kiasyd rewrite

KIASYD

Quote: "It's hard to have much of a fear of any man or Prince when you've seen the things I've seen. What's any real world threat compared to something that has their hands directly spinning the threads of fate?"

Nickname: Wyrdlings

Clan Disciplines: DOMINATE, MYTHERCERIA, AUSPEX

Sect: Independant, as many see their interests lying outside of greater vampyric society. Those that choose a sect seem equally likely to join the Camarilla or the Sabbat.

The Kiasyd are an oddity if ever there was one. A bizarre breed, the mixture of faerie magic and the Cainite curse, the Wyrdlings live on the fringes of both the societies of changelings and vampires, never quite carving out a place among either. They nominally associate more with the latter due to their shared need for blood and struggle with their internal Beast, but face mistrust in greater Kindred society. With the enormous, mind-bending threat that looms behind their origin, something that Kindred are ultimately powerless against, it isn't hard to see why.

The story tells of a Cainite presented with the very image of a goddess. Sable hair, copper skin and bronze scaled, she seduced him, whispered words of fate in his ear. She said her name with Lilitu, the night goddess, the lady who knew the secrets of the fate of his kind. He fed on her blood and was dragged intoxicated through the moonlit briars, drinking down her honeyed words as well. She was the very image of divinity, but the illusion could only hold for so long. His vampyric goddess was a terrible mistress, taking joy in seeing him half-starved, only feeding him on her mind-searing vitae when she tired of watching him succumb to the Beast.

It wasn't the first time a Cainite had been tricked, brought to Arcadia and made the plaything and slave of a much more powerful force. It was, however, the first time one clawed his way back through the thorns. Being cursed, he didn't have much of a soul to lose in the Hedge, but the experience had warped him in other ways. His flesh still corrupted by his life in Faerie, he wandered the world, eventually taking childer that shared his unique properties. These childer would eventually find common ground, forming the unique bloodline of the Kiasyd.

Though they do not have the same sort of access to the Contracts tying them to the world around them as Changelings do, the Kiasyd cannot unsee the subtle connections to the Wyrd and fate that they have. From the moment of embrace their eyes are open to the touches that Faerie has on the normal world. Though hardly a universal trait, many Wyrdlings are drawn to gaining a greater understanding of these strings even if they can't properly tug at them, and many eventually become accomplished scholars of the supernatural. Not just of the fae-touched world, but other aspects of the World of Darkness as well.

Appearance

The Wyrdlings don't have true miens as their Changeling cousins do, but that doesn't mean that their appearances aren't warped by the fae magic coursing through them. Though the exact shape of this change can vary wildly, common traits include unnatural skin and eye color, subtle animalistic features, pointed faces and ears, eyes with no pupils, unnatural heights, and permanent fangs (sometimes even tusks in lieu of fangs).

Havens

Older Kiasyd, drawn to mythology and stories and how they tie into the greater scheme of things, make their havens in grand libraries and archives, the results of many years of obsessive collection which they fiercely protect. Neonates tend to be less fortunate. Ostracized, they often have to work to carve out their own place, and unless they find themselves under the protection of their own kind, they are often on their own.

Background

Though Wyrdlings can ultimately be made from any stock, older Kiasyd tend to embrace from pools of people willing to pursue the arcane secrets of the world, people who would not be afraid to dive into the uncomfortable and the unknown. Scholars, prodigies, conspiracy theorists, the open-minded, those that never stop exploring and asking questions are commonly sought out. Of course, just as many are embraced because life on the brim of two societies can take its toll, and in areas sparse of their own kind, the life of a Wyrdling can be desperately lonely.

Character Creation

When a deliberate embrace is made, Mental attributes are typically favored, as are Knowledges. The most consistent ability is Occult.

Weakness

The Wyrdlings' appearance is affected by the fae magic coursing through their bodies. Though this does not affect their Appearance score, they are still considered a masquerade violation in their natural shape. Kiasyd share the weakness to iron with their fae brethren as well. Touching cold iron requires an immediate roll to avoid frenzy, and any weapons made from cold iron inflict aggravated damage to Kiasyd.

Organization

The Kiasyd tend to gather in groups, being the only ones that can truly relate to each other, with large concentrations even forming small courts, if only because the idea feels natural to them in some instinctual way. These courts vary in their heraldry and symbols, but almost always are based around the phases of the moon. Their fae heritage makes embracing this symbol of a cycling force to be comforting, a ward against what they know lurks behind those hidden, dark places of the world. Even those Wyrdlings that do not take part in a court still pay close attention and reverence to moon phases.