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« on: January 05, 2015, 09:05:29 pm »
History
Ceoris was once a simple chantry held by House Tremere of the Order of Hermes. Existing under a common set of laws, but divided into various groups (or Houses), the magi wielded great power and extended their life spans through imbibing magical elixirs. Their studies and magical workings took them all over Europe, and wherever they found access to large amounts of magical essences (called vis), they built chantries to house their covens. Due to the highly magical nature of many spots through¬ out Transylvania, several Tremere chantries were founded there — including Ceoris. The magi realized that they shared the land with supernatural creatures such as werewolves and faeries, but most chantries weren't too close to such creatures' lairs, so they felt secure from attack. Rather than building castles, they constructed houses of learning, more like universities than fortresses.
Most relied on their magic to protect themselves. Lack of central authority in the region allowed the magi to locate their chantries near several small villages, offering the folk there protection and assistance in return for supplies, guards and the right to search for apprentices. Many folk readily agreed, glad for any protection against supernatural threats and human marauders. Others were too apprehensive of the magi themselves to deny them, fearful that the "agents of evil" would harm their loved ones or raze their villages if they refused.
Ceoris, too, encompassed several villages under its dominion, but in all else, this singular covenant house proved the exception.
This main chantry of the Tremere was constructed as a fortress meant to defend against the werewolves and vampyrs who frequented the area. The magical emanations near Ceoris made founding the chantry there worthwhile, despite the threat. In fact, the whole of the region known as Transylvania throbbed with mighty magic, as if the land itself was a nucleus for power. Although Ceoris fell nominally under the control of the powerful magus Tremere, a founder of the Order ofHermes and head of the House, actual leadership and much of the daily work fell to two trusted lieutenants: Goratrix and Etrius. Goratrix, the senior mage in charge of Ceoris's defense, recruited experienced fighting men to guard the exterior fortifications. Furthermore, he oversaw extensive tunneling into the peak on which the fortress rested, opening new rooms and caverns for the chantry's use. Indeed, most ofthe edifice was built inside the core of the mountain itself.
More elaborate precautions were suggested by Etrius, a cautious and conservative young magus from Sweden. At his command, magical workings created a cleft hundreds of feet deep in the ground before the gates — a cleft spanned only by the fortress's drawbridge. Towers carved from the rock served as lookout posts to give warning of impending danger. Goratrix, acknowledged as chief architect for the chantry's defenses, became the butt of snide comments from the magi of other chantries, who accused him of lacking faith in his powers to defend his covenant.
The Tremere-Tzimisce War
Still, such defensive measures proved prudent. Certain Transylvanians were less than pleased with the magi's encroachment on lands and villages they considered their own. The Tzimisce resented the chantries and punished the arrogance of House Tremere by making raids on their villages, on their supplies, and occasionally on the chantries themselves.
Although annoyed and at times frightened by the attacks, the magi were not unduly worried. Their magick held off the worst depredations without great harm to themselves or their chantries. They were able to ward the whole area in some cases, denying access to the Tzimisce and their ghoul servants. Embittered by their inability to drive House Tremere away, the Tzimisce vowed to find some way around the wizards' magic.
They finally got their chance. The Order of Hermes, in the year 1000, noted that reality itself was changing, disturbing the workings of magic as it did so. Investigation indicated that magic was dying, making the casting of great enchantments far more difficult (if at all possible) and destroying much of the vis on which the mages depended to help power their spells. With such a lack of power looming on the immediate horizon, mages were faced with the loss of their greatest gift — their immortality.
Tremere and his followers began experiments immediately, searching for some way to halt the inevitable change or at least to preserve their immortality. They tried rare herbs, parts of mythic beasts, virgins and even infant's blood, but were unsuccessful. Then Goratrix, reasoning that they had evidence of other immortal creatures in their midst, began studying the undead. He discovered the haven of a Tzimisce elder and, with Tremere's blessing, captured the creature.
Bound with strong chains and spells of binding, tortured with fire, threatened with an even more dire fate, but promised its freedom if it cooperated, the Tzimisce answered the questions Goratrix asked of him. When he believed he had learned enough, Goratrix forced the Cainite to Embrace two young, unsuspecting apprentices. Once changed, Goratrix made them prisoner and carried them back to Ceoris. He slew the Tzimisce.
The Becoming
Many experiments later, Goratrix told Tremere he had discovered the secret of the vampyr's immortality. Tremere and six of his closest followers joined Goratrix at Ceoris, where they performed exhausting rituals. At the close of these rituals, the magi slaughtered the apprentices and drank their blood. They collapsed in agony as the magical transformation occurred. When they regained consciousness, they were immortal.
They were also Cainites.
Some were shocked; and some, like Etrius, were appalled. Tremere, however, philosophically accepted the change. Sending his followers back to their chantries, Tremere commanded them to begin slowly changing the rest of the House while keeping their natures hidden from the majority. Tremere, Goratrix and Etrius remained at Ceoris, learning what they could of Cainites, to better fit in with their new society. Etrius began to doubt Tremere. The pious mage was convinced that they had made a dreadful bargain in gaining immortality at the cost of their souls, and that Tremere had known it would
happen. Nevertheless, as Tremere's most faithful disciple, Etrius continued to support him.
The Tzimisce soon discovered that the hated Tremere had become Cainites. The Fiends allied with the Gangrel and Nosferatu, fearing that the wizards would move to gain complete control of Transylvania, and outraged that mere humans dared steal the Embrace rather than earn it. Together they attacked House Tremere's Transylvanian chantries, determined to destroy them. Magic was becoming unstable and undependable. Chantries that had thrown off attacks with ease now fell before the fleshcrafted servants of the Tzimisce.
As more and more covenants disappeared, the few survivors fled to the fastness of Ceoris — their one fortified chantry. Reeling from their losses, House Tremere faced another crisis from within. The Cainite members of the House were slowly spreading their curse throughout the covenants, yet certain magi suspected that something evil was happening.
Goratrix, ever impatient, argued for the immediate Embrace of all members of the House; Etrius, concerned with learning the limits of his powers and the extent of his magical abilities, counseled stealth and slow change. Opposition erupted into hatred and Etrius became the target of numerous magical attacks. Magi took sides, and war within the House threatened to erupt. Such animosities attracted the attention of other Houses in the Order, and House Tremere soon had to defend itself from charges of diabolism.
Tremere called the seven together to end the quarrels. Although they have vehemently denied it since that time, Tremere forced his seven followers to accept Blood Bonds to him, the first step in creating what would come to be known as the Tremere pyramid. With the internal disputes put aside, ifnot solved, Etrius left with Tremere to try to discover more about Cainite society.The magi within Ceoris, alone and under siege, turned their attention to war with the Tzimisce. Frantically searching for some way to protect the chantry, Goratrix sent out suicide squads to capture Tzimisce, Gangrel and Nosferatu.
His research was again fruitful. He learned how to craft a new type of creature from the captive Cainites after feverish experimentation. The tide of war began to turn after the unleashing of Goratrix's creations — the Gargoyles.
Hideously ugly and imbued with hatred for the Cainites from whom they had been created, the Gargoyles proved fierce and able servitors. The siege was broken, but the war continued, as each side made lightning raids by night and sent servants to battle one another by day. No quarter was asked or given, and the mortals caught pity in between.
Amaranth: The Slaying of Saulot
Seeing the Gargoyles' success in dealing with the Tzimisce threat, Tremere and Etrius studied the beginnings of the Cainites. They discovered that each of the clans claimed descent from a progenitor, an ancient Cainite known as an Antediluvian. Further research revealed that drinking the blood of a vampire closer to Caine gave the imbiber the victim's strength and powers. Despite his misgivings about further blackening their souls, Etrius assisted Tremere in his research, miraculously uncovering the resting places of several of these sleeping ancients. In a series of adventures, Tremere and his disciples attacked and slew several resting Methuselahs, ancient Cainites that had existed since the world was young. In this manner, the fledgling vampires became close to Caine, and their newly developed blood magic increased in potency.
This was not enough for Tremere. He believed that assuming the powers of an Antediluvian (and thus, becoming on himself) would put his new clan of Cainites on an equal footing with the other clans, therefore, allowing them to take their place in Cainite society.
Accordingly, he chose Saulot — enigmatic founder of the strange and mysterious Salubri — as his victim in 1133. Though the elder seemed lightly guarded, Tremere gathered his seven assistants together and brought them to Saulot's tomb. Surprised by the lack of real resistance to their attack, they found Saulot's sleeping form within a great sarcophagus. Tremere leapt on him and began to drink. The Salubri founder barely fought, soon surrendering to the Amaranth and dying, apparently peacefully. When Tremere pulled away from the body, however, he saw that a third eye had opened on Saulot's forehead, an eye that peacefully gazed at the Antediluvian's murderer. Although none spoke of the third eye, Etrius found himself trembling with fear, for it had long represented the seat of all magical power. Tremere began slipping into long periods of slumber soon after this. Knowing he might be trapped in torpor in the near future, Tremere split his seven disciples and assigned each a portion of the world to oversee.
They were to be the guides and overseers of the new Clan Tremere, their first duty being the Embrace of the remaining House Tremere magi. Goratrix went to France, Meerlinda to the British Isles, and the rest spread throughout Europe. Etrius, the cautious and trustworthy one, was put in charge of the administration of Ceoris and Transylvanian affairs. Further, he was to become the guardian of the sleeping Tremere. Ever faithful, Etrius holds that position against the Tzimisce and their allies, even as the other members of the Order of Hermes begin to realize what their fellow magi have become.
That discovery lies just over the horizon. House Tremere's ruse will be over in 1201. The other Houses in the Order of Hermes will discover House Tremere's Cainite nature, and war with their former fellows will begin. It will not end for almost 80 years, when attrition from the Inquisition (whose attention is attracted due to the ongoing warfare) forces the cessation of hostilities.
The fortress of Ceoris serves as one of House Tremere's main chantries. Maintained under the pretense that the magi within are still human, the Cainites of Ceoris slowly carry out Tremere's commands and infect those still unchanged. Meanwhile, the war with the Tzimisce drags on and Ceoris must maintain itself. Ceoris has assumed an importance far beyond its original purpose in the wake of the war. Even now, enlargement of the mighty fortress and improvements to its defenses continue.
Ceoris must somehow accommodate the influx of magi fleeing destroyed chantries in the region while providing secure resting places for its Cainite inhabitants. Other improvements are also being made, such as turning Ceoris's caves into lairs for the Gargoyles; creating new laboratories for experimentation deep in the mountain, where the "unturned" will not stumble upon them; and providing a secure and warded area to hold Tremere's helpless form as it lies in torpor.
Although much of the chantry is finished, ongoing work makes it an ever-changing environment, one that few of the residents have fully explored. Interestingly, because most of the chantry lies underground, few of the magi ever have the chance to spend much time in the open air. This lends them a pallor that the Cainites among them take full advantage. Their pale faces don't stand out quite so much in this environment. Aside from their Cainite enemies (and the occasional foray by misguided Church emissaries who seek to destroy the "demon sorcerers"), the magi of Ceoris must keep an eye trained on Bulgaria and Constantinople, watching for attempts to conquer Them and their highly strategic stronghold. Additionally, though their main focus is on Cainite foes, the Lupine Sept of the Night Sky can prove to be a nuisance. Thankfully, the wizards' defenses have taught the werewolves to keep their distance.
The Key to Power
Magi are inquisitive and scholarly folk who might stumble upon almost any information in the course of their studies. Therefore, no one has thought to question how Goratrix discovered a ritual that would grant mortals immortality by drinking Cainite blood. Drinking Cainite blood merely turns mortals into ghouls in most cases.
Drinking from the same Cainite three times enslaves the ghoul via the Blood Oath- How, then, did Goratrix invent a ritual that went so far beyond the usual effect? Furthermore, how did Tremere and his followers power such a ritual when magic was dying all around them?
When Tremere and Etrius discovered the resting places of various Antediluvians, how did they do so? Why had no other Cainites ever fell upon such knowledge and used it to their advantage?
The answer to both questions may lie with the source of Transylvania's powerful magic, the heart of the demon Kupala. The influence of the demon has spread madness and chaos throughout the region for centuries. Madness is sometimes accompanied by incisive thought and penetrating insight. Perhaps Kupala's heart triggered such revelations, gifting Tremere and Goratrix with knowledge they could have discovered nowhere else.
Are the Tremere mad, then, just as the Malkavians are? Or is the demon content that the' Tremere'S existence alone has spread chaos and warfare over the whole of Transylvania? Do the Tremere ultimately serve Kupala ? Or is Clan"Tremere ultimately destined to destroy the demon and assume its power for themselves? How many members/of the Usurper Clan even know of the demon's existence? And if most members know nothing about it, who will tell them?
