Kiasyd Bloodline

Introduction

A bloodline of the Lasombra Clan, the Kiasyd are secretive and obsessive occultists and scholars. Territorial and xenophobic, they tend to operate only within networks of other Kiasyd and even then rarely on a face-to-face basis. The Kiasyd are excellent sources of hard-to-find academic or occult lore. They tend to be observers rather than taking an active part in Kindred politics. They jealously guard their knowledge and their private collections. While a Kiasyd’s home is open to visiting members of the bloodline, Kiasyd tend to be viciously territorial, and most cities house one member of the bloodline at most. If one encounters two Kiasyd together, it is likely an elder with their childe, who may study with the elders for upwards of 50 years. Eventually, however, the time will come with the childe will seek their own haven, almost always in a different community.

Noted for their impeccable manners, vast knowledge of ancient and forgotten lore, and unearthly appearance, the Kiasyd typically embrace scholars pulled from the ranks of the best and brightest. In the Dark Ages, this would almost certainly pull heavily from the clergy and from church-dominated universities. The Kiasyd have a highly formal organizational structure. Every 50 years, all Kiasyd attend the Great Symposium, a formal affair at the haven of a duly selected member of the bloodline, where they discuss new lores they’ve unearthed and new mysteries they’ve unraveled. As a result of the power of their blood, Kiasyd are exceptionally tall. Their odd appearance includes chalk-white skin, which tends to glow faintly blue in the moonlight, and solid black eyes. Their uncanny visage has led them to be often referred to as “Weirdlings” by other Kindred.

The bloodline’s clan discipline is Mytherceria, drawn from the strange mingling of Kindred and Fae blood, which encompasses a heightened talent for acquiring arcane knowledge. The discipline also makes them experts at creating and solving riddles, and predisposed to understand the Fae’s antics.

History of the Clan

To most outside the clan, the origins of the Kiasyd are shrouded in some degree of mystery. They are known to be a bloodline of the Lasombra, begotten from some sort of strange inter-breeding between the Lasombra and Fae.

Marconius was the first of the Kiasyd bloodline. Originally of Clan Lasombra, during the reign of Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (360-363 CE), he was transformed into the first of his bloodline when he imbibed a potion made from the blood of Zeernebooch, allegedly a “god of the underworld”. Unbeknownst to Marconius, however, the potion actually contained the blood of sidhe and eshu Kithain. The Fae blood mingled with the legacy of Caine’s curse and transformed Marconius into the first of the Kiasyd – he grew taller, his skin took on the bluish-tinged white typical of the bloodline, and his eyes darkened to black, stretching outwards and elongating. Marconius vanished shortly after his metamorphosis. According to legend, he was banished from the region, and no trace of the Kiasyd progenitor can be found for the near-millennium between his transformation and reappearance in Strasbourg – rumor has it that the reigning elders at the time sought to have the Fae deal with him in some way. But the Fae adopted Marconius, assisting him with his research. His bloodline grew, as the Autumn Court accepted the Kiasyd as one of their own.

Marconius reappeared in Strasbourg in the late 12th century, where he took the city’s princedom from the Ventrue with the aid of his brood of childer. This event brought the Kiasyd’s existence into the light and into the attentions of the Lasombra. Some Kiasyd were accepted by the Lasombra to study in their libraries, and a truce was struck between the bloodline and the parent clan.

Geography

The Kiasyd stronghold is in Strasbourg, in North-Eastern France. Apart from this Kiasyd are known to spend much time in the Lasombra libraries, as well as travelling across Europe in search of ancient and forgotten knowledge.

Important Figures of the Clan

• Marconius, the progenitor of the bloodline, originally of the Lasombra. Prince of Strasbourg beginning in the late 12th century.
• Bartholomew, childe of Marconius.

Typical Roads for Members of the Clan

• Road of Kings – Path of Vizier, Path of Chivalry
• Road of Night
• Road of Humanity

Priorities of the Clan

To seek knowledge that has been lost, to answer the unanswerable questions, and to discover the weave and weft of the enigma of the world through unraveling the most ancient mysteries.

Opinions

Humans: A necessary nuisance, far too often blind to the world around them. Those who do open their eyes wide enough to see the mysteries around them, who display a keen intellect and a desire to learn, may surpass their status as a nuisance to become useful, or even Kindred.

Ghouls: Useful especially when it comes to procuring scrolls and tomes from elsewhere. Because they can pass for far more normal that the Weirdlings, ghouls can be a great boon to a Kiasyd in search of new information.

Other Vampires

Unfortunately far too often blind to the world around them, much like the Kine, with some notable exeptions -

Lasombra – The parent clan, which for the time being has declared a truce with the Kiasyd and allows them to use their libraries. The truce is a curious friendship, with both sides testing the other to some degree.

Brujah – The philosophers, seekers of knowledge but too passionate in their quest. If they could calm their spirits to dedicate themselves to truly rigorous study, then they might have more to offer apart from the occasional insight.

Cappadocian – Scholars of death, these Kindred gain their wisdom from a source yet untapped by most Kiasyd, and one that has the potential to be eminently useful to seekers of ancient knowledge – the dead.

Tremere – Beneficiaries (or victims?) of experimentation, much like the Kiasyd. They guard their intellectual property with nearly the same jealousy as well. Fortunately the intellect they seek is often of a different sort.

Malkavians – There is wisdom in madness, and the Malkavians possess the ability to unravel some of the most enigmatic puzzles. Seeing things differently makes them eminently useful to scholars bent to the task of answering the unanswerable question.

Other Supernaturals

Kiasyd, apart from most other Kindred, are the most likely to have encountered lore of not only Kindred history but of the histories of other supernatural creatures. However, without having actually met any of those supernaturals it is sometimes difficult to discern fact from fiction.

The Fae – Allies, Friends, perhaps even Family. Older Kiasyd may be allied with one of the Fae courts, or simply cling to their Fae heritage as a reminder of the hundreds of years spent in the Fae realms.

Other resources

• Guide to the Sabbat
• Laws of the Night: Sabbat Guide
• Libellus Sanguinis I: Masters of State
• Dark Ages Fae