Tal'mehe'Ra

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Arrayed by Sect -x- Ancient Enoch -x- Idran

The Tal'mahe'Ra, the "True Black Hand" or Manus Nigrum, is a conspiratorial sect composed mainly of vampires in the World of Darkness that supposedly provides order and structure to the outer cult. The True Black Hand has its greatest influence over the Sabbat through the Black Hand sub-sect.

To the outsiders, the Tal’Mahe’Ra is a bizarre paranoid conspiracy of a Sect that spends little time in contact with the other factions of Kindred society. Very little is known about the “True Black Hand”, and some Kindred consider stories of its existence apocryphal. Its stronghold lies in the Underworld, the realm of the dead occupied by ghosts of things long lost to the modern world.

Its mission seems to be one of shepherding and protecting the world toward an end only it understands. Their vision is similar to the First City as described in the Book of Nod. The Sect holds no cities in the physical world as its domains, though it maintains estates and other odd nexuses where it breeds ghoul servants and sends its agents forth into the world.

History

The Tal'mahe'Ra was an ancient organization formed by an unlikely alliance between Chakravanti mages and several vampire clans (notably Assamites), though its members also include other supernatural creatures besides vampires and mages. The Tal'mahe'Ra parted during the first millennium A.D. because of different ideas regarding the future of the sect; and though the two factions, the Western and Eastern Manus Nigrum, were not at war with each other, they did not communicate.

During the Dark Ages, the Eastern faction concerned itself mainly with hell and purgatory, where the souls of the unholy supposedly reside after death. The Western faction, however, mainly involved itself in vampire politics and were rumored to plan the obliteration of the Baali.

The Manus Nigrum believes the existence of that many vampires during the Dark Ages was not desirable and wished to decimate their numbers, which is why they started collecting information about every kindred they came across. They aspired to compile a book with the name and haven of every Kindred and wished to show it to the Antediluvians during Gehenna, so that they knew where to find their childer. They were also rumored to have something to do with the death of some Antediluvians.

Culture

The Tal'Mahe'Ra was a society of vampires dedicated to supporting the Antediluvians in their crusade to destroy other vampires, hoping to be spared by the Antediluvians during Gehenna. They also aspired to eliminate supposedly impure bloodlines including the Tremere and Tzimisce.

The Tal'mahe'Ra is a super-conspiracy and allegedly the oldest sect of vampires still active. In addition, the Tal'mahe'Ra membership included several bloodlines who are more or less exclusive to it. The Tal'Mahe'Ra also employ several revenant families and specifically trained kidnapped children, known as Chatterlings, to become vampires. Chatterlings typicaly are embraced when they are 23 years old.

The True Black Hand was concerned with two major events: the first is the eventual return of the Antediluvians and the coming age when Vampiric taint will be eliminated from the earth.

Organization

The Tal'mahe'Ra's seat of power was located in the fortress-city of Enoch in the Underworld; members of the sect had means to regularly pass between the underworld and the living world. The leader of the True Black Hand, the Del'Roh, resided exclusively in the Underworld.

The True Black Hand had less than 200 members, but claimed to wield considerable power and influence in Kindred affairs in all major sects.

Sabbat

The Black Hand was thought to be formed as a front for the True Black Hand by many members, although the sect simply corrupted the practices of the Lost Tribe (a sect of Caine-worshippers), who in turn had cast their lot with the anarchs of the Anarch Revolt. There are around 60 vampires in the False Black Hand (mainly older members), who are members of the True Black Hand as well - including Seraphs Izhim ur-Baal and Djuhah. The True Hand exercised little effective control over the False Hand - with almost all members of the Black Hand taking the organization's (false) stated goals at face value. Attempts by Izhim and Djuhah to make a more effective front did little more than arouse the suspicion of other Sabbat factions. The True Black Hand generally attempted to drive the Sabbat towards war with the Camarilla rather than hunting down Antediluvians, and assisted in brokering the treaties that ended several civil wars within the Sabbat, fearing a loss of control by the sect's leaders would lead to harm to their masters.

Camarilla (Also known as Camarilla's Hand)

The sect has claimed that almost a dozen Princes are members of the True Hand, as well as at least 40 primogen and a Justicar. Although some members of the Camarilla undoubtedly took orders from Manus Nigrum operatives, the extent to which they understood the sect's goals, or were able to provide meaningful assistance, is unknown. Another 50 Hand members have havens in the Middle East, among the Followers of Set, the Assamites and the Kuei-jin.

There were unconfirmed reports that the Hand had operatives within the Inconnu (just as the Inconnu likely has operatives within the Hand), and the Hand also claims to have had several non-vampire members, including a Mummy, an Abomination, a small number of mages and wraiths. They controled three ghoul families.

Bloodlines

The following bloodlines were rare, and almost to a man belonged to the Manus Nigrum. Their numbers and organization were greatly diminished following the destruction of Enoch.

Aralu

Enoch was reportedly home to four Antediluvians in torpor. Their exact identities were not known, but they were collectively called the Aralu. The names listed on three of the crypts were Nergal (thought to be Ventrue), Ninmug (thought to be Nosferatu), and Loz (thought to be Toreador); the fourth had an inscription reading: Al-Mahri, Arikel, and Ventru.

Their auras were visible with Auspex but still they were impossible to find. It was said that Loz had already awakened though and was just waiting for the right moment to rise.

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