The Master of Ravens is a secretive vampire tied to a movement called the One True Way that searches for Golconda.
Disciples of the Master of Ravens simply call themselves ravens.
Biography
No one had heard of the Master of Ravens before 2005. His pamphlet, called the One True Way, found its way to numerous Tremere havens, speaking of Golconda and the promise of regaining mortality, as well as Saulot and his sacrifices. In his work, he calls them to Hunedoara Castle, promising them salvation, as well as using more subtle arts to draw his targets to him.
In secret, the Master of Ravens despises Golconda and those that promote it, the Inconnu. He believes Golconda to be a tool of manipulation, to be used to manipulate, extort, and subjugate those foolish enough to believe in it, and that the "enlightened" become such due to their divesting personal responsibility for their actions. He also hates and despises Saulot, having apparently tasted his vitae at one point in his existence and found it a form of enslavement (implying a blood bond). The Salubri Mahtiel describes him as intolerably dangerous, but he may endeavored to protect the Tremere. Mahtiel believed any who followed his One True Way was bound to be split across a dozen more, losing themselves to him. Anyone who would follow his version of Golconda would be consumed by it, instead of experiencing release. The Wu Zao Tsang Kwong believed that the Master of Ravens was a servant of Zao-Lat and another of his agents to bring about his ascension.
In Hunedoara, the Master of Ravens wanted to put a group of Tremere fledglings against a group of assembled Salubri, urging each side to destroy the other, using the carnage to conduct a ritual to breach Castle Hunedoara's defenses. While he was thwarted, his cult gained large traction among vampires in domains all over the world. While the Camarilla discussed declaring him Anathema, the Inner Circle vetoed it for unknown reasons.
Identity
The true identity of the Master of Ravens is a mystery. He has been speculated to be a Malkavian, Gangrel, Ventrue, Toreador, Ravnos, or something else than a vampire altogether. A theory proposed by Bethany of Ely is that the Master of Ravens is Saulot's attempt to follow Irad's example to purge himself of his inner darkness and embodies all that was vile and base within him. According to Lair of the Hidden, the Master of Ravens is a pseudonym used by none other than malkavian Demetrius, a member of the Twelve.
References
- V20: Beckett's Jyhad Diary, p. 14, 292-295, 301, 371-375, 378-379, 528
- VTM: Lair of the Hidden, p. 73