History (Strigoi)
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[edit] Lizuca's Calling
Lizuca was the most sought after bride of her village, having been achingly beautiful in her youth. The daughter of widowed herbalist, Lizuca was keen with plants and medicinal use. In addition she had a beautiful singing voice like that of a nightingale, and as was her custom, she would sing to her mother in the evenings by the fire. Tragically, however, and after becoming engaged to a local upstanding youth, she began experiencing nightly visitations by a dark menace, that left her feeling sickly by morning. Spells and wards both Christian and pagan were aligned about her room, but none prevented her decent towards death. The dark menace, a vampire named Rada, soon claimed her for his own, and she was embraced. Rada's visiage was that of a cold ragged corpse, and she was at first repulsed. But after calming her, Rada told Lizuca that he had been drawn to her by her night time singing, but in doing so she had begun to sicken and die. Rather than let that happen, Rada claimed, he had attempted to save her.
Revealing the basics of her condition, Rada soon disappeared, and swiftly Lizuca's beauty began to fade. At first she just seemed sickly, but soon her flesh began to take rot and in time she was aught but a ragged corpse in appearance, as Rada had been.
Living on the river Danube, Lizuca became a kind of hag like creature who would trap those of the local populace who travelled too close to the rivers banks at night. But Lizuca was not the only kindred living near the river. She was approached by two others, the Sisters, who took Lizuca under their wing and gave a meaning to her existence. She was the embodiment of the Crone, they told her, and taught her the traditions of the Circle. Lizuca took to the Circle's ways like a fish to a stream, but despite this she was still uncontented. The others sisters, the Virgin and the Mother, could walk among mortals without fear and hatred, yet she could not. So Lizuca bent her powers to understanding flesh, hers and theirs. Mortals became her study as well, and she would often leave her prey dissected, in an effort to expose their inner secrets.
[edit] Changing Skins
When she did at last find the secret she wished for, it was bitter knowledge. Still, undaunted by her task at hand, she trapped the Virgin and Mother in webs of deceit, and when they were staked, she used them in the casting a great ritual unseen by any kindred of the Circle of the Crone. She absorbed their essences and then knew all secrets of flesh and bone. With this she changed her blood and aquired the ability to become old or young, fat or skinny, cold or flush, beautiful or vile. But even as she reveled in this knowledge, all was not as she had hoped. Walking amongst the mortal populace, they still looked at her new form with anxiety and secret dread. Though she was not outwardly a monster, mortals still felt the monster inside and felt terror from it.
Coldly betrayed even in victory, Lizuca again became a recluse, a white clad witch of the forest. She would claim childer in those years, mostly mediums or those with occult talents, and teach them her powers of Transviscera, but they suffered just as her, and went their separate ways.
[edit] The Tutelage of Tzimisces
Ioannes Tzimisces III, a noble of the Byzantine empire During the 10th century A.D., was known to have been a debauched and narcissistic harpy in his time living in Constantinople. But after offending those in power, a blood hunt was called on Tzimisces and he left Constantinople and fled into the depths of the Slavic lands to the north. The wilds of the north forests and mountains were perilous, barbarous lands that Rome had only partially civilized, and lone kindred traveling by moonlight still had unseen terrors to face. Tzimisces travelled long in these depths but found no place to call a haven until a fateful encounter with the witch Lizuca.
She came to him like an angel out of heaven, smiting those that pursued him. Out of thanks and at great surprise, Tzimisces humbled himself before her, and begged to be taught at her side. And Lizuca agreed, despite herself. In addition to her knowledge of flesh-crafting, Lizuca was by now an accomplished sorceress. And in Lizuca Tzimisces found not just a master but a teacher, and he was quick to learn. She taught him the ways of the mountains, forests, and rivers, and it was not long before Tzimisces lost his fear of the wilds and came to feel of it as his home. Lizuca was respected by the powers and spirits that dwelt in wilds and by other kindred that walked the open country under the moon. Tzimisces became a trusted servant of Lizuca and powerful in his own right, but in all ways an extension of Lizuca's power, and it is because of this he eventually realized his folly.
Lizuca, taught Tzimisces many things, but never as much as she herself knew. This knowledge she held as bond on her servant, keeping him loyal with the promises of deeper mysteries and keys to greater knowledge. Despite this Tzimisces eventually found his service to Lizuca as a prison, and though he wanted to leave and come into his own power and status, she would not let him. When the burden eventually became too great, Tzimisces turned on Lizuca seeing his own demise as preferable to unending servitude. The both of them fought viciously, leaving no quarter, but in the end Tzimisces persevered, and Lizuca's spells, protections, and wards failed against him. She came to be at his mercy, and in a moment of anger and jealousy Tzimisces took her heart's blood. Tzimisces made enemies of many that night, not the least of which were Lizuca's previous get, the Strigoi Morti.
[edit] Diablerie's Consequence
Tzimisces was changed after the act of amaranth. His later childer reported that he had traits of madness and disquiet that were not immediately apparent. He had reentered kindred society, taking residence in Budapest and selected childer from their barons and princes, all with a penchant for ambition. But as he grew old, he grew distant. His childer admitted that he was haunted by voices, and that sometimes his powers of Transviscera would become uncontrolled and would grow limbs, eyes, or mouths that seemed to move with a will of their own. In early 14th century, as Tzimisces' bouts of madness became worse, and Tzimisces surprised his childer by undergoing a strange metamorphosis.
Those of Lizuca’s blood had felt her absence, and found that Tzimisces had left her domain. When he was reported using Transviscera, her blood-tied new what had happened. Some of those took it upon themselves to seek revenge, and one of these was Rada. While Rada had left his childe, he had always kept his eyes on her from afar, tortured with the guilt that he had cursed her. When news of her diablerie reached him, he found her oldest childe and formed a pact of revenge. Taking her bloodline though her childe, Rada bore a few more childer and fought a secret war against Tzimisces. When Rada did eventually confront the aged prince, intent on destroying him, he met with a revelation. From Tzimisces' own flesh came her voice. Lizuca spoke from within Tzimisces and Rada wept with the realization that in truth she was not dead, but locked in vessel that Rada had been bent on destroying.
Lizuca calmed her blood-tied and then told them more of the horrible miracle she had achieved. Both lines were brought before their founders and a dread pact formed assuaging all vengeance, and those closest to Tzimsces and Lizuca became the lords of a combined house, caretakers of "the Founder" in its new form. Both lines took the name Strigoi, a sobriquet for witch or devil, set about regaining control of Budapest. This, however, that was not to be. Facing pressure from elements of the First and Second Estates, the two lines removed themselves to wilds of eastern Hungary. Reestablishing themselves, the Strigoi dug themselves into this new domain, selecting childer from rising noble houses. Thus the Strigoi have long haunted the lands of eastern Europe, resisting any who would uproot them.
