Valentine

Ventrue -x- New York City

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Sobriquet: Valentine is far too suave to need or want a nickname.

Appearance: A rake and a gallant, Valentine always dresses to the hilt, an epitome of the latest fashion sensibilities. His sire Embraced him with long hair, but in the modern nights, Valentine has his servant cut it short each night. He's exceedingly grateful for this as hairstyles go in and out of fashion, he'll always have enough to work with and never be left behind the times. Valentine is slight of build, with sharp features and reddish brown hair.

Behavior: Do it all with a flourish. Despite being dead, you have a joie de vivre unmatched by any of the other Kindred in the city, even those who dare to compare themselves to you by calling themselves socialites. You behave like an amalgam of "aristocratic" stereotypes, but never to the point of caricature. You wish to keep your true past a secret, relying instead upon the reputation of the person you've become instead of the ignoble origin of Edouard Clause.

History: An uneasy entente cordiale of French Ventrue and Toreador marked the Embrace of Edouard Clause. With both parties observing a quiet cold war of prominence in late nineteenth-century France, the Kin­dred of both clans exceeded themselves at times, Embracing childer out of vanity or simply to one-up their rival Damned. Many of these may have made fine candidates for the Embrace at a later point in their lives or with better sponsorship by their sires, but most were simply left to languish or do as they would, unliving symbols of affluence in the time of the waning grandeur of the Third Republic. Edouard was Embraced from the family of a cabinet mem­ber, remarkable for his charms and his skill with the rapier.

The impending World War marked an end to the precarious calm, however, and with millions of their coun­trymen headed off to war, France found itself with a surplus of undead. Many neonates and even a few ancillae were offered a choice: Flee France or take their chances with the war. With blood a precious resource in times of relative underpopulation, few established Kindred wanted to share vitae with the spoiled fledglings of a bygone era of prosperity. Of course, more than a few of these fledglings were resentful of their new place in Kindred society. Many went anarch, hoping to redistribute the resources of the few wealthy Kindred more equitably among the undead as a whole. Edouard Clause was among these, murdering his sire in a grand statement of allegiance with the anarch cause and troubling the bloated ticks of the Camarilla whenever the opportunity presented itself.

This minor anarch rebellion was short-lived, how­ever, as the elders saw the need to act decisively. With war looming at the borders, they had little patience with the whims of whelps. Over a two-month period, numerous French elders culled the ranks of the Kindred, sending the wise packing if they could escape before meeting Final Death. Knowing that his sire's murder placed him at the top of many lists of examples to be made, Edouard stole away quietly when word of the elders' ire first hit the streets.

Inventing a noble background for himself and taking the rake's name of Valentine, Eduoard fled to the United States. He feared it as a barbaric place, however, and chose to remain in New York, the port of his arrival, so that he wouldn't have to travel the maverick country and meet his end by some ignominious cause. Assuming that the city must be a Camarilla stronghold, he introduced himself to Prince Michaela, citing a false lineage, and she granted him permission to stay in her domain.

When the Sabbat-infested nature of New York be­came apparent to him, though, Valentine laid low. To "defect" would earn him the vengeance of Michaela and the mistrust of the Sabbat until he could prove himself ­ which he had no intention of doing, as he found the Black Hand repulsive. As time wore on, he outgrew his coward­ice and stood against the Sabbat on several occasions. Valentine breathed an artificial sigh of genuine relief when the city was retaken by the Camarilla, noting to those who would listen that no small efforts of his own contributed to that struggle's success. This is more than a mere boast Valentine's contacts and wealth aided a half-dozen ruses that ultimately ended in the Final Death of several Sabbat. He is even rumored to possess the cut-out heart of a fallen Lasombra who met her end in a duel with him.

Since the repulsion of the Sabbat, Valentine has become a significant figure among the New York Kindred. His wealth, masked by import and investment companies, has earned him a place among the city's numerous layers of social elite, which have yielded him corresponding reputation and acquaintances. Valentine can serve as the perfect introduction to high society, or bar an awkward or potentially bothersome Kindred from it. While he isn't the most powerful or well-connected Kindred in town he is probably the most accessible of those who are. This isn't out of any sense of favor he offers to those new to the area. Rather, Valentine likes to be the one everyone's indebted to, or the first one to show new Kindred the ropes.

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