By Sekhmet xV (SekhmetxV@aol.com)
"Probably what I remember most about the aftermath of that event was that I was able to simply bend my ribs back into place. I just reached down and pushed them back in. I then reattached the muscle under the flesh to the bone with its tendons and reattached the flesh where it was torn. As soon as I realized what I had done, I was shocked. Long had I spied on the Baron and many attempts had I made at duplicating the effects of what his Clan called Vicissitude with no success. It would seem that the blood of the Baron was a catalyst in my development of similar powers to those of Vicissitude."
The history of this Clan is no secret. Any member of this Clan will share this history cheerfully if asked. Given here is the generally accepted version of the history of the Metaphites.
Caine begat the Second Generation and the Second Generation begat the original Antediluvians. One of these Antediluvians was named Sekhet (see Clanbook: Setite) and he originated the Followers of Set. One of Sekhet's childer, Metaph, had always rejected the Path of Corruption, but was fascinated by the Tzimisce. One in particular, however, was the object of Metaph's hatred. This Tzimisce was Baron Ludwig Saranov, and he had a particular penchant for torture. One night, as Metaph watched (some say spied on) the Baron, he followed as the Tzimisce entered one of the temples devoted to an Egyptian goddess in which Metaph believed strongly. There, Metaph looked on as the Baron attacked, overpowered, and Diablerized one of the original Antediluvians. Horrified, Metaph left and resolved to follow the Baron again the next night.
The next night came and, having a strong sense of justice, Metaph steeled himself and attacked the Baron. A fierce battle ensued, in which Metaph was badly wounded. Eventually, however, Metaph's intelligence won out and the Baron was defeated. Believing in the concept of "an eye for an eye", Metaph drank the blood of the Tzimisce and, although he did not realize it at first, became one of the third Generation. Now normally, when one Diablerizes a Tzimisce, they become infected with Vicissitude. Not so with Metaph, although he did succeed in mimicking the discipline to some degree. Later, Metaph developed other powers as well, and soon became so unlike the Setites that they were forced to cast him out.
Later, Metaph sired many childer and created Clan Metaph or the Metaphites. The Setites formed an alliance with Metaph's small Clan which still stands to this day. Things seemed perfect and Metaph was happy, for he was no longer alone. Indeed, every one of his childer displayed the new powers he had discovered after Diablerizing the Tzimisce. The pleasant state of things, however, was not to be.
One night, an Elder of Clan Tzimisce came upon Metaph's haven. Remembering what had been done to the Baron, this Elder hid himself in the haven until morning and, sure enough, Metaph came back to the haven. Without giving him time to think, the Tzimisce leapt at Metaph, staked him, and dragged him outside just as the sun was creeping over the horizon. Metaph burned in the sun, his body crumbling to nothing, and the Tzimisce Elder scattered what few ashes there were to the far corners of the earth. When Metaph died, every Metaphite fell into Torpor, and those who were outside at the time died horribly.
What the Tzimisce had not counted on, however, was the complexity of Metaph's control over his body. Finally, he had been able to duplicate the highest level of Vicissitude and, in time, Metaph returned, and when he did so did every other Metaphite in the world -- although it took nearly four hundred years to do so. The Metaphite awakening is generally believed to have occurred in the 1700s. To this day, Metaph lives, and some say he controls Egypt and most of Africa and the Middle East.
The Metaphites do not acknowledge, much less believe in, the existence of the Children of Osiris and, certainly, if the Children exist they have no quarrel with the Metaphites as they have not revealed themselves as yet.
A lot like the Setites but not one of them have ever caused us any trouble. Naturally we don't trust them; we will just have to watch . . . Their powers, which seem alot like those of the Tzimisce, frighten me, however. It will be interesting to see what role they play in the coming of Gehenna.
Sabbat: How dreadful... Although it amuses me no end how angry the Ta-za-ma-whatsits (believed to be a reference to the Tzimisce) are that we can do the same thing they do. Weird folks; I think they all want us dead.
"My attitude toward these filthy abominations is essentially the same as my opinion of the Setites. These bastards are dangerous. Not only that, they are thieves. They have stolen from my Clan its true power and that cannot be forgiven
The Inconnu: Once again, these are some Kindred who hurt no one. No one. They've retired, so to speak, and I can respect that. If they have lived long unlives then they deserve their rest. All peaceful beings deserve peace in turn.
It is sad indeed how the Sabbat hates this Clan. Luckily, we will be here to offer them sanctuary. Truly kind and noble, the members of this Clan are surpassed only by the Salubri in sheer morality. I, for one, will protect any member of this Clan from those damnable fiends. Afterall, I have never been fond of the Tzimisce.