Bonsam

The Bonsam are a bloodline of vampires who dwelt among the Laibon legacies in Africa in the Dark Ages. Bestial hunters who share a connection to the primal darkness, they were virtually unknown until a number of them emerged from seclusion deep within Africa in the early-to-mid 13th century, fleeing from an unknown threat. The Bonsam are masters of Abombwe, a Discipline that channels the Beast in themselves and others.

The parent clan of the Bonsam is uncertain, although it may well be Nosferatu, considering the bloodline's affinity for two of that clan's three core Disciplines. Additionally, the characteristic Bonsam weakness is a mantle of terror, which echoes the Nosferatu clan's horrific mien. However, the Bonsam are not necessarily physically horrific &mdash; instead, the Bonsam's true form inspires horror in all mortals who behold them. In this way, the Bonsam are similar to the Guruhi legacy of the Laibon (as well as to the Nosferatu clan as depicted in Vampire: The Requiem). The alleged founder of the Bonsam claims to have never actually been Embraced, nor to have Embraced any childer; if this claim is in fact true, the Bonsam may have originated as an artificial bloodline, although other Bonsam can and do Embrace normally.

The Bonsam share the Discipline of Abombwe with the Akunanse (another legacy of the Laibon, whose name was synonymous with "Laibon" among Cainites prior to the appearance of the Bonsam). However, the two legacies' other Disciplines are different, as are their particular weaknesses, so it seems likely that the two don't share a parent clan or bloodline. It may be that both independently drew the power of Abombwe from some primal source known only to the Laibon, or simply that one legacy's founder learned the Discipline from the other legacy and imparted that knowledge onto their childer.

The fate of the Bonsam after the Dark Medieval era is uncertain, although it is entirely possible that they have survived to the modern nights in obscurity, hidden away in the disparate domains of the Laibon.