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The Obour
Kindred take it for granted that they're a tangible reason human beings should fear the dark. Their very existence depends on it, they use it to feed and hide their unpleasant activities. Even with the revelations of other horrible supernaturals existing in the hidden recesses of the world and humanity itself, a sort of self-assured complacency often settles in that they're the masters of the night by dint of being vampires.
Well, there is a difference between being reliant upon it, and mastering it. The Obour are the would-be masters of the dark, and the fears contained therein. Not only do they dwell in darkness, they thrive upon it as unliving shadows. People have good reason to be hesitant of walking down certain dark alleys, or children peering under their bed in the night. You never know just where an Obour might be residing, waiting to feast. Kindred as well have good reason to be paranoid. Trying to pin down an Obour lurker is a losing proposition with the uncanny way they join with and alter the very darkness Kindred require. It scares the shit out of most aware of the lineage. It's one thing to fear the sun, but having to be paranoid of the shadows too? It's a grim world indeed, even for a vampire.
History:
Bulgarian mortal legend speaks of the Obour being the unquiet dead, spectres that rise up intangibly as shadows who then seek to terrify the living through all manner of disgusting and outright terrifying acts, from smearing feces about homes, to unearthly screams and night-time manifestations of fright to witnesses. It didn't end there. It was said the longer the Obour persisted, the stronger it would get during it's campaign of terror, the more tangible it would become the more terrors it inflicted, until it became a horrible blood feasting vampire even worse than before. Unfortunately for the living, the truth isn't all that far off the mythological mark when it comes to these terrors.
Among their own lot, the Obour are a collective of Mekhet and Nosferatu whose ancient practices of selective terrorizing and affinities with darkness became so entangled that they began to share the features of the other, be it through active attempts to alter their blood, or happenstance from co-mingling in mutual Blood Bonds or some strange joint rites. Some Obour actually point to charnel rites of the dead, and spontaneous animation from forgotten barrows as having at least some root to their strange Vitae, and among Crone "Bogeymen" being fundamentally altered by travails through the lands of the dead, bringing something of it back to the living lands when they dug their way out of the ground.
This may well be true, as tales of spontaneously arising Nosferatu and Mekhet embraced from corpses do indeed make the rounds, and are hardly an uncommon origin tale in many regions. Others even say they made a deal with some spurned cthonic god tied to the dead and darkness, and their predations on the living are repayment for it's blessing. The truth is never likely to be found out, leaving speculation of tall tales rampant, especially when dealing a bloodline that thrives on terrifying tales used as a means of controlling outsiders. For their part the Obour prefer it this way, as fear of the unknown is perhaps the greatest fear to be had. What better than to be unliving mysteries themselves? They're nicknamed the Conspiracy of Fear for good reason.
Among the European domains they haunted, they were noted for not only their fearful demeanors, moving about unseen yet seeing everything like some revenant spirit, but the terrifying way that the dark they dwelt within seemed to literally bend to their will. They'd rule townships as mysterious terrors when it sufficed, or would unearth the fears of mortal and Kindred alike to exploit for their own ends when supernatural displays were not enough. They were a successful conspiracy within Europe in the end, if increasingly scattered, having living and unliving alike jumping at shadows for good reason. They could very well -be- the shadow, or dwelling within unseen, paralyzing domains into fearful complacency and paranoia.
Their reputation as a result is everything from fearful respect to persecution in regions where the Obour overstayed their welcome. While certain precepts of Lancea et Sanctum domains were relatively inviting as well as the Crones who often identified them with ties to deities of the night, they had a shaky relation at best with Invictus domains, and the Ordo Dracul, outside of infrequent curiosities generally didn't cultivate their lineage among their ranks. As a result, the majority of Obour are roughly split three ways between the Sanctified, the Acolytes and being independents with occasional others worming their way into other covenants in modern nights.
While the Obour are said to have become a bloodline in their own right sometime during the Middle Ages within Bulgaria, nobody is really certain just how old they may truly be as an established bloodline. Certainly shadowy blood drinking horrors have found their place among mortal legend far longer than that, and given the exceedingly secretive habits of the Obour and their parent clans, who knows what horrible truths they hide away and how long they've been doing so? Not a few Kindred speculate they may have ancient roots, their epidemics of fear waxing and waning with members of their line succumbing to Torpor.
If such is true, it could simply be some forgotten elder of their line from ancient nights re-awoke and made new broods during the Middle Ages. Others speak of worse things, of infernal bargains and the condemnation of souls to some unknown abyss as the true root to of their strange power, and the name "Strix" certainly isn't an uncommon thing to be associated with these tales. To those who speak of such things, generally those most terrified of the Obour, the name "Belial's Brood" surfaces with alarming frequency, pointing at the "Obour conspiracy" as a line loyal to the Brood who work to tear down Kindred domains with a campaign of fear. If such is the case, it could be that they truly are a young line, capitalizing instead on old tales to allay suspicion of their true ways.
Customs: For their relatively focused and unusual activities, the customs of the Obour conspiracy are rather cosmopolitan when it comes to individuals. Overall, though, they're a pragmatic line in the end, their economy of terror running on the currency of phobias and hidden fears of prospective victims. Among those taking an active part in the "conspiracy" part of the Bloodline, identifying potential victims through observation and Auspex, often with a period of stalking takes place that can last years, hidden under layers of Obfuscate and the darkness of Obtenebration. After they've identified an exploitable fear, it's often mentioned to others part of the conspiracy, who then work towards making that fear a reality through selective use of Nightmare and Obtenebration. If a particular Obour has little interest in the particular victim, they will often trade or sell the unearthed fear to another of their line in place of one more appealing or within their means to exploit.
They begin subtly, enough to set the victim on edge, but ever increasing until the target is eventually placed into a complete panic. It's at that point the blackmail and extortion occurs. Once terrorized enough to be pliable to their demands or suggestions, the Obour descend upon the victim to exploit them for all they can before moving on. They often leave a trail of mentally fractured mortals and occasionally other supernaturals in their wake, often with an urban legend or two popping up among the area they were active.
Left to their own devices, they often seek to pacify small towns or portions of cities to make a comfortable haven for themselves, paralyzing the populace through selective attacks until they can act as they please with a degree of openness. This aspect in particular doesn't always make them the most welcome among established Kindred domains who aren't exactly keen on having their status quo overturned by a band of skulking "bogeymen", at least by those domains aware of the bloodline's existence at all. They don't advertise in all but the most secure regions dominated by them; physically they're rather fragile compared to many other lines and the Clans, and direct conflict is not one of their strong points.
Where things truly get odd for the Obour, is the number of them that buy into the very stories they spread and create. It is not unheard of an Obour who takes it upon herself to "haunt" an old house, terrorizing each set of new owners to eventually come to the conclusion she may really be the "ghost of Billy Barnes, murdered in the basement 40 years back" after a fashion. Sometimes it's simply getting too used to the routine over the years, for others, it's a clumsy application of Auspex or Nightmare that drives them mad. Even if they know deep down they aren't always truly the horrors they pose at, something of a serious "costume ball" of sorts is prominent among the younger of Bloodline, and those with the most extravagant costumes, namely, legends and reputations that have spread into local stories for years, or far and wide being the belles of the ball. Those who manage to create such a phenomenon among other Kindred in particular find many accolades from their peers.
This is a more recent phenomenon, one that isn't always well regarded by older Obour with better things to do with their time than play such "games", and whom have a better grip on when things are taken too far too fast. One doesn't play the part of the teeth-within-the-shadows for lifetimes without it eventually taking its toll. The truly deplorable among the Obour are those that habitually terrorize their own mortal descendants for generations, be it out of spite, an ill-conceived herding them towards proper decisions, or simple ease of victimization. These "bogeymen" are perhaps the most monstrous yet, the "monster in the closet" that frightens generations of a family tree, all the while preying upon the vulnerable whose stories will never be believed.
Parent Clan: Mekhet or Nosferatu
Bloodline Disciplines: Auspex, Nightmare, Obfuscate
Bloodline Gift: Obenebration
Bloodline Bane: The Obour suffer from both the Nosferatu and Mekhet Clan Banes. The Obour inevitably have a portion of their disquieting ways manifest in tricks of the light to observers, and goose bumpy chills. Shadows, at least from the corners of ones eye seem to visibly bend towards, or warp into unpleasant shapes in an Obour's presence, even when they lack one themselves, often getting just -that much- darker or colder as they pass by. Among Nosferatu Obour, their shadows alone often seem to take a life of their own and provide a distinctly unpleasant sensation to those passing under it. While this is never blatant, it happens just enough in glimpses to make for a very disturbing impression. Among the Mekhet who lose their shadow entirely, this effect instead bleeds over to surrounding shadows. Mekhet of the line often develop a light-related or ghost-like additional Bane.
All Obour have their eyes go entirely black over time as their humanity erodes and blood thickens, with the truly old among their lot nearly seeming to have no eyes at all, just inky abysses. When low humanity mentions a reddening of the eyes, instead apply them going darker. If the eyes truly are windows into the soul, those of the Obour are dark indeed.
Nicknames: Bogeymen, The Conspiracy of Fear
Last edited by Admin on Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:16 am; edited 1 time in total
