Edward Bainbridge
Appearance: Scholarly to a fault, Edward has only three suits at any given time, which his servant has meticulously repaired upon countless occasions. The spectacles he wears are not an affectation; when he was Embraced, his vision was poor, his hairline was receding, and a paunch had settled around his midsection. Outsiders in other clans make the mistake of considering Edward harmless. Yet during high rituals, he is as passionate as a force of nature. His approach to magic usually involves assuming a particular persona of mythic significance during a carefully planned ceremony. He seems to transform his very identity when his craft demands it.
Background: As a professor of anthropology and archaeology, Edward had a promising mortal career. Initially, his singular vice was a fascination with the occult. Hidden within his sedate and outdated scholarly library, Edward hid treatises on the shocking rituals of savage tribes. During an alleged vacation in the Congo, he actually participated in tribal rites that would have scandalized him at the university. The natives of that tribe worshiped a "blood goddess," a beautiful creature who came in the night to take whomever she pleased. He prayed she would take him, bestowing upon him the true knowledge he craved.
Edward knew nothing of the object of their veneration. Elaine de Calinot was a powerful Tremere sorceress whose aegis of domain extended across the continent. As one of the clan's seven councilors, she watched over the African chantries from Capetown to Alexandria. The Empire's colonialism had given her an opportunity to discover methods of magic unknown on the European continent. To aid her in studying the forbidden, she began the controversial practice of Embracing mortal natives who had demonstrated magical acumen. When she discovered Professor Bainbridge, she turned the timid scholar from the light to a path of darkness. She then patronized his researches into activity across the African continent, encouraging him to learn from firsthand experience. She had chosen wisely.
Upon his return to the heart of the empire, Edward's knowledge of African magic made him a curiosity in Britain, assuring his fame with his clan. Years of devout service to the pontifex resulted in his ascension up the pyramid of power that is Clan Tremere. His ability to blend so thoroughly into other cultures, observe their magical practices, and assiduously document them earned him admiration in the scholarly circles of the Damned.
When the spiritualist movement began, he eagerly participated in many such gatherings, quickly sorting the charlatans from the visionaries. As a panorama of occult societies took hold in Europe, he traveled widely at the behest of the pontifices, documenting the evolution of magic. Triumphs of scholarship eventually earned him a position as a primogen in London, a cosmopolitan locale that Edward decided should host a wide array of practitioners, whether living, dead or undead. Through extensive correspondence, he extended invitations to occultists and lore-masters throughout the world.
Edward's enthusiasm was a sharp departure from the attitudes of the city's previous primogen, Monsieur Pachard. The former primogen's mysterious death scandalized the London Camarilla. Openly, his disappearance was blamed on an attack by Sabbat crusaders, but privately, some insightful ancillae whispered that he had been eliminated through intrigue. The local Nosferatu hinted that the former primogen had a falling out with the other members of the council of primogen, possibly resulting in his sudden "committal" to the Deep Ward of Dr. Timothy's asylum.
Within half a century, several old and treacherous primogen councilors had been replaced by younger and more inexperienced ones. Was it because of the Sabbat, as the seneschal claimed, or a scheme to make the primogen council more subservient to their prince? Bainbridge dismissed such gossip. Just in case, however, he recruited a clan whip who could also act as his bodyguard.
During his decades of travel and research, Edward had encountered a vast array of disturbing supernatural activity. One of the most remarkable was a cult of magi who had claimed to practice techniques preserved from the Dark Ages - most notably, sorcery involving fire. For reasons he could not understand, the Council of Seven moved quickly to destroy this hidden cabal. A few survivors were taken to Vienna, where they were extensively conditioned to obey the clan, enforce the clan's will, and forget the existence of the Order of Hermes. More specifically, their minds were cleansed of all memory of their former sect: House Flambeau.
Edward was later rewarded with a blood bound servant who would act as a daytime enforcer, punishing any who would exploit his generosity in welcoming the diverse occult traditions within London. As long as these practitioners coexist, he sees no need to ask his assistant, Mr. Smythe, to punish those who act with indiscretion. It has been hinted, that if Edward does not ask Smythe to perform such services, Vienna will.
Despite this veiled threat, Edward has decided that London must maintain numerous chantries if it is to remain innovative. In a sense, all London Tremere belong to his one chantry, but this is little more than a formality adopted to ensure that the local Witches remain unified. He extends great lenience to Kindred who wish to form their own mystical societies, even tolerating those who want to patronize mortals seeking occult knowledge. He generosity has one condition: "In London, no one outside Clan Tremere is to learn Thaumaturgy." He considers his clan's dabbling in mortal practices to be "research," but the boundaries of such activities are enforced by Mr Smythe. It has been long tradition in London, that those not of Tremere blood who learn Thaumaturgy are a direct threat to the Masquerade. Thus, when a curious Kindred is turned to ash by the Path of Flame, Edward cites the First Tradition as his justification for unleashing swift retribution.
The warlock primogen's favorite haunt is the British Museum, which Clan Tremere has collectively pressured to have declared as Elysium. Years of scholarship have made Edward Bainbridge a respected and inimitable guide to its riches. His modest estate is within walking distance of the museum. It is a three-story Victorian house with charming decor, an eccentric display of stone gargoyles in its garden, and elaborate Thaumaturgical wards. He never conducts business there, preferring instead to walk to the museum at night, where he handles introductions and negotiations in the corridors. Between the Tremere, the Ventrue, and the Toreador, several mortal guards have been empowered as ghouls to protect and defend this national treasure. Bainbridge claims the neighborhood between his haven and the museum as his domain.
Personality: As a consummate host and visionary researcher, he rarely pass judgement on those who wish to consult him. his tolerance for a wide array of magical styles and practices has garnered him support from a wide array of Witches, but also the resentment of more conservative factions. He threaten with the wrath of the elders when a Tremere's actions would endanger a chantry, the clan, the city or the Camarilla. When dealing with gentlemen, he listen more than he speaks, only lapsing into the pedagogical mode of his days in academe when he is actively consulted. When dealing with the "weaker sex," he is exceptionally gentlemanly and genteel. Soft-spoken and even-tempered, he seems to have tamed the very Beast within himself through the discipline of scholarship and the healing qualities of magical practice. Many consider him a paragon of humanity.
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