The Navigators

Sabbat -- Montreal

Background

The Navigators travel the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway in a floating lair-ship and are well known for their skill at raiding Camarilla strongholds. The pack was formed in Portugal in the 1620s and moved the New World in the 1720s. Its members served as pirates on the Brazilian coast and traveled across the Americas, finally making Montreal their winter home when a Portuguese community settled there after World War II.

The Navigators were led by Santiago DeSoto, a powerful Sabbat warrior. The pack moved to Montreal to gain the support of the Shepherds of Caine. DeSoto became a "friend" of the Shepherds and they encouraged him to join the Sabbat's in house Inquisition. The Navigators were thereafter left in the care of DeSoto's childe, Miguel Santo Domingo. The trial of Archbishop Sangris brought DeSoto back to Montreal, but it cost him his soul. The Serpent stole DeSoto's form and now wakes as "DeSoto" each night. For his part, Miguel seeks unity in the sect and suspects his "sire" of some dark secret. The Navigators oppose conspiracies in the Sabbat, including those of the Inquisition. They currently support Archbishop Smith, mostly out of distrust of the Black Hand and the Inquisition.

Lair

The Navigators maintain a floating lair on a rusted cargo vessel called the Lisbon. The ship is thought to be derelict, but the pack quarters are well maintained. The Lisbon is crewed by two horribly deformed ghouls, and it drops anchor during the daylight.

Rites and Practices

Burial At Sea: The pack practices a unique variation of the Creation Rites called "Burial at Sea." It entails binding candidates with heavy chains and dropping them into the water instead of burying them in fresh graves. The initiate must break free and return to the surface if they intend to survive and join the pack. The Navigators still hold a grudge against Elias the Whale from the early 1970s, when would be members were dropped off the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal and consumed by the Wretched.

Membership

Sangris the Serpent -- In the guise of Santiago DeSoto

Appearance: The body of DeSoto has long salt-and-pepper hair and a chiseled face. Santiago's dark-brown eyes complement his tan face, and a goatee hides his full lips. Sangris dresses DeSoto's body in finely tailored black clothes that hide the scars left by the duped Decani; unfortunately, DeSoto's form suffers from leprosy.

Behavior: Sangris as DeSoto, puts up a front of control and calm. Beneath the surface Sangris longs to return to power in order to save the city and take his rightful place as Archbishop. It would be so easy....

History: DeSoto's retirement from the Inquisition into seclusion surprised many and lent credibility to Miguel's suspicions that his sire was more than he appeared. Little did Miguel know how right he really was, for the person he called "DeSoto" was the resting place for the soul of Sangris, the former archbishop of Montreal and convicted infernalist.

When he was Embraced in Haiti, Sangris was a member of the Cult of Legba, which rejected the worship of Set. In the years before they joined the Sabbat, "Serpents of the Light" like him were desperate for aid against the Setites. Sangris found help in the Decani Bothothel. The demon plague-lord had ridden the wave of smallpox that exterminated the natives of Hispanola, and held dominion over a temple in the hinterland of the island. In the temple, Sangris met a priestess of disease named "Cedilia of the Tongue," who taught him the ways of the Decani. Sangris made a deal with the fiend Bothothel. He would spread a new form of corruption in exchange for power. He proposed to turn souls to Bothothel through the "plague" of ambition, an infection that no other Decani claimed as its own. Sangris knew full well that the last soul he would serve up would be his own, unless he found a way to escape the pact. He found a way in Montreal.

If Sangris' soul came due in Montreal, the prison of Metathiax, the demon would contest Bothothel's claim. When word came from Montreal of the Sabbat's losing struggle against the Setite Jerar, Sangris -- now a sect member -- flew north. Still a servant of ambition, he rose to power as archbishop of Montreal. He also corrupted several vampires and Embraced a childe named Ezekiel whose ambition he hoped to fan to world-shattering proportions. All the while, he prepared his escape from infernal bondage.

When Inquisitor DeSoto uncovered his infernalism, Sangris wove a complex Thaumaturgical rite into his very flesh. As his destruction approached, Bothothel and Metathiax both salivated in anticipation of consuming his soul. When DeSoto prepared to execute Sangris with fire, the Serpent's rite was activated and the inquisitor's soul streamed out with the flames. In turn, Sangris' soul slipped into DeSoto's body, and Sangris watched as his executioner was consumed and sent to the Decani.

DeSoto's memories still echo in Sangris' new form. He hears whispers of DeSoto's ambition and conviction as a dedicated inquisitor. Sangris suppresses thoughts of seizing power, though, knowing that any bid for more infernal might would damn him. "DeSoto" has therefore retired from the Inquisition and lives in seclusion in a Westmount mansion. As DeSoto, he only occasionally partakes in the Vaulderie with the Navigators.

As the years pass, temptation grows. Sangris senses that the city will be consumed unless it finds strong leadership. He spends many nights sitting in his lair, staring at a black tome of Dark Thaumaturgy, trying to fight the urge to open it and rule again. The city's growing chaos and the return of his childe have only made matters worse. Sangris planted the seeds of evil in Ezekiel at an early age, but now tries to protect his childe. Ezekiel rejects all attention from his sire's executioner, and Pierre Bellemare has happily made Ezekiel an ally. The best Sangris can do is to keep Cairo away from Ezekiel, but he does not know that by doing so he does more harm than good.

Recent Events:

Santiago DeSoto's Statistics

Miguel Santo Domingo -- Pack Leader (deceased - killed by Karsh the Warlord of the Camarilla in that sects conquest of Montreal in the Summer of 2022)

Appearance: A strapping six foot-four inches tall, Miguel is a dynamic figure. His cropped black hair tops a wide face. Miguel has a quick smile and predatory eyes. He is rarely seen dressed in anything other than causal attire.

Behavior: When speaking to others, Miguel can be direct to a fault. By nature he is open and honest with his friends and pack-mates, but when necessary he can be devious. Though given to restraint and self-control, it is not unknown for Miguel to lose himself to the Beast while battling the enemies of the Sabbat.

History:

Recent Events: Miguel and the other Navigators where charged with monitoring La Ronde Airport during the 2022 Litany of Blood when they detected the arrival of a pack calling itself Voinitsi na Renesansa. This group of Bulgarian Sabbat tried to sneak past the Navigators and were intercepted, briefly interrogated and then escorted to the Temple of Eternal Whispers, the communal haven of the Sabbat of Montreal.

Rest in Peace: In the last week of June, during the 2022 Litany of Blood, Miguel was slain by Karsh the Warlord as Camarilla forces attempted to flush out the Sabbat in the Underground City.

Miguel Santo Domingo's Statistics

Celeste Lamontagne -- Pack Priest

Appearance: Celeste has a feral beauty. She is tall, muscular and constantly ready to burst into action. Celeste bears the marks of multiple frenzies (including pointed ears and eyes that reflect light).

Behavior: Celeste is comfortable and free with her experience. Some members of the Sabbat think she is weak, but Celeste is more than happy to prove them wrong.

History:

Recent Events: Celeste is the only active member of the Navigators left, as she was in the Protean mist form as the Camarilla invaded the Underground City.

Celeste Lamontagne's Statistics

Erinyi

Appearance: Erinyi makes no attempt to hide her Gargoyle nature. Standing on her toes like a canine, she is over seven feet tall, which includes her eight-inch-long horns. Her gray wings stretch and sway as she walks.

Behavior: Erinyi is quick to anger. When that happens, it is all she can do to suppress the urge to rip Malkavians and other annoying pests apart. Erinyi finds release in battle and or music, but those pleasures pale in comparison to the love that lies in her dead heart.

History: University student Margaret Moy fled to Detroit to escape her abusive father when a Sabbat Gargoyle, looking for fodder for a war party, grabbed her off the streets. He abandoned her when she emerged from the ground in an uncontrollable rage. She made her way back to Montreal and Ezekiel discovered her. He guided her through the Creation Rites, welcomed her into 24:17, and named her "Erinyi" -- a variation of "Fury."

Erinyi's days in 25:17 were bittersweet. She loved Ezekiel, whom she considered her savior, and felt camaraderie for the others. But her rage tore her apart. She joined the Path of Cathari in search of relief, but became lost in the abandon of the Albigensians. Finally, her longing for Ezekiel became an obsession, and she attacked Soldat after her drew attention to her feelings.

Ezekiel asked Reza Fatir to guide Erinyi on the structured Path of Honorable Accord. Reza accepted, aware of the sacrifice that Ezekiel made by initiating a change in Erinyi that his own Path deemed a weakness. Erinyi gained some control over her life as a result.

She met Celeste after seeing her perform at Angel's Fall. Finding that her hostility was soothed by music, Erinyi joined Wyldchylde. Reza and Ezekiel realized that the Gargoyle was among her new friends. When she approached her patrons with the prospect of traveling with the Navigators in 1996, they agreed. Miguel Santo Domingo remains uncomfortable with Erinyi's ties to Ezekiel, but respects Celeste's refusal to condemn the Gargoyle for her loyalty.

Recent Events: During the 2022 Summer Invasion of Montreal by the Camarilla, Erinyi went into frenzy after seeing her friend and ductus beheaded by Karsh the Warlord. It is of little surprise that her frenzied attack did little in the way of damage to the Warlord, but his counterstrike has likely entorpored or killed her. Currently no one knows the status of Erinyi.

Erinyi's Statistics

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