Mekhet

Vampires have always been creatures of the night by design, but none more so than the dwellers in darkness who compose Clan Mekhet. Darkness is the hallmark of this lineage, and its members surround themselves with it like a corpse wears a shroud. The hallmarks of the clan are stealth and wisdom, so it is entirely fitting that they are associated with darkness — the better to hide them and the source of the knowledge they exhume.
Clan Mekhet comprises one of the most cosmopolitan memberships among the great families of the Kindred. Although they compose a clan born of darkness, these Shadows, as they are known, interpret that darkness in many ways. Some of the clan’s members are masters of the night, using their gifts and undead powers to make a place for themselves within the aristocracy of the Damned. Others are literal skulkers in the shadows, ready to plant a stake in a rival’s heart or steal the wealth from a rival’s haven. Still others are poets or painters, heirs to darkness of a more personal nature. Yet more Mekhet are diviners of secrets, questing after information itself forgotten and thus relegated to the darkness of memory. Clan Mekhet runs the gamut from filth-streaked murderers to enlightened philosopher-Princes and everything in between
While the clan certainly has coarse members, the Mekhet are, by and large, marked by a certain degree of finesse with whatever aspect of tenebrous unlife they choose to pursue. A Mekhet bodyguard, for example, is unlikely to be a brawling brute, but more likely to know an ornate fighting style. A Mekhet infiltrator is gracious or invisible, not a sloppy vandal. A sage or scholar might have such supernatural acumen that his abilities are downright oracular instead of merely archival. Mekhet Kindred very much consider themselves paragons of the vampiric state, so whatever they do, they devote themselves to it and refine their capacity almost to the point of second nature.

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Covenant

A great many Mekhet fall in with the Carthians or the Lancea Sanctum, both of which have strong traditions of politics and secrecy to which the Shadows can lend their talents. The same can be said of the Circle of the Crone, which typically draws Mekhet by virtue of its underlying message of redemption and meaning in the unlives of the Damned. Less philosophical and more viscerally impassioned Shadows are often drawn to the ranks of the unaligned, whose ideology of freedom (or anonymity…) is an easy fit for the wild at heart. This is not to say that the clan is weak within the Invictus, though. Invictus Shadows are simply quieter about their covenant affiliation than their boastful brothers, or are at least more reserved about the reasons for their affiliation, which typically coincide with those of the Carthians or Lancea Sanctum. More than a few Mekhet find themselves among the Ordo Dracul, as the study of its esoteric principles often coincides with artifact-finding expeditions or secrets to be gleaned from other Dragons.

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Appearance

Of all the clans, the Mekhet are perhaps the least uniform in the way they appear to others. Some play the clan archetype to the hilt, dressing in black clothing and adopting styles that allow them to blend into the scenery. Others choose from popular mortal styles and fashions, attempting to blend in with the crowd by evading individual notice. This practice is particularly common among Mekhet who associate with one particular subculture, thereby becoming an iconic, though rarely outstanding, example of that group’s tastes.

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Havens

Of all the clans, the Mekhet are typically the most polarized by their preferences and proximity to the mortal world. Some Mekhet prefer to keep close to where the action is. In large cities, where their numbers are strong, many take flats in the downtown core, or at least within short distance of various urban hot spots or the Rack. Older or more withdrawn Shadows are often preoccupied with security, and many elect to dwell in large homes on the outskirts of populated areas. Such Kindred often keep dogs and other servitors, made strong by the cursed Vitae of their masters. A few paranoid Shadows even take havens underground, where they cohabitate (or compete) with Nosferatu for shelter from the sun.

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Background

Prospective Mekhet can come from just about any walk of mortal life. The only common thread linking potential candidates is an affinity for the night itself or some metaphorical darkness, such as a pained soul or a thirst for knowledge. Many Mekhet are tutored heavily by their sires post-Embrace, in order that they understand the nature of the clan and its duties. A Mekhet sire who leaves a new childe to the misinformation of other Kindred is a rarity indeed. Some prefer to let their progeny discover the Kindred world on their own, but not even these sires stray so far that they can’t watch a protégés’ progress.

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Weakness

As creatures of darkness even more sensitive to light than most of the Damned, the Mekhet suffer certain banes of vampiric existence more acutely than do their fellow Kindred. Whenever Mekhet suffer damage from sunlight or fire, they take an additional point of aggravated damage from that source (see p. 172 for more on sunlight and fire damage). Just as shadow cannot exist without light, so too does light banish shadow.

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Organization

While Mekhet is not the most tightly organized of clans, it does have some structure. The majority of it falls in line with the clan’s various bloodlines, which are generally more independent than those of other clans. Nonetheless, some clanwide structure does exist. In addition to the Primogen in any Mekhet heavy city, the Shadows often give more deference to a Priscus in clan affairs than do members of other clans, particularly if a Priscus has earned a reputation for wisdom.

Plural

Mekhet

Pronounce

MEKK-ett

Nicknames

Shadows

Disciplines

Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate

Favored Attributes

Intelligence or Wits

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Kindred