Background
Jul. 7th, 2009 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aidan_vilandrieName: Aidan Vilantrie
Nature: Visionary-Conniver
Embrace: 1322, 14th Century
Demeanor: Curmudgeon
Clan: Tremere
Generation: sixth generation
Concept: Having broken with traditional Tremere ranks for the most part, his only route to survival and advancement is by making a niche for himself with his specialized skills. Aidan used to pander his magical prowess with all the insistence of a jaded street hustler who sees others like flies that need their wings ripped out, even though he maintained a veneer of civility towards them, at least, until he sweeps the power from under them. To get ahead, he will have to continue sharpening his skills and become more indispensable then the loathing that comes with the rumors surrounding him, while at the same time seeming harmless to the rest of the Tremere--good luck with that.
Alignment: Sinner
House: Horned Society (allows non-Kindred members. Ultra-secretive)
Historical Context: Aidan's father's side of the family, originating from Rome, came to find itself in France when the Empire's Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls. Born in 1289AD, his traditions were soaked in a plethora of religious rites of the day and oral traditions passed down from his mother's side of the family. His mother descended from Mesopotamia and had already been branded to be used by the Baali who, rumours say, had unleashed the plague that spread throughout the world. Her traditions were never written down and it was a good thing considering the social and religious context at the time. "France in the 1300's was a grim dark stain of human suffering. The 14th Century was a time of turmoil, diminished expectations, loss of confidence in institutions, and feelings of helplessness at forces beyond human control. What scholars call the "little ice age" occurred in Europe and In France crops failed after heavy rains in 1315; there were widespread famine, reports of cannibalism, and epidemics". This was also the century of Black Death and France was not spared its undo suffering. By January 1348 it penetrated France via Marseille, and it spread westward from Marseille through the ports of Languedoc and northward up the Rhone to Avignon, where it arrived in March. It reached Narbonne, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Toulouse between February and May, and at the same time in Italy spread to Rome and Florence and their hinterlands. Between June and August it reached Bordeaux, Lyon, and Paris, spread to Burgundy and Normandy, and crossed the Channel. France was also drowning in the Seven Years War (1337-1450). In these dark times the church was hardly a comfort and institutions were failing as well.
It was in this excrement of human suffering that Aidan was born, raised and made Cainite. Let us say that it left an indelible stain on him.
Background: Despite the dearth of mathematical and scientific query in these times, Aidan--gifted with an avant-garde visionary intelligence-- was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist. He also devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. His passion was to decipher and reconstitute the teachings by the Pythagorean Cults based on a scroll that he received by a fellow enthusiast who never agreed on a meeting of minds unless it was at night. Working obsessively on the scroll, Aidan was able to decipher it and learn of its teachings, which seemed to please his fellow enthusiast. However, one night the scroll vanished and Aidan was so infuriated that he stormed into the mans home close to sunset ready to accuse him of thievery (and do much worse). What he found was a room filled with the most blasphemous arcane texts on the occult, math, philosophy, astronomy and magic that were not known to the world at that time. His fingers curled around the Nominis Inferni, a hardbound pamphlet of sorts and he ran.Two oddly peaceful nights fell where he could read the fragment on demonology. Within it, it contained references to The Abyss and True Names for several diabolic entities, but also one being of at least archdemon status. These things he did not understand. On the third night, while he was feverishly copying the text, the man who he had stolen it from simply appeared in his house holding the Pythagorean scroll. "You have a thirst for knowledge." He said. "I will give you something to rival that."
And so began Aidan's unlife among the Tremere.
Early years 14th/15th Century: Like all Tremere, Aidan first became an apprentice, resenting being seen as a neonate peon by his mentor and sire, but bidding his thoughts of their destruction by learning from them. However, if they thought that they would string him along by teaching him 'just enough', they were wrong. Chantry libraries across Europe became his intellectual buffet and he savoured each tome like some exotic blood. Although the Tremere maxim, Knowledge is the Prelude of Power rang true, he knew that first Knowledge was the Prelude to Practice. Shortly after having been turned, Aidan noticed that despite being in the middle of a plague ridden town, his mother and a few others seemed to be a pocket of resistance that survived the disease. Through his investigation, Aidan came in contact with a few members of clan Baali, one of which who said "should the wiles of knowledge from the Tremere ever lose their charms or the well of knowledge run dry, serve us and we will birth you into a world that your Warlocks cannot fathom." Most of that pocket of Baali were found and killed as a result of his loyalty to the Tremere. However, Aidan still keeps contacts within some members of Clan Baali. Secretly, of course.
Sometime in this time frame, the book that started it all for him, the Nominis Inferni, was lost to the agents of the Arcanum during the inquisition. He and a group of other Tremere were sent to retrieve it, but it was never to be found. Whispers of its survival only recently began surfacing again umong Tremere circles in modern nights.
16th/17th Century: The Age of Knowledge bored one who thought that he knew it all. John Dee was not as exciting when you knew some of the things that Aidan came to understand a century earlier (and yet, his admirable knowledge still caught the interest of the Tremere whom collected Dee into their ranks). Still, Aidan was obsessed with knowledge and continued to throw himself into the study and practice of the occult and demonology (mind you, not infernalism as it is understood by the Baali). Unlike some of his more cloistered scholarly associates within the Tremere that only concerned themselves with thaumaturgy, Aidan, like a good anthropologist of Kindred society, traveled to see what sort of arcane knowledge the other clans possessed based on rumors and conjecture that he heard within his own clan and Kindred social circles. He succeeded with mixed results, but came to one conclusion: the clans of the Camerilla, aside from the Tremere were mostly devoid of any worthwhile pursuits of magical knowledge. It was then that Aidan began actively seeking out and making contacts within other occult inclined clans within the Sabbat such as the Lasombra, Tzimisce and other clans like the Setites and the Assamites (a dangerous and not simple task considering the hostility that exists between the Tremere and come of these groups). It is early in this century that rumors arise that he was recruited into the Horned Society, a highly secretive house devoted to infernalism and composed of vampires from many clans not only the Tremere. Aidan takes away lessons that are useful to his pursuits and negates the rest. What can he say? With age comes wisdom and his ego would never allow him to grovel at anyones feet, much less a demons.
18th/19th Century: Aidan is given a student to mentor in the form of a former Parisian courtesan Catherine De Volanges. This political protégée and devoted pupil of Marc de Vaubernier is being groomed as a spy for the Regent and Aidan utterly resents having to teach her until her own curiosity for the dark arts and her drive make her amicable. At first she is sent to him because she is a spy and is meant to report on him. She is meant to keep him in line with the Tremere, whose structures he has pulled away from in the last century for the most part. After awhile, they are irreparably inseparable, their mutual philosophies, characters, mind-sets and ambitions driving them forward together. Although untrained in any serious operational capacity like Catherine, Aidan helps her on missions where his expertise is needed. In Cruel Intentions, he was the one who secured the Assamite poison for Catherine and then helps her dispose of it. Jealous to fault, Aidan "helps" to end Catherine's "errant ways" when she falls in love with a Ventrue by bringing the indiscretion to the attention of her sire, Marc de Vaubernier. Unaware of his treachery and disgraced in the eyes of her sire, she nearly falls to the bottom of the Pyramid, offering to find the Nominis Inferni at all costs if Aidan helps her climb back up to the top. He, with a few moments pause for dramatic effect, obliges. She had yet to settle her "debt" to him on this matter.
Nature: Visionary-Conniver
Embrace: 1322, 14th Century
Demeanor: Curmudgeon
Clan: Tremere
Generation: sixth generation
Concept: Having broken with traditional Tremere ranks for the most part, his only route to survival and advancement is by making a niche for himself with his specialized skills. Aidan used to pander his magical prowess with all the insistence of a jaded street hustler who sees others like flies that need their wings ripped out, even though he maintained a veneer of civility towards them, at least, until he sweeps the power from under them. To get ahead, he will have to continue sharpening his skills and become more indispensable then the loathing that comes with the rumors surrounding him, while at the same time seeming harmless to the rest of the Tremere--good luck with that.
Alignment: Sinner
House: Horned Society (allows non-Kindred members. Ultra-secretive)
Historical Context: Aidan's father's side of the family, originating from Rome, came to find itself in France when the Empire's Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls. Born in 1289AD, his traditions were soaked in a plethora of religious rites of the day and oral traditions passed down from his mother's side of the family. His mother descended from Mesopotamia and had already been branded to be used by the Baali who, rumours say, had unleashed the plague that spread throughout the world. Her traditions were never written down and it was a good thing considering the social and religious context at the time. "France in the 1300's was a grim dark stain of human suffering. The 14th Century was a time of turmoil, diminished expectations, loss of confidence in institutions, and feelings of helplessness at forces beyond human control. What scholars call the "little ice age" occurred in Europe and In France crops failed after heavy rains in 1315; there were widespread famine, reports of cannibalism, and epidemics". This was also the century of Black Death and France was not spared its undo suffering. By January 1348 it penetrated France via Marseille, and it spread westward from Marseille through the ports of Languedoc and northward up the Rhone to Avignon, where it arrived in March. It reached Narbonne, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Toulouse between February and May, and at the same time in Italy spread to Rome and Florence and their hinterlands. Between June and August it reached Bordeaux, Lyon, and Paris, spread to Burgundy and Normandy, and crossed the Channel. France was also drowning in the Seven Years War (1337-1450). In these dark times the church was hardly a comfort and institutions were failing as well.
It was in this excrement of human suffering that Aidan was born, raised and made Cainite. Let us say that it left an indelible stain on him.
Background: Despite the dearth of mathematical and scientific query in these times, Aidan--gifted with an avant-garde visionary intelligence-- was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist. He also devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. His passion was to decipher and reconstitute the teachings by the Pythagorean Cults based on a scroll that he received by a fellow enthusiast who never agreed on a meeting of minds unless it was at night. Working obsessively on the scroll, Aidan was able to decipher it and learn of its teachings, which seemed to please his fellow enthusiast. However, one night the scroll vanished and Aidan was so infuriated that he stormed into the mans home close to sunset ready to accuse him of thievery (and do much worse). What he found was a room filled with the most blasphemous arcane texts on the occult, math, philosophy, astronomy and magic that were not known to the world at that time. His fingers curled around the Nominis Inferni, a hardbound pamphlet of sorts and he ran.Two oddly peaceful nights fell where he could read the fragment on demonology. Within it, it contained references to The Abyss and True Names for several diabolic entities, but also one being of at least archdemon status. These things he did not understand. On the third night, while he was feverishly copying the text, the man who he had stolen it from simply appeared in his house holding the Pythagorean scroll. "You have a thirst for knowledge." He said. "I will give you something to rival that."
And so began Aidan's unlife among the Tremere.
Early years 14th/15th Century: Like all Tremere, Aidan first became an apprentice, resenting being seen as a neonate peon by his mentor and sire, but bidding his thoughts of their destruction by learning from them. However, if they thought that they would string him along by teaching him 'just enough', they were wrong. Chantry libraries across Europe became his intellectual buffet and he savoured each tome like some exotic blood. Although the Tremere maxim, Knowledge is the Prelude of Power rang true, he knew that first Knowledge was the Prelude to Practice. Shortly after having been turned, Aidan noticed that despite being in the middle of a plague ridden town, his mother and a few others seemed to be a pocket of resistance that survived the disease. Through his investigation, Aidan came in contact with a few members of clan Baali, one of which who said "should the wiles of knowledge from the Tremere ever lose their charms or the well of knowledge run dry, serve us and we will birth you into a world that your Warlocks cannot fathom." Most of that pocket of Baali were found and killed as a result of his loyalty to the Tremere. However, Aidan still keeps contacts within some members of Clan Baali. Secretly, of course.
Sometime in this time frame, the book that started it all for him, the Nominis Inferni, was lost to the agents of the Arcanum during the inquisition. He and a group of other Tremere were sent to retrieve it, but it was never to be found. Whispers of its survival only recently began surfacing again umong Tremere circles in modern nights.
16th/17th Century: The Age of Knowledge bored one who thought that he knew it all. John Dee was not as exciting when you knew some of the things that Aidan came to understand a century earlier (and yet, his admirable knowledge still caught the interest of the Tremere whom collected Dee into their ranks). Still, Aidan was obsessed with knowledge and continued to throw himself into the study and practice of the occult and demonology (mind you, not infernalism as it is understood by the Baali). Unlike some of his more cloistered scholarly associates within the Tremere that only concerned themselves with thaumaturgy, Aidan, like a good anthropologist of Kindred society, traveled to see what sort of arcane knowledge the other clans possessed based on rumors and conjecture that he heard within his own clan and Kindred social circles. He succeeded with mixed results, but came to one conclusion: the clans of the Camerilla, aside from the Tremere were mostly devoid of any worthwhile pursuits of magical knowledge. It was then that Aidan began actively seeking out and making contacts within other occult inclined clans within the Sabbat such as the Lasombra, Tzimisce and other clans like the Setites and the Assamites (a dangerous and not simple task considering the hostility that exists between the Tremere and come of these groups). It is early in this century that rumors arise that he was recruited into the Horned Society, a highly secretive house devoted to infernalism and composed of vampires from many clans not only the Tremere. Aidan takes away lessons that are useful to his pursuits and negates the rest. What can he say? With age comes wisdom and his ego would never allow him to grovel at anyones feet, much less a demons.
18th/19th Century: Aidan is given a student to mentor in the form of a former Parisian courtesan Catherine De Volanges. This political protégée and devoted pupil of Marc de Vaubernier is being groomed as a spy for the Regent and Aidan utterly resents having to teach her until her own curiosity for the dark arts and her drive make her amicable. At first she is sent to him because she is a spy and is meant to report on him. She is meant to keep him in line with the Tremere, whose structures he has pulled away from in the last century for the most part. After awhile, they are irreparably inseparable, their mutual philosophies, characters, mind-sets and ambitions driving them forward together. Although untrained in any serious operational capacity like Catherine, Aidan helps her on missions where his expertise is needed. In Cruel Intentions, he was the one who secured the Assamite poison for Catherine and then helps her dispose of it. Jealous to fault, Aidan "helps" to end Catherine's "errant ways" when she falls in love with a Ventrue by bringing the indiscretion to the attention of her sire, Marc de Vaubernier. Unaware of his treachery and disgraced in the eyes of her sire, she nearly falls to the bottom of the Pyramid, offering to find the Nominis Inferni at all costs if Aidan helps her climb back up to the top. He, with a few moments pause for dramatic effect, obliges. She had yet to settle her "debt" to him on this matter.
