Children of Osiris



The Children of Osiris are a Caitiff of vampires who flourished around the second or third millenium BC. The group was founded by Osiris, the "Resurrected King". Though many Kindred do not believe they exist today during the Final Nights, those who are an authority on the Children of Osiris, do believe they exist in secret, under the direction of Khetamon, the "Grand Undying King". They are known to practice a Discipline unlike any other, called the Bardo, which allows a vampire to have control over the Beast within. All their members come from other clans, or are Caitiffs. Thus, there are hardly any neonates in their ranks. Few Elders join, as the Children require a high level of Humanity. Their arch nemesis are the Followers of Set.

History
Sometime around 4000 BC, the Founder of the Children, Osiris, went on a spiritual journey, likely to India, to investigate deep mystical enlightenment and practice ancient methods of meditation. He was compelled to take control over the "Beast" within, as he did not accept his embrace well. It probably took a millenium to develop and master this control, which became a new Discipline, known as Bardo. Bardo allows its practitioners to retain some degree of humanity, redeem other vampires and ward off evil; it even has the power to resurrect a vampire from Final Death. After gaining mastery of it, Osiris preached this newfound way to other Kindred, thus forming the Children of Osiris, which is not really a clan or bloodline, but more like a Caitiff. Osiris granted his Children knowledge of Bardo, a discipline very difficult to master, whose secrets are never shared with outsiders.

Because Bardo gives a vampire a sense of humanity, it is greatly looked down upon by other vampire clans, especially the Followers of Set, who despise the thought of "preserving humanity". To the Children, they view the Followers as utter evil that needs to be destroyed, thus both groups haved waged wars for milleniums, with or without their Founders involved. One such battle between Osiris and Set changed the Children in such a way, that they are not like any other clan. In a passion of hatred, Set had severed Osiris' limbs scattering them throughout Egypt. Osiris' first follower, Isis, took it upon herself to find all of his body parts in an attempt to put him back together. With the help of the Children offering their own blood to reconstitute Osiris, and using Bardo, he became whole again. However, his "Re-Birth" came at a price. He could no longer Embrace a childe. Only with the use of Bardo, the Children thus made it a practice to avoid embracing other childer. Since then, they've recruited lost kindred from other clans, into their ranks.

Sometime in the second millenium BC, after the last battle with Set, Osiris had gone to the Underworld, where he remained dormant for another millenium. After the invasion of the Sixth Great Maelstrom in the Underworld, Osiris returned to Earth to transform all of his faithful Children into humans while granting them knowledge of a new Spell of Life. This allowed them to join the ranks of the Undying. The few unfaithful, among the Children, were destroyed. To many Kindred, the Children are thought to be extinct. However, other sources indicate that they do exist as a secret organization, still making use of the power of Bardo.

Culture
Like the Followers of Set, the Children believed in Egyptian folklore, and saw their role as a holy one, combating the darkness of the Setites with the light of Osiris.

Organisation
The Children lived in small groups, sharing a haven which was also a temple to Osiris. They had to maintain the temple and follow Osiris' teaching devoutly to enjoy the benefits of being a Child of Osiris.

Embraces
The Children are not a true bloodline, and are generally forbidden from granting the Embrace. In truth, they are a sect comprised of vampires recruited from other clans and bloodlines. Those who join are tested rigorously to prove their purity and desire for redemption.

Some sources say that they were originally true Childer of Osiris, who may have been a Lasombra, but that Osiris and his progeny lost the ability to sire after he was dismembered by Set (a reference to Egyptian myth, where Isis was unable to locate his member when she reassembled his body).

Version Differences
The Children of Osiris are one of the clearest examples of the first edition's rather forgiving attitude towards vampires, and are even more a sect of "good guy" vampires than the early Camarilla or Inconnu. They were rarely mentioned in Second Edition material, though Mummy mentions Kehtamon and the alliance between the Undying and the Children.

By the time of the Revised Edition, the Children clearly no longer fit in with the themes and mood of Vampire. They were officially removed as part of the metaplot of Mummy: The Resurrection.