Chiyo
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Name: Takahashi Chiyo Epithet: The voice of her clan Age: 109 Gender: Female Species: Kindred (Nosferatu) Nature/Demeanor: Penitent/Pedagogue Sect: Camarilla Occupation: Lore keeper, Elysium Harpy Favorite Color: Green is the color of life... But blue suits her best. Favorite Food: Self-restraint feeds the soul Likes: Small animals, Songbirds in particular, Jazz records, Quiet company Dislikes: Cynicism, Cruelty, Bigotry Best Traits: Patient, Compassionate, Diplomatic Worst Traits: Trapped in a cycle of fear, complacency, and shame |
Appearance
Chiyo might be best described as ghostly. From the neck up, hers is an ethereal beauty, causing some to assume at a glance: "She must've been spared the worst of her clan's curse." Her face, though definitely inhuman and alien with her smoothed-out features, her white, pupil-less eyes, her unblemished skin, is more alike to a work of art than a disfigured monster.
Those that look more carefully might take note of the length of her arms, or the smooth, floaty way she moves, not rising and falling with her gait, or might catch the way her body twists and bends. A keen ear might even hear an odd muffled scittering and scraping, and begin to understand why she obscures her body beneath flowing robes and skirts.
More than most other Nosferatu, Chiyo puts a great deal of effort into looking presentable. If she is to be seen in Elysium or entertain guests in her domain, she is impeccable and fragrant. Body parts are bound, constricted, hidden away and dressed in bespoke designs by Kindred seamstresses. This effort is much of why the Toreador of the Camarilla courts take a liking to her. That, and the almost hypnotic beauty of her voice.
A Neonate's Best Friend
Chiyo has always had a soft spot for those much younger than her. Those who know her well have no difficulty believing that she had been pursuing a career as a schoolteacher before her Embrace. Now, having been a vampire for around 80 years, and having seen many newly-embraced Fledglings struggle to adjust to their new lives and the Camarilla's deadly politics, she tries to be helpful when she can.
For those less deserving of her aid, holding her attention can backfire. Trying to conspire with her like one would with any other Harpy, or otherwise proving oneself to be underhanded and cruel is a quick way to be cut off not only from Chiyo's assistance, but that of her fellow Nosferatu. Chiyo is incredibly influential in her clan, nearly on the level of a Primogen.
As for the help she can provide, Chiyo is responsible for the care and cultivation of an occult library, the size of which drives certain Tremere mad with envy. A large part of why she is so involved in the Camarilla and such an Elysium-regular is to keep in contact with scholars, historians, and appraisers who pass through her city.
Chiyo was already bookish and interested in history and myth. Being embraced into such a knowledge-hoarding clan meant it only made sense for her to fall into the role of a librarian. She rarely, rarely allows visitors to roam freely and see her entire collection; not because the exclusivity makes it a better bargaining chip, but because some things are too rare and precious to risk theft.
The Road of Golconda
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve.
Behold, the mercy of the Father is greater than you can ever know.
For even now there is a path opened, a road of Mercy
and you shall call this road [Golconda]."
— The Book of Nod
There is an ancient Kindred superstition, a belief that with a pure heart and the right guidance, even the children of Caine might be redeemed. It's an appealing thought to those who miss the feeling of warm, sunny skies, or eating food as mortals do, or making love – but none who set out on this path for self-serving reasons can see it through to the end.
This "Golconda" is not a prize to be won, it is a spiritual wealth, and its path is one of spiritual enlightenment.
Reaching this path's end takes a rare sort of creature, one who is not only penitent and gentle, but who views the Vampiric nature and all its greed as a thing to overcome, rather than a punishment to meekly accept, or to escape through self-destruction. That is, if Golconda exists at all. Much that was written about it is now lost, and those who preached it have been exterminated and erased from history.
Always at the back of Chiyo's mind, when she tends to her bookshelves, when she feeds, when she barters for some alleged Salubri diary or a 12th-century Ventrue's historical account, she wonders about Golconda. This mythical thing that few in the Camarilla know of, fewer speak of, and that only a scant handful of Kindred are even alleged to have reached.
In life, she wasn't all too superstitious or spiritual. But now, in death, some strange and sad part of her clings onto this wives' tale. The more she learns of the occult, and of histories hidden from mortal eyes, the less she thinks anything is impossible.
Connections
August — "I can't bear the thought of giving up on him."
Ignat — "Despite what he may believe, we were sired by the same blood. He's like a brother to me. Have you seen him lately? Is he doing well?"