florian

Name:		Florian Petronius Mus (Flower, Stone Mouse; usually F. Petronius, or formally F. Petronious Mus; F. Petroni when speaking to him directly)
Clan:		Malkavian
Nature:	Perfectionist (regain WP whenever you accomplish your goal without any demonstrable flaw or impediment, and regain a Willpower point whenever you motivate another character to succeed as a result of your own shining example)
Demeanor:	Celebrant or Perfectionist

Sire: Blaesa Theodananda Gothi (Theodananda the Gibberer Goth)

Strength	2		Charisma	1		Perception	4
Dexterity	4		Manipulation	1		Intelligence	5
Stamina	2		Appearance	4		Wits		1

Specialties - Dexterity: Swift; Appearance: Regal; Perception: Discerning; Intelligence: Creative

Talents:			Skills:				Knowledges:
Alertness	1	Animal Ken			Academics	2
Athletics	1	Archery				Hearth Wisdom	1
Awareness	1	Commerce			Investigation	1
Brawl		1	Craft				Law		1
Dodge		1	Etiquette	1		Linguistics	1
Empathy		1	Melee		1		Medicine	3
Expression		Performance			Occult		3
Intimidation	1	Ride				Politics	1
Leadership		Stealth		1		Seneschal
Malkavian Time	2	Survival	2		Theology
Streetwise
Subterfuge

Backgrounds
Mentor
Domain
Generation 	3
Herd		1
Retainer
Resources
Status		1

Virtues:
Conviction	2
Instinct	2
Courage		4

Willpower:	5

Path of Metamorphosis:	4




Disciplines:
Auspex		1
Dementation	3
Obfuscation
Vicissitude	3

Clan Weakness:
Derangement (Incurable): Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Fascinated by perfect forms, acknowledgedly unattainable in this realm, yet driven to attempt to reach them. Goes beyond the superficial, but is often quite driven by superficial imperfections.

Merits/Flaws:
Eerie Presence (2 points) - Mortals have an unconscious awareness of your undead nature, which makes then anxious and ill at ease in your presence. Because of this, difficulties of all rolls relating to social interaction with mortals are increased by two.
Short (1 point) - You are well below average height -- four and a half feet (1.5 meters) tall or less. You have difficulty reaching or manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, and your running speed is one-half that of an average human.
Tic / Twitch (1 point) - You have some sort of repetitive motion that you make in times of stress, and it's a dead giveaway as to your identity. Examples include a nervous cough, constantly wringing your hands, cracking your knuckles, and so on. It costs one Willpower to refrain from engaging in your tic.
Child (3 points) - You were a small child (between five and 10 years old) at the time of your Embrace, leaving your Physical Attributes underdeveloped and making it difficult to interact with some aspects of mortal society. You may not have more than two dots in Strength or Stamina at character creation, except when raising Physical Attributes with blood points, and the difficulties of all die rolls when attempting to direct or lead mortal adults are increased by two. Characters with this Flaw should also take the Short Flaw.

Freebies:
22 / 22

Background:
F. Petronious Mus was a wily street urchin of ten years, known only as Petronious, when his sire Theodananda chose him. Certainly he was not a master of any specific skill or trait; brilliant despite his poor education, but at most might have ascended to the status of criminal mastermind, and more likely would have died young in a pool of his own blood on some side street of Byzantium. It cannot be said that his embrace was the best thing that could ever happen to him, but he is not ungrateful, believing now as he does that there is something more he could become than either a mere urchin or neonate. At this time, however, he is not spiritually well-developed, and is largely content to experience unlife as a slow maturation.
While irrelevant to him now, Petronious' parents came to Constantinople in the wake of riots, seeking relatives who were most likely killed in the upheaval. The possessions and properties belonging to their family had been seized, and the family had nothing to which they could come back. Petronious' father took out his frustrations on his wife and children, and in time his rages drove the very young Petronious out into the street; one less mouth to feed. He survived in this way for a year or so, making up in brilliance what he lacked in any appreciable wit or charm. It was his habit to plan ahead for difficulties as yet unmet. In this regard his lack of resources now has proven a difficulty, but he sees this as a common problem for neonates. Nevertheless, he will be dependant on the help of the coterie for some of his needs.

Profiles: Theodananda and Seneslau
The Path of Metamorphosis is a lonely and selfish path, and the truly devout hold their beasts at bay at the expense of much self-sacrifice, even unto their very unlives if need be. Nevertheless, Theodananda and Seneslau can reasonably be called friends, and certainly are partners of a sort.
Seneslau cel Tinar, childe of Barbat, was a monk before his embrace, a scribe with a flair for illuminations. Barbat made no deals and offered no special treatment; Seneslau was one of multiple experiments by Barbat, yet another childe embraced largely to see what happened. In this regard Seneslau was accustomed to his new role, having been born the third and superfluous son of a wealthy merchant. The role of third and superfluous childe of a monstrous elder vampire required a little adjustment, but his monastic lifestyle lent him well to the new spiritual matter of the Path of Metamorphosis, and in this regard he is a credit to his sire, a fact which doesn't place the distant sire and childe on regular speaking terms but does accord them a mutual respect.
Theodananda was a Gothic either a holy woman or village idiot; the differences are significant, of course, but her warped perceptions and difficulty with language don't make these distinctions perfectly clear. She has traits which mark her as most likely descending from the Dionysian, traits she has passed on to Florian Petronious, but both have fallen far from the tree. Theodananda is not a great master of vicissitude; all she has learned has been at great difficulty and with no small amount of spiritual compromise from Seneslau, who himself teaches her only now and then as recompense for her services as an advisor.
Seneslau and Theodananda conduct their studies in parallel, each drawing his or her own conclusions and offering a degree of mutual security and benefit from their differing strengths. Too devout in their studies to offer or request assistance from the other, they are nevertheless not unknown to trade books or pieces of lore, considering it sufficient to draw probably distinct conclusions (for, really, how could a Tzimisce expect to draw the same conclusions as a Malkavian?) It's actually possible the two are love in some way, and a threat to one might well cause a frenzy in the other, but the basis of their relationship is alliance and mutual benefit, complicated by mutual suspicion and more than a few intrigues to pass the boring times.
Theodananda, of course, is not unknown for her pranks; while she'll never attempt to enlighten another about metamorphosis unless it's strictly to further her own research, she's as driven as any other Malkavian to offer hints and cruel truths to those who are willfully blind about more basic matters. Again, though, she has fallen far from the tree and may have little in common with even other Malkavians. On average, the Family doesn't mind; the more in tune know she's part of the Tapestry, and the rest tend to have their own concerns. This doesn't mean every Malkavian is well-disposed toward her, but there's no hard feelings on the whole.

A century ago, Theodananda suggested, in her odd way, a mutual experiment. Seneslau had long valued Theodananda's insight, even envied it, but was uncertain of its root cause or implications. Perhaps her ancestry as a Malkavian lent her a twisted path to metamorphosis which would be forever denied him, or perhaps she could never reach their mutual goal. (To Seneslau, Theodananda was herself something of an experiment from which much could be learned.)
Discussion of the experiment became more refined as the two traveled from Romania to Constantinople in search of the libraries of the Obertus family. By the time they arrived, they'd planned most details of the experiment, and on arrival took only the time to secure the rights to embrace and sufficient status in the town to take up residence.
Theodananda chose F. Petronious Mus over Seneslau's initial objections. Between her words and a difficult but worthwhile telepathic consultation, Seneslau discerned that her intention was to combine their approaches, one mental and one intuitive, in one childe who was effectively a blank slate. Petronious was unrealized potential, and with significant indoctrination and the help of Malkavian insight could possibly show them the way by his actions and progress down the line.
Their course of action was simple. Petronious would be the rare case of a childe with two sires, each jealously guarding their observations from the other but allowing mutual benefit from their collaboration. Petronious was abducted from the street in the middle of the night, run through his physical paces in a vicious game of cat(s) and mouse (mus), and then held captive until he had surrendered to the agendas of two improbable and unidentifiable monsters. These two creatures who went bump in the night then drained him of blood in a strange and ecstatic ritual, a perversely blissful moment in the life of the boy, then beckoned him back to a semblance of life with a trickle of something sweet-tasting and invigorating.
Petronious saw such things as he cannot describe, and has never quite seen again. At the edge of his perception now he can occasionally glimpse shapes, the true and perfect roots of chairs, stars, hands, tumblers, buildings, even institutions. In that moment, though, Petronious saw it all, from the perfect to the peccant. It was, of course, all too much to take in and far, far too much to hold. Perhaps it was the sinful and terrifying he saw, perhaps even a glimpse the Devourer himself, which drives him even now to seek the unattainable perfection of those opposing forms, sometimes making only blasphemous parodies of what he truly believes is sublime but forever beyond his reach in this flawed world.
Petronious awoke screaming. Theodananda was pleased. Seneslau was curious, but otherwise unmoved.
Once he had calmed sufficiently, Theodananda and Seneslau took shifts feeding him, shaping his young and impressionable mind, keeping him slightly bound to each of them, and drilling him on the finer points of dementation and vicissitude. Vicissitude seemed to come easily to him, and with it came a necessary and professional knowledge of the workings of the body. He was a little surprised to find his no longer worked quite like that of a human, but it made sense in its way. Dementation seemed to come at much greater difficulty, though; to this day he is not strong in the skills which he demonstrated, and only barely passed muster in Passion or The Haunting. The Eyes of Chaos, though, with only a little further teaching in interpretation, proved to be his true calling and a great justification for all their efforts. In time it seemed to Seneslau that nothing would be beyond their childe's comprehension. Theodananda knew better, but considered the childe a success.
It's not improbable they have chosen other kinds of 'blank slates' upon which to experiment since his embrace; a project fifty years in the making such as theirs is nothing to the kindred. It's very likely Seneslau has a childe of his own, perhaps chosen with similar potential and trained for the mastery of some talent or another, but Petronious knows nothing of it and can only imagine such a brother or sister.
Though Seneslau and Theodananda are likely to watch Petronious' progress carefully, they are highly unlikely to lend a hand. He has been tested, and Theodananda and the Prince have approved of his present state, dubious though it may be. All is now up to him.
It’s possible they’d be disappointed in Petronious at this time, but more probable they’re simply interested in how he floats from place to place, seeking advantages with a comfortable desperation. (He has known little else so far except desperation, so he’s uncomfortable with much else.) He’s too young in appearance, to say nothing of too terrifying on contact, to be taken seriously in a professional role among the kine, nor can he much afford to stay in one part of the city for more than a few years before it becomes apparent he’s not growing or aging appropriately. This means his most common employment is among kindred, who are notoriously stingy. Nevertheless, they are able to take him seriously, and most would want him as an asset rather than a threat; even if they don’t fear him, they sometimes respect the medical and occult knowledge drilled into him by Theodananda and Seneslau, and the wisest fear his keen intellect.