Clan Malkavian (Mall-cave-ian)
"But me… I lie, Archivist. I am the throat of delusion incarnate. They can’t hide you from me."Have you ever heard the tale of Cassandra? A Trojan princess who got the gift of prophecy from Apollo, only to be cursed so no one ever believed her! Up until she foretold her own death, no one ever believed the poor girl. Clan Malkavian is much the same. While not an exact rule, many of its members have the gift of sight-beyond-sight, peering past the veil, glimpsing the edge of magic otherwise unseen, and receiving mental messages and prophecies by the dozen. All of these are tempered by the clan curse of Madness, rendering their mental states frantic and their actions unreliable. But, even addled and mercurial, a Malkavian is someone you do not want to get on the bad side of. Mysterious ties link them together, and in between moments of madness exists a clarity and penchant for schemes and machinations deep enough to make a Setite blush. They weren't one of the primary clans of Kindred pre-Camarilla for nothing, after all, and even the most jester-like Malkavian can carry the deepest threat to you. While spinning their web throughout the night, the modern Malkavian possesses the following disciplines:--The Magnus Archives # 101 - Another Twist
- Auspex - The ability to increase one's senses, to the natural or unnatural limit, is a key part of the Malkavian's tool set. Not only does one need to keep their physical wits about them, especially if the line between reality and thought becomes muddled, but they are proficient in peering past the physical into the spiritual, with ghosts and magic becoming all-too-obvious to them.
- Dominate - The Malkavians have always possessed power over the mind, even if their own can be their worst enemy. To subtly influence and change people's perceptions and thoughts is second nature. Originally, they had an entire discipline known as Dementation, which took this spot, but with various magical restructurings for various convoluted reasons, that skill is greatly reduced in the modern night.
- Obfuscate - To hide in the darkest corner of the room, hearing what you definitely shouldn't have, and being able to live to tell the tale. All are important moments in the common Malkavians unlife, and this discipline is honed to help them do just that. Mastering the altering of peoples perceptions to hide yourself also gives the pathway to work their Dementation, their worsening of someones mental state, when combined with Dominate.
Structure
Clan Malkavian is notably disorganized. No ranks, no rulers, no upper ladder to climb, just a mass clan free in the wind subject to whatever political and social structure they find themselves stuck in. Mostly, any hierarchy or organizational structure comes down to Sires and Childer, and even that can be shaky, as the common Malkavian isn't the greatest at either impulse control or mentoring.
But there is a guiding hand, just one that is unseen and unnamed. Within the sprawling telepathic union known as The Madness Network, many Malkavians are subliminally pulled and tugged in certain directions to gather and grow together, without direct knowledge of the whos, the whats, or the whys. Some Malkavians have more power and influence over this invisible network, but the question must be raised: do they have influence over the web, or has the web merely snared them tighter?
Culture
Seers
In the olden days, and even in some select modern courts, the Malkavians were called upon to be seers, fortune tellers, and insightful advisors. Whether you can fully trust what one says is a matter of some variation, but there's always a kernel of truth in the most wrapped-around falsehood. This is maintained not only through the careful application of Auspex (as well as just general awareness and insight) but also through the clan connection of the Madness Network, for as much as it can be trusted. Even untrained Malkavians will sometimes have strange visions and premonitions thrust upon them, rending their perception of the world and twisting the line between reality and the unreal, even worse if their personal variation of the Clan Curse bubbles up at the same time. Many try to understand the visions they are assailed by, but more often than not they are left grasping at straws while the worst outcome plays out in front of them. Malkavians, when it comes to embraces, often search for wise and intelligent individuals, much like Clan Tremere does, as you need to have a keen mind to understand not just the visions you receive, but the outside world around you to help put the pieces together as best as you can. They also tend to hunt for the unhinged out of a sort of kinship, which brings us to something to address...Madness
Let's address the pink elephant in the room. Clan Malkavian has a reputation for mental illness that's at the same level of respect and accuracy as shock-value primetime drama. Historically, their Clan Curse has been assumed to give them one of a variety of mental illnesses, commonly some manner of schizophrenia due to the hallucinations that can come with the aforementioned sudden visions. This has led to not only an outward stigma of the clan, paired with the usual societal "understanding" of mental illness but also an inward preference toward the already ill. When Malkavians go to sire, it is common culture that they look for the wise and intelligent, but also the unstable. When you feel broken, and are told that you must have one of these (oft disrespected and misunderstood) illnesses, the desire for community and companionship brings you further to those people. But therein lies the truth of the matter. While the Clan Curse that affects the Malkavians does alter their perceptions, which can lead to very stressful and ostracizing situations, it is not itself a direct mental illness. Not any you'll find in the DSM-5, anyway. It can mirror those disorders and can worsen them in a sired person if they already had them, but getting turned won't make a neurotypical person become neurodivergent, at least not in a mortal way. But, despite that fact, that reality is a recently realized distinction, so for the past several millennia Malkavians have been grouped with the neurodivergent and mentally ill. This has let them grow influence within mental health groups and institutions, either as patients or disguised doctors, in order to better understand themselves, the mind, and potentially get prime subjects for siring.Comedy
In the pre-Camarilla days, and even in those early years, the Malkavians were thought of in a similar position as jesters. Comedic and satirical members of the court intended to keep things from getting too serious or pointing out the flaws in the ruler's reasoning. Their penchant for acts of perceived madness and oddity helped in this regard, and many Malkavians curated an air of comedy and leisure in order to appease this view of themselves. After all, you won't be threatened or scared by someone you laugh at, right? This led to a tradition of pranks within the clan, ranging from meager to sadistically dreadful, all with the interest of getting the laughs out of your system. Some Malkavians, however, take this concept too damn far. Some actively trying to appear non-threatening and comedic will lean so far into the absurd humor corner that they'll end up being brash, annoying, and generally socially off-putting. Others already had little to no social skills or experience, and so the same effect is achieved by a sheer inability to read the room. And sometimes a neurotypical individual that was embraced is told they have a vaguely described mental illness and acts on the belief that they don't have any impulse control anymore because "TeH vOiCeS" or what have you. With a greater understanding of the difference between genuine mental illness and the clan curse, this trend is petering out.Tacoma/Seattle Culture
Washington State, and the South Sound area in particular, has a deep history of mental illness care (for better and for worse) as far back as settlers came to the land. Due to the inherent stigma and culture of the clan, this brought many Malkavians to the western coast when the settlement started, some of which being personal friends and allies of the premiere Prince of Seattle, Lou Graham. As time has marched onward, going into the modern nights, the population has stayed pretty consistent, with Malkavians always having a notable presence within Seattle and Tacoma alike. In modern Seattle, many Malkavians will be on the street alongside a far too massive portion of suffering individuals, either due to comfort or their feeding preferences. But, such is not always the case, and the performance-based panopticon of Seattle's Camarilla rewards the Malkavians who can, for lack of a better term, mask hard enough to be useful for them, allowing them to gain proper social standing and resources. Within Seattle, a burgeoning Malkavian Support Network has sprung up, set to help their clanmates with either the mortal mental issues they are beset by, or managing their personal variation of the Clan Curse. While questions have sprung about potential manipulation, and other Camarilla members milking the group for any potential visions, those within the group are mostly genuine in their desires to help and be helped. In Tacoma's past, the hidden-away nature of the city's culture meant that a lot of the Malkavians who weren't as desirable or as stable took refuge in the shadowed parts of it. But, there also wasn't as much of the already-meager support and health available. During the 60's through the 90's, many of them found more support and understanding with the rising Anarchs on average, and even the larger-than-average Caitiff community offered aid to the Malkavians who merely wanted to be left alone. While this kept the population present and consistent, it didn't do much to bolster community or support, outside of what the Madness Network wove. In the current empowered social dynamics of Tacoma, more Malkavians are finding themselves understood to a degree they haven't been able to before, even if there isn't a big group like the Malkavian Support Network. They still gather together, some even find help with each one another and gain more respect from having certain influential members of the community by their side such as Hannah Winther, a local Overseer and part of the Clan who is almost unnaturally community-minded. Much like with many of the Clans in Tacoma however, some cultural groups have taken a name for themselves based on certain key attitudes. One pair is more widely used, and the other is used primarily, if not solely, within the clan.- Kaleidoscopes are members of the Clan who do their best to not let their clan curse get the better of them. While they may still struggle and have moments, they attempt to keep great control of themselves, either through coping mechanisms, outward support, or other experimental methods in order to keep that personal balance.
- Absurdists on the other end of this scale relish in their own way of seeing the world, going with the flow of their visions and altered perceptions rather than trying to reign them in or being in constant fear of them. While results may vary based on the individual's flavoring of this altered state, oftentimes times it's less harsh as they are more familiar and expectant of the sudden changes the curse would give them.
- Within the Clan, more specifically the Madness Network, there are people known as Spiders. These are Malkavians who, one way or another, are able to exert some control over the interconnected mental web of the clan, often messaging and directing their clanmates one way or another. Most Spiders enter a trance-like state to fully grasp the nature of the Madness Network, but otherwise, simply let their mental impulses shoot across the web.
- The Spiders are paired with their Conduits, Malkavians who take it upon themselves to spread the messages among the network outward. Whether they are enthralled by the Spider by some method or merely agree with the thoughts they spread along the network, their mission is to speak it into the outside world one way or another.
Public Agenda
See the future, say weird shit, panic at 5, enjoy the ride!
History
Early History
Much like with all Kindred Clans, the only "concrete history" we have comes from the ancient Book of Nod, which itself is subject to potential tampering and lost information as well as authorial biases as it gets passed down the ages. Take into account the fact that a Malkavian's word isn't always meant to be taken wholesale, and there's much not known or exact about the clan. Nonetheless, here's the supposed history. Similar to many clans, the progenitor of the Malkavians, the eponymous Malkav, was a member of the 3rd generation within the city of Enoch. Regarded as a great seer and prophet within the city, at one point before its end he was struck with a curse of madness that shattered his mind. Whether this was from his sire, Caine himself, a mystic force, or merely supernatural dementia remains unknown, but it painted the curse of the clan for the generations to come. Malkav wouldn't make it to see that spread too far, as after the deluge that wiped the world, he was supposedly murdered by fellow 3rd generation Kindred. (Although the permanence of his death is questioned by some members of the clan.) After his death and the outward spread of the Clan, many Malkavians were able to use their shared gifts and curses to take stations of prophets and oracles for various other civilizations, eventually coming to help influence the powers of Rome alongside the Ventrue. However, eventually, the two clans plotted too far for their own good, and Rome began to fall apart, with many Kindred blaming the Malkavians for the fate, as many later emperors were a bit left of hinged. This spread the Malkavians once more, flowing to many various domains. This led to their status quo during the medieval period, where they were either feared or pitied, rarely being allowed into courts in their capacity of seer or jester, often both. Many Kindred looked down on the broken, scrambling clan, and many mortals locked them up or had them tried as their derangements were as understood as real mental disorders of the time period, which meant not in the slightest and often attributed to dangerous spiritual maladies.Renaissance into Modernity
As culture and science evolved in the Renaissance period, the Malkavians began to come up more on top. Not only did the advent of written art and philosophy give them an avenue to be cultured and heard, but the rise of new medical understanding allowed for some remedial forms of treatment and access to mental health institutions, as horrific as those early institutions could be. While it would take them much time to really grow from their "Low Clan" status, it was the beginning of them finding a new foothold after the Seer and Prophet lost their value in standard society. "Thankfully", the Malkavains had no unique experience during the Inquisition. They were hunted, they ran, they threw childer onto the spears of the Inquisition, and they too rebelled as Anarchs, although a large amount of Malkavians left with the soon-to-be Sabbat after the Convention of Thorns, leading to a sect of Malkavian Antitribu who are seen as your stereotypical Hollywood murderous maniacs, an image they are happy to uphold as the Sabbat as a whole relish in attention and theatrics. But, for the rest of the Malkavians who stayed with the now-formed Camarilla, the transfer from Renaissance into Victorian gave them more of an edge. Psychology and Psychiatry were on the rise, even if it would take many centuries for the theories of this era to evolve properly. The reforms of mental health facilities did cut into their easy methods a bit but also gave them just as many new opportunities as researchers and subjects alike. This time period also shook up many people's standards and expectations, letting the strange and abnormal into their lives more and more, and so the oddities and momentary spikes of mania that many Malkavians suffered from were more and more ordinary, even if not always understood or desired. All of this helped the Malkvains regain their place in Camarilla society, even if they still weren't fully trusted or respected, they had their seat at the table. In the Modern Nights, Clan Malkavian has more information about the mind than ever, both to manipulate others and to soothe their own, and a smorgasbord of people to choose from to sire more. Their skills in Dementation are even returning, piece by piece, and the madness network is as active as ever. Although, the nights are grim for the Kindred, what with the beckoning, the mystery war in the Middle East, and the advent of the thin-blooded. Many inauspicious fortunes are hitting the minds of the Malkavians, but they're in a better spot than ever to ease the pain and pass along their information.Demography and Population
Due to their preference for embraces, many in Clan Malkavian are those who are genuinely neurodivergent in some way. This is only worsened by the clan curse, usually, but it has given the clan a lot of opportunities for health and education out of sheer necessity.
Much of the clan also consists of those on the fringes of society, as they are the ones least likely to receive proper treatment or attention from the world around them. Women, people of color, queer people, homeless people, you name a minority and there's likely a large group of Malkavians in that corner.
Territories
Many Camarilla courts don't exactly trust the Malkavians enough to consider them for positions of leadership, outside of Primogen which requires a Clan-specific representative. But, there are some that have risen in ranks enough to rule over a notable enough domain.
- Alessio Rinaldi - Prince of Ravenna, Italy
- Alex Silverson - Prince of Birmingham, Alabama
- Gilbert Duane - Prince of Miami, Florida
- Theo Courier - Prince of Portland, Oregon
- Jeanette Boerman - Baron of Santa Monica, California
Founding Date
~8000 BCE (supposedly)
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Alternative Names
Seers, Lunatics, Jokers
Demonym
Malkavians
Ruling Organization
Related Species
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