Menele, originally known as Meneleus, is a powerful Brujah methuselah of the Fourth Generation who lies in torpor somewhere in the area of Chicago, during the Final Nights.
Biography[]
Although Greek civilization did not reach its height until the age of Pericles (starting 457 B.C.), Menele enjoyed his rulership of one of Greece's growing merchant cities some eight centuries earlier. Despite the burdens of the crown, Menele found plenty of time to indulge his tastes in thought and beauty. Before the age of 30, he had married one of the most beautiful women in Magna Graecia, built some of the finest buildings on the peninsula, supported numerous distinguished philosophers, and begun the collection of scrolls for what would become one of the world's largest libraries.
Not everyone applauded him. As his city flourished, others cast covetous eyes on its trading routes. In particular, one city in Asia Minor began to harass his merchants. Incidents escalated, and the enemy city dared to kidnap his wife. Menele called together all his allies in the Greek city-states, assembled a great fleet, and sailed east to do battle.
The war lasted far longer than Menele had expected, but finally, the Greeks' superior numbers prevailed. Unfortunately, Menele did not enjoy the victory. The night before he was to make his triumphant entrance into the city, he received a nocturnal visitor. The city had been under the secret rule of a Brujah named Troile; having tired of the city a century before, he had been traveling and had returned only in time to see it fall. He spent the night with the leader of the conquering forces, trying to discover what kind of mortal this king Meneleus was.
Embrace[]
Troile, a philosopher who had traveled widely since the destruction of the Second City, found the scholar-king most fascinating. At the end of the night, he took Menele to his haven north of the city; there they spent the next several months deep in conversation. Finally, Troile decided that Menele possessed all the elements to make him worthy of immortality. Thus, Menele joined the undead. For the next few centuries, Menele journeyed across Europe and Asia. In Persia, he became fascinated by the spirit plane and spent a century studying with the mystics there. He went on to India and spent another century studying with the spiritualists of that ancient land. Finally, he returned to Europe, intending to pass the rest of his immortal existence in contemplation of the astral plane.
Carthage[]
Then he met Altamira, an Iberian Brujah already ancient. She spoke of a mighty, growing city in North Africa that would put the Second City to shame and rival the First City for glory. The Cainites there would be the world's greatest, and would live in perfect harmony with the Canaille, free from the restrictions of any prince. Some, she said, had discovered a way to control the Beast, and others had been pulled back from the very depths of frenzy. Together, mortals and immortals would create a wondrous, eternal city of peace, progress, and equality.
Menele was entranced by the idea; it was the embodiment of all his own hopes and dreams. With great haste, he made his way to this Carthage and found it to be everything Altamira had promised. Vampires and mortals labored together on great works of art, the study of all branches of science, the occult, and the progression of the spirit. The mortals willingly spared some of their blood for the Cainites' nourishment, and the immortals, in turn, used their powers to make mortal life easier and more pleasant. The killing of mortals was forbidden, and the vampires fed together to ensure the safety of their willing vessels. Soon, Menele was happily ensconced in the city, and joined the dozens of other Cainites in their progress toward Golconda.
This was the beginning of the Third Age, the time of the great cities. Now, for one of the first times in history, a place could support more than a single vampire. Before this time, a single settlement could not feed more than one Cainite safely, for a mortal population above ten thousand was practically unknown. However, with the rise of Rome and Carthage, the Kindred could live together — a new age had dawned.
While many Toreador supported the Brujah's founding of Carthage, other clans were suspicious. The growing city of Rome was controlled by an uneasy alliance of Ventrue and Malkavians; they claimed the Brujah in Carthage were gathering their strength to slay all other Cainites. Soon, Rome launched its first attacks against Carthage. Menele, as an experienced diplomat and a famed orator, became Carthage's envoy, trying to enlist Gangrel and Nosferatu support. He also managed to draw new Toreador to the city, including the beautiful and powerful Helena.
The wars lasted for more than a century. Finally, after years of siege, Carthage was betrayed — by a Toreador, it was said. The Roman legions destroyed the once-beautiful city.
They salted the earth to prevent any Earth-Melded Cainite from again rising, and burned the entire library — more than half a million volumes — that had been Carthage's pride. Almost all the Brujah were destroyed, and the few survivors nursed a bitter hatred ever after for those who had destroyed their city.
The New World[]
When Carthage fell, Menele was away, trying to recruit help from the Gangrel of southern Africa. He returned to his city and found only ruins. Heartbroken, he fled into the wilds of western Europe, forswearing cities and civilization forever.
He broke that oath a couple of centuries later when he heard from a chance-met Gangrel about the beautiful Toreador ruling Pompeii. Knowing in his heart that this could only be Helena, he secretly visited Pompeii. The sight of Helena ruling the Roman city and the bitter memories of the destruction she had wrought upon Carthage were like a stake in his heart.
That night, Menele willingly entered his first frenzy in a thousand years. His rage, coupled with a Thaumaturgical ritual, brought down a spirit of fire upon the city; it flew shrieking through the streets, free for the first time in centuries. The ground shook, the sky seemed to blow open, and fire poured down on Pompeii. All was destroyed. Menele only escaped by throwing himself into the harbor.
Helena also somehow survived the destruction of Pompeii. For more than a dozen centuries, the two vampires fought, but neither could strike a decisive blow. Unfortunate for Menele, Helena slowly gained the upper hand as her ghoul Prias grew in power. Menele needed a chance to gather strength, or she would surely prevail.
Phoenician legends of a land to the west prompted him to trick Helena into thinking he was destroyed; trusted retainers carried his body aboard a specially prepared ship and sailed westward to a new and unknown land.
Once in this new land, Menele began to mold the Incas into a force capable of destroying his enemy. But as time passed, he was overtaken by the feeling that the now-ancient rivalry was nothing but a useless burden upon his spirit. At last, he rejected his desire for revenge and created a civilization of great depth. In time, he began to dream of creating a new Carthage.
Then he heard of newcomers ravaging the Mayan cities to the north and learned that they were Europeans, led — as he discovered to his dismay — by Helena herself. He tried to strengthen his followers, but he knew his cause was lost.
Helena's conquistadores made short work of his vast empire, and Menele fled north to hide among the Pueblos.
Once again, he began to prepare his followers for battle, but time passed and Helena did not come. Hoping against hope that the battles were over, Menele spent more and more time contemplating the riddle of his existence. He sought Golconda, but just before he reached his prize, Helena returned, and he was forced to flee once more.
He made his way north to the shores of an immense lake. For all his preparation, the tribes there were no match for well-armed Europeans when the inevitable battle came.
This was to be a turning point in their conflict. Menele and Helena finally engaged each other directly; both were grievously wounded, and both fell into torpor, relying on their followers to protect them and prosecute their feud. Thus, it has been for the last 250 years.
During the War of Chicago in 1993, which saw the city's Cainites and Garou at each other's throats, Menele remained, for the most part, as an observer. But later, he made an attempt to use the Daughters of Cacophony to manipulate Helena via her pawn, the neonate Portia.
Menele was drawn east by the Beckoning, and his childe, Critias, felt his blood bond snap, which may mean that Menele has met Final Death.[1]
Beckoning[]
See Beckoning
Menele was drawn east by the Beckoning, and his childe, Critias, felt his blood bond snap, which may mean that Menele has met Final Death.
Description[]
Menele has walked the Earth since his breathing days as a philosopher-king in ancient Greece. His insatiable lust for enlightenment led him first to India, then to Carthage, a utopia purportedly built on the ideal of peaceful coexistence between Kindred and kine. A utopia reduced to ash by the treachery of Helena. Apoplectic with rage, Menele razed Helena’s beloved Pompeii to a cinder, lighting the spark of their unending rivalry. Helena and Menele fought across the ages until they beat themselves into mutual torpor near present-day Chicago. Menele was on the verge of renewing his ancient grudge with Helena when he was called east by the Beckoning, freeing his childer from his vice-like mental grip. Many of Menele’s descendants inherited his passion for philosophy, enlightenment, and greater ideals, while others became fearsome warriors selected for their ability to defend Menele from Helena’s agents. Both were needed to realize Menele’s weary dream of founding a new Carthage based on ancient Brujah ideals. Now, Menele’s descendants are free to choose their destiny for the first time in millennia. The question is: What will they do with it?
Loresheet[]
Symposium: Menele always liked a good argument and sired many childer after debating the mysteries of life for evenings on end. All of your Persuasion rolls gain the ability of a single die reroll.- Carthago Delenda Est: Menele maintained an elaborate network of spies, informants, and retainers. His network fragmented upon his destruction, but you managed to claim a portion of it for your own. You have three dots to split between Retainers, Influence, Allies, and Resources, with the absolute certainty that Helena and her agents will attempt to take them from you.
- Know Thyself: Menele believed the Brujah needed to return to their roots as thinkers and positive agents of change. You are trained to resist the pull of your Brujah fury. Once per session, you can spend a Willpower point to re-roll a frenzy affected by your Brujah clan bane.
- Knowledge is Power: Menele was impossibly old and held many secrets about the Kindred of Chicago and beyond. You were the steward of those secrets before the Beckoning drew him away. Once per story, you may request a single secret from the Storyteller about a clan or Kindred in Chicago or similar domain that felt Menele’s influence (Storyteller’s discretion).
- The Greater Mysteries: Menele spent years learning the meditative practices necessary to perceive the astral plane in his quest for spiritual perfection. You inherited a portion of his ability and remain fully cognizant of your surroundings during your daily slumber. Reduce the difficulty of all Humanity tests to awaken during the day by two. You also have the ability to perceive fractured glimpses of events to come that may affect your character while you slumber. Once per session, you may roll Resolve + Occult to interpret your daytime visions. Each success brings the vision into greater focus, and the Storyteller may offer you one cryptic hint or fact relevant to your character.
Trivia[]
- In Greek mythology, Menelaus was the first husband of Helen of Troy.
- Considering the time of his Embrace, Menele could be of the Leleges (aboriginals who predated the Greeks), Achaeans or Dorians.
Character Sheets[]
† Chicago by Night
†† Chicago by Night Second Edition
‡ In V20, Menele follows the Path of Entelechy[2][3]
Notes: This mighty Cainite re mains in a state of torpor. Thus, his statis ti cs only ma tter if he were somehow to waken. If that happened, he would not come to his full strength immediately, bu t wou ld be substantially weaker. However, all his Disciplines would still work at "full power". Menele's extra level of Auspex allows him to stay aware of eve nts around him while in torpor. Thus, his dreams are filled with images of things which might affect him, but they are often hard to interpret. His extra level of Domination allows him to use his other leve ls without the requirement of eye contact - only a touch is needed. Finally, his two extra levels of Thaumaturgy all ow him to summon and co ntrol spirits and elementals, but he must be awake to do so.
Image: A corpse lying flat, with skin as hard as stone.
Haven: Mencle moves often, using retainers to transport him. Fora long time he was buried deep beneath the rail station, but recently he had himself exhumed in order to bond m ore closely with some of his followers.
Roleplaying Hints: You are in torpor. No movement, no speech.
Secrets: A+
Influence: Menele controls many of the Vampires of Chicago, directly or indirectly. He is the second most powerful individual in the city - a little behind Helena, but no one else approaches his power. His current retainers are members of a Native American family who have been serving him for well over a century.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ VTM: Chicago by Night 5th Edition, p. 86-87
- ↑ VTM: Lore of the Clans, p. 51-53
- ↑ VTM: Beckett's Jyhad Diary, p. 43
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 15-16, 55-59
- VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 17-18, 62-64
- VTM: Clanbook: Brujah Revised, p. 17
- VTM: Chaining the Beast, p. 101
- VTM: Nights of Prophecy
- VTM/WTA: Under a Blood Red Moon