| Race:
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Vampire
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| Faction:
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Camarilla
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| Clan:
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Caitiff Brujah (adopted)
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| Apparent Age:
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Early Twenties
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| Generation:
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Unknown
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| Official Job:
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Boat Tour Guide
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| Demeanor:
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Follower
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Life
Eliza grew up in a small apartment just a stone's throw away from the marina in Tel Aviv, Israel, together with her rather traditional parents and her identical twin sister Yael. The sea always called to her, so it was probably no great surprise to anyone that she ended up joining the Navy. She'd always been a patriot, and the great nation of Israel needs plenty of brave men and women to defend it from foreign nations and Palestinian terrorists alike.
Navy life isn't exactly safe, though. After a few years, Eliza was seriously injured in combat, and ended up being medically discharged. When she had at least recovered physically (if not psychologically), she ended up taking a few odd jobs here and there, mostly using her naval expertise to work as a harbor tour guide. It helped pass the time. Eventually she ended up moving to the States, taking up the same trade in Prospect. At some point she even fell in love, and was going to get married... but then everything went to hell.
Death
As it turned out, Eliza's fiance wasn't the only man that wanted her to himself. She was attractive, she was intelligent, she was a Medium - not so strange, then, that she ended up drawing the attention of a member of Clan Giovanni. They're not supposed to embrace outside of their incestuous family, of course; the necromancer in question thought he could get around that by making her marry into the family first. When she refused, the necromancer killed her fiance in front of her eyes, then Embraced her by force. The more traditional members of the Clan did not approve, though. Not at all. Before her body had even had time to cool, her Sire was a pile of ash at the hands of his own clanmates, and Eliza herself was lucky to get away at all.
Unlife
She did get away, though. Confused, hungry and distraught over the death of her fiance - mere HOURS after he'd proposed to her, even - Eliza wandered away from Prospect for a time, fending for herself as she tried to come to terms with what had happened to her. She knew nothing about vampires, nothing about her heritage; she was Caitiff, clanless. Clueless. She was a quick learner, though. Some three years after her life had ended, she found herself back in Prospect once more, ready to pick up the shattered remnants of her old life. Tired of having to struggle alone, she sought out the local Camarilla and joined up with them after being introduced to the Seneschal by one of the local Brujah.
She ended up spending most of her time early on with Clan Brujah, in fact; fighting alongside them, risking her unlife and on occasion even saving theirs. Eventually, as they grew closer, the local Brujah (the ones loyal to the Camarilla, at least) came to a unified decision: they formally adopted Eliza into Clan Brujah. As far as the Camarilla was concerned, she was Clanless no longer.
Not everyone who was around back then still remains; Javier, who had introduced her to the Camarilla in the first place, had left town as a result of some issues with the local Tremere over the position of Sheriff. Eccentric pimp Silky Smooth had simply disappeared for reasons unknown, and nobody quite seems to know what exactly happened to blind Maricela. For a while, it seemed like the adopted ex-Clanless was now the ONLY member of Clan Brujah, not counting ghouls, anarchs and members of the Sabbat. A lonely existance... but perhaps only temporary. There's still the rest of the Camarilla, at least.
| The Truth
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| Race:
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Risen
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| Age:
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28
|
| Affiliation:
|
Hierarchy
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| Legion Status:
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Grim Legion Covert Ops
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| Nature:
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Visionary
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| Job:
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Mossad Operative
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What Actually Happened
Eliza was never discharged from the Israeli Navy; she was recruited by the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, better known as the Mossad (Literally 'the Institute'), essentially Israel's equivalent of the CIA. The 'tour guide' bit was simply a cover story; her actual work involved espionage, counterterrorism, and various other covert operations - first in the Middle East, then in and around the United States.
She was never Embraced, either; Eliza is NOT actually a vampire. A member of Clan Giovanni DID kill her fiance in front of her eyes, after which he killed Eliza too - without any intention of either Embracing or marrying her. She was little more than lunch. Other members of Clan Giovanni did kill Eliza's vampiric killer, but it's unclear if it even had anything to do with her. Her corpse remained in the hands of the Giovanni for a time; they even embalmed it, with flagrant disregard for Jewish funeral traditions. Eventually, her body was stolen away from the necromancers by Yael, but that didn't make her any less dead. The world never knew, though; the only living people who ever found out about Eliza's death were her Mossad control officer and her sister, and they kept it to themselves.
Covert Ops
The now-wraithly Eliza soon found herself recruited into the Stygian Hierarchy and the forces of the Grim Legion. They didn't want a soldier, though; they wanted an operative, which is exactly what they got. Oh, the Hierarchy might praise the Dictum Mortuum all they like, and insist that Rising is an absolutely unforgivable violation that they could never possibly condone, but that doesn't mean they never break it themselves. Like it or not, certain threats to the Dead are best dealt with by having their own agents in the Skinlands. There's also the fact that the Smiling Lord who rules over the Grim Legion doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to respecting Stygian law; between working with supposedly banned Guilds and committing outright treason by selling out his own master to a Malfean, sponsoring the occasional Risen seems pretty insignificant in comparison.
Still, the whole point of covert operations is that they're supposed to be a secret. Outside of the Silent Lord and the handful of wraiths involved in her training, nobody within the lands of the Dead is actually aware of who Eliza truly works for. The official story (when one even needs to be given, which is rare in and of itself) is that she's a traitor, a deserter. In truth, though, she's Risen with the express purpose of eliminating threats to the Dead as a whole - whether they're Necromancers or mere vandals kicking over gravestones for a laugh.
The Smiling Lord is not her only employer, though - she might be dead, but the vast majority of people at the Mossad don't know that; she was never formally listed as killed in action, and she remains a Mossad operative even now. Only three people in the entire organization are aware of her true status, and that's counting Eliza herself. Just as Stygia has its enemies, Israel does too. Dying might have diminished her faith more than a little bit, but she is still a patriot.
As for the Camarilla? No, she is not 'infiltrating' the sect. She may not have told them she's not actually Kindred, but that doesn't mean they're her 'target' anymore than the tourists she takes out on boat tours are. They're a cover, something to hide behind... and, in a few cases, genuine friends. She may not trust them with the truth, but she'll at least rely on them for protection when it's needed.
An Unexpected Mentor
Given that she's a Jew - in ethnicity, if no longer in actual faith - it might be somewhat unexpected to most that her Mentor within the Hierarchy is Alonso Laguna, one of the original founding members of the Spanish Inquisition. (Then again, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!) They still meet up from time to time, in secret; their relationship is probably best described as 'vitriolic'. Insults get hurled about, and there is outright screaming at times, but while they are rarely polite to each other the two DO still seem to genuinely get along... somehow. Maybe they just enjoy the banter. Having been dead for some five hundred years at this point, the Inquisitor is quite the knowledgeable teacher, and quite influential in Stygian politics... not that he'd ever admit to aiding her openly.
| Ladies
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| Yael Ben-Zeev
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"Closest to my heart. I owe you everything, sis... even if you are a lazy bum sometimes."
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| Mimi Sheffield
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"I have a feeling I know what you are, but you know what? I don't really care. You're fun to be around."
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| Leila
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"Are you the ONLY ghost in this town? You're allright, though. Never thought I'd be so friendly with a muslim..."
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| Darkness
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"Huh. I have to admit, I did NOT see that one coming."
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| Gentlemen
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| Jacob Allen Xander
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"We've only been acquainted a short time, but from what little I've seen so far, you seem allright."
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| Father Cross
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"First impressions are forever, they say. Glad they were wrong. You're an allright sort, Father... but you seriously need some new pants."
|
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| The Quick
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"Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you..."
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"That which you do not understand, you fear and seek to destroy. In the end, you only make the real monsters stronger. Nice job breaking it, hero."
|
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"Well, I'd like to believe..."
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"Most of them don't seem so bad, honestly. They've yet to cause me any grief, at least..."
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"Look. Can you at least TRY to not be so horrible at pretending to be human? It's getting harder and harder to pretend not to notice how wrong you get even the basics."
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| The Dead (and the Dead-ish)
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"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul..."
|
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"I will see you all turned to ash before the end comes. Every last fucking one of you."
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"I don't trust you either, but at least with you it's not personal."
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"I've seen angels fall from blinding heights, but you yourself are nothing so divine - just next in line."
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"What can you see on the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? Across the sea a pale moon rises... the ships have come to carry you home."
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