Haqim, the Hunter, is an Antediluvian who founded the [[Banu Haqim]] clan.
Biography[]
Haqim was a warrior-hunter who, after being embraced, made havens in both the First and Second Cities, promoting neutrality amongst bickering Kindred brethren. Haqim was mainly known for forming the Assamites out of three divisions: scholars, warriors and magi, who were originally used to fight in the Baali conflict. After training leaders out of the Second City, Haqim had taken leave on several occasions to wander around Akkad, in preparing the Middle East for his children. When the time was right, he led an exodus to the Alamut, where the Assamites are centrally located to this day.
Origins[]
10,000 years ago, there were hunters who followed the migrations of animal herds across the Fertile Crescent, into Asia and North Africa. A certain warrior-hunter, who migrated with the herds, had dedicated himself to scholarship during his travels. He learned to read, write and speak the language of the dead. This attracted the attention of one of Caine's childer. Being eligible for the embrace, this warrior-hunter took on the name "Haqim". The First City became his first haven, where he became one of its defenders.[8]
Alternate Origin[]
Some Assamites speak of the King and Queen of En'esh who were embraced by Khayyin when Haqim was the lord of the armies of the First City; as a mortal, Haqim served under the King and Queen, but they became evil and cruel, so he decided to cut off their heads and use their blood to bestow the embrace upon himself.[9]
Which of these versions is the most accurate is nearly impossible to tell.
The Second City[]
Some centuries after the Great Deluge, Haqim came to the Second City where he was promoted as the city's "law-keeper", by the insistence of Saulot. In developing a defense for the city, Haqim created three Castes of warriors that the Assamites recognize to this day: the Viziers, Judges, and Sorcerers. First, Haqim organized his first childer into a caste of viziers, who were an intellectual group of scholars that could help him organize and strategize. He assembled the Second City's first judges, who helped control the stirrings of the War of Ages. Then, due to the Baali strikes, Haqim brought in the Second City's first blood magicians, who served with the judges to assist the Salubri in battle against the Baali. Haqim lost one of his childe, known as Mancheaka, to Final Death in the Second Baali Conflict.[10]
The Assamites[]
Eventually, Haqim and his three castes of childer abandoned the Second City, as well as many other Cainites, who lost faith in the city. Mainly, Haqim was sick of the constant bickering between the Antediluvians and even members of his own house. After a treacherous exodus, Haqim and his children finally settled at the Eagle's Nest in the mountainous regions of Alamut. This location became the Assamites' spiritual, physical and official home, where they took control of the Middle East and gained the reputation of being "fearsome black-skinned demons of the East".[11]
Final Nights[]
Haqim's last visit to Alamut was in 68 BCE, where he stayed in the Great Library for six months. There is also a record of him being in Antioch a century later. The last time anyone has seen Haqim was in the British Isles in 121 CE, where he was engaged in philosophical conversations with the Ventrue Prince of London, Mithras - which is interesting by itself, since Mithras would be diablerized in 1996 CE by one of Haqim's own descendants.
Since then, attempts to locate him have failed.[12] It is believed, however, that Haqim may have gone into torpor or has secluded himself in the Azerbaijan/Iran/Turkmenistan area, in the vicinity of Alamut. ur-Shulgi, who was recently awakened in the Final Nights, claims to receive direct communication from Haqim to re-invoke the Path of Blood as the sole religion. Some even believe that Haqim is awake, but remains hidden from view, secretly reviewing and evaluating the clan.
Through the survival of Fatima al-Faqadi after encountering Haqim, it is hinted that he was testing both the clan's loyalty to his true teachings and its faith in God, meaning that either ur-Shulgi was deliberately given wrong instructions, or he lied to the Assamite loyalists.
Trivia[]
- The name Haqim means "Wise" in Arabic.
- Assamite Enkara knew Haqim personally — her Embrace had preceded his departure by several centuries. The Founder seldom spoke to her of the First and Second Cities, but what Enkara recalled of him after all this time was decidedly inconsistent with the Assassins’ bloody tyrant to whom “judging the other Cainites” was a euphemism for exterminating them to the last.
Gallery[]
Genealogy[]
Caine |
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Notes[]
- ↑ The Assamites claim 10,000 years of history.
- ↑ Sha'hiri is listed among the names of Haqim's childer. Cross-reference with VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 97
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 According to Ayisha in VTM: The Book of Nod, p. 131
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 79
- ↑ VTM: The Book of Nod , "The Tale of the First City"
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 9
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 13-14
- ↑ VTM: Children of the Night, p. 89
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 95
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 8-9
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite, p. 13
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 9-14
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 15-18
- ↑ VTM: Clanbook: Assamite Revised, p. 19
Vampire: The Masquerade Antediluvians | |
---|---|
Clan Founders | Brujah • Cappadocius • Haqim • Gangrel • Lasombra • Malkavian • Nosferatu • Ravnos • Salubri • Set • Toreador • Tzimisce • Ventrue |
Usurpers | Augustus Giovanni • Tremere |