Coil of the Lion
- -=Followers of Set=-
The Coil of the Lion were a very secretive cabal even among their fellow Setites. They possessed a secret that they shared with no one and would do anything to protect – they had no less a duty than protecting the holy site suspected of being the tomb of the Antediluvian Set. Overview
The cabal not only knew the location of the slumbering Antediluvian, but had been guarding it from discovery and intrusion for millennia, keeping their progenitor safe until the time had come for his return. This responsibility meant that despite their dark stewardship, they occasionally had to relocate the torpid form believed to be the Antediluvian in order to protect him. Key to The Coil of the Lion's plan was creating enough distraction among the region's Kindred to focus their attention elsewhere when the move took place. The cult decided that a political and cultural scandal would serve this purpose well and the best way to accomplish this.
In the winter of 1381, with the eyes of local Kindred directed elsewhere, the Coil of the Lion undertook the dangerous journey they had planned for so long. However, they were ambushed by a Ventrue named Nasch when his Mamluks attacked the small caravan the morning after their arrival in Saqqara. The Setite ghouls and mercenaries were taken by surprise, unable to defend their cargo. The raiders seized the opulent sarcophagus and all but two of the Setite escorts met Final Death, the survivors fleeing in snake form into the night chilled sands. Their minions were slaughtered and all traces of the caravan burned or secreted away inside desert-scourged tombs. They dragged their prize into one such funereal chamber and guarded it until the sun set.
When Nasch arose and stood before the ebony coffin he was full of doubts about committing diablerie in the creature that lie within it. When his thralls pried open the last seal and removed the startlingly plain inner lid that had concealed the face of Antediluvian, Nasch felt the world shift. The susurration quickly grew into a clamor – the sound of a thousand serpents rending the air with their unearthly hissing as the chamber around him vanished into blackness.
He found himself standing upon a dais in a vast, open temple situated on an otherwise empty expanse of desert that stretched into infinity. Before him lay the body of a man with the head of an unspeakable beast, no sarcophagus in sight, naked but for a simple loincloth. For a few moments Nasch surrendered to a fear that made even the Red Fear seem insignificant. He could not move and was sure that he was to meet Final Death, sure that this was Set, and that the Antediluvian would slake its thirst thirst on his vitae.
Without permitting himself another thought, Nasch leapt forward and sank his fangs into the dark god. Soon after feeling the power surging through his body, the Ventrue was overwhelmed and lost his consciousness. When he awakened, he discovered that more than a decade had passed. The fate of the Coil of the Lion is not recorded, which comes to no surprise, given the secrecy of their task.
