Ur-Shulgi

'' "I traveled to the land of our ancestors and faced the herald. He is dark and terrible - the fury of your heaven and the fire of your hell. Black and impenetrable as the darkest night." ''- Thetmes, End Games

ur-Shulgi, herald and loremaster of Haqim, is the current Eldest of clan Assamite and the primary advocate of the fundamentalist revival running through the clan. Second Childe of Haqim, ur-Shulgi is a being of incredible age (over 9000 years), and indescribable power. Its only loyalty is to its sire and remodeling the clan into a form more worthy of the founder.

Since awakening from 18 centuries of torpor, ur-Shulgi has been primarily devoted to purging clan Assamite of weaknesses, notably the clan's general adoption of Islam and schismatic Assamites such as Talaq and Tariq. Ur-Shulgi is moving the clan towards a darker, bloodier (if that's conceivable) role, reinstating the Path of Blood as the clan's religion and terminating any dissenters with extreme prejudice. Its unwavering plans have led to a schism in the clan, particularly among the Vizier and Sorcerer castes, with a collection of Assamite dissenters under al-Ashrad seeking refuge with the Camarilla.

Biography
In certain fragments of the Book of Nod, primarily those recovered in the Middle East, passages appear that speak of the old gods - those worshipped by the mortals who dwelt in the Second City. Some of these names are familiar to the Cainite scholar of the modern nights: Ashur, Kel-nach, Enkidu, Rashadii. Some have no direct correlation to any other record of Kindred history: Mancheaka, Nar-Sheptha, Sha'hiri and ur-Shulgi. This last name appears in four separate passages, and Setite scholars infer from its context that it is an avatar of one of the Second City's war-gods: the war-god Haqim.

According to legends, ur-Shugli was created in the Second Baali War, a burnt figure who managed to turn the tide in the conflict with his command over blood magic. In the most common Assamite telling of the second Baali conflict, it was ur-Shulgi who destroyed the Baali's armies, causing the very stones to scream and a river of blood to flow. It made its first appearance to the clan afterwards, its skin already burnt and its eyes already lost.

A tale regarding the origin of his childe, Al-Ashrad, tells that ur-Shulgi managed to mediate an argument between Haqim and the still-living Al-Ashrad and was commanded by Haqim to embrace the mortal mage as compensation for a childe of Haqim that Al-Ashard had slain in self-defense. After that, his figure vanishes from Assamite tales as he presumably laid down to rest.

In the late 90, ur-Shulgi awoke and was greatly displeased by the state of his once-proud clan. Through his power, he broke the Blood Curse of the Tremere and began to test Haqim's childer, destroying all those who would refuse to convert back to the old ways of the Clan, including the Path of Blood. Additionally, he interpretated the Law of Judgement from the Laws of Haqim, which members of the loyalist faction share to one degree or another, that all other vampires (and many of Haqim’s Children) have failed to live up to the standards of honor and integrity put forth by Haqim in the nights of the First City and are thus to be destroyed before their taint spreads.

This lead to a fallout with other Assamites, most notably his own childe, Al-Ashrad. The Schisma tore Alamut apart, only fueled by the discoveries of Sarah Schneier, a member of the Council of Scrolls that was destroyed quickly by ur-Shulgi following her publication. ur-Shulgi himself remained unconcerned with the departure of the Schismatics, instead conducting researches to end the other curse that plagues the Clan. Ur-Shulgi removed the Tremere curse set upon the Children of Haqim, but the Baali’s is beyond even his power.

ur-Shulgi is the most efficient war-mage on the face of the planet, though it does not think of itself in such simplistic terms. In fact, most of its thought processes are completely incomprehensible to anyone not of its age and power stratum. To outside observers, it is violence given physical body, the vengeance of Haqim upon all those who would oppose his will. It remembers the glory of the Second City and the old gods who walked there.

It views "Allah" as an upstart whose faith has corrupted the line of Haqim, and it must either show all those who worship him the error of their ways, or purge them from among the rafiq. Casually shattering the "curse" that the Usurpers laid upon the Assamites was the first step on this road, and those presumptuous meddlers will be the first to fall before the whirlwind that the Camarilla attempted to chain.

Unofficial Info
According to evidence gathered by Sarah Schneier from the Vault of Pillars, ur-Shulgi was embraced by Haqim to unite the disparate Baali and form a united front, so that they could be destroyed in open combat. The Antediluvian took a boy who was born with a soul already destined for corruption, and threw him into the organ pit that birthed the original Baali, after consulting with Saulot before. When the Baali assaulted the Second City en masse, the Ancestor was off on one of his mysterious disappearances. He made it back just in time to stop his childe and tear the demon out of the body that it rode, and when the battle was over he claimed that he had found the child dying on the battlefield and the Embrace was the only way to save that innocent victim. But the taint within ur-Shulgi's soul never vanished and changed the vampire into something different.

Character Sheet
Ur-Shulgi, the Shepherd

Nature: Traditionalist

Demeanor: Fanatic

Embrace: A translation of the Parables of Blood relates ur-Shulgi's Embrace to "the night when the stones spoke and the skies cried a blood rain."

Apparent Age: Indeterminate, though ur-Shulgi's small body suggests a young Embrace

Physical: Unknown

Social: Charisma and Manipulation unknown; Appearance 0, as ur-Shulgi does not bother to conceal its form unless it is preparing to strike

Mental: Unknown

Morality: Path of Blood (ancient form) 10

Willpower: 10

Derangements: What would be megalomania in a lesser creature

Talents: Unknown

Skills: Unknown

Knowledges: Academics (history) 9, Linguistics 9, Occult 9, others unknown

Disciplines: Auspex 8, Obfuscate 9, Quietus 9, Assamite Sorcery 9, others unknown.

Thaumaturgical Paths: Unknown; presumably godlike proficiency in the ancient practices

Backgrounds: Unknown

Virtues: Unknown; do such trappings matter to a god?

UNKNOWN - There are multiple reasons that most of ur-Shulgi’s Traits aren’t given numerical values. First, the Assamite Methuselah is still shaking off the dust of centuries, and it’s not at full operating capacity yet. Second, it doesn’t matter what those Traits are — ur-Shulgi is powerful enough to crush any aggressor, except another Methuselah, without apparent effort. “Any aggressor” includes any coterie of players’ characters unlucky enough to meet it and foolish enough to challenge its might. Third and finally, ur-Shulgi doesn’t want anyone knowing the extent of its capabilities  —  what’s listed here is simply what it has demonstrated to surviving witnesses thus far. However, consider this: Less than a week after being awakened by its sire, ur-Shulgi had enough power to casually shred a ritual cast by the combined might of the Tremere Inner Circle without more than the faintest exertion. That should be a good indicator of what this creature can accomplish should it choose (or be forced) to go all-out.