Joshua

[nott_caine]

Name: Joshua Abellard

Age: 295 (As of the last time Nott saw him, 2035)

Race: Vampire -- Assamite Antitribu

Background:

Born in 1740 to Creole parents in New Orleans, Louisiana, Joshua was raised to be both a soldier and a spy. His father had served in the French army until moving to Louisiana, along with his family, stationed in the colony to protect the inhabitants. He was educated and trained by his father and uncles in the hopes that he would eventually return to Paris and join the army, perhaps even the musketeer (viewing it as a mark of honor for their family.)

In 1754, France, Spain, and England erupted into conflict within the colonies, resulting in the French and Indian War. Feeling obligated to serve his country, Joshua (at the age of 15) joined the army. He fought across the colonies, including nearer to the original 13. By ironic coincidence (one that would never be known or realized by the parties involved), his unit was engaged in combat by a British unit containing a particular soldier named Lt. Nathanial Blaire, married to a woman named Selene. Nathanial was killed in the battle, but not by Joshua's hand or with his awareness.

Growing up on the battlefield raised Joshua's abilities and instinct to survive. By the end of the war, he returned to New Orleans, only to find it changed and now under Spanish control. An influx of kindred arrived (though he would not learn of this until later), including several Assamites, posing as merchants from the East.

During his absence, his mother bore four children in succession, all girls (named Marie, Jeanne, Emilie, and Babette). The family struggled under the new authority of Spain, Joshua's father being sent back to France, but unable to take his wife and children with him. They were forced to remain behind due to limited finances as well as his mother's health, which faltered due to the number of pregnancies and lack of care on the frontier. In 1766, Joshua's mother died from Yellow Fever, along with his youngest sister. Still grieving, he took it upon himself to raise his sisters on his own.

Without training for a particular skill, Joshua learned how to pickpocket as well as gamble effectively (counting cards his particular skill.) He managed to make enough money to support the girls and see them placed in particular households as maids or as nannies, though he despised having to see them lower themselves to such work. In an effort to make certain they could eventually marry into more wealthy households, he began forging contacts among the merchants from various locales, among them the Assamites from Persia.

Joshua managed to impress them with his loyalty and dedication to his family, as well as his affable manner and abilities that could be translated into an effective assassin (stealth, subterfuge, and focus.) One Assamite in particular took a great interest in Joshua, his name Amir Darvish. He was part of a particular sect known as Assamite Antitribu, which allowed siring of any nationality, so long as their skills were viewed as invaluable.

Following protocol, Amir watched Joshua for an extended period of time, assessing his abilities and potential value to the clan. Without his knowledge, Amir began to train Joshua in a more stylized combat, particularly in the Arakh and staff. This was his apprentice period, though it was kept secret from him. He still had his first combat to survive. In 1771, he cornered Joshua as he was returning home from a nearby gambling hall, siring him before he was aware what was happening. Joshua woke in a locked room, a frenzied vampire chained to the wall. After struggling, the vampire managed to break loose, charging at Joshua. Dodging the vampire, Joshua spotted a Arakh on the wall. Using it to gain the upper hand, he decapitated the vampire and emerged victorious, earning the title "mustajib." Deserving One.

Under Amir's guidance, Joshua became a dedicated assassin and spy, utilizing his skills to keep his sisters safe, even if it was from a distance (everyone believing he was dead.) In 1788, during an assassination attempt of Army Treasurer Don Vincente Jose Nunez, Amir accidentally set fire to the man's home. The fire began to spread, but because it was Good Friday, the priests refused to ring the bells to act as a fire alarm. The fire spread, destroying almost all of the city of New Orleans, as well as the major buildings within the French Quarter. Amir was killed in the inferno, leaving Joshua without direction or guidance.

Needing to see the world and learn more, he fled to England. Not long after, he met Jacob, a former comrade and soldier that he had served alongside in the French and Indian War. Though he had viewed Jacob as incompetent and a drunk during that time (something that would often earn Jacob lashings from their commanding officer,) Joshua was grateful for the familiar face and another vampire he recognized.

Jacob spoke at length about the faction he had been brought into, The Children of Eden, as well as the Father's plans. Being a religious man, eager for peace and acceptance for what he was, Joshua eagerly followed Jacob's advice and submitted himself to the Father, seeking to join. It was a changing experience for him, as he learned very quickly that intelligence and wits were the only factor that could bring the realization of his goals, as well as what he truly desired. He wanted a home, a faction that mimicked the family he had lost as a mortal, and the sire who had died.

Despite the Father's promises, it became increasingly clear that the only thing being achieved was her ego growing. The only one that seemed to have any potential for achieving great things was the Father's favorite and the sect's messiah, Diana Abel. Joshua watched her from a distance, fascinated by her potential, as well as the power she unknowingly had over the masses. However, before he could formally meet her, she was sent to the Americas alongside Jacob to spread the message of the Garden. It was also revealed through whispers that Jacob was being sent to reign in the rebellious and destructive Caine, a vampire feared by many of the Children.

It wasn't a surprise when Jacob's ashes were returned, failing in his mission and severely underestimating Caine. It served as a lesson for Joshua t never underestimate an opponent, as well as faith only going so far, intelligence outweighing it greatly.

For the next several years, he served with the same loyalty that he had offered the Assamites. He was made into the leading spy and soldier for the Children, often sent to assassinate dissenters or political rivals that were an affront to the Father's plans. Despite his outward appearance, Joshua despised this work and viewed himself as little more than a devil.

It was almost a relief when the Father relocated to the States. After multiple attacks to the Garden by both Eve and Selene, they were in need of new members and a more safe location. Esau, acting as regent until the Father's return, sent Joshua on several scouting missions for a new home. During that time, under direct orders from Esau, he was also sent to collect whatever information he could on the York sisters.

He became fascinated by them, especially Selene, viewing her as a kindred spirit in dissatisfaction as well as longing for acceptance. He would occasionally relay messages back to Esau, but holding back the most valuable intel that could prove harmful to any of the sisters.

It wasn't until the Father's death that Joshua was forced into rebellion. Esau seized command, but driven by his own meglomania, he sought the eradication of any vampires that would be viewed as imperfect or a detriment to the Garden that the Father had sought to create, a paradies for vampires. The two men had quarreled over Esau's motives, however. Joshua viewing him as wanting nothing but revenge, rather than offering a home and security to the kindred that had been hunted and massacred over the years. He viewed Esau as jealous and arrogant, wanting to claim the lives his sisters had and angry that he had been born under such dark circumstances, leading him to be unwanted by his true clan. His zealotry was an affront to Joshua's belief that this Garden could be achieved through actual work and intelligence rather than fear. As Joshua was one of the few to know of Esau's origin, he was named a disbeliever and Esau demanded that his followers bring him Joshua's head.

He fled the Garden, managing to elude any that sought to kill him. During this time, he attempted to track down the York sisters, wanting to make an alliance with them. However, Diana was missing and Artemis seemed to unstable to trust. That left only one, the sister that he had felt such a strong pull to before. Selene.

She had been missing for several years, last seen in Tijuana. Through his contacts, he managed to discover that Selene had been captured by the Prince and Seneschal of Mexico City. Their agreement with Esau leading them to torture and experiment on her, hoping to bring out Caine permanently so that the remaining members of the Garden could see the monster she was. This reaffirming the decision and belief that any vampire deemed as sinful should be destroyed.

Before this could happen, however, Joshua slipped inside the compound, freeing Selene from her cell. In her lunacy and irrationality, she attacked both the Prince and Seneschal, diablrizing them both. The actions, while frowned upon and despised by most other vampires, was accepted among the Assamites. However, Joshua was aware that she was not in a state fit enough to face Esau or even accept her destiny as leader of the rebellious sect. He kept an eye on Selene, following her movements for several years.

During this time, Selene was confronted by her daughter, Eve. Both women barely survived the battle, Eve needing to be turned and Selene left in Torpor. Joshua secreted her body away, watching over her and caring for her during the years of her Torpor. He moved them both to Prague and in 2025, Selene woke up. Initially wary of him, Joshua managed to convince Selene that they were allies in a common goal in life. He told her of his experiences in the Garden as well as Esau's identity. Appealing to her self loathing and the stigma she faced, he urged to accept the mantle of leader and protector of the Children who were like her.

Together, they trained and readied for an inevitable confrontation with Esau. All the while, through the helps of his contacts, Selene and Joshua traveled to rescue the Children targeted by assassins. Their army grew with the more lives they saved. Ultimately reaching a large enough size that they felt assured of victory in the war. It was during these years that the relationship between Joshua and Selene shifted. Worried that he would eventually betray her, Joshua willingly (and quite forcefully) blood bound himself to her, in an effort to prove his loyalty and desire to follow her. The pair became lovers (if only that, some of their followers whispered that they married privately, though neither Joshua or Selene ever confirmed it.) They worked together as partners, though Selene was viewed as the leader and Joshua her right hand man, adviser, and general. Joshua began to call Selene "enta qamari", which is Arabic for "my moon."

In 2035, Joshua and Selene traveled to Rome with their followers, prepared to face Esau at last. Joshua urged Selene to destroy Esau completely, even going so far as to diablrize him so that she could rise one more level in her generation and skills, making her an uncontested leader and elder in the group. However, Selene refused to comment or consider it, worried that she would become the devil she feared if she did it consciously.

The final fight between them was bloody and fiery event. Numerous followers on both sides killed and slaughtered. Rome briefly turning into a battlefield for the vampires as the Masquerade was broken and Esau revealed to be the power behind the city. Mortals locked themselves into their homes, none fleeing as vampires fought in the streets, destroying each other viciously and savagely.

Before Nott's arrival to the Vatican, Esau had cast several rituals, one being the deflection of wooden stakes, only causing them to disintegrate upon contact with his body. Another was to turn his sword into a fiery blade. All the while he used his ability with the Path of Blood to steal vitae from Nott, as well as force her to expend it unwillingly. Their battle lasted for hours, destroying a great deal of the interior of the Vatican, the pair finally ending before an altar in one of the many chapels.

Esau managed to grab hold of Nott's hair, forcing her to the ground as he boiled the blood inside of her. Temporarily stopped, it seemed for a moment that her life would come to an end at her brother's hands. But Joshua appeared, jamming a stake into Esau's back. As it disintegrated, his focus was momentarily shifted to Joshua. Nott wrestled the fiery blade from Esau's hands and stabbed him through the chest.

She grappled her brother to the ground, having the upper hand due to her superior strength and potence. Finally, she bit into Esau, draining him completely of blood and diablrizing him before the altar of the God he followed, giving in to her rage, confidence, and acceptance of who she was. She took Joshua's advice and emerged older and more powerful than before.

Despite his own injuries, Joshua joined Selene's side, ready to face whatever the future would hold for them. Together and bound by so much more than blood.

Character Stats:

Clan: Assamite Antitribu  (Nicknamed Angels of Caine)
Nature: Pedagogue
Demeanor: Rogue
Generation: 12

Mental Traits:
Perception (5)
Intelligence (3)
Wits (4)

Physical Traits:
Strength (2)
Dexterity (4)
Stamina (3)

Social Traits:
Charisma (3)
Manipulation (4)
Appearance (3)

Abilities:
Languages: French (Creole), Arabic
Talents:
Athletics (5)
Alertness (3)
Brawl (3)
Dodge (4)
Intrigue (1)

Skills:
Crafts (3)
Stealth (5)
Survival (2)
Weaponry (5)

Knowledge:
Investigation (5)
Computer (2)
Occult (2)

Disciplines (9):
Quietus: Silence of Death (By spending a blood point, the vampire may create a zone of a twenty-foot radius around her, within which no sounds will be heard, and no one will hear anything. She herself will only hear sounds made outside the zone. )
Quietus: Weakness Roll (By bringing a point of blood to the palm and touching a victim with it, the vampire may reduce her victim’s Stamina by one.)
Quietus: Diseased Roll (By bringing three points of blood to the palm and touching a victim with it, the vampire may reduce each of her victim’s physical attributes by one.)
Quietus: Blood Agony (By coating a bladed weapon of adequate size with her blood, the vampire may use the weapon to inflict aggravated damage.)
Quietus: Taste of Death (The vampire may spit blood, at a range of up to ten feet for each dot she has in Strength or Potence, and each blood point so used does two dice of aggravated damage.)

Celerity (2)

Obfuscate: Cloak of Shadows (The vampire may be unnoticed by most, by hiding completely motionless in a shadow, or in a place that puts an object (not necessarily an object big enough to hide behind) between herself and others who might see her.)
Obfuscate: Unseen Presence (The vampire may go unseen, and even be subconsciously avoided, by others.)
Obfuscate: Mask of the Thousand Faces (The vampire may assume another appearance. This is only in the minds of others, and often others will see different forms.)

Background:
Contacts (5) - Other spies, Investigators, Police, etc.
Allies (2) - Other Spies
Enemy (Esau)
Resources (2)

Merits:
Acute Sense
Enchanting Voice
Ambidextrous
Eat Food
Catlike Balance
Blush of Health
Daredevil
Concentration
Unbondable
Loyal Heart

Flaws:
Enemy
Touch of Frost
Cast No Reflection
Haunted
Ulterior Motive (Follower of Caine)
Overconfident