By Tobias (t.h.j.opdenbrouw@student.utwente.nl)
To fully understand the line, it is necessary to know a little of him from the time when he was still a Ventrue. He was (when still human) an initiate of the Catholic Church and slated to become a priest soon. One night, when he was 'on duty' in the tiny church in the middle of one of the bad zones of Amsterdam, a man came up to him. Rambling on about having seen 'Him', this man talked to him in vague wordings of God and a Prophet. Trying to comfort the man and helping him make sense of his life apparently triggered something in the man, as it became apparent that he possessed supernatural strength and a determination to draw Jan-Willem to him. While thusly embraced, Jan-Willem was Embraced. After this, the Ventrue who embraced him stood and walked off into the rising sun, dying the Final Death.
After realizing his true nature and meeting other vampires, Jan-Willem maintained his churchly contact and was actually ordained as a priest. Paradoxically, while human he never truly believed in a God, but became a priest more for the humanitarian efforts he could support. While a vampire, however, his new awareness of the supernatural caused him to actively seek a higher hand in his (un)life and the world. After about a month as a vampire, an encounter with a Infernalist Vampire and his impish/devilish servant imbued JW with a sense of having a higher being (that supported his revulsion of the unnatural creature) behind him.
After several action-filled events in the region of Amsterdam, JW and several of the vampires he had grouped with left for Northern Africa, to investigate sightings of speakers speaking of the arising of a 'prophet'. A Setite who might know more, that they had previously encountered might be found as well.
While infiltrating the Setite temple with some other Northern African vampires (to investigate the kidnapping of another vampire and investigate the temple itself), JW and his partners encountered a major manifestation of a guardian aspect of Set. Focusing his entire self, and prepared to give everything but his soul to banish the creature, JW brandished his cross and banished the creature, and in the process 'cleaning' the entire temple.
This banishing asked a heavy toll from JW. All his humanity, that he had struggled to hold on to, was 'burned' from him through the intervention of some higher power. A moment out of time followed for him and the others present, after which clarity followed. Now, JW is something other than a Ventrue. The monumental event changed him forever, and he now is a slightly deviant bloodline from the Ventrue. He now follows a different Path, of which he doesn't fully understand the ramifications yet.
Brujah: Overly fond of violence, they rebel for the sake of being rebels. They are realists and seek no explanations nor temper themselves with a reasonable code.
Gangrel: Solitary, self-oriented. Have strong ideas about the rights of individuals.
Tremere: Their studies have given them power and knowledge. For the latter, they can be approached. Yet, do not trust them. Somehow I feel they'll go the farthest of us all to reach their goals.
Ventrue: I am not part of their stereotype. They play at being human, with their interest in money and politics. Their clout and money are useful assets.
Toreador: Not easily defined. Of strong convictions sometimes, their understanding and insight can be quite impressive. Others are nothing more then faddists and play at being celebrities.
Malkavians: I only know one. I do not understand him.
Nosferatu: They possess worldly secrets. Their reclusive natures makes it hard to understand them.
Setites: Most of them are dangerous cultists. Their closeness to what they follow is something that can be learned from.
Assamites: I know of only one. While dangerous, if all are so overconfident, they are no real threat.
Sabbat: They follow evil powers. Be constantly on your guard.