Maria Elena Quintana
(a.k.a. Mother Superior)
As the eldest daughter of a notable Spanish family in colonial Veracruz, Mexico, Maria Elena
Quintana was meant to marry to advance her father's interests.
The clever young girl, however, despised the idea of marrying for anything other than love, especially if it would be to some repulsive old man. She took up an enthusiasm for the Church and theology and insisted that she be able to become a nun. Her father, kind-hearted and with other daughters to marry off, finally acquiesced. On her sixteenth birthday she joined a convent and took her vows to God.
All institutions need administrators and convents are no different. Intelligent, creative, and driven, Maria Elena found herself promoted to offices of increasing responsibility. It also helped that she grew into an attractive woman, and she noted that many holy men let their eyes linger a little too long when they looked at her. One of the few exceptions was Luis Miguel de Mendoza, a mysterious friend of the Church who only visited at night. He would have long spiritual conversations with her, talking to her like an equal, respecting her extensive knowledge of Augustine and Aquinas. Sometimes he would challenge her to prove the existence of God without appeals to faith, but she could never succeed. While she admired Luis Miguel, she also prayed for his soul, as she sensed a void inside him. Little did she know that as she was judging him, Mendoza was deciding her potential. Maria Elena was destined to become Mother Superior of her convent, that much was clear, but Luis Miguel believed she was wasting her faculties. One night he claimed there was no God and proved it by savagely Embracing Maria Elena and putting her through the Creation Rites. Her soul damned, a life of good works undone in a single act, Maria Elena was deeply traumatized but not broken. When she became the personal assistant and protégé of her sire, she threw herself into her new duties as she mentally coped with having become a child of Caine, not Jesus. It took many years of shedding her prejudices and inhibitions, but in time she became as detached and callous as any Cainite within the sect.
Maria Elena was the chief reason that Luis Miguel maintained a power base in Mexico for as long
as he did and was just as instrumental in establishing a foothold for him in turn-of-the-century
Miami. She went head-to-head with some of the best Camarilla strategists and warlords sent against her and prevailed. Unlike them, she was willing to directly confront important mortals, putting a promise or a threat in their ear as warranted.
She even became adroit (when it pleased her) of seducing men and women to turn them into assets.
She became a queen and they her subjects. When the worlds of the Sabbat and the mortal world
collide, that overlap is her unequaled domain. Her moniker of “Mother Superior” is more than a
reference to her past; when it comes to connections to Miami's elites, no one equals her. Also,
she sometimes must play “mother” when cleaning up the messes of sect matters that draw too much mortal attention. She is quite good at covering up scenes of unspeakable depravity precisely because she has years of experience “learning” under Luis Miguel and his Cathari practices. By no means, though, does she suffer fools gladly; she keeps a receipt of every transgression.
Night-to-night, Maria Elena also works as a diplomat, coordinating with the other bishops and
elders in Miami, tracking which covens of note are in the city, and ensuring Clan Lasombra remains dominant. When her sire is indisposed (which is frequently), she provides leadership and advice to the rest of La Sociedad. She wants very much to get out from under Luis Miguel and start her own pack, perhaps back in Mexico, but she realises that any betrayal would mean her immediate destruction, despite her usefulness. She is much more likely to manipulate a third party into creating the conditions for her advancement or her independence from the Archbishop.
Alternatively, her position as the chief troubleshooter in Miami means she could be an ally or an
antagonist to player characters, depending on whether they are credits or liabilities to the Sabbat with their behavior. She does not hesitate to mercilessly enforce the ironclad discipline for which religious sisters are infamous.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Maria Elena is a gorgeous young Hispanic woman with fair skin and thick, radiant black hair. She tends to dress in very practical and austere outfits but accentuates them with golden earrings, pendants, and other jewelry. Highly economical, she never says more than she needs to, but her mind is always at work.
Character Breakdown
- Sire: Luis Miguel de Mendoza
- Nature: Director
- Demeanor: Traditionalist
- Generation: 8th
- Willpower: 8
- Morality: Path of Power and the Inner Voice 6
Species
Year of Death
1847
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments