Nathaniel Simmons is a Gangrel Archon that is well known for his eagerness to participate in Blood Hunts.
Biography[]
Nathaniel's distant memories of childhood feature many happy hours of hunting with his father. By the time he was 16, he could kill with a gun, knife, or bow; track prey; dress game; and, most importantly, enter and leave private land without being detected. His family was poor, after all. Since the hedge nobility that watched over the land felt no obligation toward the people who lived on it, Nathaniel felt no remorse over poaching to feed his family—none, that is, until the first time he was caught.
The year was 1682, but the traditions of the county were anachronistic. A seneschal watched over the lord's domain, protecting all the benefits of feudalism while ignoring its obligations. The scrawny young boy he had caught stealing game led him on a chase through forest and fen, culminating in a furious exchange of fisticuffs.
Nathaniel was hauled before Lord Richard Grey, the petty and vindictive "laird of the land." The nobleman threatened to drive the boy's family off his land, a plot the boy's ancestors had tilled for generations. Grey's seneschal intervened, claiming that he could use a young man with skill at hunting. The young man did such an impressive job of proving his worth that even Lord Grey's master took notice.
Obfuscated from the common populace, an undead overlord named Vilmius had enthralled Lord Grey, binding him to his will. In fact, the haughty Gangrel had been making ghouls of certain lords of the land for over five centuries. The endurance of feudal traditions had been at his behest. Every few decades, Vilmius would kill the old lord, then help the lord's heir ascend to take his place.
The transition always coincided with some form of ritual or ceremony. In good times, the Gangrel overlord would hunt down his prey alone. In bad times, when Vilmius was filled with wrath, he would demand that the son hunt down his own father to prove his worth. The year Lord Richard Grey died required the latter ceremony.
Purely for sport, the land's Gangrel overlord created a pack of ghoul "hounds" to help harry the prey. Lord Richard's son responded by displaying the family's characteristic perfidy. Because he wouldn't perform the deed himself, he bribed Nathaniel to kill his father for him.
Empowered with Potence, Nathaniel was swift, savage, and inventive in his kill. When the Gangrel overlord found out, he appointed Nathaniel as the new seneschal. Richard's son ascended to take his father's place, but he was denied the Embrace. The new heir watched his seneschal carefully from then on. Enriched by Cainite vitae, the ghoul Nathaniel easily outlived the mortals who exploited him, including Lord Grey's son.
A century and a half later, an archon named Geoffrey Leigh uncovered the Gangrel's bloody rituals. Without alerting the Gangrel Justicar, he moved in to dispatch the beast himself. In a desperate gambit, Vilmius set fire to the estate, then quickly Embraced Nathaniel, hoping a frenzied and frightened childe would distract the archon long enough to ensure his own escape. Raised in ignorance of the Camarilla, Nathaniel had no idea why the archon was there. While maintaining his self-control, Nathaniel confronted Geoffrey Leigh in the midst of a surging conflagration. The neonate refused to fight, instead betraying his infamous sire's plan of escape.
Although the archon denied any claim Nathaniel had on the domain, the neonate Gangrel readily helped him track down and destroy his sire. From then on, Nathaniel was eager to prove his usefulness. Thereafter, Nathaniel wandered from fief to fief, dabbling in Camarilla politics. Since hunting was all he knew, he eagerly responded to any rumor of a possible blood hunt. The sport of killing mortal prey no longer challenged him, but the justice of Lextalionis thrilled him. The blood hunts of that time had become an effective way of driving a troublemaker from a domain.
When Nathaniel joined a blood hunt, however, the quarry always met with Final Death before dawn. After the first score of kills, princes began to ask for him specifically when rivals troubled them. His fame became such that his arrival in a city became a warning that another blood hunt would be at hand. By his thirtieth kill, he took to the practice of arriving in his destination secretly, without immediately announcing his presence to the prince.
Although this was clearly a defiance of the Second Tradition, no one relished the thought of hunting this hunter. Few princes had the audacity to call a blood hunt against such an efficient killer.
After his fiftieth kill, Nathaniel Simmons took up residence in London, sitting at the right hand of the Methuselah Mithras, the Prince of London. Of course, a Methuselah prince has little reason to traffic in the night-to-night affairs of a city. When Mithras disappeared for months at a time, he left a Ventrue seneschal named Valerius in charge. A Gangrel sheriff kept the peace, but Nathaniel's presence ensured a constant threat that if a blood hunt was called, it would be a fatal punishment.
Thus, Nathaniel learned to weather endless nights as he did the days of his youth; in proving his usefulness to the lords of the land, he still kills to ensure his status and freedom.
Fifth Edition[]
At some point during or leading up to the 20th century, Simmons was made an Archon himself. While travelling through North America during this time, he killed the diablerist Tommy, the sire of Cedrick Calhoun, and very nearly killed Calhoun, as well.
Character Sheet[]
Image: A hirsute mountain of a man, Simmons has become a trifle arrogant. He prides himself on his immaculate grooming, from his cultivated mutton-chop sideburns to his carefully combed and oiled hair. In other words, he's stylish—but only for a rustic Gangrel. His thick wool garments display meticulous patterns crafted by hand. Yet in the thrill of the hunt, he becomes unraveled, surging like a force of nature through the nocturnal streets of London. His eyes go wild, his hair becomes disheveled, and he evinces the mania of a madman—one who lives to kill the most dangerous game imaginable in London.
Roleplaying Hints: Mr. Simmons walks a fine line between civility and ferocity. He strains to maintain proper etiquette when dealing with his social superiors. Yet he also remains quite strained with other Gangrel, who either regard him as a legend or condemn him for attempting to be so cosmopolitan.
He is impatient with subterfuge, usually preferring direct threats and confrontation. For the nonce, he supports the status quo, but seeing so many Gangrel treated as low-class citizens of Camarilla society grates on him. It is as though his years of work have done nothing to improve the sect's opinion of Gangrel, save as faithful watchdogs. The Gangrel sheriff seems to have no problem with this tradition; thus, Nathaniel secretly loathes him.
Mr. Simmons confronts those who question the seneschal's authority, but as his displeasure has grown, it has become a subterfuge for testing them. With the patience of a jungle cat on the prowl, he seeks the one candidate who seems likely to depose the prince.
Unlike Herbert Westin, he does not simply join with any sudden radical movement. He will risk everything once he finds the one rival worthy of support. That one conspirator must clearly be stronger than he is. He has met with many Gangrel passing through London, but he has not yet found one is strong enough or certain enough to aid his ambitions.
References[]
- VAV: London by Night, p. 78-79
- VTM: Chicago by Night 5th Edition, p. 158