User blog:Chronias/Velia LeQuella (Requiem)

""The world is full of wisdom and mystic signs, if one is willing to look for them. Few have their eyes open.""

- Velia LeQuella

Velia LeQuella is an unconventional Salubri elder. Being a self-contained virtual paradox as this sounds, likely due to her non-standard-ness a successful survivor of the Tremere campain to dishonor, usurrp and effectively destroy this now dwindling bloodline of hers. Once a full-fledged clan of mystic healers and knights of valor, in nights passed also called "Unicorns" (after the charge on their coat of arms), when the Salubri were honored by both Kindred and Kine and served as distinguished assets of Princes, and mortal peronages of power. Now-a-nights they are at best shunned or at worst hunted on sight bearing the nicname "Cyclops" or "Soul-suckers" respectively.

By vocation she was originally a mystic healer herself but in her more practical dealings in current nights she is a telepath, a silent information broker and counselor to hidden designs of plots that usually take centuries to earn fruition, from which she is anticipating to profit in showing Kindred that with her and her bloodline's teachings that the Curse of Caine could be much easier to bear, and to both Kindred and Kine that the Path to spiritual balance is open for eveyone who has eyes to see, feet to step and will to act - which she considers her unlife's quest.

Early life
Velia was born to a Friuli (Austrian/Holy Roman) noble lady and to the son of a military officer hailing from the Loire-valley French county of Anjou. Her first name is an Italian version of the ancient roman family name Velius, meaning concelaed. She was raised by her mother who was largely denied of her inheritance for being a female scion of her lineage, and having a sole daughter (again female heir) born to one of the invading French army's commoner soldier to whom she of course did not and could not marry. Her father was enlisted by the French army and subsequently died on the battlefield in one skirmish of the Italian Wars - ironically technically figthing against his spouse's and daughters' country by status quo, the Republic of Venice. For decades her mother maintained an infirmary in their house to provide medical aid and shelter for the injured where Velia was helping to tend to the wounded and the infirm.

One day a stranger showed up on their doorsteps to offer help in exchange for a bed for a time. Velia's mother had second thoughts but accepted the man in as his help was much needed both as a healer and as someone who would protect them too from less kind strangers, as much as the mother and daughter family did rely on one or more man's or servant's helping hands earlier around the household. He turned out to be an exceptional healer, a miracleworker even and Velia learned much next to him concerning medicine. They had to abandon their original home eventually due to financial concerns and her mother moved to Venice where she made a living as an apothecary, then finally moved to Insbruck to live there with her Swabic and Austrian relatives.

Renaissance
Velia did not remain with her Mother in Austria. She decided to look for the man she learned so much of medicine and philosophy from. She wished to become better skilled and more educated in both. However it seemed as a chance meeting, later Velia realized it was not - they met at the University of Geneva. There Velia used her small allowance to attend the university and learned phylosophy and medicine. It was around those nights in Geneva that she was embraced by that time already familar man, called Generys.

Her sire introduced her to the art of Obeah and take extensive care to train Velia to master Auspex as fast and profoundly as possible for it was of key importance to avoid the Tremere who were after their blood just because they were Salubri, and after her third eye slit open she must have learned how to be ultimately alert and elusive, for she had to realize what possible fate did she embrace in turn.

Generys eventually went on his own travels to continue his path on finding Golconda, for a Salubry unconventionally leaving his childe behind whithout passig literally everthing (inclusing blood and spiritual experience / soul) down to her. Later in England he went on to sire Velia's brood-mate, the historian Matthias of Bath. It was uncommon among Salubri, even at this time, to sire more than a single childe who would continue the sire's legacy after the sire volutarily offers to be diablerized by the childe. Velia was rather just parted from Generys.

She went on to unlive the unlife of a healer, and usually walked among the needy and the infirm, providing as much aid as she could muster. She sought shelter in infirmaries, priories, and sometimes among Malkavians who offered hospitality due to historical ties between the clans, and sometimes among Nosferatu who sympathized with the shunned. This unlife-style of hers ceased though after a number of plots in which Tremere used the poor and and vagrants to decept her and any other Salubri by abusing their weakness that they tend to offer help whoever seeks it. She was betrayed like that a couple times only being barely able to flee - usually by means of telekinetic powers and mind-related magic she noted by the time surging after her embrace. After experiencing a burnout she gradually relinquised the path of the traveling healer and focused more on developing her clearsentient and mental powers.

Victorian Age
Velia took on an extensive travel to the East meeting with the Wu Zao (Cathayan descendants of Saulot) along the way as she made her pilgrimage. Returning to Europe Velia realized that the Salubri were technically gone - not just as a clan but as a bloodline too altogether. Only a handful practiced the honorable ways as was taught by the warrior' Code of Samiel and the benevolent legacy of Saulot, and these existed in the endless loop of a single childe diablerizing sire for mutual benefit in reaching spiritual harmony. The more recent Salubri, reaching even generation up to 12th changed much in contrast to the old ways, and effectively turned Antitribu, abandoning serenity and conteplation for the drive and zeal to avenge the wrongs and the destruction the Baali and the Tremere did and brought to the clan, going as far as joining the Sabbat.

While Velia never even conisdered the notion to join any sect of the Kindred, she felt and knew that Salubri adopting the warrior's path of Valeren with a twist where honor and valor was replaced by vindictive retaliation and raging anger was neither good nor wise setting of one's path but a consquential one nevertheless. She was a resolute pacifist and only longed for the confort of the old nights of which memories and knowlede was passed down on to her mentally by his sire, grandsire great-grandsire and so on.

She made an agreement with a reasonable few of Tzimisce old clan Kindred settling some land questions in south-western Slovenia, and her original homeland, Italy, and brokered deals of protection too. She even went to meld-mind with the Tzimisce, Anastazi, childe of Danika Ruthven (whom Rothriel taught about Golconda and later this old vampire offered her castle to be the Lair of the Hidden). During that mental state Velia reached Auspex ability so advanced she was able to permanently alter her third eye with the man's "borrowed" Vicissitude so that it became aligned in to vertical angle. The tue reasons behind this act remained undisclosed however. The few ones close to her think, she either wanted to test her abilities or make herself distinct even among the Salubri, not just by her neutral and virtually unconcerned mentality but by physical means as well, or both of these suggestions might be true.

Velia acquired a manse in Gorizia during this age and developed the custom to effortlessly transport her household to another location, to either as close as Venice or somewhre relatively far like Geneva or Angers where she got hold on or "inherited" safe-houses as well, respectively.

Final Nights
However she is detached from everday politics and public life Velia's insights and telpathic intelligence gathering customs earned her a non-coveted place among the Inconnu mostly due to the fact she could predict spiritual events on a general level which were often suitable to be taken in connection with actual happenings. She maintains a grassroot network of telepathic and telempathic contacts and informants, through her childer, ghouls and associate Kindred - most of them being some Tzimisce, Salubri antitribu within the Sabbat, a few Malkavian and Nosferatu, a very few Toreador and even fewer Ventrue within or outside of the Camarilla. She does not use her informations up very much, and even more rare are those occasions when she would abuse those, other than forwarding intelligence to the Inconnu on regular basis, with the exception of the ones concerning Tremere activity and Baali reports and of course the ones concerning her personal security, which she given her stigmated status amon Kingred, values above many things. She deliberately is making herself generally unaprochable.

Bloodlines
Aside of hearing the rumors concerning the Ankaran Sarcophagus Velia did not turn much attention to the happenings in Los Angeles. She tends to avoid cities vhere Tremre chantries are present. She however paid a visit to the Swords of Sulot Grand Temple at Gannet Peak in Wyoming at the time.

Appearance and Personality
Velia has an overall pale complexion but can sometimes muster almost life-like but still very pale rosy coloration on cheeks and around her cold golden gleaming eyes. He adopted a hairstyle that almost hides her third eye even if it's opened or active, though not fully. This third eye is oddly aligned in a vertical angle on her forhead, which is a result of friendly Vicissitude performed on it. A sign of her becoming somewat more excentic by each century. When closed it looks little more than a thin scar, however when its active it glows with a soft golden radiance and is weeping luminous vitae, making it very prominent.

She is a resolute isolationist, mostly by necessity in order to elude the Tremere blood hunt that constantly plagues her bloodline for about millennium She is fond of being alone and be left with her thoughts, meditating very often and she is devoting much time to reach and linger in Golconda. She too goes fom time-to-time in torpor for undefined extents of time. During such occasions she is aware of her surronding is she wishes herself to be, and is also able to cast projections of herself to interact with the outside world, unnerving as it is.

In spite of her detachment from the world in general she readily offers to help others in need and also is happy to sprinkle and seed wisdom to those who seek her. She feels it is her destiny to lead as much people, Kindred and Kine alike on to the path of wisdom as possible, however she never drags anyone on to it as she firmly belives that one has to ripen in soul enough to take the steps by his or her own wisdom and insight. She leaves her "ivory tower" at least once or twice a week to perform healing with or in stead of his naturopath and medic ghouls. She adhers to the Masquerade while doing so, almost always resorting to put patients to sleep with a single anaesthetic touch during or before treatment.

Unlike the seven "active" Salubri who roam the Earth and use their knowledge and earned wisdom to reach Golconda and as they did pass their legacy to their single childe, she created two childer by now. Salubri in general consider Cainite existence as a sort of curse, an inflicting that on to Kine is an anathema - Velia on the other hand maintains a relatively large number of ghouls through the bliss of her vitae. She can develop a stronger telepathic bond with her ghouls so she sees little harm in therir creation and maintenance, also she utilizes some of these individuals as retainers and bodyguards.

Velia does not seek power or control, only a comfortable existence as was custom in the nights of old, when Salubri were deeply respected for the serenity and peace they brought to the world. She believes that the stigmated history of the clan points it out well that there's little to rule but much to teach in this world - so she is staying to attempt to do so. Not by forceful means as preaching, but by setting up the signs to by attempting to point at other's personal insights, much like a psychologist would try to incite revelations and make their patient's have their personal insights of themselves.

She thinks the Sabbat is an organization of "rabid Beasts", while the Camarilla being "a theatre of deluded buffoons", the Baali are infernal "abominations" and the Tremere clan is nothing more than "usurpers" and dealers of "cheap magic". The only organization she shows any respect for is the Inconnu, for their calm plotting and for their readieness for the teachings of Golconda.

She finds the Kuei-jin's concept of dharma undersandably very akin to the Salubri Path to reach blanace and enlightenment, while she too understands that these Cathayan immortals do not fight with a Beast within but with a more intellectual yet still low-point and agressive aspect of one's soul. She knows the Salubri Antediluvian, Saulot - known in the East as Zao-lat, learned much from the Wan Kuei named Xue, and was regarded as a trickster from the west who came only to steal enlighenment fom said scholar, eventually being driven back home, but not before leaving his childer, the Zao-xue and the Zao-zei behind. She sought to rekindle contact with these orintal Salubri in the past and she still maintains mental links with a few individuals there.

Velia reached Golconda without the exact need having his sire diablerized. She understood that Salubri do not have to lower their generation in such a way necessarily, as by reaching Golconda almost everything comes to full circe for an individual to attain true wisdom, which may confer advanced powers through experience and it is not needed to acquire one's sire's or a lower genaration Kindred's powers by draining their vitae in full. She achieved balance with the Beast - initiated by the mental and emotional traumas that caused her burnout after being betrayed by the needy intercepted by the usurpers - by realizing that each soul has their own personal path to walk upon, and most of them exists to learn and to experience, and by wisdom acquired along the way they may have their eyes see, their feet step on to walk that and their will and minds set on to act according to which is the right way to go. Some need multiple turns to achieve that, some do need less. In due couse all is going to be evened out. The self-assured Salubri became prey of slaugher to learn a grave but valuable lesson. So will the usurpers receive what is to be mesured on them - in a much familiar fashion. Cycles do cycle, and what the due course brings will reveal itself when it is ready to do so. Velia found a purpose in the effort to shepherd as many souls as it may be possible on to the path of this wisdom, yet the Path is both thin and winding, shifting even, varying for every individual, and therefore it must be taken on an individual level. She belives that with the help of the Inconnu given great deal of tought and conteplation to design unseen and grand plots she may have a good chance beckoning to many to come along on to their personal journeys where she may only point at hints to the Path.

Childer
The childer by now found their temporary place in Kinderd society and need not to be still under Velia's skirt, however she maintains an active and mutual mind-link with them. Sometimes they saw this as a restriction to their freedom, but they came to learn that it is a support as well. Somewhat in contrast with their sire they are not isolationist but infiltrators and the most clairvoyant eyes in her service.

Salubri seldom embrace more than one childe and also tend to pass their knowledge down by having their heir diablerizing them shortly after they reached Golconda so with that act of self-sacrafice they could also lead the childe on to the path to do so one night on their own, and they are content to leave the torment of the vampiric and earthly existence finally behind. Velia is an exception of this custom having not diablerized her sire and she having two childer created already before she reached Golconda. Threr she realized that if the Salubri in current nights are to be hiding, at least virually, they have to embrace this era covertness so they could offer the way of visdom to more souls by acting indirectly, from behind the scene, while also spread their wings and ride the stom of rage. Much like her own sire did - either by design or unvittingly - Velia plans to raise a lasting bloodline that could endure the storm of these Beastly nights that seem still to be ahead. Independent as her childer may be, she and them both now well that they still have much to lean to follow their own right Paths.

Olivie Devereaux
The eldest childe of Velia, Olivie, however Slubri herself in every respect publicly dons the guise of a Toreador high profile iternational fine arts curator. She is hinding a closed and in itself hardly noticable third eye behind her bangs. She profits greatly by the use of her adept Auspex abilities, first of all the artist's intent. She acts as a travelling Inconnu Monitor keeping the Camarilla under surveillance. She never misses to meddle at the Venice, Bushwick (NY), Paris, Liverpool, Moscow, Sidney, São Paulo, Singapore and Shanghai art biennales social-butterflying Camarilla princes and barons all over the globe. Olivie was deliberately raised an unorthodox Salubri childe. She's not a hiding prey creature but a manipulative, subtly deceptive "actress" who was traind to know what to say and how to react in any social cirumstance, maintaining an unshakable disguise. She however tries to avoid Tremere if possible. Having a long and close bond with her sire, with permission Olivie can "borrow" some of Velia's mental powers throug their telepathic link.

Lior Margulies
Originally functioning for a long-time as Velia's ghoul and bodyguard he eventually became her second childe. Since his complete tranformation Lior is not hiding the least that he is a Salubri, but plays his part in his sire's intent to have a triad of eyes watching the unwise and reckless Salubri antitribu. Lior is thus enlisted in to the ranks of the Sabbat in order to act as Monitor for the Inconnu. Not surprisingly he adopted the Path of the Warrior, yet what he mostly does is only honing the skills of Salubri antitribu but also that of other Kindred in Thaumaturgy Countermagic, mirroring his brood-mate's or "sister"'s lifestile as a traveling trainer and coach.

Abilities
Velia is very skilled in the use of both Auspex and Obeah, being able to use them even under Elysium.

She is clairvoyant which invests her vith the ability scry on distant locations, somtimes merely by touching the "soul" of an object she received from there and in reverse she can distantly sense places by having a "bonded" token brought there. She too can distantly reach people with her telepathy. Velia can read people very well by sensing and analyzing their aura. Her most advanced Auspex abilites are very unnerving like speaking with multiple people simultaneouly via telpathy and tapping others' knowledge of a specific subject and even using another Kindred's discipline ability through them which is otherwise unknown to her. Her childer belive she morphed her own third eye by mentally melding with the Rumanian Tzimisce, Anastazi.

Using Obeah she can mend physical and mental damage and illnesses very effectively. Velia often uses anaesthetic touch to put her patients to sleep before and under treatment, so she can perform healing without reveling herself to be a Salubri or a vampire even. Some of her gouls are natuopaths that mix her healing saliva in to ordinary-seeming nautral medicine products for a great effect. These concoctions usually sell very good, and this usally means a good income for Velia's household, which she spends mostly to her security and anonymity. She can ward herself within a barrier which renders her unapproachable within several feets in distance. She can soothe the minds of those near to her quelling anger and promoting accord. Velia often resorts to psychic project herself in astral form rather than moving out of the safety of one of her safe houses. Doing so while in torpor often unnerves her own ghouls.

Velia again in contrast with the majority if not the entirety of the Salubri bloodline's revulsion to the arcane arts (due to the Usurpers being originally a covenant of mages) learned and practices a form of sorcery that predates the "cheap blood magic" the Tremere developed after their Antediluvian diablerized the Salubri Antediluvian, Saulot. A similar form of blood magic is called the "Movement of the Mind", which draws power from a Thaumaturges's blood - vitae. Velia's arcane path is however genuine linear magic, well adjused with her other two porminent disciplines providing her with the capabilities to manipulate objects and even living or unliving creatures psychokinetically or telekinetically, with the apex ability of being able to levitate herself.

She is able to miscast and dispel "inferior" magic, most of the kind.

Lair
Velia has a manse in the nothern outskirts of Gorizia at river Isonzo. To Olivie's insistence she made the local comital family who own Palazzo Lantieri and are socialites artist her ghouls, who provide their palace in the city partly as guesthouse, and often introduce Velia as a talented naturopath friend, and she indeed takes time to treat guests with pleasure.

An apartment in Venice and a townhouse in Geneva too came in to her possession during the last centuries, and by virtue of proving to be of a real close and straight descendant of his grandfather she inherited a townhouse in Angers.

She mastered the means of building a transportable household with her few childer (or without them) and a number of ghouls that can effortlessly move from one safe house to another.

Her residencies are magically enveloped in a way that the magnitude of Obeah barries and mental disorientations are heightend greatly whithin and around them, allowing Velia to divert unwanted presence off in several yards or even miles and keep unwelcome approach of people away by psychical force fields. Also by design Tremere Thaumaturgy and similar "cheap magic" is heavily dampened or outright suppressed while Velia is inhabiting one of her abodes.

Due to her being forced for centuries to cultivate an almost deranged extent of pesonal security and need for tactical seclusion Velia's personal quarters are not accessible by conventional means. This means that she is inhabiting upper levels of her domiciles where no stairs or any elevator lead up to but in stead is technically onyl reachable by either flight, levitation ...or in spite of such abilites maybe by urban alpinism. She is inclined to think of those who can not make it to her are most likely not worthy for her presence.