Antonio De Mariano

Dante De Mariano (grandson)

House De Mariano (descendants)

Antonio De Mariano is an Edenian born within the late eleventh century. Having unlocked his immortality during the First Crusade, Antonio is one of the most renowned members of Edenian society, and is known by many long lived beings outside that particular brand of immortality. A member of the Children of Adam, Antonio serves as Sentinel to the High Sanctuary of East America, providing young Edenians with tutelage and protection.

## Biography

### Early Life

Antonio was born in Rome in the year 1075 AD to the noble family of De Mariano. His parent's second son, Antonio became the presumptive heir to the family fortune when his elder brother Gioffre died of disease. As was customary for young noblemen of the age, Antonio was tutored in the arts of stewardship necessary to manage his vast family holdings, and in the intrigue necessary to maintain his property. His true passion, however, were the arts of war. He was engrossed by lessons of tactics and strategy, and when his first sword was put in his hand, he became forever loathe to be found without a blade within easy reach.

### Joining the Crusade

At the age of twenty, Antonio answered the call of Pope Urban the Second, and pledged himself to the Crusade to retake the Holy Land. Beneath the banner of Prince Bohemond of Taranto, Antonio and the levies he gathered travelled to Constantinople. While there, Antonio came to know both the local language and one of the local women, becoming a lover to a woman by the name of Maria Artemasos, the daughter of a Byzantine noble. Though the Crusade still called to him, Antonio swore that he would return and wed her, before continuing his journey.

### Awakening the Edenian

Antonio continued to march beneath the banner of Bohemond, participating in the Siege of Nicaea. During this time, he sired a bastard son on a camp follower. Later, during Battle of Darylaeum, he and his troop were ambushed by Turkish soldiers, and Antonio was cut down. However, death did not come, as this event triggered his latent Edenian heritage. Antonio rose up, returning to battle and slaying Turkish commander, before breaking through the shield wall that Behemond was locked inside. These events struck deep in the mind of the Italian noble, invigorating his faith in God, to whom he attributed his miraculous survival. His ferocity and fervor towards his foe increased with each passing battle, and after the Crusader victory over Antioch, Antonio marched with his brothers in arms southwards until they reached Jerusalem.

### Siege of Jerusalem

When the Siege of Jerusalem began, Antonio assaulted the city walls in the first wave, and was the second man to mount them, cutting through scores of the cities defenders. Hot with fury and faith, Antonio was at the head of the final assault, a sword in each hand, shrugging off injuries that would have slain any ordinary man. As the city was breached, Antonio let loose the wrath of God upon the heretics who held the city, participating in the brutal massacre that followed. As he and his men rampaged through the city, a young local vampire fell upon them, slaughtering several of his men and engaging the Edenian in a brutal duel. The two immortals clashed, but Antonio's superior immortality eventually won out, and he struck the vampire's head from his shoulders. This last act was witnessed by the legendary vampiric warrior, Damian. So impressed was he by the skill of what he perceived to be a mortal, Damian attempted to Embrace him right then and there, draining him of his blood. Upon noticing that exsanguination did not kill the Crusader, Damian recognized Antonio for what he was. The vampire informed his would be progeny of his nature, and directed him towards the Children of Adam once the Crusade was done. Once the battle had ended, Antonio brooded on the revelation all the way back to Greece, deeply shaken upon learning that he did not in fact, hold the blessing of God, and that the butchery he participated in may not truly have been His will.

### A New Beginning

Upon his return to Constantinople, Antonio was met with the embrace of his lover, Maria, who he wed immediately. Returning with his new bride to his home city of Rome, the happiness Antonio found himself surrounded with quieted the whispers of the vampire Damian from his mind. However, after two decades of marriage, Maria died in childbirth, their eighth child coming forth stillborn. The death of his wife brought Antonio into a deep depression. At this lowest point, the Children of Adam reached out, bringing him to one of their Sanctuaries, which had lain in Rome for centuries. There, he was inducted into the immortal society of the Edenians, and taken under the wing of Rome's High Sentinel Dominic Vitel.

### First Encounter with the Urchin

In 1140 AD, Antonio journeyed to Castle Dumond in France, investigating a rumor of a child who had survived being run over by a cart in the area, under the assumption that it was a latent Edenian. Antonio and his retinue of mercenaries arrived at the castle, with Antonio using the pretense that he planned to purchase land in the area. They were welcomed in by the castle's master, Michel Dumond, who set a feast out for the weary travelers before going to off to attend to some matters. Antonio was given a tour of the castle by Dumond's seneschal, Hugo, and was disturbed by the abundance of art depicting naked children. When Antonio ventured out into the garden, which was filled with statues of nude children, one of Antonio's guards was murdered by Dumond's vampiric progeny, Peter. The Urchin also incapacitated Antonio's other guard, but was subdued by the Edenian's antimagic presence, which stripped the child-vampire of his powers. Antonio was aghast a seeing a child undead, and furiously executed the seneschal, before venturing back into the castle in a blind fury. He cut through Dumond's retinue of famulii, his antimagic stripping them of their power and his healing abilities enabling him to rapidly recover from the wounds they dealt him. He made his way back to the great hall, where he found Dumond, standing over the dismembered corpses of Antonio's men, save for the youngest of them, who he planned to defile. Antonio engaged the vampire in combat, but even with his antimagic powers, found himself outmatched. It was only thanks to a timely distraction provided by Peter attacking his sire that gave Antonio the opportunity he needed to stake and decapitate the undead pedophile, ending his unlife. Antonio then freed the children Dumond kept in his castle, taking them while the Urchin gleefully murdered the rest of the servants there. Antonio gave the young vampire his freedom, leaving Peter with the warning that if he continued his violent ways, he would not hesitate to strike him down when next they met. Thereafter, Antonio returned to Rome, and ensured the captured children were taken care of.

### Disaster whilst Abroad

By 1453, the Conclave of the Children of Adam had elected to remove its Grand Sanctuary from Constantinople, and relocate to Paris. Due to the siege the city was under at the time, Antonio was dispatched by Dominic, along with numerous other Seekers from the Children, to assist in the covert relocation.

Upon coming home, however, Antonio was met with tragedy. His estate in the countryside beyond Rome had been visited in the night by an old acquaintance of his: the child-vampire, Peter the Urchin. Antonio's children and grandchildren had been cruelly slaughtered by the infernal child, bar three. His grandson, Dante, had his Edenian heritage activated by his death at the Urchin's fangs, and had therefore lived. Another grandson, Vittorio, had been spared to "tell the story". Lastly was his youngest daughter Julia, who had been away with her mother Octavia in Rome on the night of the attack. Upon arriving back at the Sanctuary in Rome, Antonio was informed of the events by his wife, who told him how the Urchin had struck whilst she and Juliahad been in the city, and of how she had returned to find their family murdered. She showed him a note that had been left with Vittorio, written by Peter in their son's blood. It scolded Antonio for becoming boring, and informed him that his "stupid family" had been killed so that he would be free of them, once more able to become a gloriously fun killer.

Antonio was livid. Swearing a bloody oath of vengeance, Antonio vowed to hunt the Urchin down. His grandson Dante, age eighteen, agreed to do so as well, whilst Dominic, Antonio's father in law, devoted all of his resources to finding Peter.

### Subsequent Centuries

Love was not lost to Antonio De Mariano in the nine centuries that followed. Many women knew his embrace, and many children sprang forth from his loins, though to his great sorrow, none held the gift of immortality. More wars were also to follow, as Antonio's grief for each loved one he buried turned to rage, which he would unleash in history's great conflicts. However, unbeknownst to him, the possibility for an immortal family was born, when he sired an immortal child with an Italian inkeeper's daughter in 1919. Subsequently, Antonio took the fortune he had amassed over the centuries an immigrated to America. Settling outside Washington DC, he built a home for himself, which would eventually became the High Sanctuary of East America to the Children of Adam, with the ancient Crusader serving as its Sentinel.

## Personality

The weight of ages has mellowed the once hot tempered warrior that was the Antonio of centuries passed. Tempered by centuries, Antonio has grown wise and thoughtful, though he retains the fierce aura of command that has enabled him to inspire countless men to follow him into the gates of hell.

## Skills

Antonio is one of the most famed and skilled combatants in all of immortal society and with some fame among other supernatural beings aswell, he has achieved complete mastery of typical knightly fighting techniques and being particularly renowned for his skill with a long sword. Antonio is also a well versed strategist and command. He is a skilled archer and practiced in firearms.