had occasional visions of the Egyptian goddess Bastet, the queen of catkind. While Muricia was occupied, Kindred began to pour into Louisiana, both Sabbat and Camarilla. Eventually feeling forced to choose sides, and believing that the Camarilla were dupes of the Antediluvians, Muricia once again allied with her old Sect. Because of her knowledge of the wilderness, many fleeing Sabbat survived that would otherwise have died the final death. Because of her timely aid, she has much Status with the Sabbat of this region, even to this day. With Muricia's association with the Sabbat, she began to drift away from the Qualmi. Though she remained free of the taint of the Wyrm, most of companions were not. During this times, the native tribe began to be slaughtered, often at the instigation of Kindred. Though the tribes allied to the Garou were hardest hit, the Bastet had losses as well. The Bastet never became Muricia's enemies, but many felt she had betrayed them. For companionship, Muricia began putting other Gangrel through the Rite of the Third Birth. As time went on and the number of Ahrimanes grew, they to put others through the Rite as well. Some of them adopted the Bastet life-style, choosing a group of people to oversee, as their protectorate. Others joined traditional Sabbat packs. Muricia uses her considerable influence to protect the rights of all her children. Muricia began to pay more attention to the growing city of New Orleans, encountering Setites for the first time. From that day on, she made it her first priority to drive those foul creatures from her homeland. Though rarely in conflict with them herself, some of her children have always been involved with the fight against the Snakes, even if it meant allying secretly with the Camarilla. Today Muricia continues her life much as she always has. She has a town of Cajuns in the Bayou that she "protects" from her aging mansion home. She still has contact with the Qualmi, though they are no longer allies. She bickers with the Sabbat bishop about what the Sect should work towards. She fights ceaselessly against the Setites. Age: "20", 7th Generation, born 1632, embraced 1653 by Hidalgo Image: Muricia is a petite Spanish woman, sometimes wearing traditional Spanish dress, sometime wearing the garb of the native tribes of the region. She is an immensely proud woman, and does not tolerate back talk. Her views on the world are a complex mix of medieval Spanish christianity, Sabbat ideology, shape-shifter mythology and the little she has learned about Egypt. Even other Ahrimanes find this somewhat confusing. Influence: Not many blood lines deal with their founder on a day to day basis. The Ahrimanes hold Muricia in semi-religious awe. Many of the nomadic packs still rely on Muricia's knowledge for survival. As a result, she is very influential with the Sabbat of the area. The local bishop loathes her, however, and some of the Sect leaders in Mexico and New York think she is too independent. Nothing has been done yet to reign her in. Secrets: A (Muricia knows Alejandro from his days in the Spanish Sabbat. She has recently learned from her spirits his is still alive, and is not certain what to do with this information. Note that Muricia is unaware of the Sabbat's ties to Pentex and the Wyrm. It is unclear what she would do if she learned of it.) rows more desperate. ve in the bayou is an august southern mansion. She watches over a nearby town of Cajuns, protecting and feeding from them. She rarely visits New Orleans, but keeps tabs on the city through her children and spirits. Goals: Muricia wants to see the Setites destroyed. She also does not want to see the Sabbat become to strong in this region, for fear it will curtail her freedom. She believes in the Jyhad, however, and that the spiritual power the Ahrimanes have is crucial to winning the war against the Satanic Antediluvians. She believes the Umbra is essential to her goals, and longs to go their. She would also like to learn more about the origins of her Rites. As the time of Gehenna draws near, her quest for the origin grows more desperate. ======================================================================== Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I got swamped with other things. That's the last of the vampires though. Only three more chapters to go, two which are already written. -- paul strack <[p f strack] at [email.unc.edu]> "Angst is the mandate of our generation."