Shepherds of Ur-Shulgi

The Shepherds of Ur-Shulgi are a fundamentalist revival among Clan Banu Haqim in the modern nights, led by their namesake. In the broader geography of their clan's schism, they are the end-result of the "loyalist" side of the split, and consider their clanmates in the Camarilla anathema.

History

In the wake of their clan's schism and the dawning of the Gehenna War, the followers of Ur-Shulgi, formerly the 'loyalist' faction in the schism, have reorganized into a militant cult dedicated to bringing all Banu Haqim around the world under Ur-Shulgi's banner, typically by force. The Shepherds are comprised predominantly of Banu Haqim, but accept all types of Kindred who submit to their methuselah prophet and the Laws of Haqim, particularly thin-bloods.

By adopting a religion favored by the kine, those of the Blood render themselves apostate in the eyes of Ur-Shulgi, who proceeded to eliminate such apostates in Alamut upon awakening from torpor in the late 1990s. His leadership demonstrated to his followers that taking the heart’s blood of an apostate, even one of the Blood, was commendable. Most Banu Haqim, valuing their own faiths or maybe just their own unlives, fled Alamut and dispersed into the world, even managing to join the Camarilla. The faithful followers of Ur-Shulgi were few and, in the beginning, mostly confined to the Mountain. Observing this, Ur-Shulgi appointed twelve of the faithful as his heralds to go out into the world and spread the faith of Haqim.

The Shepherds serve Ur-Shulgi's will, engaging in the Gehenna War. The Brujah Theo Bell tracked and destroyed several of them in Rudi's domain.

Hierarchy

Ur-Shulgi himself disappeared some time in the 2010s, claiming to be on a pilgrimage from which he intends to return with powers beyond that which he possessed before. Before his departure, he personally appointed his heralds and decreed no one had the right to remove them from their roles. The rest of his cult hierarchy resulted from the dispersal of the faith across the globe. While members of the cult use the same titles everywhere, the functions of the positions vary considerably in accordance with conditions on the ground.

In the absence of Ur-Shulgi himself to lead the cult, the Shepherds are instead guided by the methuselah Izhim ur-Baal, though their decentralized nature makes this largely unimportant in the short term.

Heralds

The twelve heralds have a broad remit: to bring primarily the Banu Haqim and secondarily other vampires back to the laws of Haqim. Those Ur-Shulgi chose were ancilla of considerable age. In the beginning, they tried traditional methods of conversion by the sword, which they swiftly found to be risky and ineffective. The twelve did not remain in close communication with one another and, as a matter of course, developed different methods of conversion and different takes on the laws. While sticking to their principles, they have adapted to local conditions.

Garnering little success in converting devotees of other religions, most heralds have taken to seeking out doubters and apostates, particularly those who crave a source of certainty. They find an enthusiastic audience among the thin-bloods. More than once, a herald has aided a thin-blood in diablerizing one of the Ashirra and attaining the 13th generation.

Twelve heralds were insufficient to manage the cult on their own, especially as most of them were peripatetic, moving from city to city. Furthermore, persecution and blood hunts in both Camarilla and Anarch domains thinned their numbers. Since the acceptance of the Ashirra into the Camarilla, the unlife of Ur-Shulgi’s followers has become even more precarious in domains where the sect has influence. Most heralds settled upon the idea of leaving one of the faithful behind to lead in their stead. These local leaders are known as pashas.

The heralds never needed to be informed of the dangers of using electronic communication or the internet. They had no familiarity with either and see no need to learn. This means communication remains patchy between them and their followers, and no one is entirely certain how many heralds remain. At least five are known to be accessible to the faithful in domains across Europe and North America.

Known Heralds

• Elulu (deceased)
• Lugalme of the White Tongue
• Naram-Sin (deceased)
• Siduri the Name-Thief

Pashas

After the herald has moved on, their pasha takes over recruitment and care of the converts, often imposing their own interpretation of the laws upon their flock. The pasha is inevitably Banu Haqim and always makes overtures to include thin-blooded believers, who are empowered within the cult.

Some pashas maintain communication with one another, but this is difficult and risky in nights in which the Inquisition monitors so much of what takes place on the internet and mobile phone apps. Most act independently to increase the number of adherents to their faith. While heralds only assist in thin-blood diablerie of Ashirra and apostate Banu Haqim, many pashas condone the diablerie of any unbeliever. These nights, of course, most vampires in both Camarilla and Anarch domains are unbelievers. Selective amaranth, whether committed by a thinblood, a shepherd, or the pasha themself, if carefully done, is a viable way to bolster one’s personal power. It is also a way to achieve one’s own Final Death. Many pashas have fallen afoul of those vampires who discover evidence of the truth of their practices.

Shepherds

Shepherds — the bulk of the cultists — follow the teachings and instructions of their pasha and are often reluctant to act on their own initiative. Rarely, they decide their local pasha has wandered too far from the path and attempt to contact a herald to complain. Even more rarely, this action succeeds, and the herald commands them to punish the errant pasha. A shepherd who successfully diablerizes a pasha usually takes their place.

Those Shepherds sent into the field often spend years accomplishing their missions, cut off from any direct communication with their master. This makes it very difficult to mount a counterattack against the Shepherds and the methuselah even if information was extracted from a captured agent.

More often than not, these deadly agents operate in isolation. However, certain situations require them to pair up, and in the Gehenna War these have occurred more and more often. Only the most hardened of enemies merit the deployment of a trio of Shepherds.

Known Shepherds

• Gir, Pa and Ti
• Sawi

Fanatics

Mainly self-recruited from the newly Embraced thin-bloods, these fledglings assassinate and diablerize apostates, preferring those of the Ashirra. These, in the eyes of fanatics, although given the gift of a true Embrace into the Banu Haqim, have lost the privilege of their Blood. The hashishin — as they’re otherwise known — are devout drinkers of souls who believe that by thus empowering themselves, they grow closer to Ur-Shulgi. They also believe Ur-Shulgi himself is responsible for the Beckoning and that the closer they draw to him in generation, the greater their chances of hearing his call and receiving his summons to the Mountain. They chant "sada emedu" (Sumerian for “reach the Mountain”) as one of their number drinks the soul of an unbeliever. No herald has ever endorsed these beliefs, although some pashas adhere to them. Even among the shepherds, most regard the self-styled hashishin as heretics.

Organization

A cult with a penchant for amaranth is a threat to all members of the Camarilla and all Anarchs, so it is unsurprising that the Shepherds of Ur-Shulgi are often hunted down by Kindred fearful for their own souls. Few domains hold more than a small cell of shepherds. These cells always have a line of communication to the local pasha, who occupies themself with ensuring the secrecy and safety of their members as well as their doctrinal purity.

While Ur-Shulgi chose his heralds from a group of older and more powerful Banu Haqim, pashas are often neonates or even fledglings, no match for a powerful Prince or Baron. The shepherds survive best in unstable domains and those which face some greater external threat. They may also form nomadic or fugitive coteries which enter a domain, strike, and leave before they can be brought to task for their crimes.

The Shepherds are, like most Banu Haqim were prior to the schism, weak in mortal influence and strong in supernatural force, meaning that their response to perceived threats and located targets often takes the form of undead assassins crashing through the skylight instead of anything more subtle that Kindred more enmeshed with the mortal world are used to.

Beliefs

Adherence to the Path of Blood is nigh-universal among the Shepherds, and Ur-Shulgi commands his followers to uphold the Laws of Haqim. In practice, interpretation varies widely between individual cells, though all agree those Banu Haqim who follow a mortal religion are apostate and apostates forfeit the rights and privileges of the Blood. There is a great deal of dissent about whether false vampire religions render a vampire apostate. Much depends on the specific religion under discussion and local conditions.

Shepherd convictions

• Always keep faith with those sworn to the service of Ur-Shulgi
• Show no mercy to followers of false religions
• Never kill without profit

Gallery

References

• VTM: Forbidden Religions, p. 19-22
• VTM: Gehenna War, p. 113