From the desert wastes of the East come the Assamites, and they bring with them a miasma of terror. The Assamites are known throughout vampire society as a clan of murderous assassins, working for whoever can pay their price. The price they charge for their work is the vitae of other Kindred; for the Assamites, diablerie is the greatest sacrament.

Assamites tend to avoid the affairs of the Camarilla and the Sabbat, working for either or both sides in pursuit of their goals. They do circulate among sect-held cities; other Kindred find them useful for slaying rivals, enforcing blood hunts, scourging undesirable childer, and infiltrating rival's power bases. However, Assamites rarely form true alliances with other Kindred, for they consider other Children of Caine to be of inferior stock. Unlike other clans, the Assamites do not claim to have a founder of the Third Generation. Rather, they believe their founder to be a member of the Second Generation, making all other Cainites flawed copies of themselves.

In nights prior to the formation of the Camarilla and the Sabbat, the Assamites practiced diablerie widely, always looking to bring themselves closer to "the One," as they referred to their mythical founder. As the Anarch Revolt ensued, and the Sabbat and Camarilla rose from the ashes, many powerful elders grew uneasy at the cannibal assassins stalking their ranks. Calling upon the Tremere to curse the Assamites' blood, the Camarilla placed a yoke on the clan that rendered its members unable to consume the vitae of other Kindred. Unable to face the unified front the Camarilla represented, the Assamites submitted to this indignity. Those few who did not accept the curse went into hiding and joined the Sabbat.

Those who deal regularly with Assamites have sensed great upheaval among the clan. The greatest sign of this is the clan's recent circumvention of the Tremere blood curse. Freed from the mystic shackles preventing it from engaging in diablerie, the clan has begun a campaign of murder and cannibalism once again. Assamites now kill other Kindred without provocation - indeed, without sanctioned contracts. The clan as a whole has assumed a more aggressive disposition. Whereas once the Assamites would take no further contracts on a victim who bested their assassins, the clan may now pursue that victim, and often does with unparalleled fervor. Similarly, Assamites no longer honor the age-old custom of tithing to their sires. In these nights of impending Gehenna there is no place for lazy Assamites who rest on their laurels.

Precisely what the Assamites want, though, is unknown. Certainly, Assamites have flexed their muscle in both the physical and the political arenas, and hidden agents of the clan have come out of cover in cities where the ruling vampires have become lazy and fatuous. Their hold in the cities of India and the Middle East is much stronger than other Kindred had previously guessed. Whereas other Kindred once viewed the Assamites as honorable (i.e. relatively impotent), useful functionaries, they now hold the clan in dread.

Nickname: Assassins

Sect: The Assamites hold Sabbat and Camarilla in equal contempt. Some Assamites remain among the Sabbat, and a scattered few exist as loners in the Camarilla.

Appearance: Assamites tend to dress stylish but practically. Aquiline noses, dark hair and slim, graceful builds dominate the clan's membership, though African members obviously bear more Nubian characteristics. Recently, a number of Westerners have been introduced into the clan, though they remain in the minority. These individuals may have almost any appearance, as they are chosen for their skill, not their looks. Also, Assamites' skin grows darker as they age (as opposed to other vampires, whose skin gets paler with age); particularly ancient Assamites are almost ebony in complexion.

Haven: Most clan elders make their homes at Alamut, the clan stronghold, which is located high atop a mountain thought to be somewhere in modern Turkey. Neonates and operatives abroad typically select remote, inaccessible locations to ensure that they receive no unexpected guests.

Background: Many Assamites fida'i (newly Embraced apprentices) hail from Asia Minor or northern Africa. Most members of the clan have been involved with assassination, wet work or terrorist activities for some portion of their mortal lives, though this is less true among the Assamite vizier bloodline. Recently, the clan has Embraced many neonates from the Western stock among which it moves, particularly soldiers, criminals and street gangsters.

Character Creation: Assamites favor Physical Attributes, with Mental Attributes a close second. The Assassins favor Skills and Talents equally. Assamites typically have similar Natures and Demeanors, as subterfuge isn't their style, but rarely are they the exact same. Popular Backgrounds include Mentor, Contacts, and, of course, Generation.

Clan Disciplines: Celerity, Obfuscate, Quietus

Weaknesses: In light of their recent circumvention of the Tremere blood-curse, the Assamites have reacquired their appreciable taste for vitae, particularly that of other Kindred. Having been forced to rely on alchemic blood potions for much of its modern history, the clan is easily addicted to the blood of other vampires. Any time an Assamite drinks or even tastes the blood of another Kindred, she must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty equal to the number of blood points ingested +3). If this roll is failed, she is addicted, and she must make another Self-Control roll the next time she comes in contact with Kindred vitae. Failing this roll sends the vampire into a sanguinary frenzy, in which she will do anything physically possible to partake of as much blood as possible. When (not if) the character's addiction manifests, the consuming need for blood should be roleplayed - Clan Assamite no longer sees the need to hide its vampiric nature.

Organisation: Elders of the clan still orchestrate the Assassins' movements from the Eagle's Nest at Alamut, but more and more Assamites have been dispatched throughout the world, killing Kindred with or without sanction or contracts. Many of the clan's former "rules of engagement" - such as the prohibition against hunting an opponent who'd already bested another Assamite - have been discarded. To those outside the clan, it appears as if the Assamites are running rampant.

Assamites organise themselves into units similar to Sabbat packs; these bands are known as falaqi. A falaqi typically consists of two or three Kindred who infiltrate a city and gain a foothold there. Assamites in a city engage in activities common to many Kindred (establishing power bases, cultivating herds), but also weaken rival Kindred through selective assassinations, for they do not see the Sixth Tradition as applying to them.

Bloodlines: The Assamite vizier bloodline specializes in the study of Thaumaturgy and Middle Eastern magic. Viziers almost never leave the confines of Alamut, and certainly never engage in assassination activities. They instead refine their - and accordingly, the clan's - knowledge of blood magic. Assamite viziers forsake Celerity, instead learning Thaumaturgy as a clan Discipline, but must spend an extra blood point on all Thaumaturgical invocations. Assamite antitribu of the Sabbat differ very little from their independent counterparts, their only variance being their nominal allegiance to the sect. Assamites and their antitribu relate very well, particularly since the parent clan's breaking of the Tremere curse.

Clan History: The Beginning

We are the oldest of clans � far older than the fools of the Camarilla. They had not yet gathered themselves into clans when the Assamites were born, and their vaunted council was millennia in the future.

It began in the first city, which we call En�esh. Here, Khayyin ceased his wandering and begat the Second generation, whose number was five. The kafir speak of three, but five was their true number. For it was in En�esh that Haqim our ancestor lived, and where we, his children, were born.

Haqim was the lord of the armies of En�esh, a great and noble warrior, beloved of the king and feared and loved by the people. He saw how the wanderer Khayyin entered the city with lies, and forced the king and queen to his will. He saw, though Khayyin knew it not, how they were made, and how they were taught, and he knew the great evil that would spread from them. He knew that priests could not stop this evil, nor armies, not city walls, and he was greatly troubled. He gathered to him certain of the soldiers whose hearts he knew, and they came upon the king and queen by day and slew them and cut off their heads, and gathered up their blood in a goblet. Then with his own hand did our ancestor cut his throat, and watched his blood as it flowed away. When the last of his strenght was leaving him, the soldiers gave him the cup to drink, and though he was sorely wounded, he did not die.

Certain soldiers were afraid, and feared that our ancestor would be tainted as the king and queen were tainted, but he reassured them, saying "Be not afraid, for my purpose is true, and I shall use the beast�s own strenght against it." And the soldiers rejoiced, and freely gave of their blood that Haqim might live and be strong.

That night, Khayyin arose from where he lay, since he was hidden and the soldiers could not find him. When he beheld what had become of the king and queen he grew angry, and fell upon the soldiers like a djinn, tearing their bodies asunder. Haqim arose and fought with him; all through the night they struggled, but Haqim was still young in Blood and sore from his Change, and Khayyin prevailed. He drained Haqim and flung him on the sand, and when the sun rose he fled to his hiding-place. When he was gone the soldiers covered Haqim with a cloak, and shut him in a casket, and took him from the city. They had yet some blood from the king and queen, and with this our ancestor was healed, though for many months he was sorely wounded. For a long time they traveled, until they came to the far mountains where Khayyin would not find them. There, they built a great and secret fortress which they called Alamut, the Eagle�s Nest, for it was lofty and strong. Haqim rested and tended his wounds, and grew stronger in the Blood. Certain of his soldiers, whom he found worthy, he made of the Blood also, and bade them make war upon Khayyin and his progeny, that their evil should not taint the earth.

For Haqim knew that Khayyin would make more children in the First City, and indeed he did so. These were the three whom the munafiqun call the Second generation. They knew not of the king and queen, for Khayyin would not affright them with their own mortality, and knew not that Haqim yet lived.

That is the true story of Khayyin the wanderer and Haqim our Ancestor, and it is the true beginning of us all. Remember, O beloved, how our Ancestor bade his children cleanse the world, and how he set our feet upon the Path of Blood.

The Golden Age

Haqim grew strong and prepared his children for their task. Khayyin�s Second generation begat the Third, and they begat the Fourth and Fifth Generations, who slew them. The First City fell, and the Second, and there began that which the kafir call Jyhad. Great indeed is their ignorance, for they know not of the word�s meaning. Else they would see that the true jihad is ours.

Yet, their Jyhad and our jihad are closer brothers than the munafiqun see. For was it not the first children of Haqim who laid low the spawn of Khayyin? Did our brethren not come upon them secretly and unawares and encompass their doom? And, did the evildoers not turn one against the other, and serve our Ancestor by their fatricides? For they knew not of the tale of Haqim, and knew not of us his children, cursing each other for the destruction that stalked among them. Thus was born their Jyhad, O beloved, from the true jihad of which they knew nothing.

But the Fourth and Fifth Generations of Khayyin�s begetting were wiser. They banded together against threats from without and came to rule many cities. This was the beginning of the clans of the kafir, whose Blood is much younger than ours. They built great empires, and learned great secrets, and one of these secrets was the tale of Haqim and his children, who preyed upon them as they preyed on mortals. When they knew of us, that is when they revealed the full depth of their folly. For did they rise up as one and crush us, as the wise man crushes a scorpion? They did not. Instead, they cowered in their strongholds an d hoped that we would prey upon their enemies rather than themselves. And their shame and humiliation went deeper, though only we now care to remember it. Some sought to save their worthless existences by paying us tribute in their own Blood. Others set us against their enemies, and paid us with their own Blood for taking the Blood of their foes, for Blood was ever the price of the Children of Haqim. What a magnificent foolishness! How much stronger we became, preying upon all, drinking from all! The lowliest rafiq was as feared as one of their princes, for we shared the Blood we took, so that each draught might go to the one who had most need of it. For the Children of Haqim fought not among themselves, and they saw how strife weakened the munafiqun and made them foolish.

Even in their folly, the kafir grew to fear the name of the Assamites � a name they gave us, for they could not pronounce the holy name of Haqim � and many among them began to plot our destruction. Chief among these were the Ventrue, who sought to make themselves rulers over the whole of Khayyin�s get.

They sent forth great armies into the mountains, but found only hard fighting. We were hidden well in daylight and protected by great mountains and fierce mountain people. By night, though they were many, yet we prevailed, for the Path of Blood had made us strong. Darius, Alexander, Crassus, Paulinus � all these pawns were beaten back, or misdirected, or held at bay, and the children of Haqim kept their secrets. The kafir Ventrue learned the name of Alamut, and sent legions into the mountains. By persistence they almost found the eagle�s nest; but the rafiq laid their plans well and had pawns of their own. Maccabeans and siccarii rose up to the south, and the legions had to break off their searching or lose their eastern empire.

As Rome�s power waned, a new faith spread across the land, and its name was Islam. Its followers were fierce and devout, but given to fighting wars over differences of religious opinion; one group, who followed a priest named Ismail, came to the mountains around Alamut to escape their enemies, just as Haqim had done three thousand years before. They became friends to the Children of Haqim, who assisted them against their enemies.

Rome sent more soldiers to win back the lost lands from the followers of Islam, and the tide of war ebbed and flowed for many decades. The Kindred, as the kafir named themselves, were fractious and made bad alliances and were as wary of eachother as they were of the Children of Haqim. Their forces were split by dissension and weakened by strife.

Yet once more the Ventrue pressed into the mountains in search of Alamut, and their armored knights won several victories. But the strongest knights were not of the Ventrue. These were the Knights of the Temple, shaped by the sorcerers of the Tremere. They used arms and wizardry together, and great was our struggle against them.

But the mortals who called themselves Ismailis had learned well from the Children of Haqim, and wrought great destruction in the camps of these Crusaders. Hashasiyyin, they were called, and the Europeans named them Assassins, and told eachot her great tales of their guile and courage, and made each other more afraid of them. Some, indeed, had drunk the Blood of Haqim, but th ese were few; for the most part they were pure mortals, well trained and devoted to their cause. The hashasiyyin were as sons and daughters to the Children of Haqim, and the greatest of them were chosen to walk the Path of Blood.

The Camarilla

So vain and foolish had they become, these munafiqun, that even the mortals had begun to defeat them. In Rome, where once the kafir Ventrue had schemed to rule the world, a mortal priest gave approval to a great scouring out of witches and other evildoers. The cross and the flame took many of the Kindred, and they were forced to set aside their differences a little and join together that all might not be destroyed. So was born the palace of lies which they call the Camarilla.

In their arrogance, those of the Camarilla presumed to summon all of the Blood of Khayyin and order them to submit. Many chose not to do so, and these they declared to be outcasts and heretics. Clans were torn asunder, and sire was set against progeny, so that as many died by Blood Hunt as by stake and fire � and this was no small number, for the kafir sold each other to the Inquisitors in the cause of their petty rivalries, just as they continued to enrich the Blood of Haqim�s children with their plotting.

And yet there were many who survived; by strenght, by guile or by hiding themselves away. Those of the Camarilla were angered by the refusal of many to be ruled by them, and made war upon them. Although the Children of Haqim were among those branded heretic, still more were sought out to prey upon their enemies; and in turn did their enemies of the Sabbat seek us out to prey upon the Camarilla. To both sides we were outcasts, yet too useful to be made enemies. And all the time, we grew stronger on the Blood of their elders. Many rafiq greeted the dawn of a new golden age and grew contemptuous of the kafir.

But when they began to meet and talk together in their Camarilla, the munafiqun began to see the truth. Despite the lies they told each other, their eyes were opened, and they saw how they were used, and how strong had become the Children of Haqim. Just as the Crusades had told stories of the assassins that grew greater in the telling, so did the kafir tell stories of the Assamites, making us into great and terrible demons in their imagination. So great did their fear become that they could no longer live under the same stars with the Children of Haqim, and they made war upon us.

The Anarch Rebellion

But the rafiq had grown strong and wise since the time of Haqim and were not easily defeated. The Children of Haqim lent their strenght to the rising of the anarchs, and great was the shedding of kafir blood in those nights. Our mortal servants carried the war to the heart of Europe, to the very gates of Vienna, where the Tremere warlocks trembled in their cellars. Where our armies passed, none was spared. Yet had the Children of Haqim grown vain and foolish in their pride, and forgetful of their bonds of brotherhood. For it was this war which sundered the rafiq as the Camarilla itself had sundered the kafir. Some held that our enemies� enemies should be our friends, and grew closer to the kafir of the Sabbat. They heeded not the elders and were deaf to the teachings of Haqim our Ancestor, that we must be true only to our cause and despise all the get of Khayyin. This was the greatest of our sadness, that our brothers should turn their backs upon their brethren, and upon our ancestor.

Great though it was, the schism is not the only sadness that the children of Haqim must bear. For now our very homeland was turned against us, as the kafir twisted the hearts of our mortal allies and set their hands against Alamut. One called Selim brought his armies almost to the foot of the Eagle�s Nest, for we had looked only to Europe for enemies. Now, the Children of Haqim faced enemies upon every hand. At last, a kafir Nosferatu was captured in the very heart of Alamut, and the Children of Haqim knew that defeat had come.

The Curse

This was the darkest hour, when the shame and the woe of Haqim�s children were known to all the munafiqun. The Master of Alamut sent to the Camarilla, speaking words of peace, and in the city of Tyre a treaty saved the rafiq from destruction, but the cost of our salvation was a terrible one. The whole of the clan submitted itself to the sorcery of the Tremere warlocks, so that the Blood of Khayyin�s get would be as poison to us forever.

No more could we walk the Path of Blood and become One with the Ancestor. This is our Curse, and the greatest of our many sorrows.

The Hijra

So it was, O beloved, that the Children of Haqim entered upon the hijra, in which we all still wander to this day. Yet we do not wander without purpose, but keep the eyes of our hearts fixed upon the teachings of Haqim until we reach our destiny. The road of the hijra is a long one, and along the way there are three great castles. Each must be taken before the Children of Haqim may cease their wanderings. The name of the first great castle is Alamut, the Eagle�s Nest. The first Alamut had been discovered, and so the Children of Haqim must prepare another home for themselves, where their enemies may not find them. For though it is written that Alamut lies in the heart of each rafiq, the hijra may not end until it stands once more in stone.

The name of the second castle is Tajdid, which means Revival. The Blood of Haqim has been injured by the Curse, and must be revived, that we may walk the Path of Blood once more and become One.

The name of the third castle is Umma, which means Community. The Children of Haqim must become a single family once more, and renew their dedication to each other and to the word of the Ancestor.

When all three of these great castles are taken, then shall the hijra be at an end, and the Children of Haqim may rededicate themselves to their task.

Present Times

These are dark times, O beloved, and the Children of Haqim are weak. Yet our weakness is our shield, for now that we may no longer walk the Path of Blood, the munafiqun have less fear of us. They hold back their spears from the wounded lion, thinking not that its wounds shall heal. They believe the rafiq to be conquered,, and the wolf to have become a mere dog.

Thus, they come to old Alamut increasingly to seek the doom of their enemies, and willingly pay with their own Blood, for they know � so they believe � that the Path of Blood is closed to us. Our weakness is our shield, and our usefulness our stockade; it is clear that we shall never be destroyed, for the folly of the kafir shall always save us.

And there are those Children of Haqim who remain Unconquered. Though many have turned their backs upon us, we are no more enemies than we are friends. They still walk the Path of Blood, and it may be that through the Unconquered ones our own feet may turn back to the footsteps of Haqim. Yet before the umma be restored, they must forsake their alliances among the munafiqun and rededicate themselves to our holy task.

Still, there are some of the kafir wise enough to trust not in the Curse, and still they seek to encompass our doom. The Unconquered ones sought to establish a second Alamut in the east, and were growing powerful when the Ventrue sent their mortal soldiers into the hills of the Northwest Frontier, which they called India. At last this second Alamut was abandoned, though great and terrible tales were told of the Thuggee who defended that place. The Marijava ghoul family still serves Alamut well on occasion, though their loyalties may not entirely be trusted.

More invaders, this time Brujah, came from the north, searching for another Alamut in the mountains of Afghanistan. They found it not, for all their flying war machines and satellite cameras. The new Alamut was defended not by walls of stone, but by the hearts of Haqim�s Children. Still they sought to crush us, and brought doom upon themselves. The Children of Haqim stretched forth their hands, and the Elders of Tashkent, Kiev, Rostov and Volgagrad were seen no more. Those who survived found their kine in revolt, and must look to their own safety before they may seek Alamut again. At the same time, an ancient power awakened in Russia itself, and claimed the elders of Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are some who credit the rafiq with these Endings which makes us even more greatly feared.

Thus it remains. We are feared and hunted, and at the same time we are sought out for our skills. We endure, and await the day when our strenght is rebuilt.