Spina



The members of the Order of the Thorned Wreath follow the teachings of Artus Le Jumel. Spina vampires have his teachings in their very blood, for they are of his bloodline. The overwhelming majority of members of this bloodline are also members of the Thorned Wreath; joining the Order is usually a prerequisite to finding a sponsor to awaken the bloodline — and leaving the Order is normally regarded, and punished, as betrayal. Still, the Order and the bloodline are not identical.

Le Jumel explained it thus: “The Order of the Thorned Wreath is a duty, a task that we have taken on. We perform that duty because we have sworn to perform it, but had we chosen to swear a different oath, we would also have chosen a different duty. Our blood is what we are. We fight with courtesy because of our nature, not because of any oath. Had we chosen to swear to bring the Invictus down to the dust, we would yet have done so without descending to boorishness.”

Members of this bloodline believe those words even tonight. If anything, the Kindred who have left the Thorned Wreath hold this belief even more strongly than those within. Spina might abandon the Invictus, or even support its enemies, but they are still courteous warriors. They maintain their courtesy and courage as highly public virtues, to prove that they are still Spina, even if they have pledged allegiance to a different organization.

Courtesy is what most Kindred think of when they think of the Spina. It is relatively easy to find a vampire who will claim that a Spina has been rude to him; rather harder to find one who can produce any reliable witnesses to the event. From the night of their Embrace, all potential Spina are taught how to maintain their calm in all situations and the correct polite responses to a wide range of insults. In time, these become second nature, allowing a Spina to belittle another vampire mercilessly without once saying anything that steps across the bounds of politesse.

It is very important to remember that the Spina are polite; they are not nice. One meaning of their name is “thorn,” and they see themselves as the thorns in the Thorned Wreath. The Spina are sharp and wounding, and not merely in physical combat. Spina not infrequently become Harpies, dreaded for their satires and respected out of pure fear.

Parent Clan: Daeva

Nickname:

Bloodline Disciplines: Celerity, Courtoisie, Majesty and Vigor

Covenant:

Background:

Weakness:

Character Generation:

Reference

 * Invictus p. 173