We live in a dark dangerous world that changes with the passing years. Mortals become visionaries, they see more then the simple tree before them. Their minds are changing, expanding. It�s with this thought in mind I will do my best to bring the Laibon to you. Since I haven�t spoken to one of the Laibon myself, I must go on the second-hand information brought to me by varies sources.
Obviously they are in fact Canites, children of Caine. When and how they came to be I haven�t the slightest idea. What I have is nothing but bits and pieces of rumour tinged with fact, or so I assume. In deepest darkest Africa is where the Laibon can be found. To us they are nothing but uninformed pagans who must be brought into the fold. They know nothing of God or so they say, they claim to know the spirits and of their ancestor.
I don�t know many Canites who have ventured into the deep parts of Africa, but a few of us have, to see these Laibon for themselves. From all accounts they dress in a manner that I personally find distasteful, they sport odd furs and clothe fashioned into I�m guessing to be robes of a kind. They carry walking sticks adorned with feathers and bits of colored stone woven onto strips of dried leather. They are mighty warriors, hunters and mystical shaman. Also, and this I find astonishing, they do not fear the beast like we do if at all. We Cainites of the Western world fear the beast knowing at anytime it can surface.
They like their solitude like we do, although we can be very social creatures as I will guess that among themselves they are the same way. They offer their wisdom to the sparse villages they encounter in their travels, they care for their mortals a bit better then we do. They will go hungry rather then drink from the mortals who dwell in their lands.
They do not consider themselves children of Caine, rather they believe they are divined by the gods and are the gods� voices on earth. As smart as they are even the Setites have given them a name, Sphinxes, in their way they honour the Laibon. They tell wondrous tales from lands that even we haven�t been too thus far; the tales vary in many ways. Mayhap one night I will travel to this dark place and seek the Laibon, for educational purposes of course.
The Laibon and the Ravnos share one thing in common, their love of travel. It�s rare but not uncommon to find a Laibon in a Cainite city for a short time, this of course occurs in the Med and the Holy Land. No further will they travel, perhaps they have a weakness that makes them return home after a time, perhaps like the Tzimisce they too are tied to their ancestral lands.
That is all I know about them, perhaps in the future someone will come to me who has much more to tell me about these strange sisters and brothers.
Clan Disciplines: Abombwe, Animalism and Fortitude
Copyright 2002,Vampire: The Dark Ages, Vampire: The Masquerade, World of Darkness are all trademarks of White Wolf. The mention of or referance to any companies in this publication is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned.The above information came from the Dark Ages Companion, WW#2804 pages: 66-67
