~A pair of emerald green serpintine eyes glare back at you from behind a few locks of, onyx, flowing hair. A small rounded, weathered, face stares at you with fridgid lips drawn in snugly. Around his neck a single white silk scarf, glistens in the light. His delicate form encompassed by an English petty coat, charchol black with little silver buttons adorning the sides. A white open breasted silk shirt flows freely from his torso. His grey slacks adorn his decrepit legs, which move slowly when he walks. He moves as if the motions actually cause him physical pain. His hands bare a cluster of rings and other trinkets that seem to outline them. Around his neck he wears a pendant with an ahnk design on it, seeming to almost cut into his fragile flesh. His aura exhumes a feeling of self doubt and terror as he aproaches, the darker gods seeming to favor this Cainite. Even the holiest of Cainites feel uneasy around him as the darkness from his soul expounges from his body. When he speaks his voice carries with it a confidance that can not be denied by any whom hear it. Any whom would dare look into his eyes can see the wheels of his mind turning. A wickedry within, pieces of a fragile mind trying to comprehend the feeble indulgances of a few lost souls.~






HISTORY




"Whoever explains ancient Egypt can claim to command the gates to Western culture itself. That might be why mavericks with abstruse theories about pyramids and pharaohs have flourished ever since."

Born in 1804 just outside of what would later be called New Orleans, to a pair of spanish immagrants who had come to the states seeking freedom, Jonnathan Merois began the early stages of his life. Having a flair for the less ordane sence of the world, he found himself from an early age studying foriegn culture to expand his working knowledge of the world. He had always been imbued with the ability to remember the slightest of details, and often times found it easy to get into what ever field he had intrest in.

In the early 1800's an expidition was lead into the heart of the Congo. This expidition was set to recover some anchient artifacts from the earliest of cultures. The team left America by boat to the shores of Cairo, the port that they needed to use on their journey into the deep black jungle of the Congo. They set out from Cairo on the Nile, taking it to its end, and then taking the perilous journey into the heart of the jungle. Allong the way they were met with many perils and most of the expidition team did not return from their quest. However, Jonnathan and a hand full of others did manage a safe return to the city of Cairo, with their prize intact.

They had found an artifact that was rumored to have come from the first Pharoh's hand, it was an amulet believed to hold great power. This caught the intrest of another party, Onife Du'at Nife', a sourcerer within the Setite clan. He believed it to hold the power to bring forth the dark god Set, and control it through the amulet. Onife, used his influences to insure that Jonnathan was not permitted to leave until Onife was allowed to speak with him, and find this amulet he had. Jonnathan had made arrangements to stay in one of the less reputable inns within the city.

After a few nights of staying at the inn, Onife made his way to come and see Jonnathan, the pair sat down and discussed anchient Egyptian mythos for hours, exchanging stories and inturpritations of lores. Jonnathan expressed his belief in the elder gods of Egypt, saying that of all the religions it was the one most commonly refered to in others. He expressed his facination with their culture and writings and told of how he had been seeking more knowledge since he was a child. Onife had believed perhaps Jonnathan had more to offer than just the amulet, so he made arrangements that Jonnathans ship be delayed even longer.

The pair spent the greater portion of a month discussing various lores and artifacts that had been believed to have been discovered. The two always met in the same fasion each night. Jonnathan would wait inside of the tavern across the way from the inn he was staying at and Onife would appear shorltly after. Onife knew that Jonnathan was on the expidition team that had recovered the artifact, but didn't know which one of the expitidionists was carrying it. So after a few nights of discussion, Jonnathan had finally decided to show Onife the artifact. It was a simple scarab with an ahnk attatched to its back. As soon as Onife's eyes met the artifact his eyes lit up, it was indeed the very thing that had been rumored to bring forth the dark gods power.

Onife saught to take the amulet from Jonnathan, but by this time Jonnathan had already proven most usefull, and his knowledge of the occult was almost a rivalry for his own. So on a dark and dismal night Onife made an offer to Jonnathan, promising him immortality for the amulet, claiming that it was a family heirloom that was to have been passed down through the generations. Jonnathan found himself tempted, but declined the offer, Onife had grown impatient and informed Jonnathan that it was either that or die.

With a heavy ladened heart Jonnathan succame to Onife's wishes, and was embraced, and began his road of corruption. Darkness swelled from within him as the years passed, he seemed to learn at an excellerated rate. His show of contempt for society grew as his mind became more twisted and corrupt. This anger within him soon manifested in the form of a vile corrupter, taking innocence from anything in his path. He created soldiers, mindless zombies who would stop at nothing to protect the sacred ways of the dark god. He helped Onife create priests to pass on the good word of Set. Between the pair they had managed to create an army for the purposes of keeping Cairo under control. It was then that Jonnathan first met Ophelius.

Jonnathan and Ophelius had met because of Jonnathans remarkable skill with corruption. He had managed to make it a simple science, taking even the purest of souls and twisting them to his will. Jonnathan never sought power for himself, instead he felt that aiding Ophelius was his mission from Set. It wasn't too long after that that Jonnathans loyalties to Ophelius would come into question.

Onife had finally managed to figure out the riddle that was the amulet, he was going to take out Ophelius with it. Jonnathan had learned of Onife's plans one night when the pair were in the temple. He had overheard Onife speaking about it to one of the gaurds whom had sided with him. Jonnathan knew that he had to warn Ophelius, so he went to him later that very evening. When Jonnathan told Ophelius about the plot to take him out, Ophelius grew angry, and wanted to reave the soul of Onife. Jonnathan begged that Ophelius allow him to try to stop him first, but warned him to prepare incase he didn't succed.

The following night, Jonnathan was awake before Onife, quickly he moved into the room and saw the man wearing the amulet around his neck. He knew that this was not something he could accomplish on his own, but he believed he was doing Set's bidding. Something inside him began to swell, a feeling like he had never felt before. His eyes melted and turned black, he felt his body writhe in pain, something was consuming him from within.

When he regained conscienceness, he found a pile of ash where Onife once laid, and a gaurd cowered in the corner. The amulet had been broken and the ahnk that was on the scarabs back had been left in pristine condition. Jonnathan took the ahnk and made it into a necklace that he wears around his neck to this day. The gaurd in the room later told Jonnathan that he had witnessed Set himself destroy Onife, but when the destruction was over with, the only one who stood was Jonnathan. From that day forward, he would always radiate an eerie feeling amongst the kine. They would know he was damned, and so would most around him.

Ophelius had been pleased by Jonnathans proof of alligance to him, and left him to pick up where Onife had left off. Jonnathan accepted the offer, knowing the cults rather well and how they worked. From that day forth, he would lock himself into the dark corridors of the temple while he studied and trained new potentials. It would be a few years before he re-emerged again.

In the mid 1800's outsiders from Italy had begun to make their way into the city of the lost kings. Jonnathan heard of these events and turned his attention towards them. He came out of his temple and began to become active in the streets again. He had heard that it was going to be some kind of invasion squad here to supposedly take over Cairo from the Setites. He quickly put his cults into motion, placing a member in every dark corner of Cairo to seek out these missionaries. Through the cult and the aid of a few Assamites, they quickly found and smited their enemies.

Jonnathan had managed to capture two of the infultrators and bend them to the Setites will. He brain washed them and turned them against their former allies. Then after the threat was contained, he asked Ophelius for one of them for his efforts. A small price to pay for his services, Ophelius agreed and Jonnathan once again felt the sweet rush of Ammaranth. However, his loyaties to the clan were unquestionable and would remain so even unto the modern nights.

For a great while there was no talk of things to have occured from the north. The threat from Italy had seemed to have been controled and Jonnathan began to explore new sences of pleasure. He ventured to Ophelius' opium den, finding refuge in Eden for a few years. Taking the time to explore the things he never thought possible. His mind in a haze of smoke and sex for years. This eventually earned him the name Opiate, for he was constantly found under the influence of the drug.

It was the early 1900's and Opiate's focus had already returned to him. He had spent quite a few years at Eden, taking in its simple pleasures, but always made certian to keep up on his duties. This had inspired him to create a drug of sorts to be used for the simple pleasures that he had grown to like. Stimulation never being something that a creature of the night could get, became his focus. He searched the earth for some way of creating a substance that would allow him and others to "feel" mortal again.

It was then that he began to sweep through the brothels and various other houses of pleasure, seeking something that would heighten stimulation for the dead. It was then that he came across her, a diamond in the rough that he had found amongst the commoners of the land. Her beauty entranced him for he had never seen a creature like her. So he followed her, out of nothing more than sheer curiosity. This would prove to be one of the most significant things he had ever done in his life, because by following the young maden, he managed to stumble upon a cotterie of Ventrue, who were trying to slip in undetected into Cairo. One of them Babafemi, Opiate had remembered spotting from the last invasion so many years ago.

For weeks, Opiate managed to keep a watchful eye on the Ventrue, they had not made any power moves in the city, but he knew it was only a matter of time. His eyes also began to watch this young girl, she had already shown a decent ammount of cunning, and he knew that her trianing that was comming from the Ventrue would prove to be more than usefull. He continued observing, however, never making his presance known. Simply lied in waiting to see what they were planning to do. He had sent word to Ophelius that they had returned, but that they had done nothing thus far, there was no way of telling what they had planned to do, and Opiate suggested to him that they wait to see if they were acting of their own accord, or if there were more comming to visit.

Finally after nearly a year of observing the Ventrue's actions, he found they were attempting to ally with members of the rouge clans that had made their havens within the city. They were once again going to attempt a siege. Opiate moved quickly, knowing where their meeting places were, he gathered some of Ophelius' elite and set out to slay them all. He had only made one request, that the young girl be spared and that he be allowed to take her. The night of the battle, several Ventrue had arrived in the city, they had met up for a secret gathering. The young woman was there and was placed in the center of the attention. Opiate instructed the gaurds to stop the procedings grab the girl and slay every one else.

There were atleast ten Ventrue, as well as some of their ghouls. The gaurds rushed in at once, and the battle ensued, Babafemi had taken the girl off into seclusion before returning to the battle scene, one of the Setite gaurd grabbed her and began to drag her off into the night, screaming and crying out the woman struggled against him, but he druged her and silenced her calls. After the slaughter, Opiate went out to seek his prize, only to find her druged and disorented. He asked her specific questions to answer his curiosity of the girl. It was then he realized her true potential and with a smile and a sneer, he offered her the kiss.

After embracing the woman he quickly turned and walked away. Informing one of the gaurds to take her to Ophelius' den and leave her in one of the spare rooms, he then went and spoke to Ophelius himself, informing him that Opiate would not train this one for he felt that the attatchment he already had would cloud his judgment. So he asked that Ophelius train the girl and that in ten years he would make his presance to her known, but not before. Ophelius agreed to have some one else teach her the ways of Set, and agreed with Opiate that perhaps that wasnt the best task for him to preform. Opiate thanked Ophelius and returned to his duties and studies.

For the next few years he would stop in and check on the woman's progress. Never actually laying his eyes upon her merely questioning Ophelius as to her current stattus. He was proud of the decision he had made to embrace the young girl, her name was Olufemi, and while he would never tell her it was he who embraced her, he would remain ever vigalant of her progress. The years quickly passed and he would watch from a far, pride swelling from within him as he realized that her desire to corrupt and manipulate matched his own. Several years passed and the pair grew to become allies. He liked the idea that she had willingly come to him rather than use the fact that he was her sire over her head.

He spent long nights with his studies and managed to finally complete his ritual to awaken the blood within Cainites to allow them to enjoy the pleasures of extacy, and simply returned to his studies. For years he would remain hidden within the confines of his temple. Taking the occasional break to visit Olufemi in her new found brothel, and making arangements with other Setites to continue his dealings with the clan. It wasn't until the late 1900's that he was called upon by Ophelius to aid him in a ritual.

Ophelius had not forgotten that Opiate was once able to call forth Set within him. Although the process was draining to Opiate, he agreed to be part of this ritual to the dark god. Opiate tried to remember how he had called upon the god, and after several nights of focus, something happened within him. Set emmerged and spoke directly to Ophelius through Opiate, although Opiate was not aware of the conversation that occured, he was aware of something even more sinister now within him. As an unholyness now radiated from his form.

Opiate once again dove into seclusion, only working on his duties and rarely making his way out into the world for anything. He was becoming obsessed with something, sending Syxx out on missions to find rare and sometimes obscure items for him. When people would come to him, he would not hold back in his councils, instead he would listen and attempt to find a middle ground solution for them all. His work quickly became his life, ever trying to expand upon his knowledges, he has taken most of them to their limits, at least what he is intrested in. The history of Egypt, the gods, his powers, everything he needs he sends out for now. It is a rare occasion to see him outside of his temple. And then something changed that.

It was about 5 or 6 months ago now, and Ophelius had came to him with a project. He wanted Opiate to break this Lasombra Alexandria in to the ways of our kind. Opiate had done simmilar things in the past, but never to one who had already been embraced for some time. So with this being his new task, he once again found himself working double time, training her as well as attempting to make preperations for the new world. So he seems to have come out of retirement, and is now a bit more head strong than he has ever been in the past. Knowing that he must work hard to ensure that things go smoothly durring the trasition.