Nicholas Alister

True Brujah
Amity of Equanimity
Monitor of Kansas City

Description


~A stark contrast of differences arrives in the regal stature of this gentleman. A Caucasian somewhere in his mid-30s, Nicholas Allister maintains a conservative fashion in everything he represents. That includes the style of his tailored suits to the shortness of his dark-brown hair. Nicholas (never Nick) executes a soldierly stature, exemplifying a person of great self-discipline and self-control. Every measured step bares a conscious cadence. Most notable, however, are Nicholas’ brown eyes. Though he often offers a pleasant smile, that expression scarcely reflects the cold glint in that gaze. It’s not the "look of the predator", but rather the steely and analytical search of an uncaring and totally objective will.~

OOC: Appearance 3

"Time passes. History does not, and I will find the truth."

History


Son of York

Tragedy and courage painted the life of Nicholas Alister even before his Embrace, almost 700 years ago. He was born to a family of minor nobility (several steps removed in blood from the king), not even a baronial title, in northern England. Sir Travis was a knight landed near York. He married Anna Chaplain and they had four children: Christopher, Mead, Nicholas, and Cheryl. Nicholas blessed the family in 1302 specifically, and enjoyed the fair estate upon which he was raised.

His father, an advisor to the Duke of York, was often away in the city. Nicholas’ mother and their house nanny helped raise the children. When Travis was home, Nicholas observed his father’s clever mind at work. The man was quite an entrepreneurial inventor. While he created nothing fundamentally new, he was orchestral in developing and patenting advanced versions of both water wheels and windmills. Nicholas enjoyed the greenery of the estate where his father experimented, especially the rare bright and sunny days. He had few friends, but was quite happy to play with brothers and sister, and loved his siblings dearly.

And like his siblings, Nicholas was granted a Christian education. He learned well the Catholic doctrine, but his upbringing especially focused on a more soldierly training. As the third son, a life in the military was traditionally expected and embraced. His father was obligated to travel much to review the duke’s holdings and investments abroad, and young Nicholas often accompanied the knight. He visited France, Germany, and the Netherlands in particular.

A Soldier’s Pence

Eventually, as he entered manhood Nicholas was sent to train in the king’s army in York proper. As the son of a noble, he at least earned the rank of a lieutenant. He won friendships and earned the respect of the common enlisted men with his confident and deliberate personality. Some thought him too bookish, for he often studied and read whenever possessed of free time. But that impressed his seniors, who saw him as a potential rising star. And since he survived and even shone brightly in several skirmishes (with rebelling Scots), the army knew he would go far. A pretty girl from the village of Hull, Marlena, thought so, too. He wooed Marlena while serving the king’s army.

Life was not easy but nothing terrible happened until his mid-20s. In 1326, his father was indicted out of nowhere on charges of treason and incest. There was never any physical evidence or proof, and the charges were levied purely on so-called eyewitness accounts of former colleagues in York. In truth, they were nonsense charges that stemmed from political rivalries that Travis’ fair nature failed to contain. The Alister home was stormed and Travis, Anna, Cheryl, and Christopher were all arrested, convicted, and summarily executed by hanging for their “satanic crimes against the crown and God”. The entire estate was seized and given over to the duke’s dispensation.

Infuriated, Nicholas threatened revenge. Mead, now a monk (and was not charged), managed to calm his brother from doing anything foolhardy. Instead of attacking officials, Nicholas turned his rage inwards. He broke off from Marlena and fumed for a chance to die with honor. At his first major engagement, Bannockburn, he flung himself into the battle against the well-organized Scottish army. Though the British lost this fight, they weren’t slain to the man. Nicholas survived but was badly wounded. Mead personally tended his brother’s wound, and his fellow officers commended his valor. In 1330, soon after King Edward III took power, Nicholas Alister was knighted and regained his family esteem if not land.

The Embrace

Perhaps Nicholas would have regained his lands, or new ones to replace them, if fate did not intervene. A secret admirer observed Nicholas for most of his adult life. This admirer judged his behavior and pluck and found him worthy. He needed to only wait for Nicholas to have a moment of doubt. The admirer’s approach came through Mead’s monastery, which now doubled as a hospice, and posed as a traveling cenobite. He hinted to Nicholas that the gift of immortality was his for the taking, that the blood of Christ and the blood of Caine carried the same blessings and curses. But the blood of Caine was for soldiers, for men who had to sacrifice their innocence in order to protect others. Playing on Nicholas’ sense of guilt, for in battle he did indeed slay many men, he felt unworthy of Jesus Christ.

And secretly, Nicholas also yearned for the power to remain above the kind of petty intrigue that condemned his family. So after a fortnight of consideration, he volunteered for this gift. Once he accepted the offer, the monk threw off his disguise and identified himself as Jeremiah Serif, one of the last True Brujah. He was a Cainite, a vampire, but not a monster as stories suggested. With an open mind, Nicholas was given the Embrace. He fed for the first time from one of his fellow soldiers who were dying from their wounds. This was a “mercy killing” meant to help the fledgling maintain his humanity until he could learn other ways to live with the Beast Within. He could not linger at the monastery, however, or even in York. He lied to his brother, claiming the king was dispatching him overseas to review royal holdings abroad.

The Becoming

For the next twelve years, he did not travel abroad but rather remained in seclusion with Jeremiah near London. There he privately studied the nature of the Kindred and the tenets of the Path of Rathmonicus (later to be called Path of the Scorched Heart). In this day in age, the path was not an official Via. But it was the informal way of life for most Elois, as discussed in the Book of the Empty Heart. His sire, a member of the (true) Black Hand, explained the Great Jyhad in detail. Before Nicholas was ready to be initiated into the Hand and the power that would bestow, he had to prove his self-discipline. For a decade, he tested himself against all temptations of the flesh and heart. Only utter control of the Beast Within would do, Jeremiah taught. With a mindset of self-focus, gradually Nicholas’ half-hearted humanity and rationale was broken down.

Secluded in Jeremiah’s monasteric quarters, he fed only on the dying mortals in the nearby villages – those wounded or sick. He grew more accepting of the Hunger and the nature of the Curse. The tenets of his icy path helped, as well as a powerful and patient sire’s guidance. Indeed, Jeremiah provided an excellent role model on how to embrace vampirism with class and honor. Naturally, he was never presented to the Prince of London or any other Kindred leader. He was to join to the Black Hand…in time.

Anarch Scum

Though Nicholas was released from his sire’s care, the two remained close for the bulk of his neonate years. Jeremiah was only being cautious, suspecting a growing unrest in the ranks of the undead. Nicholas was kept Blood Bound, but the neonate genuinely respected his sire anyway. And in later reflection, Nicholas realized that Jeremiah understood the Curse of Uriel (the Jyhad) quite well. Restive childer would eventually rebel if not kept occupied. Thus, the pair began to travel all over Europe, avoiding most other Cainites. Nicholas’ horizons were wonderfully widened, his education expanding into multiple cultures and languages. All the while, fascinated with the knowledge he was gaining, he never coveted his sire’s power or blood. He evinced the wisdom that such greatness would come in time, and he would earn it as his sire did.

Not all Kindred were so patient and judicious. These freewheeling decades drew to an end as travel grew increasingly hazardous. Gangs of roaming Anarch vampires threatened all other Cainites, especially Elders like Jeremiah. Nonetheless, travel was still mandatory for the pair. It was not until at this time, well into his first century of unlife, that Nicholas first learned of Troile and the betrayal of their clan founder. Her lack of self-control, her wild temperament, was to blame. And her childer shared that curse. So Jeremiah was tracking bands of such ragtag false Brujah through Spain and France. He learned that the True Brujah were not only about correcting past mistakes but preventing the same mistakes from happening again.

And that was precisely what was happening with the Anarch Revolt of the 12th and 13th centuries. Nicholas wanted to intervene, to rescue people – humans and vampires alike – from the rapacious claws of these Anarch bands. But Jeremiah refused; their mission was strictly observation, and an objective mind was mandatory. To know the truth of the past and the mistakes made in antiquity, Jeremiah chided, demanded patience and respect of these events. Time itself was to be cherished, whether the events were terrible or wonderful. This was the objective key to mastering Temporis, and something Troile and her childer did not and could not understand. Jeremiah was making sure of it.

Together, they narrowly avoided the rage of the Anarchs. Close calls and overthrows took place not far from the places they often called havens: such as churches. Kindred immersed in the church were often victimized. Furthermore, the rise of the humans’ Inquisition imperiled all Kindred. It grew bad enough that even an Elder like Jeremiah deemed travel too hazardous for now. Nicholas and his sire returned to London in 1442. Nicholas snuck away to visit his family in York – rather, their graves. He mourned their passing, and knew that without Jeremiah he would be totally alone. Despite his Path’s adherence to self-reliance, the idea terrified him. The weight of immortality was beginning to bear down on the knight, and he looked to the Book of the Empty Heart for guidance and conviction.

The Trials of Enoch

But his sire was there to offer reassurance. In fact, Jeremiah celebrated Nicholas’ coming of age. He survived his first century, after all, and thus proved worthy enough for official induction into the Black Hand. With frightening magic, Jeremiah invited to Nicholas to re-visit the brink of icy death. Nicholas was drawn past the veil of life and into the land of the dead. In this shadowy, misty Underworld, Nicholas witnessed what death was truly like. The dull, lifeless plane possessed only dismalness and sorrow. It helped throw his own unlife into perspective.

However, this dark journey was for more than personal edification. He and Jeremiah floated through the ether, an experience that seemed to last an eon while they went nowhere. They arrived somewhere, however: the lost, fabled city of Enoch. The First City that Caine built. He was hauled there to undergo the training of Chatterlings. For the first time, he was obliged to socialize with Kindred beyond his sire. And he found immediately that most other vampires were barbarous thugs. The other Chatterlings at least certainly fit this bill – they were “too cool” for an academic, conservative knight like Nicholas. In training sessions official and unofficial, he clashed with his “classmates”, particularly their charismatic ringleader Lovrenc. But Nicholas held his own primarily thanks to his unique talent of Temporis. These forerunners to the Sabbat were savage creatures with which Nicholas held little in common.

The Chatterlings were sequestered away from the other vampires and ghosts that dwelled in Enoch. It was an academy-like setting where they were all constantly tested. Nicholas suspected he was even tested for “impure” thoughts, for heretical or treacherous ideas. Despite his dislike of the grueling and humiliating training, Nicholas formed no rebellious plans. He was quite taken by the Underworld city, in fact. Its historical context, biblical references, and the ancient awe it inspired kept him morbidly fascinated for years.

The Death of an Angel

During Nicholas’ indoctrination, Jeremiah actually spent only some of that time in Enoch. His sire was instructed to carry out some additional research on the nature of the Jyhad in Rome, Italy. For decades, while Nicholas studied and trained, Jeremiah performed his duties. But the Anarch Revolt caught up with even Jeremiah Serif. Near the end of Nicholas’ training, word reached even Enoch that Jeremiah was murdered and diablerized by a pack of false Brujah, only a year before the Convention of Thorns would be signed in 1492. Nicholas lost control and flew into a frenzy, unchecked for the first time. He felt as if his best friend and father had been murdered all over again (the Blood Bond surely exacerbated these feelings). The Hand allowed the frenzy to persist in private, since Nicholas had only a few enthralled wraiths to beat up. The frenzy did not last months, but his fuming anger did not simmer down for nearly a year. He was paranoid that he might share his sire's fate, and vowed to double-check his every deed to protect against similar failure. Worse, when he was graduated from the Chatterling program, he felt bitter and alone. None of the other Chatterlings were Kindred he could trust or call friends.

When he and some of the other new Hand recruits were dispatched back to the land of the living, Nicholas now harbored only loathing for the sect. He deceitfully disobeyed the Shakari Elders and refused to take up a position as a spy in one of the new puppet sects, the Camarilla or Sabbat. He felt the sects were both ridiculous and the scheme of causing the infighting between the two was pointless and counterproductive. He knew that the Antediluvians could very well take care of themselves (and it wasn’t as if he had a clan founder to answer to). So Nicholas left the Black Hand entourage in London and never returned.

Lovrenc and a few of the other Chatterlings were dispatched to reel in the wayward ancilla. But the prodigal Brujah “refuted their claims”, proving that he was quite capable of holding his own in combat with a combination of skill and tactics. Besides, he knew all those guys’ tricks, their strengths and weaknesses. They barely understood what he could do with Temporis. He left bodies as his parting gift to the Black Hand and fled to mainland Europe. Once more, he traveled, although “fleeing” was perhaps the better action word. As the Sabbat was too busy being stomped by the established Elders, the Black Hand used the Camarilla to call a world-wide (or at least sect-wide) Blood Hunt on Nicholas. And now he was in trouble, because the Justicars released their Archons to actively stalk and hunt the True Brujah down.

Forced on the run, and cornered more than once, Nicholas miraculously escaped death each time. Mysterious circumstances delayed or confounded the Archons, enabling Nicholas to slip away. And he wondered what occasions withheld his enemy. He trusted no one now, especially some unseen guardian angel. For nearly a century, this was how Nicholas lived, honing his survival instincts and dodging Blood Hunts. He fed at will and reflected on his own nature and what his life had become. He pondered companionship to help alleviate the long, austere nights, but he could never linger anywhere long enough to find a worthwhile possibility.

A New World, a New Chance

Around 1592, Nicholas had enough of Europe and blindly fleeing across its boundaries. To achieve real freedom from his foes, he decided to travel to the New World. He purchased his way aboard a Spanish galleon heading to the Spanish Main for exploration purposes. The voyage proved uneventful until they reached the Caribbean. There pirates in a large trophy carrack attacked one night. They disabled the galleon and boarded, where Nicholas was able to turn the tide of the battle – he personally decimated the entire crew of pirates. From their captain, he recovered an unusual golden medallion depicting strange pagan symbols.

Pleased by Nicholas’ great skill in battle, the galleon’s captain let him stay on as they explored and worked on correcting their maps of the Caribbean and the Mexican shores. Once in Mexico, Nicholas avoided people, choosing to feed off exotic animals as necessary. He heard that there were in fact Kindred already in the New World, but mostly Sabbat. While that meant the death mark on his head would be ignored, he knew the likes of Lovrenc comprised the ranks of the Sabbat. Such brigands would attack him just for the thrill of a fight, and to steal his heart’s blood.

In addition to trying to find a new place to live out his eternal life, this strange medallion – an Indian trinket he presumed – caught his fancy. He wanted to discover its origins, and carefully explored the sacred sites of the Aztec. But he did not find the answer; the answer found him. An immortal Tlazopilli named Zolineztli approached him during a dark lunar eclipse in 1613. He requested the medallion politely from Nicholas. Even knowing it could command great magical power, he handed it over to who he believed was its rightful owner.

Impressed by Nicholas’ selfless cooperation, Zolineztli not only decided to leave the vampire alone, but also told him about the Aztecs and their culture built on ancient Mayan and Olmec beliefs. Nicholas swore to never feed from animals again in respect of the natives’ totemic beliefs. He came to deeply respect these primitive cultures, regarding their more simplistic views and lifestyles as a viable alternative for his own disenfranchised existence. The True Brujah heard rumors as well about the Fountain of Youth, and wondered what its effects would have on a vampire. Its location was said to be somewhere in this region: somewhere along the eastern shore of Central America, or within the Caribbean, or perhaps even north.

Furious Lives

And that was where his explorations carried Nicholas, following Ponce de Leon into Florida. But he was no conquistador. He had gone native in a sense, and he earned the trust and respect of natives, and was allowed to peacefully research the beliefs of the Apalachee peoples. When the Spanish abandoned Florida and the British began to raid, he helped the Apalachee fight back. But his unity with these people was marred. They had supernatural allies of their own – Coyote’s fierce little brother, Wolf, summoned the spirit-changers to their aid. Werewolves.

Nicholas recalled Jeremiah’s warning about the Lupines – stay away! But he did not want to abandon his work or the people he admired. Their hatred endangered his life, forcing him to back off but he did not leave despite their threats. This earned the curious respect of a different sort of spirit-changer. Her name was Hachi, and she was a werespider. She met Nicholas in 1628 and the two became fast lovers, fascinated by one another’s natures, abilities, and purposes. Their decade-long romance also brought him security, for she headed off the rage of the Lupines. She misled their spirit guides, tricking their totems whenever a hunting party grew too close to Nicholas’ haven.

But Nicholas was absolved in 1638 when he and Hachi fought raiding European werewolves of Scottish descent. Twisted and corrupt these Lupines were, not merely hateful. Hachi was (apparently) slain and he nearly perished, too. The Uktena werewolves were able to slay the Black Spiral Dancers, sparing Nicholas’ life as reward for his selfless courage in protecting the native people. That was the only honor they would grant him, and ejected him from Florida. He was forced to abandon his search for the Fountain of Youth. Of Hachi, he never heard or saw her again, and presumed she was dead.

Williamsburg

So Nicholas traveled north to where the English were settling. Reluctantly, he rejoined “his people”, though he now felt no allegiance in any fashion. The essence of immortality was beginning to settle even more deeply into his very spirit, eroding the last measure of his compassion. The last few decades, he sought some new anchor to keep him from drifting away into ambiguity and meaningless. The strangeness of the native ways provided that means, but it was something to which he could never truly adapt. Tired of running, he quietly settled among the Virginians and hid from other Kindred. He became known as that “strange monk” that understood the ways of the Indian, and he masqueraded thusly.

In 1642, near St. Mary's City (later to be named Baltimore), he met Laurena Thomas. The daughter of a prominent tavern owner that supported the rule of the royal governor, at first Nicholas thought she would provide a good means to keep an ear on the ground for the goings-on of the Old World. His haven was nearby and he frequently visited, where she served as a waitress and tapster. Their acquaintance grew into friendship and that grew into a deeper mutual respect the more they conversed. Perhaps due to desperate loneliness, Nicholas considered this woman he still only barely knew as a potential childe and companion. After all, Laurena was respectable, intelligent, even-tempered, and confident. She shrugged off multiple suitors, indicating her self-reliance in an era when women were expected to cling to their men.

Nicholas slipped some of his vitae into her wine one late night as they discussed religion, history, and politics as usual. Long before John Locke’s publications, Laurena and Nicholas together in secret postulated the idea of a social contract and the ideal of civic reciprocity. But this night in ‘45 was special for them, for he let Laurena in on the secret of the Kindred. Naturally she was freaked out, but her respect for him and trust in his self-control (combined with the start of a Blood Bond) kept her from betraying him. Using the same rationale Jeremiah used to sell him centuries earlier, Nicholas convinced Laurena that the Kindred were not inherently wicked, and that eternal life on Earth was full of possibility. However, he reassured Laurena he would not end her life – it was not necessary.

Thus, Laurena became his single and most erstwhile ghoul companion. Their relationship blossomed into a calm, quiet, and rather unexpected romance. Of course, for the Elder True Brujah with a widening sense of emotional detachment, this was not true love. It was abiding care and compassion for a cherished friend and possession. Conversely, Laurena’s own true feelings were probably contraindicative due to the Blood Bond. Though he knew their relationship might imperil his dedication to the Path of the Scorched Heart, he needed her right now. And if need be, he would cross the bridge to true solitude later.

Pursuit of North

Other than Laurena, however, Virginia was boring Nicholas. He could not just stay put somewhere, hiding from Archons and Lupines. He convinced Laurena’s father that she was called upon for a holy mission to the north. Without further warning, they eloped and traveled to New England, and to New York City specifically, to lead a new life there. He wasn’t interested in just settling somewhere else that was potentially as uneventful. He began to search now for artifacts that revealed that the Vikings or Saxons once explored these lands; Jeremiah suggested once long ago that the lands of India and Cathay were hardly a New World, and that the Norse traveled there regularly. He now knew that many explorers who traveled across the Atlantic never reached the Orient, instead landing in America. From New York, he and Laurena traveled west toward the Great Lakes.

And Nicholas was beginning to realize that his perpetual search for artifacts, relics, and history itself was a personal need. It was a desire to justify his existence and find a peace of mind. He accepted the Beast Within as it was, but knew its passions were still a hazard to himself and all those around him. This was why he devoted so much time to this academic pursuit, and he expected his intelligent new ghoul to be of great service.

Indeed, Laurena proved an able assistant, swiftly learning the fundamentals of every academic subject he passed onto the serving girl. Unfortunately, their studies were interrupted before they really began. As they traveled inland, they were entangled in the unrest of the brewing French and Indian War. Nicholas suspected that the Sabbat were fighting alongside the colonial militias despite their British loyalty, and the Camarilla fought behind the French. At first, he wanted to just stay out of the mess. Realizing the Black Hand was surely manipulating this conflict from behind, he felt an uncommon urge of spite to sabotage their efforts. To that end, he drew upon his knowledge and reputation to connect with the Algonquin Nation and negotiated with specific tribes of wishy-washy allegiance to the European powers. Not only did he help prevent natives from feeding themselves to the slaughter, but also he cut off valuable allies to both the French and English – and thus the Black Hand.

But it was a small and short-lived victory. Ghoul soldiers of the Archons wearing colonial colors nabbed Laurena and held her for ransom against the “gone native” Brujah wanted for “crimes against the Kindred”. Instead of a daring rescue, Nicholas turned again to his native connections – and the Lupines behind them. It was just as daring, perhaps even more so, to test their patience. He was, after all, just another “leech”. But the spirits conveyed the honesty of Nicholas’ words and his actions only fifteen years ago. The Lupines acted on this boon and assaulted the Archon and his team in force, slaughtering them all and rescuing a terrified Laurena.

Eye of the Storm

With the ending of the war, Nicholas and Laurena were able to travel again with more impunity. Yet throughout his examinations of the Great Lake region, including riverbeds and deltas where ships could potentially navigate, he found no trace of ancient exploring Norsemen. They returned to New York City by 1758, where he lingered for about ten years inscribing his discoveries for his own posterity. Nicholas kept to himself save to feed (and he often simply fed from Laurena), well aware that a large city like this was surely in dispute between the warring sects of Kindred.

And his vigilance was rewarded, for conflict between men often mirrored the Jyhad. The colonials were now beginning to battle for their own independence from England. He knew the nights would grow dangerous as Cainites threw their lots in behind humans. He took Laurena and vacated New York, traveling north into Canada and settled near Montreal. The revolution drew near but never quite claimed this land, as the Canadians remained loyal to the crown yet mostly aloof from the war.

There Nicholas finished his academic work and focused on more spiritual efforts. He sank into long states of meditation and wonder, sometimes silent for days and days. Nicholas embraced an “eye of the storm” mentality, remaining calm even as hell brewed around him. He was seriously turning his seeking heart inwards at last. Little did Nicholas know that his guardian angel from the Old World was still watching, and determined that the True Brujah was ready at last for a very special offer.

The Great Summons

In the year 1782, the American Revolution was winding down and Nicholas decided that while Europe reeled from this new contestant in world theater, he could return to his home continent in relative safety. There was also an undeniable and indescribable urge to go back to Europe, but not England. Instead, he settled near Athens, Greece, as an especially vivid dream of ancient pillars and ruins strongly suggested.

Not long after arriving to Athens, he felt compelled to visit the Parthenon alone at midnight. There an ancient vampire named Pallas greeted the much younger Brujah. Despite Pallas’ charisma, and an internal pang of hope that sprang up that this Cainite might replace the mentorship Jeremiah once offered, a deep sliver of mistrust remained. Pallas helped alleviate Nicholas’ warranted concerns, sharing deep Black Hand secrets no vampire but the masters of that sect should know – such as the true nature of Aralu (a secret far too monumental to repeat here). Astounded, Nicholas listened well to Pallas’ invitation: to join the Inconnu. Pallas outlined the goals of that “sect”, pointing out that Nicholas already lived many of those roles through his secretive actions of occasional sabotage, objective observation, and constant searching within and without for greater understanding. Nicholas agreed to learn and study under Pallas.

Athens, Pallas explained, was his home city. And so there they remained for a time. With the Ottoman Turks in control of Greece, the presence of Assamite vampires was a hazard. Nonetheless, Pallas also informed Nicholas that he would help the True Brujah settle an old debt. One night, an Assamite visited Pallas’ haven, confused and disoriented (thanks to the ancient’s powerful Summons). This local lieutenant, Chagatai, was easy prey for the Inconnu Elders, and he handily vanquished and staked. While lying helpless, Pallas shared with Nicholas this killer’s misdeed – he was one of the Anarchs that murdered his sire centuries ago, and was the diabolist who stole Jeremiah Serif’s heart’s blood. Though this was a test, Nicholas did not realize it, and he was briefly tempted to return the favor and diablerize this Assamite. He stayed true to his sense of honor, however, and merely took the vampire’s head.

Knowing the Inconnu

For the next several decades, Nicholas promised to remain at Pallas’ side in quiet study and reflection of all the lore and truths the ancient would bequeath. Laurena also stayed reverently close to her beloved Regnant, and relished all their travels. Though Pallas admitted that he wished they could linger in Athens, he was appointed the Monitor of Paris. To France they went, and carefully observed the brutal French Revolution sweep over the nation. They stayed out of the politics of Kindred and kine, however. And Nicholas occupied himself solely with studying the spiritual aspects of being undead. Pallas challenged Nicholas’ intellect and wisdom with tough philosophical equations and enigmatic riddles to solve, which constantly tested Nicholas’ beliefs and world-views. This meditation, combined with his veteran age, helped the True Brujah hone many of his Disciplines, even Temporis. Pallas was not Brujah in any lineage, but actually Toreador. He shared with Nicholas the reason for his Embrace: a love for philosophy and its intellectual confirmation of the beauty of man and life itself.

And like Nicholas, Pallas was eventually drawn to the Inconnu because of disgust with the intrigues of other Kindred. This “sect” was concerned primarily with the development of the self, with the respect of individuality, and the task of watching other Kindred to ensure their squabbles never threatened the entire world. Nicholas took note of how Pallas monitored the Paris crowd and France overall. He concurred with the ancient about politics (human politics especially) – that governments were better off when they were much smaller (city-sized), and that no organized sect was good for the world. And Pallas said he suspected his “great-grandsire” shared this opinion, whoever that was.

Out of mild curiosity, Nicholas also kept an eye on events in the newborn nation, the USA. He was mainly concerned with the fates of the Native American tribes and doubted the former colonists would ever treat them well. Yet this interest proved to not be a distraction for which he was chided. In fact, Pallas praised Nicholas’ swift growth in personal strength inside and out. He surprised the Brujah with a lifting of his endangered status within the Camarilla – the Blood Hunt was suddenly called off. Now he doubly owed his mentor, but this boon was especially worth repaying.

The Challenge of Duty

Nicholas found the repayment was soon forthcoming, and it was arguably tougher than he imagined. He was assigned to the role of Monitor…of Washington, D.C. His selection was based on his English heritage and his friendly past relationships with the Indians. While many ambitious Kindred would leap at such an opportunity, for a true Inconnu it was a massive burden. It meant being tossed right into the heart of Kindred and human politics and forced to maintain a calm, reclusive, and objective position no matter what. It was a position easily abused, and as such he suspected he was once more being tested. He was instructed to pay extra-close attention as the American Civil War brewed. In 1855 and on very amiable terms, he left Pallas behind in Paris and took Laurena on a steamship voyage across the Atlantic again.

This voyage was not so uneventful. Poor Nicholas seemed to be a magnet for attracting trouble from lycanthropes. This time it was an unbelievable sight – weresharks! The powerful and brutish monsters attacked the ship simply because it was there, it seemed. Nicholas was forced (and admittedly, relished) to call upon his vaunted mastery of Temporis. The assaulting Rokea were temporarily frozen in time, and then the ship was hastened through temporal fluctuations. He was then obliged to erase the memories of the startled, flabbergasted mortals (except Laurena, of course).

The trip was otherwise undisturbed and once they arrived in D.C., Nicholas introduced himself to the Prince, Leland Booker. And then, as Inconnu are wont to do, he simply vanished from all local notice. He stayed in the background, maintaining a neutral role in all things. Just as he was told, Nicholas merely observed the Civil War, refusing to intervene on either side’s behalf. He sympathized partially with the South’s politics (though the right to own slaves disgusted him, as he did not consider Laurena to be a slave).

Of course, behind both sides he once more detected the warring Cainite sects. The Camarilla was behind the Confederacy while the Sabbat, attempting to seize control of the entire continent through federal power, surely lurked behind the Union forces. During this whole struggle, Nicholas never felt in danger. The purges of one sect or another in the area were always short-lived and never threatened the overall equilibrium of power. And while the Sabbat was behind the Union, the Camarilla maintained control of D.C.

Federal Immunity

Meanwhile, Nicholas did his best to mitigate the Americans’ lust for expansionism and pioneering. He wanted to protect the Native Americans as much as possible and finally stepped over the line in his role as Monitor. He snuck into the White House and tried to Dominate President Hayes. The power simply failed. Perhaps Hayes was a neutral…perhaps there was some other reason. Either way, he could not reverse the Monroe Doctrine and the American belief in Manifest Destiny, and natives were overrun and cast out from sea to shining sea. Despite this overstep, Nicholas maintained the proper “invisibility” of an Inconnu Monitor.

As the Industrial Revolution pinnacled with the development of aviation, Nicholas already foresaw the ramifications of this technology. Leonardo Da Vinci wrote of the wonders and dangers of man in flight. This and the rise of global imperialism obligated Nicholas to keep close tabs on the US officials and to ensure no Kindred tried (and succeeded) in meddling with the heart of the federal governments. Since American Cainites were hardly worried, neither was Nicholas when the Great War set the world on fire. The Great Depression became much more of a concern, albeit it was again not necessarily a problem for the Monitor of D.C. to personally handle.

Nicholas kept in frequent contact with Pallas and thereby the Inconnu at whole, updating the sect on the events of America on a federal level. He confirmed that Dominate inexplicably did not work on the president or any other major federal official. He postulated that the Oath of Office somehow protected them, and speculated that other supernatural powers might be woven into it all to repel direct Kindred influence. He conjectured that the Tremere might be responsible but he lacked proof and the means to gain that proof. His knowledge of blood magic was rudimentary at best.

But World War II became the last straw. It enveloped the world in an even more disastrous conflict. The Inconnu passed on resentful messages implying Nicholas should have done more to spur U.S. involvement sooner to mitigate the mounting casualties in Europe and Asia. The development of atomic power frightened the ancients, too. But this was a technological development that took place in Manhattan – and therefore they should be wagging their fingers at the Monitor of New York City, Nicholas pointed out. It did not matter to the Elders, and he was removed and replaced. Nicholas could care less; it took him out of the most exposed Inconnu role in the world, and he felt he handled it with professional discretion. Evidently, the Inconnu wanted someone willing to be a little less objective at times. Pallas reassured Nicholas that the sect was always internally divided; there were many individualistic egos that did not agree on any single course of action. Furthermore because of America’s rising global vitality, a much more powerful Monitor (someone on the scale of Pallas) was well advised.

Gateway to the West

In 1950, Nicholas was reassigned to the role of Monitor of St. Louis instead. Like in Washington, he introduced himself to the Prince, Charles Valerian, and then promptly vanished into the background. Although he was slightly irritated that the city was less important on a grander, global scale, he was pleased that he would be less of a target for enemies – and criticism. In St. Louis, he kept an eye on the ever-broiling Jyhad. He suspected Sabbat activities in this Camarilla city, though took no direct actions to confirm or disavow for many years. In fact, he spent most of his time here withdrawn in personal study and reflection. He even wrote a book on philosophy discussing the true detachment needed to maintain accurate objective perception of details.

Finally, when the Jyhad began to heat up, Nicholas opted to intervene on the Camarilla’s behalf in 1976. Nicholas warned the Ventrue Prince of an impending assault he discerned by the unusual fluctuations in Anarch activities (Sabbat infiltrators). The Camarilla was able to prepare and bring in back up, and the sudden siege was repelled.

Nicholas also decided to run a psychological experiment with his dear Laurena, a ghoul of youth and beauty but decidedly veteran years. Her age and addiction was making her behavior a little…quirky. He slowly weaned her off vitae while maintaining her youth via Temporis. He helped her suffer through the resulting illness, strengthening her will and independence. But after a few years, she began to relapse into quivering, shaking, nerve-wracked dependence, and he placed her back on the Blood Bond. At least he learned that she still was capable of acting on her own, that she was no mindless drone.

Unchecked Barbarism

Once again in the 1980s he opted to intervene on behalf of the Prince Charles. Anarchs (genuine Anarchs, largely false Brujah in composition) were gathering in earnest in St. Louis. He helped expose their hangouts and hideaways to the Prince, and the Camarilla drove them out of the city, relocating them in nearby Independence. At that time, Nicholas began to receive letters from Inconnu Monitors of other cities. Some wanted to discuss philosophical matters, and others simply offered praise for his judicious interventionist policies. During the 90s, his policies were put to the test again as he grew increasingly concerned about Sabbat activity throughout the Midwest. He reported his intuitive worries to Pallas, who passed it on to the rest of the ancients. A Sabbat conquest of the major Midwest cities – Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Topeka, Detroit, and more – could very well shake up the equilibrium of the entire nation.

So Nicholas was reassigned again, this time given the Monitor role of Kansas City. This position was a more consolidated oversight role, and the other Monitors in the Midwest were to report their news to him. He was starting to become “somebody” in the Inconnu even as he maintained a shrewd distance from all other Kindred. Still, he saw an opportunity and excuse to work against the follies of the false Brujah and score more points on behalf of his sire and clan. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was mindless rebellion. As Nicholas wrote in his book on detachment: “men have inalienable rights, but not the inherent capacity to recognize the reciprocal obligation of those rights; in this, most men are like children, and as children must be protected from themselves until understanding of their true place in society matures and blossoms”.

Significant Other


Laurena Thomas has served Nicholas faithfully for centuries. Her loyalty is unquestionable and her efficiency improves annually. He finds her beauty to be easily on par with the nobles of his homeland, and overall considers her irreplaceable and even beloved. She understands him and opens her heart to him willingly despite his detached behavior. Nicholas never takes Laurena for granted, and clearly she appreciates that sentiment. It helps even out any strains their relationship suffers when his vampiric idiosyncrasies rear their ugly heads. He will keep her in this half-life immortality for as long as possible -- forever if need-be. Indeed, the Inconnu does not keep her constantly Blood Bound and ghouled, limiting her aging process with Temporis instead. Her affection for her master is more genuine than some might think, and that tempers the oddities she develops, as she survives far longer than a human should.

But it is rarely physical debilities that cause ancient ghouls to finally take their own lives. Laurena was eventually overwhelmed with apathy and emotional dissonance adding up from the ages. She committed suicide upon October 1st, 2010, Year of Our Lord, and Nicholas has mourned her every night since. That is...until she manifested before him. Sorrowful, she expressed herself as a ghost, and this mournful spirit earned the vampire's rare joy. Together again...sort of...their long lives persist.

Laurena

Weakness
Intellectual Distance


Nicholas tries to judge on an objective but moral basis. Yet he is as cold and distant as all True Brujah. How can he truly relate?

Likelihood of Corruption


High.

Though Nicholas doesn’t poke around evil spirits, he’s vulnerable to corruption from within. His cold and uncaring ways only worsen as time wears on and his Humanity gradually falters despite his codes of honor.

Links

Character Stats

Character Profiles

Deus Ex Machina

E-mail me!

Main Character Hub

Back to Game Hub