By Mitchell Kelly (mitch.kelly@tesco.net) (20 June 1995)
The Sanusi first appeared with the rising civilisations of the Fertile Crescent. At that time, they were the greatest occultists among the Kindred. High praise indeed, but true nonetheless. Then, the Sanusi began to exert power in the world: they had become aware of the power that their knowledge gave them. They spread their influence among the peoples of the deserts that bordered the Fertile Crescent, appearing to these primitive folk as oracles or gods. Then these primitives began to attack the cities, where the other great Clans of the Kindred had their power. Those Clans, chief among them the Gangrel, the Toreador and the Ventrue, would not stand by and see their cities, full of their faithful retainers and servants, destroyed in the name of Sanusi pride. The cities armed themselves, and took the war back to the deserts. In a great battle that lasted for days and nights, the men of the cities, supported by their vampiric masters, slaughtered the men of the desert, whilst those same vampiric masters hunted down and killed the Sanusi wherever they could be found. Finally, the armies returned to the cities, convinced that they had forever ended the threat from the desert. The proud Kindred thought they had done the same to the Sanusi. They were wrong.
A pitiful few Sanusi survived the great battle and the wanderings through the inhospitable deserts that followed. Supported by their few remaining faithful kine, the settled in the deepest, most inhospitable parts of the great sand and rock deserts of Arabia. Over time the kine became the mysterious vagrant tribes of the interior, seen only occasionally when coming to their rare trade meetings - or when they came out of the wilderness like a ravening horde to slaughter a settlement or caravan. The Sanusi built their havens in deep caves, and plotted their revenge.
Over time they spread slowly, placing themselves wherever the other Kindred went, watching their every move, listening to every word that was said. Then, they began their revenge. The Sanusi knew that they could not hope to destroy their enemies in open battle, and so they took another, more devious route. The Sanusi fanned the feud between Set and Osiris, ensuring the battle would never end. The spread subtle lies about the actions of both the Ventrue and the Brujah, ending with the destruction of Carthage and the certainty that the two Clans will never work together. They sowed the seeds of mistrust and hatred between the Clans at the time of the Crusades. They made sure that at the Convention of Thorns, there would still be Kindred who would not join the Camarilla. The Sanusi discovered and used the greatest weapon that they could ever unleash against their enemies: the mistrust that lies deep in the heart of every Kindred. Deep down, the ancient foes want to believe that all other Kindred are their enemies. The Sanusi are more than happy to tell them.
"They were destroyed long, long ago. If any survived, they would be advised to hide: we would be quick to finish the job."
Sabbat: The sneaking Lasombra, the hard-hearted Tzimisce and their ragtag assortment of fools -- they make good pawns to use against our enemies.
"The Sanusi? They were all destroyed. A shame, since from what I hear they would have been great allies against the Camarilla"
Inconnu: Meddling old fools! They begin to guess, but they dare not act.
"All actions leave a mark. Just as the ripples spread out from a stone thrown into a pond, I sense something at the centre of many seemingly unconnected acts. We must be wary."
The others: The Salubri? Dead. The Setites? Rank fools! The Giovanni? Mere children!
"If even one survived, I think we would put aside our neutrality to act with any and all other Kindred, to eliminate their scourge once and for all."