By Jason C. Marshall (JCMarshall@sympatico.ca) for the Celestial Court.
A shadow rippled across the floor and then stood. A man emerged from it. "We are your doom."
A large dog padded silently up to the man's side and then shifted shape into a young woman. "We are your death."
Han Cheng backed away from the two, his eyes wide.
Mo-sha.
They knew what he'd done. Who he'd killed and cheated.
"The Court is unhappy with your meaningless plots and plans." The man said.
Han Cheng continued to back away even though he knew there was no escape from them.
The woman's eyes were feral as she began to walk towards him. She lifted an arm and a talon-like hand seemed to drag streamers of white smoke from the air itself.
"We will rip the soul from your despicable corpse and feed it to our masters."
Han Cheng ran, screaming into the dark warehouse, desperately looking for a place to hide.
The man and woman smiled wolf-like grins of sharp teeth and took off after him, moving easily and lazily; after all, half the kill is the hunt.
The Tong Chu were created by the mixture of Gangrel and Lasombra blood, a strange combination indeed. In the later part of the 13th century, the Dragon Council found itself in need of assassins to help deal with the growing criminal element of the Shu and its allies. They sought out a small conclave of mo-sha, the mysterious Chinese magic-men who were known for there strange martial prowess and magical capabilities. The Dragon Council had long since suspected that the mo-sha were supernatural in nature and when the first Pao Yu contacted them they discovered that were indeed kindred.
The mo-sha were controlled by an inner circle of a group of kindred known as the Tong Chu. They were a small bloodline, with perhaps thirty members in total, most acting as teachers and mentors to the mortal ghouled servants who acted as their agents.
The Tong Chu possesed a discipline not seen before, that of the ability to manipulate shadows. They used these discipline in conjunction with their shapechanging ways and thaumaturgical knowledge.
The Dragon Council offered the Tong Chu a position within the Jen Pao, a place where their talents could be maximized as well as their bloodline protected and given a chance to grow. The Tong Chu agreed and joined, bringing their consierable skills to Celestial Court.
The historians of the Council took to researching the Tong Chu's background in order to determine exactly from where they had gain their diverse match of disciplines. Evidently in the beginning of the 8th century a Gangrel known as Samuel encountered a Lasombra in a small community just west of Himalyan mountain range. The Lasombra, annoyed with the presence of the Gangrel, ordered him out of the community. The Samuel refused. The Lasombra attacked Samuel, diablerizing him. The Lasombra retreated to his haven to heal when several Gangrel arrived to join their comrade. The Lasombra attempted to hold them off in his castle but found himself incapable of defending himself adequately. He fled east, running long and hard. Along the way he found the capabilities to manipulate his shape as a Gangrel does, and used this new found knowledge to better his run.
Arriving in China the Lasombra quickly used his shadow and shapechanging powers to hide from the community, watching and learning. Some years later he came across a small community of seemingly normal villagers. He decided to stay, intending on feeding on them before moving on. Unbeknownst to him, he'd come across a mo-sha village. The mo-sha, much like the ninja of Japan, when not on assignment lived together in clan villages, farming and fishing like normal people.
The mo-sha of this village were guided by five kindred, masters of disguise, weapons and thaumaturgical spirit mastery. Using the knowledge of the spirits, the kindred would offer advice, teach and convey messages to those that were part of the mo-sha clan. These five kindred trapped the Lasombra on his second night and shared his blood. They then summoned his spirit and bound it so that it would teach them the powers of the western disciplines.
The resulting kindred were a mixture of Gangrel, Lasombra and the Chinese Tong Chu. Masters of spiritual magic, the shadows and the ways of protean.
The Tong Chu practised their ways, perfecting their new found disciplines until the day that the Dragon Council sent its agents to them.
Over the intervening years, the Tong Chu have become feral, almost savage in combat and when on assignment, as if they're becoming animals themselves, reveling in the hunt and the kill. They have become increaingly loyal to the Dragon Council, performing acts of assassination, sabotage, espionage, and terrorism in the name of the Court and their Jen Lung masters.
"We are proud of our cousins."
Jian: We will show them the respect due them.
"They have their place and they are good at what they do."
Pao Yu: These warriors are easily our equal in martial skills.
"We are proud to call them brothers."
"Complete and utter madmen, given weapons by their insane masters, the Jen Lung"
Men Hu: They are competent in what they do.
"Savage and feral, they represent everything we wish not to be."
Shu: They are the Jen Lung's bane and we will cleanse them.
"Of all the bloodlines, only you do we fear."
Ch'i chu: They know -- things about us. Things we do not wish to share.
"The secrets of all are safe with us."
Mui Tsai: They are the lowest of the low, brought down because of the Shu.
"We wish things we different, but for now, they are not, for now."
Yu: Calm and peaceful, if only we could be like them.
"We will be here when needed."
Camarilla: They will be the next to be cleansed, after the Shu.
"Madmen, all of them. It's like seeing a Brujah high on drugs."
Shogun te: Their ninja clans are mere imitations of us.
"You are too cocky for you're own good. When the battle draws nigh we will see who runs and who stands."
Sabbat: We removed your hated presence once, we will do so again.
"Ohhhhh, I'm real scared."