The Tremere

Overview

Often referred to as The Blood Wizards, or Blood Witches, the Tremere are one of the youngest clans operating in a state of fame amongst the kindred of the night. Despite their youth however the terrible power their sorcery can reap has cultivated a culture of fear around them that leaves the older clans in a perpetual détente with them despite their...dark origins. 
In the (comparatively) little time since their founding, the Warlocks have made incredible inroads within vampiric society and are arguably the most powerful clan in the modern nights. This is due in no small part to their strict hierarchy, secretive nature, and mastery of Thaumaturgy, all of which elicit suspicion, fear, and respect from other Cainites. The Warlocks stand as a pillar of the Camarilla and are one of its main defenders, despite the fact that they exist almost as a subsect. Some even go so far as to consider themselves the evolution of vampirism, citing their extreme versatility of blood magic and lack of a true clan curse. The Final Nights have many things in store for the Tremere, however, and the more powerful they grow, the more their enemies gather – and in their bid for power, the Tremere have accumulated more enemies than most.

History

Early History

The Tremere began as House Tremere, mages of the Order of Hermes named for their leader and founder, Tremere. At the end of the first millennium, the members of House Tremere realized the Hermetic arts were failing and found its immortality potions no longer working. Facing the possibility of losing everything, Tremere ordered research into alternate methods of sustaining their lives. House Tremere undertook numerous experiments, but it was Goratrix who devised a solution in his investigation of vampires.
In 1022, Goratrix invited Tremere and six of the founder's closest advisers to participate in the completed ritual, which promised true immortality. Whether Goratrix knew what would happen is known only by him and, perhaps, Tremere, but at the completion of the ritual the participants fell unconscious and were reborn as vampires, their avatars destroyed and magical abilities lost. The mages had gained their immortality but lost the power they lived for. Though the others would likely have slain Goratrix for his folly (or trickery), Tremere ordered them to halt and declared that they would remain at his side, leaving their chantries in the hands of subordinates while they discovered the powers of their new forms in secret.
In time the Tzimisce made war against House Tremere in retribution for the Fiends that had been made part of Goratrix's experiments. The Order of Hermes also became suspicious of diabolical practices being performed by the increasingly secretive House, but Tremere was able to dissuade them from investigating further. Finally, in 1037 Tremere gathered the seven newly-made Cainites and forced the blood bond upon them. He then declared to them that House Tremere would be restructured with a new pyramid hierarchy, placing himself at the top as Primus of House and clan Tremere and his seven closest followers forming the Inner Council of Seven directly under him. They would slowly begin Embracing the rest of the House, with each initiate being bound to the Inner Council to ensure their loyalty. In time, all members of House Tremere would die or become vampires.

Dark Ages

Clan Tremere c. 1197 - 1242
Motto: Arbitrium Vincit Omnia (Latin: "Will Conquers All")
Over the next century the Omen War with the Tzimisce continued on and off. With their mages growing weaker and those newly Embraced unfamiliar with the powers of the blood, chantries as far as their stronghold of Ceoris were repeatedly ravaged. While Tremere and Etrius pursued their own research throughout Europe in converting the hermetic arts into Thaumaturgy, Goratrix once again returned to his laboratories with his apprentices at hand. After years of experimentation on captured Tzimisce, Nosferatu, and Gangrel, he succeeded in creating a Gargoyle in 1121, and by 1125 the hybrids were serving as shock troops against the Fiends.
Nevertheless, the Tremere found themselves third-class citizens among the undead. Whatever boldness Tremere had shown in entering the night was ignored by the staunchly traditionalist clans, and they were often forced from cities by princes who did not look kindly on their presumption.
Tremere's response to this was further boldness. As he and Etrius rapidly acquired more vampiric lore they discovered the history of Caine and the Antediluvians, as well as the benefits of diablerie. Seeking to establish themselves as a clan proper, the Tremere sought a clan founder to diablerize and settled on Saulot, the enigmatic founder of the Salubri clan. In 1133, Tremere and the Inner Council discovered Saulot's tomb in the Anatolian desert. Tremere diablerized the Antediluvian and promptly entered torpor, leaving the Inner Council to lead the clan and destroy the remaining Salubri.
As with everything else that the Tremere had done to this point, the result was a mixed blessing. Due largely to Meerlinda's efforts, the Tremere were entrenched in many Cainite courts, their services as mages making them indispensable to princes across Europe. They were now accepted as one of the Low Clans, albeit considered usurpers, distrusted warlocks, and known diablerists. A vicious propaganda campaign painted the Salubri as infernalists and soul-stealers, granting them some credit, and even those who knew better largely sat back while the Salubri were hunted to near extinction, for their arrogance had made them many enemies among the other clans.
In 1202, the Order of Hermes finally discovered what had become of House Tremere and sentenced them to death, resulting in a Wizard's March. The Massasa War, as it would eventually be called, never officially ended, but neither side had the resources to sustain the war and it subsided after a few decades, only to sporadically begin anew years later.

Renaissance

The Tremere continued their hunt of Saulot's descendents while making alliances with Hungarian Ventrue against the Tzimisce. By the 15th century the Salubri were only a legend and the Tremere were completely acknowledged as a clan. The Inquisition was particularly hard on them, however, and they lost many of their cults and chantries. During this time Goratrix used his influence and power to try to corrupt religious orders, most notably the Knights Templar, in order to seize potent artifacts held by the Church and turn its hunters against his enemies. When his bid for power failed, and the Knights Templar were branded as heretics, Tremere awoke and summoned Goratrix to return to Ceoris to stand trial before the Inner Council. After being censored and stripped of his authority, Goratrix fled into the east, believing his assassination was imminent. Shortly thereafter Etrius moved Tremere's torpid body to the Vienna Chantry, which became the new center for the clan.
The formation of the Camarilla signaled the Tremere's rise to legitimacy. Though the Tremere did not suffer greatly from the Anarch Revolt, the spread of Thaumaturgy among the Anarchs by the Tremere antitribu was a dire threat to the clan. The Warlocks used their sorcery to facilitate communication and coordination of the Elders needed to support such an endeavor and played a pivotal role at the Convention of Thorns when they placed a curse upon the entirety of Clan Assamite, preventing them from drinking the blood of Cainites without extreme danger. The Assamites would never forgive the Tremere, their rivalry continuing into the present. At the same time, the Tremere antitribu were also cursed so that anyone who partook of the Vaulderie would be branded by a mark visible to "true" Tremere. Such mighty feats were said to have been led by Tremere himself, who rose from torpor for the event, along with the entire Inner Council.

Victorian Age

Clan Tremere c. 1800 to present
In the 18th Century rumors were finally confirmed that Goratrix had joined the Sabbat and was gathering the majority of the Tremere antitribu to form House Goratrix. Though the Tzimisce ensured that the they would never become influential within the sect, the Betrayer's efforts brought them closer together in an ironic imitation of the main clan.
During this time the Tremere continued to spread throughout Europe and North America, with considerably less success in Africa and Asia. Despite this expansion, the clan maintained its hierarchy, and the web of communication leading back to Vienna and the Inner Council steadily grew.
The Victorian age saw a rise in occultism among mortals, and the Tremere were quick to capitalize. Infiltrating the many secret societies that sprang up among the upper and middle classes, they drew childer, servants and herds from them. This also allowed the Tremere to practice their talents more openly (although still within the strictures of the Masquerade), and what once would have gotten an incautious magus burned at the stake for witchery, now enthralled and excited mortals with its concepts of divination, conjuration and communing with spirits.

Related Organizations

• The Camarilla and it's Present State