Age:
433
Height: 5’5”
Born:
1567
Weight: 152
lbs
Embraced:
1594
Eyes: dark;
brown to black
Generation:
7th
Hair:
black, combed to cover the right side of his face
Sire:
Hasan
Resides:
Largely nomadic
Sect:
independent, stretches bounds of bond to his clan
The
Embrace:
Q’ayr was born Marcello Tantino, an Italian courtier; originally from Naples, he was moved at an early age to Venice, where he spent his youth and short adult life. There, he learned the martial arts of the time, from swordplay to diplomacy, and also gained an appreciation for the visual and performing arts. His natural talent in swordsmanship was excellent, and he soon outstripped the others in his age group, progressing to learn with the great Venetian masters of the period, where he not only learned the typical smallsword fencing of most courtiers, but also gained great skill in the use of the rapier and saber. Marcello was able to catch the eye of a young Venetian lord, Giuseppe Marconi, who employed him as a bodyguard and adviser. Unknown to Marcello, another being had his eyes on the young courtier as well: an Assamite antitribu named Hasan was in Venice at the time, and Marcello’s abilities as both swordsman and courtier were enough to draw the attention of any Assamite. Hasan observed Marcello for three years, watching the young man mature and progress in his skills, as well as subtly influencing the direction of Marcello’s learning. Under the unseen puppetry of Hasan, Marcello became schooled in the culture and people of the middle East, ostensibly as training to become an international diplomat for the city of Venice. After that period of three years, Hasan embraced Marcello, without the knowledge or blessing of Alamut.
--Scholars
of the history of the Assamite clan may note that no Europeans were officially
admitted into the clan until the early 1900’s. Marcello was not the first or
last European admitted unofficially; it is known that the Assamite known as
Tariq refused to submit to the 1496 Treaty of Tyre, and it is now apparent that
a few other members of the clan followed his suit, creating the Assamite
antitribu. Some of these
“unconquered” felt permanently estranged from Alamut and, while still
following the words of Haqim, saw no reason to limit their clan to
Middle-Eastern stock.--
After the embrace, Hasan led Marcello through a grueling seven years of
training and teaching, indoctrinating the fledgling in the word of Haqim and the
ways of the Khabar. Marcello was at first shocked and frightened by his new
unlife, but quickly adapted and thrived under Hasan’s tutelage. In honor of
his new life, Marcello took a new, less “foreign” name, and became Q’ayr.
Eventually, Hasan set Q’ayr loose, and they went their separate ways. For the
next century, the two maintained contact, seeing each other every few years.
Since 1736, however, Q’ayr has experienced a strange silence from his sire,
and knows nothing of his whereabouts, or if he is even still alive. During a
brief foray into Turkey to fulfill a contract in 1739, Q’ayr had a nearly
unfortunate meeting with Murat, a rafiq in the more traditional sense. The two
fought briefly, until both realized that they were, apparently, brothers of a
sort. Murat, confused by the existence of an Italian rafiq, quizzed Q’ayr
extensively. Eventually convinced of Q’ayr’s knowledge and legitimacy, Murat
convinced Q’ayr to return to Alamut with him. Doing so, Q’ayr was brought
before the Du’at and introduced to the clan as a whole. Despite his antitribu
blood, Q’ayr’s alliance was largely to the mother clan, and he was more or
less allowed into the fold.
Current
Activities:
After his entrance to Alamut, Q’ayr proved his usefulness often during
the time of the curse, able to study, kill, and diablerize Tremere sorcerers in
order to get at their secrets, even at the greatest risk to himself; he once
lost most of the skin on the right side of his body, coming very close to final
death during a fight with a Tremere sorceress. Today, he has left Alamut to
become a wandering assassin, searching for Tremere and knowledge. He keeps a
grip on his own humanity by teaching himself as much as possible, be it a
physical art or simple knowledge. He has learned many styles of hand-to-hand
combat, both in and away from Alamut, as well as many dance forms and weapon
arts. When unable to feed on the blood of kindred, he feeds almost exclusively
upon those mortals who are either dangerous or useless to mortal society; this
is not necessarily an attempt to maintain humanity, although it serves to do
that. Moreso, it is simply due to the fact that such mortals provide more sport
than most. Q’ayr currently is in the United States, moving from job to job as
they come.
Character
Traits:
Q’ayr is a fairly low-key individual, more likely to sit and watch a place than actively take part in its goings-on. He is, however, always in search of knowledge, and is easily brought into conversations with all manner of people. His experience as a courtier serves him well in social situations, endowing him with a quiet charm that many find easy to speak to. So long as he keeps the hideous scars on the right side of his body covered, he can easily slip in and out of any large group of people, and does so often, listening in on conversations and initiating his own to discover any contracts that may come his way. He is very hard on himself, and strives for perfection in many things, especially the business of killing. What may be a small mistake, one likely to happen to even the best assassins, is likely to send him into a self-directed fury, even if the mistake does not affect the outcome of his endeavor. When he falls into such a mood, he is likely to loose most of his composure, snapping at those who attempt to speak to him and easily provoked to a fight. He will not throw the first punch in any non-contractual conflict, but is willing to accept a wide variety of gestures, words, or emotions as threats. Usually, though, he is very relaxed and difficult to provoke.
Copyright ©2000 Adam Rutledge