The Mla Watu are one of the minor Legacies of Laibon.
Overview[]
Perhaps no group of Laibon is shunned as much as the Mla Watu. Although the Laibon as a whole are already removed from their humanity, they still maintain a healthy respect for the dead as many African customs demand. The Mla Watu however, are not content to merely communicate with dead ancestors; they seek to do control them, in body and soul. Many Laibon find this practice utterly repulsive, and many others fear potential subjugation of their soul after meeting Final Death, so as a result, the Mla Watu generally get the solitude they desire. The disappearance of the few who have tried to hunt the Mla Watu (out of righteous indignation at their subjugation of the dead) has also helped to guarantee the Legacy's independence.
One obvious side effect of giving the Mla Watu a wide berth is that most other Laibon do not know very much about them. Those who have spoken to members of the Legacy usually report quiet vampires, often claiming to be quite old, and in many cases with scholarly personalities. Not much is know about the Legacy's past, but a few Mla Watu have let slip rumors that they used to be a much greater legacy in the past... But those kholo who are old enough to remember the old histories say that the Mla Watu have been present in the Ebony Kingdom only since the beginning of the second millennium. Those few Laibon who have chanced to meet elders of the Mla Watu tell even stranger tales, suggesting that they are not even of African descent. This revelation might shed some light on the Legacy's true origins – or at least, for those incautious enough to want to investigate.
Culture[]
Beyond their interest in the dead, the Mla Watu value knowledge above all other things, and those who dealt with them and survived to tell about it attest to this fact. Books, scrolls, and other obscure sources of information, particularly concerning the occult, are of great interest to the Mla Watu. This near-fanatical obsession with gathering knowledge might be why, despite the Legacy's relative newness to the Ebony Kingdom, it is rumored that the Mla Watu know more about the history of the Laibon than any other Legacy. Of course, the Mla Watu neither confirm nor deny this claim.
The Mla Watu have no official organisation, but rather maintain an unwritten understanding of mutual help and protection with the legacy as a whole. They are well aware that most of the Ebony Kingdom despises them, and the same is likely true outside of Africa. Therefore, if necessary, the legacy could mobilize itself quickly to deal with any major threats. Seeing as all Mla Watu work toward the same goals (namely greater knowledge of Necromancy, the Underworld, and revenge against those who broke their Legacy so long ago) it should come as no surprise that most are in touch with at least a few other Mla Watu on a semi-regular basis. They are rarely seen working together in the same domain, however. In addition, the entire Legacy reportedly gathers for several weeks each year around winter to discuss their findings with one another and perform rituals.
Most Mla Watu maintain comfortable havens with access to a wide plethora of books (modern and ancient), and often artifacts and trinkets as well. In modern times, collections of exotic skulls and skeletons have become quite popular within the Legacy. Skulls of Lupines and other strange creatures are especially prized, granting a great deal of prestige and renown if they are authentic... and likely a great deal of scorn and ridicule if they are not.
Weakness[]
Much like the Cappadocian clan of old, the Mla Watu remain as pale and pallid as corpses, no matter how much blood they drink. Older members of the Legacy often look like walking cadavers. Some have posited that this is because of their preoccupation with death, or possibly that the reverse is true. Whatever the reason, this curse makes it far more difficult for the Mla Watu to blend in with humans, and it makes it easy for other Laibon to spot the Mla Watu even in a crowd comprised solely of the undead.
Trivia[]
The book's original outline confirms the Mla Watu are intended to be of Cappadocian descent.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom, p. 198-199