- See also Namtaru (disambiguation)
Namtaru is a powerful evil entity worshiped by ancient Baali.
Overview
It is said that demons and lesser creatures whispered in Nergal's ear that a "Child" slept beneath the ancient city of Mashkan-shapir. The mortals had sensed his presence and named him "Namtaru", the Spreader of Plagues. Nergal tried to wake it by great amounts of human sacrifice, but as soon as the information reached Moloch, he leaked it to the Second City.
The thirteen Antediluvians waged war against Nergal and his ilk, besieging their city. When they could not breach the doors of his temple due to his demonic magic, Lasombra priests of the Ereshkigal, using powers now lost to the clan, penetrated the temple through the shadows that hovered within and flooded Nergal's haven with liquid darkness.
Nergal and his remaining loyal followers were washed away by the black tide and vanished into the domain from which the Lasombra summon their servants, and Mashkan-shapir was forever lost to the bloodline. Nergal's plans to wake the giant sleeper Namtaru was thwarted but not obliterated, however. He would try again on the island of Crete, until the Baali were finally defeated at the end of the Second Baali War and Namtaru was said to have been lost when the last Baali stronghold fell at Knossos.
Namtaru only reappeared in Cainite history when, in the 11th century, Azaneal found the forgotten gate to Chorazin under what appeared to be "living shadows". Azaneal sought help from an infernalist faction of Lasombra from Valencia called Angellis Ater in order to open the gate. The Baali and his new allies discovered a city that was under Chorazin and the hidden tomb of Namtaru.
While Namtaru slumbered, it wrote powerful signs and words on the walls of its crypt. However, the words were so powerful that they could not wait to be read and simply leapt at the minds of those around them. Soon Azaneal and his companions were filled with Chorazin's darkness. Azaneal was the only one who survived the subsequent Frenzy that took them over, and with this new knowledge he gained the power to reclaim Chorazin and declaring himself Shaitan.
At the end of the Second Baali War, the cultists at Chorazin tried to awaken Namtaru with their own ritual sacrifice, but had only limited success. The Baali managed to capture a 5,000 year old methuselah called Izhim abd Azrael and twelve other Assamite Warriors and gave them to the gigantic hand of Namtaru – the hand itself looked like as it was made of solid basalt but was liquid like shimmering oil. Al-Ashrad and his magi attacked the creature and managed to put it back to sleep, but the Warrior Assamites were lost.
Nearly six centuries later, in 1242, Enkara was summoned back to that very spot by her sire and tricked into releasing him. Izhim immediately turned on her and offered her body and soul to the demon. He explained that he was the only sacrifice worthy of the demon, because he was the only one who truly loved someone else, and was now ready to offer his love as well as his name and allegiance in a contract with Namtaru, finally sealing the Baali curse over the Assamite clan. The blood curse which was but a trickle among the Warrior Caste would become a flood, tainting them all and passing to other castes.
Trivia
- While Namtaru never awakened from his slumber, it is said he can interact with the world through each of the 36 of his aspects, beings that are collectively known as Decani.
- No one actually knows the true nature of Namtaru. It is probably a mighty demon, maybe an Earthbound or even a regular Fallen, perhaps a Wyrmish Bane, a Methuselah, or even an Antediluvian.
- Namtaru was said to be one of "the Children" who were worshiped by the First Tribe who gave origin to the Baali. It was also called "The Fallen One" by Izhim ur-Baal, saying that "Namtaru" was merely a word used in a futile effort to contain the infinite.
References
- VTDA: Clanbook: Baali, p. 19, 22, 25-26, 67
- VTM: Gehenna, p. 28
- V20: Rites of the Blood, p. 114, 120
- V20DA: The Cainite Conspiracies Anthology, p. 114-119