Cousombre (Overview)

*"I was expecting a battle of wits, but you appear to be unarmed"* -Author unkown

## Introduction

The Cousombre are the self-proclaimed rulers of all Strigoi and their most powerful Bloodline. They have embraced a life in the shadows, secretly controlling noble houses and goverments. The Cousombre have devoted themselves to the study and manipulation of mortal minds, puppeteering them like other Afflicted do with corpses.

## History

* **Turning of Kythereia-** The origins of the Cousombre lie deep in the walachian mountains where the Grimvitch, a sisterhood of mortal witches, resided. It was the night in which the twins Morrigan and Kythereia where born that Balaur, first of all Striogoi, arrived at the Grimvitch camp. He blessed the twins, saying that he needed to stay with the Grimvitch to ensure both of them would fufill their promised destiny. Although most witches mistrusted Balaur, they accepted him in their ranks in exchange for his necromantic knowledge. The Strigoi closely overwatched and monitored the twins upbringing and when they came to age he invited them in a nearby cave. In its lightless depts Balaur revealed his true nature and offered them immortalty in exchange for murdering their mother, Balaurs greatest enemy in the Cult. Both accepted but when it came to delivering upon their promise, Morrigan was overcome with regret and fled. Kythereia had no such reluctance and quickly took her sleeping mothers life. In return she recieved immortality became Balaurs most trusted childe.
* **Fall of Walachia-** Over time Balaur sired many young Strigoi and they quickly spread beyong the witches coven to gain controll over Walachia. As their great Forefather grew more and more insane as the ages passed, Kythereia and her chosen siblings developed an overly ambitious thrist for power. In the end they chose to rebell against Balaur and end his tyrannical rule. It was a bloody and dangerous deed but in the end the Great Forefather perished and Kythereia assumed his throne. She could not hold on long to her since her cousins had developed a similar craze for power. In the end Kythereia was forced to flee Walachia, leaving behind a land ravaged by a covert civil war.
* **Corruption of the Franks-** Kythereia traveled westwards where she discovered an even greater opportunity to build but a lineage of her own: the frankish nobility that rose in the remains of Gaul. She assumed the identity of Clotilde and seduced Clovis I, becoming the queen of all franks. Across the centuries she took many names and apperances through her illusions and growing inside into the mortal mind. Clotilde and her children spread across all of western europe, forging the face of european nobility.
* **Rise of the Shadow Court-** Under Kythereias firm rule a
* **War against the Vuldonen-**
* **Founding of the Covenant-**
* **The French Revolution-**

## Culture

The Cousombre believe that the human mind, like the human anatomy, functions like a machine with countless intersecting and interchangeable parts; meaning that their arrangement and purpose can be altered by a skilled enough individual. They claim that life is but an illusion that can be reduced to the interplay of lineage and enviroment, that human emotion and sentience hold no worth of their own. For that reason every mortal can and should be seen as a playthings that can be puppeteered like a necromancer can puppeteer a corpse.

### The Royal Triade

The Royal Triade, also known as the *Triade Sombre*, comprises the mindset and personality traits the Cousombre consider essential for their identity:

* **Machiavélisme-** Teaches that there is no philosophical morality, only power. It teaches that one is only obligated to serve oneself and ones interests. Since the Cousombre see the individual also inseparably linked to ones family and upbringing, this means prioritising the families interests and power above any other concern.
* **Étiquette-** Teaches that aesthetics are as important as ethics; that the illusion of power is just as important as power itself. Like actors in a great play, everyone needs to play a strict part in the life they where given. To do so there are forms, conventions and behavioural patterns that must be studied and embodied carefully. It is also linked to the concept of an inherent hierarchical and societal role every person is assigned at birth and that culture and civilisation are a strict ladder to climb.
* **Attitude d'un Immortel-** Teaches that, as an immortal and a royal, one must strive for radical self-actualization. It is not enough to be merely egoistic, the worth of oneself must be validated through the appreciation and worship of others. Divinity lies only in the blood of a Cousombre and every member of their bloodline must act accordingly.

### Oubliettes

The Oubliette is one of the most cruel forms of torture the Cousombre have developed. It is a malign ritual that requires a chosen victim to be completly broken, usually through imprisoning them in absolute darkness for months without end. In the end the victim will be confronted with their worst fears and miseries until they die of shock. The blood of such a victim contains strength and great insight into their former mind, a useful drink for any Cousombre that wishes to study the human mind.

Their Loremasters are known as *Bluebeards* (Barbe Bleu), focussing entirely on the study of the mortal mind. They live on isolated castles and court poor nobles or wealthy merchants, only to throw them into the Oubliette during their wedding-night. After drinking their fear they will resurrect their corpse as a beautiful servants, only to move on to another fiancee.

### Royalty, Hierachy and Family

The Cousombre believe that fundamentally every being, be it mortal or undead, is bound to the blood that sired them and beholden to serve their families interest. They must see their family and Noble House as the truest extension of their selfes; and the legacy of their blood is the only thing that truly transcends immortalty.

Cousombre are convinced that royal blood entitles and individual to power and a divine right to rule. They look down on commoners and would never bring them into their ranks. For that reason mortal members of their families that dare to thin their blood through crossbreeding. This naturally encourages incestuous relationships and they Cousombre tend to encourage relationships with cousins or even siblings, be they mortal or unliving.

Powergames and intruiges are both celebrated and encouraged; however these may **never** happen at the expense of the Bloodlines power.

### Turning

The Cousombre turn exclusivly within their own noble family; on rare occasions they may choose lesser nobility or another royal House but they will never grant immortality to a commoner. To be chosen as a potential candidate for the Turning requires a royal to be charismatic, well educated, strong willed; but more importantly they must be capable of internalising the Royal Tride or have done so already.

Women hold a special place in Cousombre culture, being treated as a diplomatic currency. Whenever a treaty between Noble Houses is made or whenever two members of a family wish to strengthen their relations a political marriage is forged. Marrying ones daughter off to another powerful noble is a sign of trust, creating a stronger bond between both parties. It is expected that the daugther is also turned by the other side to truly make them one of theirs. This is the main reason most Cousombre are female.

Unlike other Afflicted the Turning is not designed to test ones progeny. Instead the Cousombre celebrate it in a nocturnal ceremony in the hidden depts of their castles. All local family members will gather in a pompously decorated hall and watch as the initiate walks up to their chosen progenitor and a blood altar. After the initiate has been drained of blood and brought back they must have their first drink, like every Strigoi. The blood altar infront of them will be filled with a few drops of Essence given from any present family member, strengthening their bond to their House and its members.

## Lineages- The Noble Houses of Europe

* **Noble House of Hanover-** The House of Hanover is by far the youngest Cousombre Lineage, having taken the throne from the Vuldon Stuarts with the rise of the Covenant. The interets of the Covenant are their own and they make no secret of the fact that they are its inofficial rulers. Although the Hanoverians lack experience and powerful elders among their ranks, they have gained tremendous knowledge, resources and power through the British Empire and its conquests in the outer world, making them the wealthiest of the Noble Houses.
* **Noble** **House of Habsburg-** In the victorian nights the House of Habsburg is the only one to openly oppose the Covenant. While they agreed to a non aggression pact with their western cousins they have open intentions to wage war against the rest of europe as soon as the time is right. They controll the german coalition and the austrian-hungarian empire. Where it not for their internal conflicts and feuds with other Bloodlines under their reign they would have already engaged in open war, but the current situation forces them into a permanent truce with the west.
* **Noble** **House of** **Aragon-** Unlike the other noble Houses the Lineage of Aragon does no longer seek open rules over mortals, having instead vanished into the shadows to puppeteer and infiltrate. Ruled by Sofia of Castille the House of Aragon reigns from a hidden fortress below cordoba. Officially they stand neutral to the Covenant and its Noble Houses, but it isnt exactly a secret that they intend to restore the ancient Cousombre reign. Some believe they have ties to the *Shadow Court*, working together to engineer a future in which the Cousombre will take their rightful place above any other Strigoi. Young members of this house have to undergo a training that turns them into *Sombras de vidrio* or Men of Glass; being send out to study and copy the mindsets and mannerisms of other mortals, until they can so flawlessly copy them they loose all sense of their former selfes. Most Aragonés go through this training for decades until emerging with a personality and etiquette that contains all the most useful traits of their victims, utterly abandoning their mortal personas.
* **Noble** **House of Bourbon-** The ancient house of france believe themself to be entitled to be the true rulers of their kind; tracing themselves back to the very first Cousombre. Since they waged war against the Covenant and lost most of their power and elders through the french revolution and the napoleon wars, the Noble House of Bourbon has become a staunch ally of the Covenant. In return for their allegiance they where allowed to rule most of france. The Bourbon have abandoned their ties to the *Shadow Court* and became their greatest enemies, fighting an eternal war in the shadows against their even more tyrannical elders.

## See also

* Opinions
* Cousombre
* Cousombre (Rules)