- sarcophagus: "flesh-consuming", from Greek sark (flesh) and phagos (eating)
The Ankaran Sarcophagus is an ancient artifact originally unearthed in 1068 CE near Ankara, the capital of modern Turkey. It is believed to hold either an ancient Mesopotamian king or even an Antediluvian.
Overview[]
Based on the markings on the sarcophagus, it likely dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, although no one's entirely sure. The carvings depict Messerach and Lamastu, a Lilith figure. "Messerach the One-Eyed King" was an Assyrian king who was the only king on record between 1050 BCE and 800 BCE. If it indeed originally contained Messerach, it would date approximately to his death circa 800 BCE.
It was first discovered by Julius of Gaul in 1068. After his scribe began convulsing uncontrollably and promptly died after having laid eyes on the sarcophagus, Julius Gaul called it "a nefarious and dread thing, full of some ancient and undeniable evil," and subsequently re-entombed it. Had it not been for this initial discovery, there may have been no trace of its existence whatsoever.
One day Dr. Ingvar Johansen received a package in the mail with no reply address, detailing instructions on how to find the sarcophagus and its key. In 2004, he had uncovered it and was in the process of shipping it to the United States via the Port of Los Angeles, where it would be brought to the Museum of Natural History for examination.
However, something went wrong in transit via the NZ Elizabeth Dane. One by one, the ship's crew disappeared. The ship was found derelict, floating off the LA coast, the decks and bulkheads spattered with blood. The shipping container containing the sarcophagus was ripped wide open, and bloody handprints indicated the sarcophagus had been opened from within.
The vampires of Los Angeles circulated rumors that the sarcophagus held an Antediluvian, a third-generation vampire, one of the eldest and most powerful in existence, and also a sign of Gehenna, the vampiric "end of days" scenario. The vast majority believe that it should never be opened, or even destroyed entirely. The Kindred scholar Beckett believes it to hold nothing more sinister than the mummy of an Assyrian king, a hypothesis confirmed by Dr. Johansen, who also brings to note that this king, Messerach, was attributed with 250 years worth of achievements. However, rationalizing that the previous royal names were probably just erased (or that the name was passed onto subsequent generations), the doctor dismisses the idea that the king could have lived 250 years.
The surface murals on the sarcophagus depict figures drinking bowls of blood, suggesting some form of vampirism. The hypothesis was immediately dismissed by Dr. Johansen, saying such images were ritualistic in nature or might simply have been the royalty's way of dealing with porphyric disorders (rather than evidence that whatever lies inside was a vampire).
Ultimately, most the factions of the city – Camarilla, Sabbat, and Wan Kuei; even the Society of Leopold and Giovanni, except for the Anarch – were fighting each other over the sarcophagus. Vampires reported a sensation of impending dread starting around the same time the sarcophagus arrived in the city. Vampire researcher Beckett even arrived in town, chasing down rumors of "Caine's coffin."
At some point following the slaughter on the Dane, the sarcophagus' key had been acquired by the Wan Kuei.
Following its arrival in Los Angeles, the Sarcophagus was moved to the Museum of Natural History where it was to be researched in detail, but it had barely arrived before it was stolen by the local Giovanni, thanks to the assistance of the Nosferatu.
An agent of Prince Sebastian LaCroix managed to retrieve the Sarcophagus from the Giovanni, and then liberated the key from the Temple of Golden Virtue in nearby Chinatown. LaCroix then attempted to sate his lusts on the elder he imagined would be within.
Messerach's mummified corpse sitting on a chair next to Smiling Jack.
Inside he found nothing but C4 explosives, attached to a timer with only seconds to spare, and a note: "Boom. :) --Jack".
It's not known if the sarcophagus survived the explosion, but Jack, his Cab Driver, and the mummified corpse of Messerach the one-eyed king watched the explosion from the Hollywood hills.
Non-canon Possibilities[]
In the event that the Kuei-jin take over the city, the prince's agent is chained to the Sarcophagus, and the Sarcophagus is then pushed off a fishing vessel into the ocean.
In the event that the Camarilla overthrow the prince, the Sarcophagus is stored in a warehouse to be lost and forgotten.
Background Information[]
- It worth mentioning that there was no Assyrian king named Messerach, and in the game he looks more like an Egyptian pharaoh. Sarcophagi were very rare for Mesopotamian culture, and there are only a few known examples,[1][2] which are nothing like the Ankaran Sarcophagus.
- The figures on the side of the Sarcophagus reflect real-world depictions of Lamashtu: a lioness's head, standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes in her hands.
- Cops on the Dane mention graffiti that has the appearance of "a bunny," suggesting the involvement of the Followers of Set, whose clan symbol, the head of a set animal, could be seen as a rabbit's. It's not known if this is meant to suggest the Setites helped load the Sarcophagus on board the ship, or if they aided in the massacre once the Dane arrived in LA waters.
- A number of people throughout Bloodlines warn the PC not to open the Sarcophagus, including Rosa, Cuthbert Beckett, and "a friend." Even E makes an oblique reference to "opening the Jack in the box."
- Sebastian LaCroix hypothesized "who sleeps within you? Is it Balthazar? Maybe Lazarus. Or am I to be reunited with Ventrue himself? Or could the anxiety coursing through the city mean that before us slumbers the legendary father of all - Caine himself?"
- The scene in the Camarilla ending in which the sarcophagus is hidden in the warehouse is very similar to the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones movie.
Gallery[]
