By Myranda Kalis (nagaina@yahoo.com)
Risen, as with it's contemporary organizations, the Camarilla and the Sabbat, from the ashes of the original Anarch Revolt, the Oradea League is in many ways the body politic of the Old Clan Tzimisce. Made up of the twelve Voivodi of the surviving households of the Old Clan, it is responsible for maintaining the unity, security, and prosperity of the ancient Kindred that make up the Old Clan, as well as the mortals and domain that make up their special charge.
The Old Clan Tzimisce cannot forget -- they will not allow themselves to do so. The Anarch Revolt began with Clan Tzimisce and in them it still dwells, dividing friend from friend, lover from lover, childe from sire, the Young Clan from the Old. For the Tzimisce it was more than a mere generational conflict spurred on by the fires of zealous mortals certain of their own righteousness -- it was the shredding of their collective soul, a split in the fundamental fabric of their being, a self-inflicted wound that may never heal. For them, it represents a fundamental shift in philosophy of the Clan, away from the traditional Tzimisce values of honor, nobility (albeit dark nobility), and a fierce, nearly desperate, sense of unity. Despite their reputation as solitary hunters of the night, the Tzimisce have always been a tightly knit Clan, both due to basic issues of survival and also the deep and enduring bonds of love and friendship that are common among them. The entire concept of bonds is extremely important to most Tzimisce -- the bonds between individuals, the bond with the land, the bond with their people, the bonds of the blood. The Anarch Revolt shattered the most fundamental bond of all, the bond of blood kinship that all Tzimisce had shared.
Those who survived the original, shattering blow, the betrayal of their own Clanmates, the brothers of their blood, were forever scarred by it. Many of the Old Clan remember those terrible nights with nightmarish clarity: the bloody massacre in the ancient cathedral where the Tzimisce Antediluvian lay in torpor; the blades and fangs of victorious Tzimisce Anarchs and their hideous fleshcrafted ghoul minions, bred for the purpose of slaying their masters' Kindred enemies; the proud and noble face of Smerande, princess of the Brankovan Tzimisces, ravaged by sorrow at the fratricidal slaughter of both her sons; the very lifeblood of their Clan flowing in rivers. Brought to their knees by a conflict that would have destroyed a lesser race of beings, the Old Clan Tzimisce nevertheless survived the Anarch Revolt -- shattered, wounded, somewhat less than whole, but still not quite broken.
The Tzimisce/Tremere Bloodwar had slowed to a crawl. The fires of the Anarch Revolt had burned down to flaring embers, and something beautiful and terrible was rising slowly from the ashes. The Inquisition was collapsing beneath the weight of its own corruption. In the homeland of the Old Clan Tzimisce, the walls and towers of a hundred havens lay in soot-coated rubble and countless manses lay in silent ruin, empty but for the windblown ash of their inhabitants. For more than four hundred years Tzimisce blood had flowed in rivers, staining the waters of the Danube crimson with many a courageous final offering to the homeland, and in the end all the bloodshed had availed them nothing. The hand of both the Tremere, residing arrogantly in the very heart of their ancestral domain, and the Assamites, through their Muslim pawns, lay heavy on the ancient lands of the Old Clan and many, though horribly weakened by the unending slaughter, longed to throw it off and reclaim what was theirs by deathright.
Lines of communication, long disrupted and made unreliable by the long-running series of conflicts, were cautiously reopened by Methuselahs and their elder childer seeking reassurance that they were not, in fact, the sole survivors of their ancient breed. Slowly stock began to be taken of the true horror that had been wrought in their homeland, and the true price of the butcher's bill tallied. Five full Houses of the Old Clan -- founders, descendants, ghoul servants, mortal and vampiric vassals -- had been utterly exterminated by marauding Anarchs, Assamite invaders, and Inquisitional harrassment. The Seventeen had become the Twelve. Of the surviving Houses, few retained anything close to their original strength, in both numbers and political influence -- and it was supremely cold comfort that the Young Clan had fared no better. Only House Ravensburg, long politically aligned with the Ventrue of Germany, House Smatzkhe, proud and unassailable in their splendid isolation atop the Armenian plateau and the Caucasus Mountains, House Venizelos, whose excellence at bending with the wind had purchased survival if not respect, and House Tzildaris, who had defended their homeland with such courage and ferocity that even the Assamites had turned aside from them, remained more or less intact after the holocaust. The others, either apolitical, small in number, and withdrawn to begin with, or wracked with internal splits and fratricidal infighting, fared far worse. House Brankovan-Waivadi was reduced in number to their Voivode, Smerande, and her Heir, Haedwig. House van Klatka was still locked in bloody thaumaturgic warfare with the upstart Tremere. House Ruthven, once the closest thing the Clan had had to a royal House, lay shattered from the basest of treachery from within, the blood of the Tzimisce progenitor himself on their hands.
A lesser Clan would have collapsed in complete despair from what they had suffered, and what they had to look forward to in a future of hopelessly diminished prospects under the heel of their homeland's rapists and conquerors. It was an especially hard pill for the Old Clan to swallow in light of the Tzimisces' past reputation as unbreakable and unconquerable. Spinelessness, however, had never been a particular defining characteristic of Clan Tzimisce, and the Old Clan was no exception to that rule. In the power vacuum that followed the political collapse of House Ruthven, the German House of Ravensburg, and the Moldavian House of Tzildaris, stepped forward to take up the slack. For the Ravensburgs, the position was only natural, for they had long ruled parts of Germany in the names of their Ventrue lieges and were well accustomed to the acquisition and maintenance of power. House Tzildaris, on the other hand, had been long regarded as the quintessential scholars and diplomats of the Old Clan and their position was primarily to oversee the interests of the more deeply wounded Houses -- it was through their efforts Houses Ruthven and Brankovan-Waivadi did not collapse completely, an effort which won them no favor among their Ravensburg rivals, who would have been happy to see both of those Houses die quick and expedient deaths. It was during this period that a unique political phenomenon came to flower in the halls of the Old Clan: the severity of the crisis following the Anarch Revolt ushered in a new generation of Tzimisce leaders -- literally. Methuselah sires, either fearing for their unlives, completely oblivious to the world around them, or so deeply in torpor an army could not have awakened them, surrendered temporal power to their fifth generation descendants for a host of reasons, some practical, others less so. These descendants, frequently the hard-bitten survivors of dozens of engagements in the conflicts that had surrounded the Old Clan continuously for four centuries, almost always adroit political manipulators with visions and agendas of their own, no small number of willing servants and high-ranking members of the Tal'mahe'Ra, began to slowly form the functional equivalent of a new world order for the Old Clan. The reigning Voivode of House Ravensburg, Konrad von Ravensburg, had been reared from childehood by his sorceress mother, Countess Mathilde of Heidelburg, to wield power and reign as a king rather than a mere Ventrue vassal, and had mercilessly engineered the slaughter of his own broodmates to assure his accession to power. The Voivode of House Tzildaris, Morgan Demetrius i'Tzimisce, was a potent figure of power and mystery even among the Old Clan, believed to have been a dhampir of House Smtzkhe in life, the son of the greatest warrior Emperor of the latter days of the Byzantine Empire, whose skill in maneuvering the forces of his numerically inferior House against all comers had cemented his reputation as the most ruthless Tzimisce warrior-mage in the East. The Voivode of House von Klatka, Margaret von Klatka, had seized control of her House in the bloody aftermath of their ouster from their ancient seat of power at Vienna and the slaughter of their fourth generation founder, leading her greatly diminished House's warriors in relentless assaults on the Tremere at every turn. It was these three that provided a strong core of leadership through many long, dark years.
In the latter half of the fifteenth century, House Ravensburg, long the Old Clan's link to the politics and Kindred courts of the West, began filtering news of interesting developments to their cousins in the Tzimisce heartland. The shattered remnants of the Anarch rebellion, including the Young Clan Tzimisce and most of Clan Lasombra, along with scattered bands of rebellious neonates and ancillae of other Clans, were showing signs of restructuring and reorganization. The Old Clan's own sources of intelligence had told them as much about their own rebellious Clanmates, but it was disturbing to hear such suspicions borne out from other perspectives. In the West, forces were converging in opposition -- led by the Ventrue and the Toreador. Clandestine meetings and councils were being called, thoughts were being exchanged, the foundations of organization were being laid. More partners in the enterprise of opposing the resurging Anarchs, already calling themselves the Sabbat, were being sought. A quiet invitation went out, delivered through House Ravensburg, and the Old Clan began listening to the proposals issued by the fledgling Camarilla.
It became apparent almost immediately that there were going to be severe problems if the Old Clan intended to join forces with the Camarilla. To begin with, there was the purely practical difficulty that came with the Old Clan's relative geographic isolation. Far from the potentially greatest concentration of Camarilla power, and hence, the theoretical support of their allies, the Old Clan was in a terribly exposed position and sandwiched between the hostile territories of their traditional enemies. Not helping matters was the fact that the oldest and most historically ingrained of those enemies, the Ventrue, was the Clan taking the active leadership role in the formation of the Camarilla. Either of these things might have been overcome in time. Of more pressing concern was the internal instability in the Old Clan itself, the collapse of House Ruthven and House Brankovan-Waivadi, the fact that House van Klatka seemed hell-bent on destroying itself in futile battle with the Tremere, the fundamentally apolitical philosophies of Houses Vardalek, Elenades, and Frasheri, the emerging power of House Bathory-Nadasdy, the continuous internal strife of House Djilas, the fundamentally unreliable nature of House Venizelos, and the imperious isolationist politics of House Smtzkhe. Even the two strongest Houses, Ravensburg and Tzildaris, faced powerful opposition within their own ranks from traditionalist Voivodes who regarded their leaders as little more than wartime pretenders to a position they had not earned and power they did not deserve. Heightening the tension further was the Tal'mahe'Ra, busily agitating for a presence within the forming Camarilla, and the Young Clan, still heavily active in the politics of the East despite the rather severe impact the nearly unending conflict had had on their own power-base.
From the start, House Ravensburg agitated strongly for Old Clan inclusion in the Camarilla, arguing that greater connectedness to the rest of the world would benefit the Old Clan in the long run both politically, economically, and culturally. Part of the reason, they argued, that there was such enmity between the Tzimisce and most of the other Clans is that they did not really know each other, and misunderstanding had blossomed over the millenia into a vine of mistrust and hatred that threatened to choke the unlife from them all. To sweeten the pot for House Tzildaris, whose initial reception of the fledgling Camarilla's overtures had been lukewarm at best, they dangled the notion that this would be the perfect opportunity to finally lay to rest the long-running conflict between Clan Ventrue and Clan Tzimisce, a conflict that had bled both Clans for as long as they had existed and had never seemed to accomplish anything. To the others they sold (or attempted to sell) the Camarilla manifesto of strength in unity and invisibility to the Kine.
This tactic alienated House Smtzkhe almost instantly, and, after the first few meetings and missives with their Clanmates, they coldly withdrew from the proceedings entirely. Despite the fact that their homeland was one of the most frequently invaded and fought-over pieces of territory in the East they had not seemed to suffer quite the privation and horror that the others had, sharing what seemed to be an innate bond of indomitability with their mountainous country and the people who lived there, an indomitability that easily devolved into arrogance. They cherished their grudge against the Ventrue like a holy relic and dedicated their service exclusively to the Eastern Hand of the Tal'mahe'Ra, despite diplomatic attempts by House Tzildaris to convince them to at least remain in coalition with the rest of the Old Clan. They did eventually listen to this advice. The rest of the Houses agreed to at least hear the Camarilla out, and House Ravensburg, House Venizelos, House van Klatka, and House Ruthven all sent representatives to various early Camarilla councils. House Tzildaris sent its own representatives, as well as acting as delegate and voice for Houses Brankovan-Waivadi, Vardalek, Elenades, Bathory-Nadasdy, Djilas, and Frasheri.
Things went directly downhill from there, as the agreement to remain in coalition with each other was the last cooperative thought many members of the Old Clan Tzimisce had for quite some time. While, from a philosophical standpoint, most members of the Old Clan could quite appreciate the Camarilla's intention to use the ancient laws of Caine as a basis for their system of laws and governance, from a practical one there were problems inherent in the design for the Old Clan from the start. In the East they had openly ruled over Kindred and Kine alike and were acclimated to the notion that, while humanity was not there to serve their whims and the species were separate and distinct with their own destinies to fulfill, they did have to live together in some approximation of, if not harmony, then at least tolerance. It had been vampiric excess that had brought the wrath of the mortal Inquisition down on the heads of all Kindred everywhere, but the answer did not necessarily lie in crawling beneath a rock and denying one's existence to the world...after all, both races had to share it, regardless. The very concept of the Masquerade became a sticking point for the Old Clan, particularly between House Ravensburg, who had masqueraded virtually every night of their unlives even before the formation of the Camarilla, and House Tzildaris, who reacted so powerfully against the idea that even their allied Houses were shocked by the intensity of their opposition. But Rafael de Corazon's vision had galvanized the West and the Masquerade became a part of the Camarilla's basic tenets, much to the annoyance of House Tzildaris.
By the time the actual Convention of Thorns came to pass, there were deep rumblings of discontent among the Houses of the Old Clan. House Ravensburg was quite pleased that their Clanmates had come this far and were anticipating a successful inclusion of the Old Clan into the body politick of the West, the signing of the Concordat that would mark the official founding of the Camarilla and the end of the Anarch Revolt, allowing the real fight against the forces of darkness to begin. They were doomed to disappointment. Secret negotiations among the Houses of the Old Clan under the diplomatic aegis of House Tzildaris at their northern Romanian enclave of Oradea had yielded a complete refusal to abandon their beliefs and culture in favor of a bastardized version of Caine's laws and a pathetic Masquerade that required them to deny who and what they were in the name of mere survival. Taking the name, The Oradea League, these eleven vampires all swore among themselves vows of personal and Clan loyalty, and made pacts of mutual defense and communication. To harm one member of the Oradea League was to bring the vengeance of all upon the head of the perpetrator, and to abandon one's loyalty to the League was to betray the blood in one's veins. This accomplished, the members of the newly formed Oradea League made their preparations to travel to England to witness the signing of the Concordat and the Convention of Thorns.
For possibly the first time in the history of the West, the historic rulers of the East came en masse to their lands as all twelve of the Old Clan's Voivodi assembled for the Convention. The Convention itself was not without a suitable amount of interesting goings-on behind the scenes, particularly in the Tzimisce/Tremere arena. Margaret von Klatka, Voivode of House von Klatka, had to be restrained more than once from doing something rash and hotheaded when faced with her bitterly hated enemy Etrius of the Tremere. It had been House von Klatka's flat and unconditional refusal to have anything to do with an organization that would include a "Clan" of rapists and butchers that had led them to approaching House Tzildaris about the possibility of a governing body for the Old Clan separate from the political demands of the Camarilla, the Sabbat, and the Tal'mahe'Ra. House Tzildaris, itself noted for its fiercely independent and individualistic streak, as well as a long tradition of intellectual rebellion, found itself refusing to compromise on points when it came to the treatment of the Anarchs, many of whom they felt had a valid point to make. Closely politically aligned with the Brujah and Ventrue antitribu they had acceeded to House von Klatka's wishes and were now looking forward to the opportunity of forging a new future for the Old Clan. House Smtzkhe had appreciated the notion of keeping the Old Clan separate unto itself and had thrown in their support as a sign that they still wished to maintain cordial relations with their Clanmates. Prouder than even the Ventrue and twice as arrogant, Taymurahz, the fifth generation Voivode of the House, kept himself and his delegation separate the entire time. The other Houses, feeling either too vulnerable to go it on their own, or too exposed without at least one ally at their back and preferring their own Clanmates to outsiders, had all thrown in their lots with the Oradea League. The single, glaring exception to this was House Ravensburg, who remained utterly oblivious of their Clanmates' intentions and were gloating over what would doubtless be the political coup of the millenium.
By the time the signing of the Concordat rolled around, the Convention was at a slow boil of anticipation, with rumors flying wildly about every conceivable political machination known to the Kindred and a few that were wildly creative even for them. The delegates of the seven Clans and the Twelve Houses of the Old Clan gathered to seal what many deemed an agreement destined to bring greatness and security to all involved. Konrad von Ravensburg was nearly beside himself in gratified political finesse. Every delegate had the opportunity to speak the piece of the Clan they represented and most of the speeches wanted to drag on for several nights, it seemed, and probably would have if they'd had the time. Konrad von Ravensburg spoke first for the Old Clan, extolling the virtues of the Camarilla and signing the Concordat -- the House remains the sole, nearly entirely Camarilla affiliated House of the Old Clan to this night, and are the only Tzimisce to actually refer to themselves as Tzimisce antitribu, though they also hold membership in the Oradea League. Then Morgan Demetrius i'Tzimisce rose to speak for House Tzildaris -- and ended up making both the shortest speech and the one that held for the rest of the Old Clan. Clear, concise, and caustic enough to cause acid-burns, his dissection of the Camarilla would, in later years, prove nearly eerily prescient, though he spared neither his Clan nor the Sabbat the sharp edge of his tongue, and seemed to take a rather perverse pleasure in the looks of absolute shock and amazement on the faces of several dozen of the most powerful vampires in the West. By the time he was finished, the unequivocal refusal of the Old Clan to join the Camarilla was quite firmly established in the minds of all present. That accomplished, the eleven Voivodi of the Old Clan withdrew from the Convention and returned home to rebuild their homeland without the intervention of fools who knew very little of what they spoke and nothing at all about the true nature of the Tzimisce.