Tosia

Tosia was a mage who joined the House of Tremere during the Dark Ages and led a cabal of Christian sorcerers at the chantry of Umor Mons in Transylvania. She later defected from the House and joined the Inquisition, but not before informing the Order of Hermes about what transpired in Ceoris.

Biography
Born in 567 into a scholarly Athenian family, Tosia was the longest-serving Tremere mage outside the circle of Cainites. In the early days of the house, she stood alongside Goratrix as one of Tremere's closest advisors, and she helped him in his attempt to take over the Order of Hermes after its creation. Tosia was taught by her skeptical parents to disbelieve in gods of all kinds. They were merely representations of human hopes and fears, her father told her.

She brought this attitude with her into her life as a mage, but in 869, she experienced a religious conversion. While investigating a crypt near Jerusalem, she was seized by a vision. She saw the dead Christ rise and ascend from the tomb. The more she tried to forget the experience or dismiss it as the result of malfunctioning magic, the more it took hold on her mind. She wrestled with the significance of the vision for decades before finally seeking out a priest and submitting to baptism. During her years of spiritual crisis, she distanced herself from Tremere and his schemes. Tosia didn't confront him; she simply retreated into her research and made herself unavailable when he prosecuted his vendettas against various rival magi.

Although Christian magi weren't unknown in the House, Tosia kept her beliefs to herself for over thirty years after her baptism, quietly building relationships with other Christian Tremere. In 928, she supervised the construction of a chantry at Umor Mons, which harvested Vis from a magical stream high in the Transylvanian Alps. She encouraged other devout Tremere to join her there, and by 950 the majority of the house's Christians called it home. Etrius, too interested in currying favor with Tremere to accept the almost monastic existence at Umor Mons magi, proved a notable exception.

In 954, her apprentice Canalista betrayed her. Tosia had kept an encoded journal of her spiritual reflections, which included many unfavorable descriptions of Tremere's actions over the centuries. Canalista stole the journal, decoded it, and passed her notes along to Etrius. He in turn gave them to Tremere, who challenged Tosia to Certámen, a magical duel. Tosia knew that Tremere, the originator of this form of sorcerous combat, was bound to win. She declined the duel, losing the respect of her Christian followers. Although she remained the chantry's titular leader, its magi began to treat her as a figurehead, instead deferring to the orders of its castellan. Canalista accepted a prestigious posting to Etrius' Vienna chantry.

In 956, Tosia took Omnifer as her apprentice. She'd always taught women before, but had now decided they couldn't be trusted. As the 11th century dawned, she'd surrounded herself with a new, younger group of loyalists, and was again in command at Umor Mons. Then the Tzimisce attacks began. Three times she had to flee the chantry as enemies approached its gates. A horde of screaming bat-men (that is, fleshcrafted Tzimisce warghouls) razed Umor Mons for good in 1176. Several of Tosia's young allies died to permit her escape to Ceoris. Tosia sensed the curse hanging over Ceoris at once, but for many years thought it the result of malign sendings from the night creatures.

Only in the last few years before 1197 has the insomniac Omnifer convinced her that Ceoris' evil lies within. Neither suspected a vampiric transformation; instead, they have uncovered evidence of Etrius' failed researches at the turn of the century and smelled the spoor of devil-worship. Tosia resisted Omnifer's demands for a quick confrontation. If Tremere and Etrius were in a demon's grip, their power might be incalculable. She was humiliated by Tremere once before and knew the setback she'd face if she lunged at him without preparation. She wanted to be sure of victory before she strikes.

In 1202, in large part because of reports from Tosia, the Order of Hermes discovered the truth about Tremere and declared war on his House. Unfortunately for Tosia, Tremere spies knew about the decision as soon as it was made and she had to flee into the night. She joined with the other hermetic houses, but saw evil in them as well. By 1225, she had fled to the church and joined the emergent Inquisition, ready to redeem herself. Soon thereafter she heard of her former apprentice, Omnifer. Thinking him to be devil-spawn, she gladly sent him to the pyre.

Character Sheet
Tosia, the Holy Mother House: Tremere Actual Age: 630 (in 1197) Apparent Age: mid-50s Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2 Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3 Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 5, Wits 2 Talents: Dodge 5, Empathy 3, Intimidation 2, Leadership 2 Skills: Etiquette 3, Herbalism 5, Ride 1 Knowledges: Academics 5, Investigation 2, Linguistics (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, ancient Egyptian, French) 5, Medicine 1, Occult 5, Science 2 Paths: Divination 4, Ephemera 5, Healing 4, Herbal Ways 4, Perdo Magica 2, Summoning 4 Backgrounds: Allies 5, Contacts 5, Influence 3, Resources 3, Retainers 3 Vis supply: equivalent of 30 Willpower points Willpower: 10

Trivia

 * Tosia was 630 years old in 1197, and she was said to be the the longest-serving Tremere mage outside the circle of Cainites. It is possible that her age surpassed even that of Tremere himself, since the founder of the House was described by Players Guide to Low Clans as young and inexperienced by the year of 767. If her biography were to be taken seriously, that means that there's at least one other member of the Tremere Cainites who had been a mage for more than six centuries before the year of 1197 CE. Alternatively, the excerpt taken from Players Guide to the Low Clans might mean that Tremere was considered young and inexperienced only when compared to the other founders of the Order of Hermes. In that case, he could be hundreds of years old by the year of 767, and therefore older than Tosia.


 * Tosia's personal chambers in Ceoris were second in tidiness only to Etrius'. She had woven a chain of wildflowers into an adornment for the head of her bed and painted her walls in a soothing shade of light blue. A colorful tapestry over her bed depicted the re-emergence of Persephone from the Underworld, as spring flowers blossomed up around her feet.