Brujah
'I have been under foot of oppressive regimes my whole existence. The Camarilla and their ilk are no different. You have a choice little duckling, you can remain under foot - or chop that fucker off. The choice is yours, you didn't find the revolution, the revolution found you.'
- Tyler the Brujah
Clan of Rebels
- Tyler the Brujah
Depending on who you ask, the clan of rebels are either idealistic visionaries or idiotic hot heads who can be trusted about as much as their temper can hold. The Brujah have been one of the cornerstone clans of Kindred kind - but they still are considered outsiders due to their tendency to rub other Kindred the wrong way. It can't be disputed however that if the Brujah work together, they are capable of great things, you just need to get them to agree.
It's surprising that a clan of independent idealists would group with a collective such as the Camarilla. While it's true that a large population of Anarchs come from the Brujah; for the majority of the Camarilla's existence, Brujah has been a valued member. Recent nights however has seen a mass exodus of Brujah from the Ivory Tower. With the Sabbat moving to wage their Gehenna Crusade in the Middle East, the Anarch movement has filled the power vacuum the Sabbat left behind. The Brujah have bolstered these numbers tremendously. That isn't to say that all Brujah have left - there is still an Elder sitting on the Chicago Primogen Council after all - but their position with the Camarilla has weakened to say the least.
'I am old. I have traveled the Earth and seen many things. I have listened, heard tales of our past, the great promise our clan held. We tried to remake Enoch in Greece and Carthage - that much is true, I was there. We created paradise for our kind. But we have never reached such heights since. Instead we fought, we became petty. I weep at the promise we once held and squandered. If you take anything from my teachings children, please take the knowledge that we are capable of great things if we put our mind to it.'
- Critias, Chicago Brujah Primogen
History
Like with most Kindred history, the truth is lost in time and obfuscated by lies and falsehoods, this extends to Clan Brujah. The Brujah Antediluvian goes by different names depending on what stories you hear. Some call them Brujah, others Troile the Elder. Ironically, records often describe the Brujah Antediluvian as dispassionate and a fiercely logical creature. The Antediluvian then sired childer who were equally dispassionate, all except for one - Troile the Rebel. Unlike their kin, Troile was full of fire, and passion. Perhaps it was this trait that forced Troile to diablerize their sire, or perhaps it was out of self preservation. Some reports call Troile's embrace as a mistake, one that the progenitor Caine was against. Either way, most accounts agree that Troile or some other Brujah Kindred, diablerized the Brujah progenitor. But, there are other tales - tales that the ancient feud between Brujah and clan Ventrue came from the Brujah Antediluvian's demise. It is said that it was the Ventrue Antediluvian who killed the Brujah Antediluvian; but those stories have been largely dismissed by the clan other than the few Elders still stuck in their views.
From the death of the clan founder, the Brujah flourished. Troile's blood and passion so potent that it passed on to their childer. With this came opportunity. The loss of the first city, Enoch and subsequently the second city, was a blow to Kindred. The Kindred were once revered as Gods to the mortals. The Brujah sought to cultivate this paradise once more with the first great experiment, Greece. It was here philosophy and idealistic thinking flourished - transforming the Brujah from the clan of dispassionate, to the clan of the learned. The city was opened to other Cainites, but of course problems would arise. Ventrue Spartans waged war against Greece, wanting the paradise for themselves.
The second great experiment from the Brujah came in the form of Carthage. Brujah idealists say that Carthage was a true utopia. It was a place where Kindred and Kine would walk hand in hand. The truth regarding Carthage is once again obscured. While Brujah claim that Carthage was a paradise, others claim more sinister actions were taken place in Carthage. Once again, the truth is lost in time. Carthage would be sacked and destroyed by the Ventrue of Rome - once again stoking the fires of this ancient rivalry.
As time would go on, the Brujah became recognized widely by fellow Kindred as a clan of warrior-scholars. They took the teachings and knowledge they learned from Greece, teaching their childer classics and combat in equal fashion. But a divide was growing within the Brujah, different ideals and thoughts paved way, a schism of idealism was forming. By the Victorian age, Brujah became lost - with clan in-fighting on which side was still following the doctrine of their Learned history. Brujah no longer became synonymous as the clan of the learned, rather they became known as the clan of thugs, criminals and brutish fighters. Their connection to mortal emotions saw the clan looked down upon by those within the upper eschelons of the recently formed Camarilla.
From this came revolution. A number of Brujah backed the Anarch Revolt, seeing it as the philosophically right thing to do. A large number of the clan still remained under the Camarilla umbrella however. Subsequently, this saw clan Brujah decline their standing within the Camarilla.
Modern nights has seen a mass exodus of the Brujah from the Camarilla ranks. The convention in Prague in 2012 saw the Brujah
Archon, Theo Bell, betray and murder his Ventrue master Hardestat the Younger. With the departure of Bell, fellow maligned members of the Clan of the Learned followed suit. The Brujah now hitch their flag with the Anarch movement, filling the power vacuum the Sabbat left behind. A handful of holdbacks of clan Brujah have chosen to stay with the Ivory Tower, though many say their nights are numbered.
'Welcome to the revolution. We kick Cammy ass and kick those stupid Elders out of their lofty towers... Well the few that are left anyway. You were chosen for a reason, we saw promise in your passion and through that passion we will take over the fucking world.
- Rally cry at a Anarch convention
Rebel Yell
The clan of rebels come from an eclectic group. Brujah tend to favour revolutionaries, those that see the wheel and have a drive to break it. To the uninitiated their numbers may seem like punks or brutish thugs - but Brujah tend to be more introspective than that. The clan of learned have not lost their way, they are now more than just thinkers and philosophers - they just have the passion and drive to do what needs to be done.
Their ranks spring from those who are the underdog, those who are oppressed by the system. Sure, there are plenty of Brujah who are nothing more than brutish thugs, wishing little more than to cause chaos - but this is merely the vocal minority. Brujah come from all walks of life; the disenfranchised corporate employee, siphoning money from their big conglomerate; the basement dweller who illegally pirates material for distribution; the defense lawyer who works hard to fight for the little people. Brujah come from all places - but they all share one thing in common, they are rebels and will continue to rage against the machine.
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