Katarzyna Bogdanov
- Paris -P- Ventrue -P- The History of the Ventrue in Paris -PLBE- Paris - La Belle Époque
Sobriquet: Zyna
Appearance: Katarzyna is a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, with light brown hair and blue eyes. She always wears dresses whose price would at least have three or four zeroes in it. When at the Cour, she likes to wear 18th Century clothing, but knows how to choose modern clothing when having to mingle with mortals. She always has a fan with her.
Behavior: Katarzyna still isn't as flamboyant as she was in the past, her interests (lying in the Soirées and Salons the Parisian Kindred attend) seem to fade somewhat. Most modern Ventrue believes she should have followed Marie-Antoinette to the guillotine, as she is of no utility to the Clan, not even defending them or their honor at Soirées.
But in truth, she is cold as the grave. She knows about the plans of most Parisian Kindred. Of all the normal Kindred, she is the only one to know about the extraordinary high number of Methuselah in the French Capital. She knows about Villon's dreaded Auspex Power of Omniscience. So she does nothing, waiting for the opportunity to strike back, but not daring to act lest she be stopped by any one of the powerful Kindred here...
History: Katarzyna was one of the daughters of the ambassador of Russia in Paris. Thin, but with some beauty, she attracted the attentions of the young man who would become some years later Louis the 15th. But she attracted, too, the attentions of D'Arezzo, a Kindred of the Clan Ventrue.
Weakened by the Toreador Hegemony and by the pleasures of Versailles, the Clan Ventrue of Paris has lost most of its power. D'Arezzo was in deep depression, and he found once more pleasure in unlife in the person of this young woman.
He courted her, all the while frightening the young heir with all the might of his Presence and Dominate Disciplines. Beatrix, sickened by the old Louis the 14th, was considering removing the gift of Ghouldom she had bestowed to him, and the young heir was chosen by her to wear the crown of France, but she found him afraid of his own shadow, ans soon discovered by using Auspex the involvement of D'Arezzo.
Convoqued at the Versailles' Court, D'Arezzo explained he had chosen the young woman as his wife and Childe, and that the young Louis was too much aggressive in his tries to make the young Katarzyna his'. Beatrix's anger didn't frighten D'Arezzo: After all, he didn't breach the Masquerade, as both Louis and Katarzyna didn't know about his true nature. Beatrix ordered him to remove the Suggestion that affected the heir. D'Arezzo accepted at the condition he would be given the right to Embrace Katarzyna. Beatrix accepted to the condition D'Arezzo would never try again to use Dominate on the Royal Heir. D'Arezzo accepted.
While Beatrix and Villon found D'Arezzo had been duped by the pact, D'Arezzo would want nothing to do with any heir of the Bourbon royal bloodline, and that he would prefer to replace it with his own... So everyone had what was desired.
But Villon and Beatrix were right on one point: Katarzyna would not be a good addition to the Clan Ventrue, and would weaken it instead of helping it in its rebellion against the Toreador Hegemony.
Katarzyna soon entered the Cour of the Kindred, and became a Courtisane. And as it was predicted, she was no real addition to the Clan. D'Arezzo soon woke up, realizing his wife was nothing more than the equivalent to the Ventrue of the Toreador Poseur! This started the separation of the two Kindred. Katarzyna never understood why her husband was more and more distant, sometimes ignoring her for nights.
The Soirées became more and more dull. While she openly held the Setites in contempt, she was full of envy of their knowledge of the occult. She was charmed by the Count of Cagliostro, but found his claims about immortality, and his punny powers boring. One night, as she was preparing herself for another dull Bal Costumé, someone entered her Haven.
Frightened, she took her ornamental sword to defend herself. She believed at first it was one of those disgusting Nosferatu who had come to annoy her. But when she saw the robed figure, its eyes gleaming a bright red under the cover of his hood.
She asked who he was, to intrude in her chambers. He answered she had called him. She laughed, all the while taking a better hold of her sword. The robed figure told her he was here to give her the power she asked, if she had the courage to pay the price. She denied any kind of occult ambitions, but he repeated the words she had just told to her reflection in her mirror.
Flushing in anger, she raised her sword, who fled from her grasp to fly around the room. In the end, it did dig itself deep in the stone ground. The robed figure turned, apparently in disgust, and walked away. Katarzyna was, at first, afraid, and doubled the mortal guards in front of her chambers. She had great difficulties to remove the sword, and waited for the figure to attack her once more.
But the time passed, and no one came. And soon, she started to wonder at the magical powers of this creature. If she could have the same. If only she could master sorcery enough to get what she wanted... She had been catholic before her Embrace, and even in unlife, she still prayed God, by habit if not by faith. But now, she prayed every night to have the opportunity to talk to this dark angel once more, so fervently she sometimes cried with exhaustion when she opened her eyes to discover she had prayed all the day...
She felt betrayed, and the night she thought she would give up, the robed figure appeared once more. I can give you power, but you will have to pay for it, he said. Nothing is free in this world, he added. But you will soon forget the price when you will learn the true meaning of power. When she asked him if he wanted her soul, he almost laughed, answering she had no soul to barther. He gave her an old scroll. This Ritual, he said, would give you the first taste of power. And soon after having accepted, he added, you will find this Ritual is weak indeed.
Katarzyna studied the Ritual alone, for almost one year. It meant she had to dismember a baby, then suck his blood when his head would be removed. This Ritual would give her more power over mortals, as they would be unable to resist her will. At first, she wanted nothing to do with the ritual. Killing a baby would be the greatest crime she could imagine... But controlling mortals...
She prepared the ritual in underground chambers under her mansion. She smiled at the stares the other would give to her, as she would show them her power... The baby wasn't much a problem. She took over the baby of a young servant who made the mistake of accepting the propositions of the majordomo. As asked by the ritual, she entered the circle nude, and covered with glyphs of mysterious significance, written in the blood of a newborn lamb. The baby cried when she hurt him, but soon stopped as she promplty removed the head, and drunk from the decapitated baby's body.
The following night, the servant girl regretted her baby, and asked Katarzyna if she could have him back, that she would work hard to pay for the... She never finished as Katarzyna looked her with disgust and ordered her to slit her own throat open. To her surprise, the girl looked at her with horrified stare as she was cutting herself through her own throat with a poor quality knife. It worked!!!
Katarzyna soon used her newfound power to cause mischief in the Cour, and in the house of her own Sire, Dominating his own trusted Retainers to commit stupid acts and to commit suicide soon after. D'Arezzo, frightened, asked his lawful Childe to join him some time in his mansion. She had never seen him so full of affection for her, as he hoped the presence of multiple Kindred would calm down the strange behaviour of his retainers. Satisfied, she walked the grounds of the Elysiums with a greater confidence... But soon she needed more: Theti-Sheri, and other beautiful Toreador Kindred, were leading the show. Katarzyna knew she needed more power... She needed power over the Kindred.
The robed figure appeared some nights after. Katarzyna was full of confidence, treating him as if they were equals. She sensed, somehow, that some dark trick kept him in his role of fulfilling contracts. She was wrong, but she never learned it.
He asked what she wanted. She answered she wanted power over the Kindred. The mysterious figure nodded, answering that he knew of some power that could keep her ahead of all Kindred intrigues for he knew how extract the secret from the very minds of those keeping them. She marveled at the idea: No Kindred knew this kind of trick, she would be the queen in the Cour. She asked for the Ritual, but he answered with the price: She had to bear his Childe. Katarzyna almost laughed when she heard this. She thought the Kindred to be sterile, if not by giving Vitae. But the figure's voice never wavered when he asked this. And somehow, she knew he was serious.
Our Childe will be consecrated to the powers of Darkness who will give you the magic you need. The Ritual is simple: One night together, and then one lunar cycle bearing our Childe in secret. We'll meet then, and I will take him away, and you will forget the baby lest your powers be removed
Katarzyna refused when the dark angel removed his hood: His face was decaying, and now she could smell death around him. She would have vomited if she had still been mortal. she would never let this monster touch her, let alone...
You can still refuse, and surrender the power over mortals you enjoyed for months...
Now she was horrified. She needed this power over mortals to keep her status. It was never mentioned it could be removed! The horrible monster took one old book from under his cape. This is power, he said. You can study it for I will let it there. It's your choice. If you want to refuse the pact, then you must do it by burning this book. If you don't by the night of the new moon then I will come to take my due, and 28 nights after to take our Childe... And with this words, he moved away.
The book spoke of the power of secrets, of knowledge. But she couldn't use the powers before accepting the pact. She knew that, somehow, she wouldn't be able to avoid to pay for it. Twice she almost burned the book, but held on when thinking about her status among the Kindred, and about the power of knowledge...
The new moon night took her by surprise. The night she awoke, the dark decayed angel was by the chimney, who was burning. He was studying the book, and turned as she whispered a prayer to God. He smiled, telling her she was not anymore under His jurisdiction, unless of course, she wanted to join the lambs, waiting for the night when some prophet will sacrify them for their unforgiving God. He smiled, his yellow decayed teeth appearing behind torn lips. Must I burn it? He asked her. More by reflex than anything else, she cried no, but soon shut up, considering the consequences.
The moon is rising, your time is up... He added. I must, then, collect my due. He approached her... Frightened, she considered asking for help when she saw the book on the table.
The Price of Power...
She sometimes have nightmares from this horrible night, and from the horrible night of the birth of the monster his father called her Childe. But now, she has the power.
Katarzyna now using her newfound powers, tried to forget about the last Ritual. She kept most of the information for herself, knowing the Republican should not be authorized to use this for themselves. Now, D'Arezzo would need her, as most of the Ventrue Clan. She was hoping to work to reach the Duchesse Status...
Recent History: As a Ventrue, Katarzyna could only drink pure, virgin blood (pre-puberty's blood). She found, since the nights following the Ritual, that even this pure Blood could not sustain her anymore: She must now drink Kindred's blood taken from a child. So she Embraces children to drink from them. From time to time, she must replace the Chalice, as the child becomes more and more cunning and start resist the Blood Bond enough to destroy themselves or try to destroy her.
Katarzyna tries to forget the corrupted Ritual she used, but she already have been touched. She is used to bring back serious information to Nebneferptah, even if she doesn't know it...
She is known to have few influence but in some noble families. Her influence lies elsewhere, as she works hard to learn and learn more informaiton about everyone in Paris.
Villon never considered her as dangerous, even recently, but he still wonders at her motivations: He sees the ambition in her heart, but only see her failures as a result.
Haven: She has a house on the Rue Raynouard.
Credit to the Author: https://augias.org/pbn/katarzyn.htm
