Arius explained so many things to me in the years that followed, Louisa chose to allow herself age, till she was nearly 40, still beautiful and still my beloved. I learned all that Arius could teach. I studied my newfound powers and all that they opened to me. As I did, I used them to help solidify a place for my family, our power and wealth growing to over flow Florence, reaching outward through Italia. In time Arius left us. He explained what I now understand about not staying too long and moved on. It has been 900 years since I last saw my sire. I pray the night has been good to him as he was to me.
Louisa and I soon followed Arius out of Italia, traveling out into the world, leaving our children with our secret to care for the fortune we had made for them. I saw the Germanic people still sweeping across Europe . I saw the mighty Norse longships and their warriors terrorize the European coastlines for centuries.We met soe of teh wandering nomads, the Mongols and traded goods with the east. It would be here where I would encounter the clan Gangrel for the first time. Through it all, I never forgot Florence or my family there. We would track their progress over centuries, returning home secretly to see new births, new lives and to mourn death�s along with them. Louisa chose to be mine eternally and became my first childe.
My family, now named Medici, became powerful, my blood mixed in with that of kings and princes. They had taken all that Louisa, Arius and I had given them and used it to grow beyond anything that I could have dreamed. Time had flown sweetly and Louisa and I were happy, travelling, learning. In out time moving, Europe, the continent had changed. The Roman Empire was long gone, The Holy Roma Empire headed in Rome had taken its place, the pope wielding the power of a King. The Church itself had split, fragmented into two bodies each excommunicating the other. A mighty King had risen in Britannia to unite the Island into one kingdom, now called England. Gaul had become Normandy, then France. Wars had raged, mortal and immortal. I met many others of our kind, Ventrue and Lasambra Lords, Tzimisce Barons in Romania (sigh) so much to take in�but inside the need for home grew, until at last during the Renaissance, I could stand it no more and Louisa and I returned to Florence to live.
During my time among the Tzimisce, I took the time to learn a few things that Louisa and I brought back with us. Most notably was the ritual of creating bloodwyne. Blood collected from mortals intoxicated on various things, the blood carrying the substance in a manner that our systems can tolerate. Blood none the less, but through the ritual preserved for a time to age like mortal wine and as it does, the flavors enriched. The �fiends� skill and witchery and the altering of blood and bone are capable of many feats, not all twisted�at least they weren�t yet.
I pause here to mention something. As my family took to caring for Fiorenze, a thing, pox on all reality was unleashed I will say little more of it than to say that It came, it took souls both living and dead until it was stopped and I would pray that it never be unleashed again. Now, where was I?
The crusades were over, no more were the cities of Italia (now called Italy) raided and burned by warfare. The Moors had retreated back to the Holy Land leaving vast Libraries of knowledge. The age or enlightenment and beauty blossomed. Through my family, we sponsored much of that growth; schools of thought and art were raised. Great artists, Giotto, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, De Vinici and Verrocchio, were given commission to serve us. Florence itself, my magnificent city, was made the most beautiful city on earth. The works added to every element of her being. As this happened, the city became a Mecca or the arts, rivaled only by Venice. We founded the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence in 1581, one of the oldest museums in the world. I praises Cosimo for the good things he did, however, some of our own followed in less acceptable fashion than he or Leo X would. Much to my dismay.
In the earlier portion of the renaissance, a young clan, the Tremere, was hunted across Europe. The fledgling clan sought much�power, respect, and acceptance. But they failed to understand much of what they were stepping upon and drew down the wrath of many, most notably, the Tzimisce, from whom they apparently stole. When they arrived upon the doorstep of Florence, they were haggard and hunted. So, they were offered asylum, for a price. They would be safe in the city of my birth from all hunts, if they taught certain agreed upon things to my family and only to those of pure Medici blood. It was accepted and sealed in blood. That pact is upheld and as of yet they remain allies, though watched�always watched. "I would not share Saulot�s fate�or theirs when�humph, I�m not supposed to know that, am I?"