Yaryan is a vampire of a unique bloodline (formerly a Brujah) who currently resides in Chicago.
Biography[]
Yaryan remembers the day he met the Pale Wolf just as vividly as if it had been yesterday. Then, Yaryan was known as Shining Deer for his great beauty, and he hoped someday to become medicine man for his people and serve them with all his talents and skills. The Pale Wolf changed that. He offered Shining Deer's teacher an eternity to live, and the teacher accepted. His teacher in turn passed the gift on to Shining Deer.
While Shining Deer did not like the blood-thirst forced upon him, he grew to accept his new form and soon a small group of Cainites roamed the wilds of North America. For generations they existed in peace. Then came the whites. Shining Deer's tribe had heard about these ravagers who seemed to take special pride in driving the red men from their ancestral lands. When the invaders attacked Shining Deer's tribe, however, they found themselves checked. Not only did the Amerinds have a cult of vampires to help them, but Chief Black Hawk, their leader, proved himself a mighty commander. They forced the bluecoats to abandon their fort.
The peace was not to last. The whites returned en masse, and with immortal allies of their own. Soon the tide turned against Shining Deer's tribe. Unable to defeat the overwhelming technology of their enemies with bravery alone, they found themselves being defeated again and again. During one especially ferocious battle, Shining Deer saw the Pale Wolf lose all control. Indian fury the likes of which Shining Deer had never seen, the Pale Wolf attacked a woman who seemed to be leading the enemy; soon both fell defeated. Shining Deer and the other surviving Amerind vampires attacked, and managed to rescue their ally, but not before he had been even more grievously wounded.
Defeated and without hope, Shining Deer's tribe left the area, but not without a pledge of someday returning to their old home. To this end they left Shining Deer and the Pale Wolf behind, to find a place of safety where the Pale Wolf could recover. For more than a century Shining Deer stayed with the Pale Wolf, protecting him from all harm. He stayed apart from the city that grew up around him, only venturing forth for the Vitae he needed to stay alive. Thus his amazement knew no bounds when visitors like himself came to his haven. They sought the Pale Wolf whom Shining Deer had guarded for so long. Shining Deer took an instant dislike to the newcomers, and this dislike grew when he discovered their interest in killing his helpless charge. The reason for this desire surprised him even more. By killing the Pale Wolf, whom they called Menele, they could become even more powerful. Horrified by what he heard, he drove the newcomers from his haven, but not before they told him how Menele and his ancient Jyhad had been responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
Shining Deer moved Menele to a new hiding place, and began to meditate on what he had been told. The more he thought about it, the more he decided that his visitors had been correct - Menele had been responsible for his tribe's woes. Then he discovered that something prevented him from acting upon this new knowledge, and that the source of his inhibition was Menele himself. Shining Deer became extremely bitter at the wrong committed against his people, and decided that freedom could only come through a repudiation of his past.
With the help of an ancient purification rite and the Yaryan root, Shining Deer managed to break the bonds that held him to his old master. Taking the name of Yaryan, he fled into the city, hoping to lose himself among the teeming hordes. This he has done for many years, hiding from Kindred and kine alike. He still maintains a link to Menele through an ancient trapper who serves as Yaryan's Retainer. The trapper occasionally checks on Menele, and knows how to contact Yaryan should anything go wrong. Despite his new knowledge, Yaryan would still return to the aid of his ancestor if he knew something had gone wrong. Yaryan has only recently realized that the rite of purification has further changed him. While he does not know it, Yaryan is the only member of his own bloodline, completely distinct from his Brujah ancestor. He has begun to develop a new Discipline that allows him to interact with what he believes to be the spirit world.
Character Sheet[]
Yaryan [1]
Sire: Clear Bear
Bloodline: Unique
Nature: Martyr
Demeanor: Caregiver
Generation: 6th
Embrace: 1700 (born 1680)
Apparent Age: Early 20's
Physical: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5
Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 7
Mental: Perception 6, Intelligence 6, Wits 6
Talents: Acting 4, Alertness 3, Athletics 3, Dodge 3, Empathy 6, Subterfuge 2
Skills: Animal Ken 6, Drive 1, Melee 2, Music 2, Stealth 2, Survival 2
Knowledges: Linguistics 2, Medicine 4, Occult 5
Disciplines: Animalism 5, Auspex 2, Celerity 3, Obfuscate 6, Potence 1, Presence 1, Tellurian 2
Backgrounds: Resources 2, Retainers 1
Virtues: Conscience 5, Self-Control 3, Courage 4
Morality: Humanity 8
Willpower: 9
Notes: Yaryan's sixth level of Obfuscate allows him to cloak his aura so it always appears blue-white. His Tellurian Discipline allows him to look into a spirit realm he calls the "Umbra" and manipulate portions of it.
References[]
- ↑ VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 146-147
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 148-149