Lasombra

Lasombra
Plural	Lasombra
Pronounce	luh-SOHM-bra
Nicknames	The Night Clan, Abyss Mystics, Keepers, Magisters, Shadows, Traitors, Turncoats
Antediluvian	Lasombra Antediluvian
Faction	Sabbat
Disciplines	Dominate, Obtenebration, Potence
Bane	Distorted Image or Callousness
Compulsion	Ruthlessness

The leading lights of the Sabbat, Clan Lasombra are shadowy predators and ruthless social climbers.

Overview

The Lasombra exist for their own success, fighting for personal victories rather than solely for a crown to wear or a throne to sit upon. They believe that might makes right, and are willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their goals. A clan that uses spirituality as a tool rather than seeking honest enlightenment, their fickle loyalties are currently highlighted by half their clan's defection from the Sabbat.

History

Early History

Several thousand years ago, a tribe of proto-Maasai people were ordered by a pale spirit to produce a child for him. This child was trained to lead by having every member of the tribe obey him, and he was trained to be loyal by extensive gifts and rewards from the Lasombra Antediluvian. The experiment failed, and Lasombra punished the tribe by wiping out half of its population. Before rerunning the experiment, Lasombra was visited by his child's playmate, Ontai. This shaman-in-training offered his life to Lasombra – in life, death, and beyond, with no price asked. Lasombra, disturbed by the offer and Ontai's already impeccable honor, tested the shaman's resolve by demanding he slaughter his tribe. Ontai obeyed, and a shaken Lasombra called off the execution and embraced Ontai, renaming him Montano, and bringing him to the Mediterranean. Thereafter, Lasombra was always uncertain whether his childe's unswerving honor had gotten the better of him.

In the second millennium B.C., the so-called "Sea Peoples" ravaged all the settled lands around the Mediterranean. The Hyksos even ruled Egypt for two successive dynasties. For a while, the Sea Peoples dominated all commerce in the Mediterranean. Nobody sailed without paying tribute to them or courting destruction. Indeed, around the turn of the millennium, the Sea Peoples played a major part in smashing the Bronze Age civilizations in and around Greece, ushering in an era that more landbound historians like to call a "dark age."

From the very beginning, the Lasombra have been tied to the sea. Sicily, where Lasombra had his lair, was the center of the Clan, from which they inserted themselves into various seafaring cultures that arose. It is said that, after the eruption of Thera, the Lasombra Antediluvian began various lengthy travels, leaving his progeny free to discover the world around them. Reveling in piracy and the freedom of the sea, most Lasombra fought against both Greeks and Romans, refusing to accept the feeding rights of any Cainite overlords. Others traveled to Iberia and the lands of the Roman Republic. Some particular adventurous even traveled so far as China, where their broods still survive secluded and hidden away from the wrathful Cathayans. Together with the Ventrue and Malkavians, the Lasombra clan ruled over the Roman Empire until it dissolved. While the Ventrue left for the north and the Malkavians are seen with suspicion and fear now, the Lasombra remained.

Dark Ages

Clan Lasombra c. 1197-1242

Motto: Morte Ascendō (Latin: "In Death, I Rise")

In medieval times, the Lasombra were centered around the Mediterranean in the feudal realm of the Sea of Shadows as one of the High Clans, headed by their Antediluvian himself. The Lasombra were heavily involved with the religious institutions of this age, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, and with Islam, leading to an internal conflict between the two factions within the Clan that resulted in the Shadow Reconquista in Spain, where both sides battled against each other for control over the peninsula. Most Lasombra had strong ties to the clerics and nobility and were able to utilize them to their own ends.

The Anarch Revolt

According to clan legend, Lasombra]'s last childe, Gratiano de Veronese, was the one who slew the Antediluvian with the aid of a coterie of Assamites, instigating the Anarch Revolt and the resulting chaos (although many Tzimisce challenge that claim). Many Lasombra flocked behind Gratiano, hoping to overthrow their scheming sires and gain their power. Most among them refused the Convention of Thorns, seeing it as submission to the despised Ventrue and the kine without even proper negotiations.

Renaissance

In the early renaissance, the Lasombra had just become the leaders of the Sabbat. Their political and commercial power had weakened and they had turned to more brutal practices, such as piracy, even shifting their focus from the dwindling Spanish kingdoms to Dutch pirates and opportunities in the New World. Their main focuses have been the eradication of the Camarilla, particularly their Lasombra antitribu clansmen.

Modern Nights

Whether they approve or not, Clan Lasombra has changed with the times. Where once the elitist ideals saw that only those of certain lineages, ethnicities or religions were Embraced, the Clan now recruits from all walks of life. Financial influence is now increasingly important to them due to the establishment of the global economy, and the Lasombra are the clan mainly responsible for bankrolling much of the Sabbat's operations in modern nights.

The Lasombra still hunt their hated antitribu, although fewer and fewer exist each night. The fervour with which their brothers are hunted has brought about a change of its own – those antitribu surviving are generally the oldest and wiliest Keepers to still walk the earth.

Organization

Lasombra naturally seek power and authority to prove themselves better than others; as a result, they once formed the bulk of the Sabbat's administrative offices: ducti, prisci, and the like. Tzimisce are more likely to be pack priests, while the Lasombra focus on the practical matters of administration and leadership. The Lasombra operate under the metaphor of "shadows". They do not stand in the limelight, preferring to manipulate others to their own ends while doing as little as possible to make themselves a target. This is not done solely out of fear, but because many Lasombra have domineering and superior personalities that necessitate having someone beneath them. This role is usually filled by mortals; though they are not quite as adept at manipulating the living world as the Ventrue are, those cultures that still revere the Catholic Church often have several generations of Lasombra pulling their strings. Those who find themselves under the control of a Lasombra can expect a demanding and unrewarding experience. Their domitor will use any and all tools available to ensure loyalty, such as the Blood Bond, coercion, physical intimidation, and unapologetic use of Dominate. The wise Lasombra will judge just how much of this force is necessary; too little and the servant is untrustworthy, too much and the servant is spineless and afraid to act when they need to act.

Separate from Sabbat organization, the Lasombra maintain a clan-specific organization, the Friends of the Night, usually called les amies noires (amici noctis during the Dark Ages). While a Lasombra can be in the clan and not a Friend of the Night, all Lasombra who matter are part of the organization. The Friends are something of a formalized favor network within the Lasombra - they grant prestige and prestation, but the most notable feature of the friends are the Courts of Blood which regulate diablerie.

The Lasombra are a clan driven by ambition, and consequently they accept diablerie as a necessary facet of their existence; from the Lasombra perspective, the only tragedy in diablerie is that such an unworthy vampire as the vessel was sired in the first place. The courts regulate diablerie by accepting petitions to diablerize other Lasombra and authorize hunts - these hunts usually have conditions attached because the target must be guilty of something before the hunt is authorized. The court system ensures that diablerie is managed – Lasombra are allowed, if not flat-out encouraged to cannibalize appropriate targets, but those targets must be judged worthy of this attention by a court before the attack can take place. In the turbulence of modern nights, it is unclear how this practice will survive as the Friends of Night seek admittance to the Ivory Tower.

Culture

Our clan has a long heritage of leadership in a very primal and pure sense. We do not soil ourselves with the petty details of reckoning every little scrap; we command and seize. — Unnamed Paladin

Lasombra are fiercely predatory creatures, and the Lasombra mindset is defined by an embrace of darkness itself. The Lasombra firmly believe that power is best held by the most worthy, and that the primary test of worthiness is acquiring said power. As a result, they are predatory, backstabbing, power-hungry and unapologetically arrogant about their position. Needless to say, the Lasombra and Ventrue despise each other. Historically, the two clans have sought out parallel dominions – the Lasombra focused on the Mediterranean, the Ventrue on Germany. The Lasombra went to the Church, the Ventrue went to the state. The Lasombra went to the Sabbat, the Ventrue to the Camarilla. And finally, the Ventrue deduce their claim of rulership over all Cainites through their lineage from the first of the Third Generation, while the Lasombra claim leadership over them as the Clan who first managed to slay their Antediluvian founder. With the Lasombra defection from the Sabbat, many Ventrue delight at the opportunity to lord over a clan they have struggled against for centuries, but the Magisters themselves see this as an opportunity to turn the Ventrue's arrogance against them. They become advisors, bodyguards, and regents to Ventrue Princes, dethroning the weakened Tremere and slighting the undervalued Toreador without directly threatening the sceptre that the Clan of Kings holds so dear; the Lasombra know that you don't need to sit on the throne to control the kingdom.

Lasombra pride themselves on doing things with style and elegance. That does not mean they all dress alike, act alike or furnish their havens the same way. Almost anything can be elegant. One of the classic Lasombra virtues is the gift of exposition, allowing one vampire to explain to others why this particular choice is in fact elegant. The clan favors its members who can articulate their preferences in a persuasive manner. The clan frowns on efforts to shock – unless they work. Managing to introduce something so unfamiliar that it tramples on existing assumptions and yet, with explanation, manages to fit clan imperatives is one way to win a great deal of honor.

That stated, the Lasombra embrace of the Mediterranean and the Church has left odd marks on their clan culture. Many Lasombra are drawn to the ultimate darkness at the depths of the ocean. Even now, the Lasombra are prone to some ancestral Catholicism, notable figures such as Archbishop Ambrosio Luis Monçada still view the world in Catholic terms - they believe in God and their own damnation with equal certainty. Elder Lasombra in particular place a strong emphasis on confession, although without redemption.

Since their beginning, the Clan has extremely strong ties to the sea; some speculate that this fascination stems from the Antediluvian's experience of the Deluge and marks his beginning of fascination with the Abyss. The compulsion to spend time around dark tides comes even as many generations remove from the Antediluvian. It is not uncommon for Elder Lasombra to resettle to the coastlines and one day to venture into the flood and to never re-emerge from it.

The Lasombra are also noted for a strong fascination with chess; the game serves as a metaphor for Vampiric existence (or at least, as the Lasombra see it), and consequently any Lasombra who plans to get anywhere in the clan is proficient in the game.

Finally, something must be said about the impact that the lost visage has on the Lasombra. The clan weakness makes it impossible for a Lasombra to ever see his own image again – mirrors, photography, and other reflective media fail, and the Lasombra react to this problem in a variety of ways. Clan culture places a strong emphasis on not overreacting to this problem – it is generally acceptable to sit for a portrait every few years, but extreme reactions (such as hiring a Tzimisce to flesh sculpt a ghoul) is considered a breach of good taste and grounds for diablerie.

Embraces

As with any clan, Lasombra sires look for mortals who suit their ideals. They have no time for weakness, and feel the only way to survive is to excel, to cut away the trappings of sympathy and petty morality wherever they might slow down the Lasombra's ascent to power. Those who fight against the odds, survive dangerous situations, and exist at the pinnacle of excellence draw the eyes of the Lasombra upon them. The Magisters describe their Embrace tradition as “targeting those fit for more than a simple human life.”

Sociopaths, counter-culturalists, deviants, and scarred survivors all hold appeal for the Lasombra. Anyone who can say they have seen the dark on the other side, and subsequently came back stronger, is a potential candidate for the Embrace. Many become vampires obsessed with the accumulation of social power, prepared to mislead and use mortals to elevate themselves. Others were like that before the Embrace, with such pragmatic traits leading to their ascent in Lasombra eyes.

When a Lasombra finds a mortal who seems to hold the potential for greatness as a vampire, it is common for the Keeper to decide to 'test' that mortal to see if they can rise to the occasion, or if they will instead crumble under the weight of the Lasombra's attention. These tests will feel like the victim's life is falling apart, as they lose their job and opportunities, become alienated from friends and family, or even suffer great physical harm at the hands of the monster. How they react is what matters, whether they become strong or reveal themselves to be pitiful. That is what decides whether they are left in the ruins, or brought into the night.

As a rule of thumb, Sabbat Lasombra generally didn't Embrace many shovelheads. While becoming True Sabbat after being shovelheaded is a sign of talent, Lasombra often prefer to be choosy.

Relationship with Ghouls

Many Lasombra loathe the idea of ghouls with a passion. To them, a mortal in the world of Cainites is as absurd as a poodle putting on a tutu and walking around on its hind legs. Due to their command of Potence and Dominate, mortals are laughably easy to control, both physically and mentally; how could the Lasombra possibly respect or value such a pathetically weak and frail thing? As a consequence, the ghoul of a Lasombra is typically a sniveling and timid wretch, living in terror of a single mistake which could end their lives. Unfortunately the Lasombra's shared Bane makes ghouls such a fact of unlife that few can avoid using them for one purpose or another.

Lasombra ghouls tend to fall into two broad categories. The first are the raft of accountants, lawyers, and bankers that the Lasombra need to keep the finances rolling in, and perhaps these are the luckier of the two groups – as long as the books balance at the end of the day, they will live to see another one. The second group caters to the Lasombra's difficulty with technology and their own image. Some Lasombra keep an army of personal attendants – scores of ghouls to brush the mistress' hair, do her makeup, dress her, and attend to her correspondence. Such attendants are punished severely for infractions. If the hair is not brushed with exactly one hundred strokes the ghoul might find themselves on the wrong side of the hairbrush, a Potence fuelled hand wielding it. Some Lasombra develop mental fixations from their curse, and force ghouls of either stripe to share a distorted image. For example, having their faces reduced to identical spiderwebs of scar tissue or being forced to wear featureless white masks.

Weaknesses

Due to their inherent clan weakness, Lasombra vampires cast no reflections. They cannot be seen in mirrors, bodies of water, reflective windows, polished metals, photographs and security cameras, etc. This curious anomaly even extends to the clothes they wear and objects they carry. Many Kindred believe that the Lasombra have been cursed in this manner for their vanity.

Characters

• Francisco the Immortal
• Kelson O'Dell