By William Adams (william@isla.net)
Then the War of Rage broke out. It had little effect upon the incredibly powerful wraith-mages of Atlantis and the vampire-mages of Stygia but the War of Rage brought the wrath of the Gurahl down upon the world and none could escape that. It is the Natural order of things for the spirits of the dead to pass on upon their death. When this balance was disrupted the roads of the dead began to weaken and the Triat started to take an active interest in the workings of the world. The Gurahl forestalled total reconstruction of the world by calling upon a long winter: the second ice age, what vampires and believers call the Great Deluge. The focus of the Long Winter was the ancestor-gods and vampire-mages. So while the curse was placed that no true shard of Avatar could remain outside the natural order, the Lemurian Vampires slept their first torpor, and survived as the more powerful Stygian Vampires where destroyed. Why the Triatic Wyrms chose the Lemurian vampires to gift with incredible power is something no one can guess at. But it was during this Third Age that the Gauntlet formed and humanity rose to preeminence among the creatures of the world.
During the Third Age, what is called the Second City, a vampire came to Tibet in the Himalayas. Here he met the servants of the Wyrm and saw their corruption and they took him in and protected him from the mystics and holy men who sought to destroy him. In return he slew them and drank their blood, but not before learning their dark ritual and dancing in their unhallowed places. His progeny would have remained simply a bloodline had the Vampire not learned of the Dragon's cave. There he performed dark rituals to cross into the Velvet Shadow. He met dark spirits and learned to bind them to do his bidding. But even this power was not enough. The vampire sought to spread pain through the world to garner the attention of the sleeping dragon. Here there was power beyond measure if only he could wake it from its slumber. He sent his ghouls across the world and his favorite conquered much of Europe and all of China. So much death and destruction did he cause that during one of his rituals the Dragon roused. Half awake and half asleep the ancient vampire made contact with the most ancient expression of the Wyrm. What passed between them is a secret that not even the Dragon Sons who were present know. But when the vampire came out of his trance and the mountain ceased to tremble he renamed his brood the Sons of the Dragon and informed them of their new mission. Reaching into the Velvet shadow he took hold of the Urge Wyrm Incarna that acted as Totem for the bloodline. Taking it by surprise he committed Dark Diablerie upon it thereby becoming a member of the Third Generation. Immediately he began to encourage his childer to do likewise and also convinced them to destroy all other servants of the Wyrm who were not of his brood.
Sons of the Dragon not only despise life and creation but also corruption and ugliness. They are not only dedicated to destroying those who champion the cause of Gaia and life but they also seek to destroy all other minions of the Triatic Wyrms. They believe that these lesser servants are insane, corrupt and are not carrying out the true plan of the Wyrm.
The Sons of the Dragon hold this as their creation myth and scoff at the notion of Caine and Abel and such nonsense. They have seen the Velvet Shadow and have garnered power from the Wyrm. Enough power to sneer at other vampires and even mages who are foolish enough to pry into their secrets.
Members of this bloodline are dedicated to service of the Wyrm and they sneer at other vampires who foolishly believe that they come from the blood of Caine. The Sons of the Dragon know better. Each of the supposed Second Generation can be roughly matched to each of the Triatic Wyrms. The only Clan that the Sons of the Dragon despise are the Ravnos who do not trace their origins back to the First City but instead are the product of a chance encounter between a Gangrel and a Vortex. The Ravnos, they feel, are the only vampires who understand the importance of the eventual Apocalypse and might oppose the plans of the Sons of the Dragon. In the far east the Sons of the Dragon wage war with the Indian and Middle-eastern Ravnos.
Servants of the Eater of Souls are afflicted with Consumption and must consume twice as much blood as other vampires. Every two Blood Points consumed equal one for the vampire's Blood Pool.
Servants of the Beast of War are afflicted with Calamity and all ones rolled during tests to resist or recover from Frenzy count double. Whenever a one is rolled it negates two successes instead of just one. Botches are certainly more likely.
Servants of the Defiler Wyrm are afflicted with Corruption and must spend twice as much Willpower to resist derangements and maintain control. Whenever the Vampire spends Willpower to resist an action dictated by Frenzy or Rötschreck two points are spent instead of one. To overcome a derangement the Vampire must expend twice the amount normally required by the chronicle. (Usually 20 instead of 10 under normal circumstances.)
"There are strange powers at work in mainland China that we may never fathom. Someday we must harness this mystic power. I believe the answer lies in an alliance with Oriental mages."
The Sabbat: They came here once and they keep sending cannon fodder to die beneath our claws. Amusing, I wish I had time to visit their lands and amuse myself some more.
"It frustrates me so that we have not made more progress in our attempts to take over this mysterious land. Once we crush the Camarilla we will have to dedicate more resources to this effort."
The Inconnu: Whatever that is we have none here, and if we did I would be the first to destroy them.
"As it stands we dare not go near their halls of power or wherever they bind their demonic spirits. Of all the fractured clans of the world they are the only ones who fight with knowledge of the true nature of Gehenna. They must be stopped before it is too late."
Former Nephandus: (2 pt. Merit) The vampire has knowledge of Malfeas and an understanding of the other minions of the Wyrm. He can also have allies outside the clan composed of different minions of the Wyrm other than vampires.
Recent Diablerie: (5-7 pt. merit) The character recently committed Diablerie on either another vampire or a spirit if of sufficient Generation. For five points the vampire is of the Seventh Generation at the start of play. For six points the vampire is of Sixth Generation and for seven points the vampire is of the Fifth Generation. Having this merit will make the character the target of Diablerie in turn. It is recommended that the player think it over before taking this merit. In addition the Character must have five dots in Generation before he can take this Merit.