Nasch
- -=Ventrue=--=Coil of the Lion=-
Nasch, also known as The Circassian, is a Mamluk Ventrue who had managed to drink the blood of Set himself. He has since served as a catalyst for Anarch activity, although unwillingly.
Biography
Nasch was born among the Bzhedug Adyghes, one of the people known more popularly as the Circassians, especially in the Mamluk culture that dominated the Middle East at the time of his birth. Like many Circassian boys, he was proud when his father arranged for him to travel to Egypt to serve in the sultan's army, viewing his sale to the visiting merchant as a ticket to freedom, not slavery.
The boy became the property of Kulayb al-Naqid, a powerful bureaucrat who spent whatever it took to ensure that his young warrior received the best martial training available. The boy was given regular access to the personal and religious libraries of his master and his master's network of friends, which included Islamic scholars as well as Christian and Jewish authorities. Nasch was captivated by what he read and proved a quick learner, mastering Arabic and a handful of other important scripts and tongues before he had reached majority. Upon reaching the age for battle, Nasch was granted his freedom and provided arms and armor in addition to a mount. This did not remove his obligation to al-Naqid, however.
As was the Mamluk custom, Nasch remained bound to his former master by an oath of blood loyalty. This was not an issue for the Circassian at first, but in time the elder al-Naqid grew demanding and continued to treat Nasch as a trophy to parade before his friends as the aging bureaucrat struggled to maintain his station in a shifting political landscape. As Nasch increasingly resisted this treatment, al-Naqid began to cut him off from his network, denying him the scholarly pursuits Nasch had come to cherish. Only one remained, a rival of his master, who began to fan the unwillingness against his treatment within Nasch. When al-Naqid learned of Nasch's association with his enemy, he denounced him as a traitor and Nasch struck him down.
His favorer turned out to be the associate of a Ventrue elder Palamon, who wanted to purge Egypt from Islamic influence. It did not take long for Nasch to become convinced to swear a new blood oath to the passionate Ventrue and in 1263 CE he took an oath of fealty in the form of the Embrace. With his nights now freed of mortal concerns and the Followers of Set willing to share occult secrets with him that no mortal possessed, Nasch saw his sire as both his savior and a true father that deserved his eternal loyalty.
Ultimately, his strong ties with the Followers of Set turned him against his sire, making him believe that all he saw was a useful slave that would be even more useful if he believed himself to be free. A cabal of Setites called the Coil of the Lion had the task to relocate the torpid body of an ancient of their lineage, rumored to be Set himself, and needed distractions. By this time, Palamon, in large part due to the help of his favored childe, had achieved near-total control over the immediate advisors to Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban. With the backing of the Setites, Nasch made his move and lent his support to an uprising among the Mamluks that began in Syria and quickly spread to Egypt.
This invoked the ire of Palamon, who invoked the Lex Talionis against his wayward childe. The Coil of the Lion, however, grew careless and boasted to Nasch of their purpose and demanded his help, as he was in their debt. Instead, Nasch used his Mamluks to ambush their caravan and entered the tomb of the ancient. With the aid of a bone reputedly from Osiris himself, he hoped to be protected against whatever defenses the Dark God would have. When he faced the Antediluvian, however, he experienced a strange vision: he found himself standing upon a dais in a vast, open temple situated on an otherwise empty expanse of desert that stretched into infinity.
Before him lay the body of a man with the head of an unspeakable beast, no sarcophagus in sight, naked but for a simple loincloth. For a few moments Nasch surrendered to a fear that made even the Red Fear seem insignificant. He could not move and was sure that he was to meet Final Death, sure that this was Set, and that the Antediluvian would slake its thirst on his blood. With all his might, he leaped forward and began to drink of the vitae of the torpid creature. What happened next he cannot or will not permit himself to guess.
To this night, Nasch recalls a distant memory of power, unimaginable power, surging through him, and of a tremendous roar that drowned out all other sensation. He knows, too, there was pain, as if the sun itself had swallowed him. And his body unconsciously quakes with a terror so all-encompassing that to this night all his other fears have lost their hold on him.
He awakened after a decade in a monastery in Sicily, having been saved by his retainers. His mind was plagued by visions of serpents that devoured the world and his body was withered. He came to believe that the process of diablerie had been horribly reversed when he tried to drink the blood of Set. The Antediluvian might have possibly gained substance from him and would be able to locate him. Fearing for his life, as the Anarch Revolt slowly rolled on and many elders would destroy him immediately if they knew of his daring act, he fled to Milan, amidst the local Cainites.
He soon developed ties with the Tremere, who were fascinated with his knowledge about Setite magic. In exchange for knowledge, he demanded the protection against Set's vengeance. He received it: the Ritual of Concealing would diminish Nasch's presence so greatly that no Kindred of the Followers of Set, not even the founder of the clan himself, would be able to detect him. The rite came with two caveats: first, the ritual's power was contingent upon Nasch's own behavior. The more he advertised his presence, the weaker the protection would be. Second, given the incredible strength of the blood magic – it is no mean feat to obscure one of the Damned from a god – its efficacy would fade over time.
The only way to replenish the ritual's potency was for Nasch to enter torpor, during which time it would regain its original might. Nasch killed the Tremere who conducted the rite afterwards and tried to hide. When, over the years, he sought an advantage among his kind, he identified a downtrodden neonate or ancilla and convince the patsy to stand against one or more established Kindred presented an obstacle, even while openly defending the Traditions and declaring allegiance to the establishment. Some, many even, fell for these lies, aided as they were by vampiric charms, but more often those in power saw through his sham and sought his head for stirring up the Anarchs. Almost overnight, Milan became a battleground for those defending the Traditions and those howling for a new order and the blood of the defenders.
Even as he was hailed as a hero by the Milanese Anarchs and their "patron saint", a Lasombra named Giangaleazzo, Nasch became terrified that the Tremere ritual would be powerless to protect him from Setite vengeance. When the Sabbat conquered Milan, Nasch traded the location of Set's tomb for safety and entered torpor. When he awakened after centuries, he immediately left Milan and never returned.
Since the fifteenth century, Nasch has spent significant time in at least a score of cities, usually doing his best at first to not draw attention, but always finding himself unable to resist the tendencies that advertise his presence and force him to flee and again seek torpor. His corruptive influence is almost like a virus, and in each place his legacy is one of destabilizing sedition and open violence against the powers that be that often lasts for some time after his terrified exit from the storm he incited. Appearance
Nasch appears taller than his entirely average frame on account of his unusually emaciated condition, a situation that also makes him seem greatly aged. His once-powerful muscles have winnowed to a wiry physique, contributing even more to his unsettling appearance. His dark hair is long and straggly, but otherwise he keeps himself clean-shaven, and the charnel scent that accompanies him completes the image of a monster. Only his deep brown eyes hint at his remaining humanity. Nasch typically dresses in clothing suitable for his environment, though it’s perhaps a bit careworn. He is animated when speaking and unable to contain his passions, but he can swiftly transform into a creature of silent paranoia that is notably uncomfortable around others.
