The Chantry

Chicago's Tremere have never been especially wellliked, but in the old order of things they were considered essential. The clan was the Camarilla's authority on blood magic and the occult. The Tremere Pyramid ensured that every chantry was part of a coordinated effort to support the global Camarilla and . . . what else? There's the rub; half the Tremere's business was a secret, compartmentalized within its initiatory society. At the dawn of the 21st century, the Tremere's hidden schemes exploded into multiple conflicts. The sparsely populated Chicago Chantry was ill-equipped to deal with it. When the clan found itself in a conflict with Order of Hermes magi, the child vampire Nicolai sent Abraham DuSable to assist in the war effort. It was a way to dispose of a rival for power and increase his prestige in a court that treated him with contempt. Nicolai may have thought the clan would provide neonate underlings to replace DuSable and werewolf-victim Garwood Marshall. Instead, after years where Chicago's Chantry hosted only Nicolai and a gargoyle (Erichtho despised Nicolai and avoided him), the elders called him to Vienna — just before the Prime Chantry burned. Nicolai was presumed dead, and Abraham DuSable returned, much changed from his travels. With the clan divided, the Chantry remains nominally loyal to House Tremere and the remnants of the Pyramid, but members disagree on where the Chantry's ultimate loyalty should lie. DuSable and Erichtho form the nucleus of the current Tremere chantry, but barely tolerate one another because their philosophies and characters radically differ. DuSable is a traditionalist and amoral pragmatist; Erichtho sympathizes with Carna rebels and seeks enlightenment in Humanity. These differences aren't enough to separate them, however, as their mutual respect and shared knowledge makes them a powerful team. Recent arrival Sun Che stands between them. Each member has divergent interests, but a common devotion to the occult, and a deep appreciation of the powers and dangers it offers to initiates. Now Portia has returned to the Chantry after years of absence, and the others have yet to decide whether she's that threat personified or has come to aid them against other hidden enemies.