Etrius

Etrius, also known as the First among Equals, is a 4th generation elder of clan Tremere and an adopted childe and apprentice of Tremere himself. Etrius remains one of the most faithful disciples of the slumbering Elder, occupying a seat in the Inner Council of Seven as Lord over Eastern Europe.

Biography
Etrius was born 805 AD near what is now the city of Gothenburg in what is now Sweden. His father served Ansgar, the German bishop who made the first Christian mission to the area. The young and very pious (although not humble or otherwise well-versed in Christian virtues) Etrius was sent on a pilgrimage to Rome, but his party was attacked and Etrius was taken as slave. In Constantinople, he was sold to someone who sensed his special talents for magic, a man called Tremere. Despite Etrius sermons about God and the Church, Tremere began to tutor the young man in the hermetic arts. The young man's arrogance grew as he magically outlived his peers, blustering himself into a state of divine absolution and of Tremeres most favourite apprentice. His only rival for the favour of his master was Goratrix, a man he immediately despised after meeting him. Etrius was responsible for establishing the Vienna chantry and was nominal the head of it, although he seldom remained there. He was also present when Goratrix consecrated Ceoris, criticizing him for the construction and spending much time at the chantry When the arcane arts of the Order of Hermes began to fail them and endangered their immortality (a fact that Etrius proved, much to Goratrix dismay), the mages of House Tremere began to search desperatly for means of averting the decline of magic or maintaining their immortality. Etrius dabbled even in Infernalism, something that horribly backfired and set loose a demon that costed him much favor in Tremeres eyes. When Goratrix surpassed him by discovering the potion that would turn him and the others into vampires, Etrius objected at first, although this sentiment would not last (in the Modern Nights, he claims to be the one who invented the potion). In the following infiltration of the hermetic House, he advised caution and secrecy (contrasting to Goratrix) and accompanied Tremere in his studies across medieval Europe to learn more about vampiric history, codifying the hermetic arts into Thaumaturgy. He was also responsible for leading Tremere to Saulots resting place, witnessing the Diablerie of the Antediluvian firsthand, diablerising himself through many Salubri Elders. After Tremere entered Torpor, Etrius was responsible for much of the structure of the pyramid and the Code of Tremere, shaping the Clan and leading him to the Camarilla.

In modern nights, Etrius watches over Tremere´s sleeping body in the Vienna chantry and protect him from potential assassins of the many enemies the Clan has. He has aided his master in possessing Goratrix body and even acted as a temporal vessel for his sire's soul.