Alexis Sokol

Paris -P- Toreador

Sobriquet: Alexis

Appearance:

Age: 410	Apparent Age: 30~35	Hair: Black	Eyes: Steel Grey
Height: 1m83	Weight: 65 Kg	Date of Birth: 1587	RIP: 1622
Race: Caucasian	Sex: Male	Nationality: French	Esprit: *

Alexis is always wearing black clothes and he favors a very long black trenchcoat (should it hides his tolede steel long sword?). He is someone who is always master of himself, with perhaps something of a bored expression on his features. But in reality, he is a very alert person, which is visible when confronted to an immediate problem.

He has black hair well combed in the back, and steel gray eyes that can convey worlds of boredom or universes of interest to the one talking to him. He is a thin man, and whatever the clothes, it shows up, but he is nonetheless beautiful, in a very paternal way.

History: Alexis was a talented Russian sword-master whose deadly dance had charmed a Toreador Kindred who first thought to kill him for his blood. Lawful to his Toreador Blood, he will act as a spy for the French Toreador against the Russia. But the war is lost nonetheless and Alexis discovered as a traitor. He arrives in Paris in 1738, where he helped the Clan Toreador to keep the control of the capital and even of all the country.

In 1798, after some dispute with Francois Villon, he decided to remove himself from the Kindred society of Paris, and went with Napoleon to Egypt. There he discovered the marvels of the Two-Lands, and as the hundred scientists who went there with him, he fell in love with Egypt's mysteries. He had too little time to explore the land: Napoleon was defeated in the sea by the English navy, and they had to retreat. Still hurt by Villon's words, Alexis remained in Egypt, alone with his retainers, while his own Toreador brothers fled back to France. With the English forces who took the Stone of Rosette came (briefly) the English Kindred. Avoiding both the dreaded Followers of Set, Assamites and English Kindred, he disappeared in South Egypt. In reality, he was searching for a pyramid lost in the desert: He had the astronomical notes of some lost scribe, and notes about a Queen of Egypt. He found the tomb, and succeeded in avoiding the traps. He was really surprised to see real powerful magical traps protecting an empty pyramid, so he decided that the secret passageways and deadly traps had to be there for something.

He stayed there for two years, avoiding the forces of the Prince of Cairo, Mukhtar Bey, copying all the hieroglyphs that none but the oldest Kindred and the Setites still understood. His Auspex, as well as his imperfect understanding of some hieroglyphs made him think that the strange Queen was perhaps more than mortal.

He came back to Paris in 1803, full with relics and drawings. Villon was pleased to see his lawful councilor had come back, even Ivan showed some kind of brotherly pleasure. The Neonate Toreador, Lazlo, Childe of the famous Raphael de Corazon (See: Who's Who Among Kindred: Children of Inquisition), who took Alexis' position as Villon's Second after his departure, felt the same way (Alexis wonders if they made this show of emotions to please more Villon than himself...). He had lost most of his resources in his project, but offered most of the Egyptian relics to Villon, as a proof of his loyalty. And he explained he would try to decipher the hieroglyphs and that the Prince would be the first Dark Ages Kindred in Europe to read translated Egyptian poetry!

He searched and found someone who would be able to find the key of the Hieroglyphs. Jean Francois Champollion showed real potential with alien tongues and Alexis only needed to show him some works of the scientists who had come with him in 1798, to interest Champollion beyond his wildest dreams: He would, he promised, find the key of the mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphs.

In the same years, the strange aura that permeated the beautiful Toreador capital grew stronger, affecting even the Gangrels. Some strange monster had even escaped from a limestone mine, and the Parisian Kindred had a very bad time trying to protect the Masquerade.

In 1824, Champollion discovered the key, and the Status of Alexis was boosted up the night he read the first lines of what would be wrongly called The Book of the Dead. He even talked about some mad (but so Toreadoresque) project of constructing a normal-sized model of the tomb under the Louvre, from the notes, maps and drawings he had taken in Egypt. But as Villon was learning the basics of the old-Egyptian, he and Alexis discovered texts that only a Kindred could have known, from the Book of Nod. Alexis was given the mission to investigate. In 1832, he was given the right to Embrace Champollion, who was dying from an affliction so severe even Ghouldom would not protect him from.

He received, then, a very awing visit: The Kindred whose tomb he had violated was standing in the middle of his house, wearing long black robes, a long black cloak and a hood she removed to let him see her face. He didn't recognize her features, but her voice was unmistakable: He had violated the tomb of the same Kindred who had protected him and given him his Seventh Generation! Meryt-Neith had, at first, been really furious (as much as possible for her...) when she discovered the violation of her tomb, but then she had followed the track of the tomb raider up to Paris, and was very pleased to find the tomb raider was one of her Knights.

In fact, she told him about the source of the Aura of Corruption, and how she wanted to destroy it, and how the two should cooperate: He wanted to create an organization copied on the model of the Masques, a sect of Kindred occultists. She would give all the missing information about her own writings drawn by Alexis in her tomb, but even add more accurate information. She would give the sect members the Thaumaturgy Discipline, and new unknown Paths and Rituals, and protect the sect from possible enemies. In exchange, she would add her Blood to the Vinculum Alexis wanted to create between the sect members, and would have access to any artifact of information discovered by the Sect.

In 1872, after some other monster coming from the Seine had dared to enter the Louvre and attacked Villon's Ghouls, Alexis asked his Prince for the authorization to build a little sect of occultists which would use the results of his researches to learn more about the occult powers of the world. The aim of the sect would be understanding and preventing supernatural denizens to threaten the Masquerade, in the same way the Masques protected the Masquerade from Kindred and mortal threats.

The Veilleurs were born.

In 1894, the War of Traditions began, first between the Clan Tremere and the Order of Hermes, then between all parisian Mages and Kindred. While The Masques were trying to defend Kindred interests, the first Veilleurs succeeded in understanding who was behind the war. They were the ones to start diplomatic actions between the Tradition Mages and the Camarilla. After this victory, the Veilleur's power in Paris became official, as they were given the exclusive right to deal with Mages. The other Kindred were forbidden to meet Mages and even the Tremere Clan was cast out from Paris for some time.

As Gustacio, the Tremere Chantry Leader was called to Vienna (he didn't come back...), he left behind him a strange Kindred. His name was Criaâr, and he was an Abomination, a Corax Embraced by a Tremere. Knowing the rarity of the Abominations, Meryt-Neith made Alexis protect the Corax Kindred, and join the Veilleurs. The Path of Veille was created by the three Kindred, from a customized but relatively unsuccessful Discipline created by Criaâr (As Gustacio only wanted Criaâr as a pet slave, he never bothered to teach him the Tremere's way and powers, and so, Criaâr was a technically a Bâtard).

Today, Alexis enjoys the power and the responsibility the Veilleurs give him, and is a powerful Kindred in a very unstable position: Ivan hates him and his Veilleurs, Lazlo feels the Veilleur multi-Clan membership is a weakness and Villon discovered that even if his friend is still lawful to him, he seems to have troublesome loyalty to someone else that bothers him.

Behavior: Calmness is the word that comes immedialty to the mind when talking about Alexis: His particular Presence power could calm down raging Lupines running against a Kindred who polluted their Caern!

When around him, every problem has a solution, and some Veilleur gladly added to Alexis' image by "There's always a possibily", while mimicking Star Trek's Spock. So Spock became the surname of Alexis, who know it, and let the Veilleurs (and only the Veilleurs) use it, as he feels this kind of sympathic familiarity strengthen their loyalty to him and among themselves.

Notes: Alexis is the Master of the Veilleurs, and was a famous weaponmaster. He learned, since his Embrace, to use other melee weapons, and is said to have some very special and efficient combination with his prefered weapon: a long sword who is said ot be magical (False!).

He used the Fifth Level of the Path of Veille to create a Familiar: Imagine a century-old black cat with grey eyes...

Actual Aim: To discover and destroy the source of the Aura of Corruption of Paris. To serve dutyfully his two masters, Villon and Meryt-Neith. To protect the Veilleurs.

Rumors:

       Alexis is a Tremere (False).
       Alexis is the pawn of someone hiding in Paris (Partially True: See Meryt-Neith and the Knights of Hecate).
       Alexis use the Veilleur as a counter power to Ivan's Masques (True).
       Alexis is a pawn of Baba Yaga (False!).
       Alexis owns a magical sword (False!).