Updated: 16 Febraury 1998
Laureen
7th Generation Tremere
(a.k.a. Meryt-Neith)
Lady of the Realm of Paris
Regent of the Chantry of Nonisis

	Sire:	Sara (1168)
	Nature:	Loner
	Demeanor:	Loner
	Humanity:	2
	Secrets:	****
	Status:	****
	Esprit:	***
	Elder Status:	*
	Tremere Prestige:	**

Background:

                    Laureen as the young daughter of a local noble of Coventry. Sick and lonely, she was never very well liked by her family, as she spent much time on books. she was discovered by a Tremere named Sara, who was searching for potential recruits, before the Order of Hermes discovered her talent for True Magick.

The Clan Tremere asked Sara to come back with her Childe, and she Embraced the woman after an apprenticeship of three years. Then Laureen and Sara were sent back in England, where the Clan had some obscure plan of installing a Chantry. Not much time after, the Anarch Revolt started, and Sara was one of the first casualties... As was Laureen: A Methuselah of unknown lineage, Meryt-Neith, needed a new Avatar in the Clan that had destroyed Saulot...

Laureen swore vengeance against the Tzimisce who had destroyed her Sire, and told the next time they would see her, it would be with the body of the Tzimisce who had Diablerized her. And vengeance she had, as she came back one century after with the staked Tzimisce, who was, of course, interrogated by the Clan.

Laureen used her now free time to study Thaumaturgy, and was behind some new discoveries and new Rituals used by the Clan. Soon, her thaumaturgical knowledge was asked in Paris, where another Tremere, Klawer, has discovered a strange source of Vis. She didn't like the fact a Setite was apparently installed as a Primogen... And that this Setite was Theti-Sheri, Childe of Nefertiti. Still she accepted the position and became Regent of the Chantry of Nonisis, the original Chantry of Paris.

Soon, they were sure of the source's position under the Chantry of Saint Louis, but still, it seemed to spawn from empy air. Klawer was lost in strange theories, while Laureen imagined (in secret) the apparent source could simply be the focal point of ''thaumaturgical mirrors'' that could reflect the Vis emanated from the original source on this apparently empty point.

By the time of the 1789 Revolution, Klawer had become councillor of Beatrix on occult, and Laureen had discovered two of the thaumaturgical mirrors: The Doors of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, supposedly enchanted by the Devil Himself by some peasant rumour, and the Temple, where a fortress of the Templar once stood (more precisely, the dungeons beneath the Temple). This enabled her to theorize that the central source of Vis was not the only one, but surely the most powerful: She started the research for other mirrors that would pinpoint her to other ''sources'', if not to the real source of Vis she supposed to be beneath Paris.

But Klawer fell victim of the mob, and was summarily executed by Guillotine. Laureen went in hidding. When she came back in 1804, Gustacio, an Italian Tremere in relation with the Giovanni Clan, had become the Duc of the Tremere. It suited Laureen well, as she resumed her research, discovering that the Vis was somehow corrupted!

Alexis came back from Egypt, and Meryt-Neith has sensed her pyramid had been violated once more. She investigated, knowing that Alexis was in reality one of her Knights. As she wondered at the power of the Masques, she decided finally that Alexis would be a good help to determine what was the source of this corrupted Vis. So she waited for Champollion to deciffer the Hieroglyphs, and then to Alexis to try to translate her notes about Hekau Thaumaturgy, while she worked at researching what could be the source of this corruption: Historical references told her it was more important than she first thought. Lupines and Gangrel have been weakened by this Aura of Corruption, and the first manifestations had been seen in the time of Charlemagne. Then the idea struck like lightning: She used her Clairvoyance Auspex power to research Nebneferptah and, to her dismay, succeeded!

Somehow, this monster survived their final encounter, and he was now in Torpor beneath Paris, in an unknown location. Meryt-Neith was still wondering at how Nebneferptah had acquired so much power, and suspected Apep, the neverending source of corruption, also known as the Wyrm in the Garou Mythology.

No matter the source of his newfound powers, Nebneferptah had to be destroyed, and so, she concentrated at finding other ''mirrors''. It was when she found about the Place of the Concorde, known as the Place of the Revolution where thousands were executed, that she started to believe Nebneferptah had active agents working for him. Theti-Sheri was obvious, but somehow, nothing could be found to prove it, so it had to be something else. She started searching for possible Childer of Nebneferptah when Silian, the Tremere Pontifex of France, started to investigate her apparent lack of success in her research. But at this time, the Veilleurs started to show their mastery of a new kind of Thaumaturgy, and Laureen/Meryt-Neith used this fact to divert the attentions of Silian from her current research: The obelisk of Karnak, offered by Egypt to France, and placed on the Place of the Concorde, enhancing once more the Vis appearing on the Tremere Chantry!

But Silian could not be diverted forever, and the number of Tremere was growing and threatening her research. Beside that, the Order of Hermes had discovered another source of Vis and threatened to discover the whole story soon. So she intrigued to have a certain faction of Mages, the Technocracy, to intrigue to make the Tremere and the Order of Hermes fight each other. The intrigue went beyond her wildest dreams, as the Tremere and the Order of Hermes dragged along with them the whole Traditions and Camarilla. The Technocracy, drunk by the success, made the Inquisition enter the game. Laureen gave subtles informations to the Veilleurs that enabled them to discover the whole intrigue. The Tremere, decimated by the war (Silian had been killed by day by a group of Mages), had been exiled from Paris' Chantry, and even after their return in 1918, their numbers had been limited, as well as their powers in Paris. The Order of Hermes had suffered the same consequences. Her Research could continue.

After the War of Traditions, Laureen, as the mysterious ''Lady of Shadows'' took an active part in the formation of the Veilleur, teaching them Hekau Thaumaturgy, as well as helping Criaâr creating his own Path, the Hekau Path of Veille and helping fortify the Veilleur's Chantry.

Destiny

                    Since the, the Tremere Clan is wondering why Laureen is still stalled in her research since more than two centuries, and will soon ask for Laureen to come to Vienna to explain herself. If Meryt-Neith's power could have fooled them in the 15th Century, she knows it would be really dangerous to try it again now that their Thaumaturgy is fully developped. So Laureen has to die, to enable Meryt-Neith to survive... But it is not the first time...

Appearance:

Age:	856	Hair:	Black	Height:	1m75
Apparent Age:	28	Eyes:	Blue	Weight:	50 Kg
Date of Birth:	1141	Race:	Caucasian	Sex:	Female
RIP:	1168	Nationality:	English	Esprit:	***

                    Laureen is a beautiful tall woman with pale skin and raven hair that curls softly down to her the middle of her back. Her eyes are icy blue, and her lips are purple. She likes to wear black or blue clothing, including modern ''bodies'', mini-skirts, etc.

She is charming, but there is something in her that unnerves anyones who is near her. Her voice is full of contempt, and somewhat mocking.

Role Playing:

                    She always seems like she is intriguing. She looks at people with a stare that makes them wonder what she is preparing for them personaly, and she talks with a soft voice with a somewhat contemptuous sound, always polite, but always with a subtle mocking of threat in it. Her company is unnerving, and most people avoids her. It is fine for her as she likes to be alone.

Notes:

                    Laureen was a Tremere Kindred whose body had been used in a Hekau Ritual created by Meryt-Neith. Meryt-Neith's powerful Obfuscate makes most Auspex tests fail (no information is won). Still, the ritual was almost perfect: It is, in truth, unstable, and unknown to Meryt-Neith, Laureen can be used to scan her if the Ritual's power interfere with her Obfuscate and negates long enough.

Second, she can only have two body active at once. Which can sometimes provoke moments of apparent stillness, when she is doing something else...

Third, part of this sheet (like the mental Attributes, knowledges, etc.) are false, and are only of use when determining what Meryt-Neith want others to believe Laureen know.

Actual Aim:

                    Help the Veilleur to research Nebneferptah's manifestations. To this aim, she multiply unnecessary intrigues to divert the attention of anyone looking after her to somewhere else. so she can simply decide to hinder or help the PCs, just to smile when others wonder why she did that...

• Laureen discovered a secret she fears to tell the Seven Elders of Clan Tremere (False and True!).
• Laureen is an Infernalist (False).
• Laureen wants to become the new Duchesse of Clan Tremere, and so be elligible for the Pontifex position. So she tries to remove Abelard by any means possible (False).
• Laureen had been charmed by Theti-Sheri and neglects her duties for an unlife of forbidden pleasures (False).

                    The Kindred can visualise the surroundings of any place or any personn she is familiar if she succeeds in a Perception+Empathy roll.

                    System: See the Vampire Player Guide, p71

Go to Meryt-Neith's Character Sheet

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