Clan Salubri (Sah-Loo-Bree)

"Salvation. Ha! What a joke. Those triclops only peddled shame and pity, if I wanted a lecture on how morally repugnant I was, I'd go simply go to my family dinners!"

"But they were healers, no? Physically and Spiritually?"

"You can't heal what isn't broken, dear. And, you can't save those who don't want to be saved. That's why you don't see them anymore, because more of us wanted them gone than we wanted their saving."

-- A Prince's words to her Childe

The nearly extinct Clan of the enlightened. While not every Salubri might follow the same path as their forebears, the clan was built on humane philosophy and healing, and empathy is within their very blood whether they want it or not. Formerly a noble ancient clan, centuries of losses and propaganda have turned them into a mere fraction of their former selves. But, they still weave through the night, protecting themselves as they continue their great work of healing and seeking the vampiric form of enlightenment, the freedom from the beast known as Golconda.
In their nightly tasks of survival and chasing nobler ends, the vitae connecting the clan has use of these Disciplines by nature:

• Auspex - The Salubri might've gained a third eye for metaphysical reasons in their supposed origins, but they also have talent in increasing their physical senses as well. Not only does this aid them in their cautious movements, but for those who enhance their sixth sense it assists not only evade magical methods, but also gives them a leg up in their spiritual work, especially when combined with other Kindred abilities. They also use this talent in tune with their skills in Fortitude to practice their healing art, originally a discipline all it's own known as Valeren.
• Dominate - Often times, asking nicely isn't just going to cut it, or lead to too many questions than you have the ability to answer. So, when push comes to shove, the path of mental manipulation is sometimes the best. Whether compelling people to come to their aid or get out of their way, or erasing the memory of their presence, it's a key part of the Salubri skillset.
• Fortitude - Unsurprisingly, when so many things want to kill you in the night you get a knack for how to toughen yourself. But, the Salubri know more than just how to bolster their own defenses, physical and mental alike, as Fortitude makes up the other half of the requirements for their healing disciplines, extending their bolstering and recovery outwards, at a cost to their own health.

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Culture

Salubri culture largely centers their clans unique areas of philosophy. While the teaching of Golconda, the way to control and rise above the beast inside, is taught from sire to childe and is therefore more of a learned piece of the culture, the beast within the clan rasies its voice in compulsions of empathy. When the pull of the beast comes calling, a Salubri will obsessively throw themselves onto a percieved victim of a wrongdoing for as long as the compulsion lasts, often to their own harm and detriment.
This emotional core also comes through in the modern siring trends. Salubri commonly find one potential childe to train and teach in their ways as far as they've gotten, and then allow their childe to diablerize them, gaining their own knowledge and prowess before starting their own journey. For those who follow this tradition, they tend to seek out the noble, empathetic, and kind-hearted, a different lot than many other clans pick from.
However, the clan also has to stalk carefully in the nights, as not only has centuries of propaganda worked against their favor, but their very nature gives them a literal, physical third eye that cannot be disguised by magical means, and their vitae is nigh-addictive to boot. If even a well-meaning Kindred were to get a taste, there's a chance they could lose themselves in that passion, and diablerize the Salubri. Some even seek them out for this purpose, with rumors of their bloods potency being abound for those who care to listen. So, survivors and the cautious are also people the Salubri look for, and even in cities where they gather they keep their heads low and operate with many different symbols and hidden languages.

In Tacoma and Seattle

In Seattle's modern image, the Camarilla has attempted to don a more "liberal" and open-armed position, as much as secret hierarchies of immortal manipulators can be anyways. This even extends to those often maligned by the Camarilla including the Salubri, although as far as public knowledge goes, none have taken them up on their offer. Tacoma, as well, does not have a public presence for the clan, even if its days as the secret dumping ground for many a disreputable Kindred.
But, of course, that is what other Kindred are aware of.
Less in Seattle, more in the South Sound, a handful of Salubri do move amongst the night. They are much like the aforementioned survivors, leaving vague signs and coded messages for one another, and using whatever resources are available to guide each other through safe passages and Camarilla blind spots. Of those who survive and weave through the nights, there are two subdivisions. First, there are a handful of Salubri who seem to be part of a collective order known as the Apothecary. They remain hidden and secret, but still practice their arts of healing and guidance to others. The others Masquerade their talents and hide as members of other clans, putting on an elegant show that often goes against their teachings. But what good is piety in the face of survival?
And then, there are the rare few. Salubri who do not hide who they are. While they may still keep a low profile and practice discretion, they do not cloak behind a mysterious organization or by pretending to be anyone else. Of course, if they were known to be the Sire or Childe of another, then that would blow a lot of potential cover.

History

The General History

The Salubri have long been regarded as the off-color clan of the Kindred family. Thoughtful, empathic, ascetic, and often coming across as evangelical and conceited to their cousins.
As with all clans, the fog of ages leaves much to interpretation and narrative control, not helped by the propoganda by the Tremere throwing more uncertainty in the mix. For the Noddist accounts with the theoretical biblical origins of the clan, the Salubri and its founder, Saulot, were healers in those ancient days. But, as Saulot was challenged more and more by the beast within all Kindred, he travelled far to learn better ways of managing his emotions, finding the most success with the teachings of Hinduism and early Buddhism. Whether or not the timelines line up for these religions depends on when you place the theoretical Biblical Flood and the construction of the second city after it, but timeline aside, Saulot gained his ideal of enlightenment, which he named Golconda, and willed his blood to form him a literal third eye in commemoration of his metaphorical third eye being opened.
When he returned to his clan with this knowledge, their art of healing was better developed, as they healed themselves first, and soon the third eye of the Salubri became a fact of the bloodline. It was around this time that another clan, the demon-worshipping Baali, began their hostility against the Second City, giving the Salubri a truly lost enemy to counter their new form of vampiric enlightenment.
As time pressed on and society developed, stepping into the ages we know more about, the clan favored quality over quantity, not siring often since they did not wish to create more vampires, unless they found a potential childe that would be a notable and exceptional healer or holy warrior as their fight with the Baali continued. They had fallen into a niche of wise mages and sages in Kindred society, but that would soon be quashed by Clan Tremere, whose founder Diablerized Saulot in an attempt to gain the status of an antedilluvian.
While that should have damned the Clan before it began, the Tremere are always resourceful, and thus began an extensive smear campaign against the Salubri. Given that the Salubri were tolerated but not overtly enjoyed, since they kept many of their true intentions secret and had far too many moral hangups for most Kindred, it spread like wildfire and by the time of the inquisition their reputation had soiled from wise healers to devious soul-drinkers, their practice of diablerizing sires to pass along knowledge and to ease their pain seen as a near-fetish for the taboo art.
This was doubled by the Baali gaining many victories over the clan as they splintered among the violent and the passive, reducing their numbers further. As the sects of the Camarilla and Sabbat were formed, the Salubri were considered basically a dead clan, along with the Baali largely being wiped out by the Inquisition. The Tremere had won this battle, although time would tell if they won the war.
In the Modern Day, the existence of the Salubri is known as a myth to many and a fact to relatively few. Rumors are abound about just how many are even left, with some saying as few as Seven. Nonetheless, the Clan is rather endangered, with the time since their heyday only giving more room for myths about their potency and abilities to fester. But, many do still practice their art, no matter how many layers of subterfuge it takes.

History in Tacoma

Given the scarcity of the clan overall, and the relatively lax presence of Kindred in the state of Washington, there is no notable history for the Salubri found in the state. Statistically speaking, at least one must've at least passed through, but as far as records go, they have had no hand or notable presence in the land.
Of course, records can be deceiving.
TbN Plot Spoilers

The truth is, while not a constant presence, one Salubri had a notable hand in the hidden side of Tacoma. In the time the territory was just being settled, a mortal Mage whose name has been lost to time wanted to create a nexus of power in the region, enriching the strength and lives of all who walked it. To do so, he created a ritual that took the powers of Faith, Logic, Nature, the Soul, and Blood and solidified them into a nexus of strength called the Media Cor Terram. For the position of the Blood, a Salubri by the name of Issachar took placee in the ritual, giving their life and vitae to produce a conduit by which to control to Media Cor Terram, with the stipulation that only a just member of his clan could change its programming.
With the parameters set, each role was filled by a different member of the supernatural, with the nameless Mage including a willing human as the Tether, creating the nexus of magical strength that would sit deep below the Puget Sound. But, despite the safeguards put in place, one cunning Prince was still able to steal that strength away in the areas past, leaving Tacoma's magical power Weakened to this day. Time will tell if it shall ever be recovered, as Issachar the Apothecary has left clues for those who shared his ideal, and his childe Ataliah has done their part as well.

Founding Date

Unknown

Type

Geopolitical, Clan

Alternative Names

The Hidden Ones, Peacemakers

Demonym

Salubri

Related Species

• Kindred Vampire

Structure

While the clans past had some organizational grouping, the modern day leaves the members too few and far between for any true sense of organization. Aside from Sires and their Childer having their typical relationship, no iron-clad hierarchy exists.

Public Agenda

In the distant past, the Salubri were seen as wizened, monastic types who fought against threats such as the Baali. Then came Clan Tremere, who turned that reputation sour, casting the clan as diablerie-crazy demon-worshipers themselves. Despite this change in public image, the goal of many among the clan remains the same, even to the modern night: to find peace and freedom from the beast and it's corruption, and guide others to that same salvation.