Hesha al-Ruhadze
Quote: Be Reasonable, Mr. Bell. I have information that you need. If you cannot make a simple deal without consulting your master, however, I will wait. Do not make me wait too long... boy.
Background: The night had much in store for Ruhadze, who would change his name to Hesha after his embrace in the midnight shadows of a Nubian gold mine.
The harsh Nubian climate and Ruhadze's poverty tempered him at a very young age. To avoid conflict, he and his family adopted whatever religion had grown to prominence at any given time: Islam, Christianity and even Animism at certain points. By the time he had reached a relatively advanced age for Nubians - his 30s - Hesha had fallen in with a cult that had gained no small bit of notoriety. This was a blood cult, a herd of mortals tricked into believing in the divinity of their Kindred patron. The cult's Setite leader Embraced Hesha, seeing in the man a cleverness and intellect that he thought would serve him well in his quest to reincarnate his dead god. Indeed, Hesha's sire grew so proud of his progeny in the modern nights that he renamed himself Abu Ruhadze in the Islamic tradition: "the Father of Ruhadze."
After his Embrace, Hesha acclimated quite well to the "Cainite" condition. His newfound toughness was a great boon during the long nights he spent uncovering the hidden lore of Kindred and other chthonic creatures. Mentored at first by his sire, Hesha felt the calling of his clan's legacy. Abu Ruhadze knew he had chosen wisely, and instructed his childe in the ways of the Path of Typhon. His progeny proved once again to be a fervent pupil. To this night, Hesha's clanmates consider him a near paragon of the Theophidians, revered for his devotion to the god of the Underworld and his spiritual wisdom.
Hesha's undead travels took him everywhere, and he met a great many prominent Kindred. He has crossed paths with the Kindred archaeologist Beckett no few times, and the two consider themselves cordial rivals. Additionally, his zeal to uncover the next secret or hidden revelation earns him great status among members of his clan: he's glad to dive into forgotten tombs as long as he believes they offer something of worth.
In the modern nights, Hesha continues his tireless quest for knowledge. He has established numerous havens and at least one secondary identity to help him in the trade of cryptic lore. Those who know him also know that he's willing to share almost any secret he unearths - for the right price. Sometimes, Hesha warns, the price of knowledge is the knowing: The World of Darkness contains entities and forces far more malign than mere vampires - dread creatures more powerful than the human mind can comprehend. The Antediluvians think to assume such power, but the Eldest Ones were ancient when the antediluvians were new. Very few vampires of other clans know Hesha's labors to protect the Earth from the Eldest Powers. No one destroys the world until the Setites are ready for their own ascension to godhood.
Image: A dapper Serpent, Hesha now shows no trace of his village past. In fact, he shows nothing that he does not want the other person to see. Hesha combines the bearing of a runway model with the flawless calm-under-fire of a combat veteran. His dark-amber gaze is almost enough to entrance an onlooker without even calling upon his Disciplines. Hesha carries himself with grace and dignity, equally at home at an embassy ball or the catacombs of a ruined temple. He customarily wears perfectly tailored grey business suits, and a monocle despite the fact that he has perfect vision. Hesha's shaved scalp bears a tattpo of twining serpents, but in public he hides this through Obfuscate.
Roleplaying Hints: No problem is so great that it cannot be overcome by reason. You remain cool and sensible even under the direst of circumstances. Whether facing down rampaging Sabbat, jumping a chasm or opening the tombs of the forgotten kings. Most people and Kindred are but tools to you, and they serve best when willing, so you indebt them to you whenever you can. Even those who aren't your tools have something to offer; acquaintances, old allies and new faces alike all have as-yet-unrealized potential.
Most of the time you affect a courtly, formal charm that makes people think they know you far better than they do. Now and then you astound people with your encyclopedic knowledge of history, archaeology, mythology and art, but you don't deliberately show off - not unless you see a good reason for it. You never tell the whole truth: Considering what you know, that is probably a kindness.
