Hardestadt the Younger

Hardestadt the Younger is a member of the Camarilla Inner Circle, and is thought to be the leader of the entire organization.

Biography
"In the game of queens and kings, we must sacrifice our compassion on the altar of impregnable certainty. To rule wisely, one must rule utterly. Justice has no mercy."

- Hardestadt the Younger

Hardestadt the Younger masquerades as his sire, Hardestadt the Elder, since the Final Death of the latter (probably by diablerie under the fangs of the Brujah Tyler). This information is known to only very few Ventrue. In the 15th century, Hardestadt, along with several other Camarilla vampires, held stock in the Muscovy Company, which smuggled vampires across the Atlantic into the New World. Hardestadt used this method to get rid of the marauding Sabbat packs in Europe.

Around the 19th century, Hardestadt made his Haven in Berlin, although he retained an old Italian castle as a secondary residence.

Appearance and Temperament
Hardestadt has black hair, blue eyes, a chin nearly square enough for use as a straightedge, and an aura of power and authority so powerful that others nearly had to squint against it. He could only drink from soldiers and military personnel and looked down on persons without actual combat experiences.

Arrogant to the core, Hardestadt believes that respect should be accorded to those of greater station. Of course, few can rival his exalted station. He uses bluster and his overpowering will to attain what he wants. Initially thunderously indignant over the anarchs daring and scathingly dismissive of humans, Hardestadt realized at the Convention of Thorns that he must temper his excesses of opinion somewhat in order to promote harmony among the members of the newly born Camarilla. With grim resolve, Hardestadt the Younger assumed his sire's visage through his mastery of Presence.

Gehenna: the Final Night
At some undetermined point, the Gangrel researcher Beckett discovered the truth of Hardestadt's identity. While meeting with Beckett, Hardestadt used the Dominate ability Repression of the Obvious to force Beckett to be honest with him, during this time Beckett blurted out he knew Hardestadt was not the original, leaving Hardestadt speechless and filled with rage. After their meeting, Hardestadt sent his Archon Theo Bell to silence Beckett, fearful his identity would be exposed. Bell was unsuccessful, however.

On the eve of Gehenna, Hardestadt met his Final Death when he was killed by the recently rogue Theo Bell, who shot him point blank in the face with his automatic shotgun while Hardestadt was suffering from the effects of the Withering. Hardestadt was running a slave operation in which he was using neonates to stop the effects of the Withering and breaking many Camarilla Traditions in doing so. Bell refused to go along, and allied with the L.A. thin-blood movement, their leader Jenna Cross, and Beckett to take down Hardestadt and his operation.

Known Facts

 * In 1400, Karsh swore allegiance to Hardestadt.
 * In 1493, Hardestadt proposed a meeting between his troops and the Anarchs at Thorns.
 * In 1723, Jan Pieterzoon received the Embrace from Hardestadt.
 * According to the Gehenna: The Final Night timeline, between 2004 and 2005, Hardestadt met his end at the hands of Theo Bell.

Trivia

 * The separation between the two Hardestadts is not always clear. While most accounts of the Anarch Revolt and the biography of Tyler in both Children of the Inquisition and her biography in the two Chicago by Night books repeat that Hardestadt was diablerized in 1395, a fifth-generation Ventrue under the name Hardestadt appears in the Giovanni Chronicles I and II, which take place in 1444 and 1666, respectively. It is likely that this has just been an early mistake in the timeline of events, given that Hardestadt the Younger's character sheet from the Transylvania Chronicles lists him as a 6th Generation vampire and his childe, Pieterzoon, is of the following 7th Generation.