Eyes of the Past
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-liv'd Phoenix in her blood;
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
To the wide world and all her fading sweets;
But I forbid thee one more heinous crime:
O, carve not with the hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen!
Him in thy course untainted do allow
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
Yet do thy worst, old Time! Despite thy wrong
My love shall in my verse ever live young.
-- William Shakespeare: Sonnet 19.
Description: Of all the subjects over which the Clan Tremere has gained both understanding and control, time remains a forgotten subject left to languish as if it were of no importance. The reason for this is of course, that as vampires the Tremere are effectively immortal and time cannot touch them. While this is a fallacy based upon hubris, not all the Warlocks are so blind as to believe this and some have even delved into the mystical processes of time. The following ritual called aptly enough: "Eyes of the Past" allows the thaumaturge to witness events that have occurred in the past within a certain limited locale. The ritual has been attributed to Nicolai, the current regent of Chicago, but strangely, no name has been jotted down in the ledgers of Vienna describing the one who originated the ritual. Perhaps it is a holdover from the days before the Tremere were vampires, no one knows for certain and it is likely to remain a mystery for the foreseeable future.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Occult (or rituals) at a difficulty of six (6). The ritual can access any period of time in the last five years, so successes represent the caster's control how quickly time moves forward from the designated beginning to the current moment.
Origin: Unknown, but likely the Tremere regent of Chicago - Nicolai.
This ritual shows what happened in the caster's present location at a specific time in the past, up to five years ago. The caster can see what happened in the past as if she had been standing where she is now.
Source: Chicago by Night - 2nd Edition - pg.121.
