By John Taggart
In the late sixteenth century, a grandchilde of Malkav from Russia, obsessed with knowledge and power, began seeking out people that he could use as a form of "intelligence and counter-intelligence" force. He wished to gain knowledge of happenings in the mortal world, and then be able to relate that back to actions in the Kindred community, thus allowing him to know secrets that he could use against others. After a hundred years of gathering information through his Ghouls in this manner, he realized that there was just too much going on within the Kindred world for him to watch it all himself. He needed Childer who could travel to other courts, to other countries, or even just work within the same court he was, to learn things from different perspectives. As well, these Childer may notice some important details thought trivial by him. Thus he began searching his army of Ghouls for those he felt would make the best candidates for the Embrace. He also sat down and figured out what details would make for an effective intelligence source. From this list of names and details, he began grooming his "most loyal" servants for the Change. His first three Childer were successes, but the Malkavian noticed that they were not created with identical powers; while one might excel in the ability to improve his senses, another would have the will necessary to allow her exceptional powers of mind control. It was with this that the Malkavian began a new method of Creation.
He believed that, with enough will, one could do anything to which he set his mind. Thus, he thought long and hard on the powers of Obfuscation, and how they worked. He realized that their only problem was that they affected the mind. A creature of iron will, or of absolute faith that anything was possible, might just be immune to such powers. He then began to examine the Clan of Boyars, and their ability to mold flesh as needed. If he could somehow meld the two principles, he could create something truly to be feared. Thus began long years of self-examination and meditation, for the Malkavian felt that such a feat as his desires for a new power came from within the mind and soul.
When he finally did create his next Childe, the powers found within the new Vampire were astonishing. The Childe had not only the Auspex and Domination of her Sire, but also a new power, to mold herself, to cause others to disregard her, and to become as one with her surroundings. Even more spectacular, her powers passed through the Blood to her Childer. With this knowledge, the Malkavian, known as Gorax, began his master plan.
Creating a permanent mental link with his new Childe whom he called Ombra, "Shadow," Gorax secluded himself from Kindred society, to pursue other researches. Ombra was left to create Childer and organize a structure to better collect information.
The structure of the Ombras is very much a pyramidal structure, with Gorax at the top. Very few members know that Gorax exists, and only Ombra knows what his plans are. Ombra herself acts in the interests of the One (Gorax), and is known as the Voice of the One, or simply the Voice. She is responsible for passing all information to Gorax, and passing his directions down to the others. She never stays in any one place for very long, constantly traveling to make finding her very hard for enemies of the Blood.
Below the Voice are the Guardians. There are seven Guardians, each responsible for a continent or geographical area. These seven areas are: North and Central America, South America, Europe, Western Asia, Eastern Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceanasia. Ombra is in constant mental communication with her Guardians.
Next down the chain are the Harvesters. Their purpose is to gather all incoming information from a certain region, and pass it along to the Guardians. As well, they may serve as contractors to any who seek their services, either sending an Agent to answer the contract, or traveling themselves if they feel the need is great enough, or no Agent can answer the call. There is generally a single Harvester to a country, though the United States has two (North and South), and the Former Soviet Union has one for each Territory.
Finally, the Agents round out the membership of the Ombras. There is generally only one Agent in a city at any one time, though some Agents have joined forces to form Agencies, combining their talents to greater efficiency. Agents for the Ombras act similar to Assamites, taking contracts for information, though they will occasionally follow a lead they found, in order to satisfy their own curiosity. Any information an Agent receives will be passed along to a Harvester, and on up the line to the One, although many Agents keep small amounts of information to themselves, so they may use them as payment later.
When an Agent receives an assignment on contract, the first thing he must do is contact a Harvester to report the contract, and to gather as much from the Harvester as is already known on the subject. From there, if the information is not sufficient, then he must begin his own search, passing the information up, to help complete the "file." An Agent working on a personal assignment (one not contracted), must do his own research, though he may "purchase" information from his superiors, if he can pay the cost.
When two Agents encounter each other, there are generally recognizable signs and codes to identify themselves, including an "identification code." Once they realize they are of the same Blood, the accepted practice is for one Agent to assist the other in a current assignment, for a small fee. If neither Agent is currently engaged, then they will usually trade information on a one-for-one basis, until either they are out of things to share, or one wishes to disengage the trade, or one is called to work.