The Banu Haqim

"All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood." 

-Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Overview

The Children of Haqim have a small but important place in the domain of Chicago, acting as observers for the Ashirra and welcome diplomats following the Vermilion Wedding. Though they have yet to press for a seat on the Primogen Council — their numbers in the city are too few — Prince Jackson feels he can turn to the Banu Haqim for assistance in preserving the domain’s defense should it come under assault from the Anarchs, in exchange for favors in the future. For their part, the Banu Haqim ingratiate themselves within the Chicago courts and sizeable Muslim communities of the city, quietly waiting for an opportune time to prove their worth.

Bane - The Curse of Hunger: Banu Haqim crave the blood of sinners, and what is more sinful than a vampire?  Slaking at least one hunger level with vitae provokes a hunger frenzy test at a difficulty of 2 + (Bane Severity).  If the test is failed, the Banu Haqim will attempt to gorge themselves, possibly unto the point of committing diablerie.

Compulsion - The Path of Blood: Judgment is the nature of the Children of Haqim.  A plea of innocence is guilty of wasting their time.  The punishment is blood.  The call to judgment is known by the Banu Haqim as "Walking the Path of Blood."  Some Banu Haqim abhor this condemnatory tendency, but others embrace it.  When triggered, for one scene the Banu Haqim must slake at least one level of Hunger from anyone, friend or foe, who violates one of their Convictions.  Failure to do so results in a three-dice penalty to all rolls until the Compulsion is satisfied or the Scene ends.

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The Schism has ended.  The Loyalists of Alamut attempted to stand against the Sabbat without their clanmates and without the Ashirra, and they paid the ultimate price for their hubris.  While they were death itself on the battlefield, the warriors of the Web of Knives learned the hard way that the Sabbat do not fear death. 

In the wake of the fall of Alamut, al-Ashrad and Tegyrius offered reconciliation to their clanmates with no conditions.  While some of the Banu Haqim Loyalists could not accept the thought of joining the Camarilla, many returned to the fold, chastened by witnessing the Sabbat unleashed - for in hindsight its degeneration must be what Haqim charged his childer with trimming from the Race of Caine.  Now they play a deadly game of blood tag with the packs, targeting the Sabbat's weaknesses and slicing its tendons rather than trying to face the Sword of Caine in open war.

If the Sabbat want Judgment Day, then Judgment Day they shall have.

الحكم مذنب. الحكم هو الموت. 

Though the Clan heartland of the Banu Haqim is in West Asia and Persian and Arabic practices color much of its culture, the Banu Haqim are as disparate a clan as any, much to the surprise of those who once consigned the Judges to fairy tales and horror stories.  Even in the modern nights, the clan's range in Asia stretches all the way into Western China.  A sizeable population of Banu Haqim reside among the Laibon courts of Africa, where they are called Shango, the Storm Kings.  They remain powerful in North Africa, though they have always uneasily shared that space with the Ministry, who the Banu Haqim have loathed for so long the origins of the grudge defy even the memories of the elders.  They once shared dominance of Iberia with the Lasombra and their clan strongholds ranged as far into Europe as Greece and the Balkans before the Ventrue, Brujah and Tzimisce pushed the Banu Haqim back.

Religiously speaking, the clan has a large contingent of Muslims, but also includes Christians, Jews, Druze, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Yezidis, other West Asian religions such as Mandaeists, pre-Islamic pagans, secularists and non-believers, and a blood cult that venerates the Banu Haqim Antediluvian as a demigod of perfect Justice and pure Wrath.  

During the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Banu Haqim on both sides of the Schism plucked choice Western soldiers and technicians for their own purposes - the end result of this is that the Banu Haqim, always more diverse than outsiders assumed, are well-prepared for their new prominence in the courts of Europe and the Americas.  Versed in ancient techniques of death and old magic, they are also among the quickest of the Kindred to embrace new technology, though they do not flaunt this savvy to the rest of the Camarilla cavalierly.

Banu Haqim SPCs of note:

• Khadja al-Kindi, Ambassador from the Ashirra to the Court of Chicago

  • Aicha Rana, Khadja's Childe and assistant

• Arjun Shah, Vizier and Influence-Monger

The Camarilla: 

The Banu Haqim took the Gangrel's vacated seat in the Camarilla's inner circle with the expectation that they would fill the Gangrel's role as spies and soldiers, capacities in which the Banu Haqim excel.  Their arrival in Camarilla domains also broke the Tremere monopoly on the discipline of Blood Sorcery exactly when the staggering Warlocks needed most to maintain it, which did not improve relations between the two clans.  In some domains coexistence between the Tremere and Banu Haqim remains impossible, with Princes forced to choose between one clan or the other.  The clan formally allied itself with the Toreador during the Vermilion Wedding, when the Grand Vizier Tegyrius was formally bonded to Toreador luminary Victoria Ash.  Within the Banu Haqim, there is unease about being involved in the treacherous swamp of Camarilla politics - but those who are still faithful to Haqim's Laws above all else console themselves with the fact that being part of the Camarilla presents the opportunity to visit Judgment on Kindred who were once beyond the clan's reach.

The Anarchs:

The Dispossessed Banu Haqim of the Anarch movement include those of Banu Haqim blood who slipped through the clan's fingers before they had time to be educated in Haqimite traditions and those who simply cannot bring themselves to join the Camarilla.  Some of the latter Banu Haqim consider themselves loyal to Haqim's Laws and simply will not serve two masters.  Some are just exhausted; they wish to wash their hands of the whole affair and exist on their own terms, for their own reasons.  While the main body of the Banu Haqim understand why their clanmates have withdrawn, they need every soldier, scholar, and mystic they can get, so pressure on the Dispossessed to come back into the fold remains high and relations remain tense.

The Independent: 

The Banu Haqim who once called themselves "Loyalists" are a shattered movement after the fall of Alamut and the disappearance of ur-Shulgi.  Many of these Kindred were destroyed by the ravening Cainites of the Sabbat; most survivors, duly chastened for their arrogance, have returned to the fold and rejoined the main body of their clan.  Others, unwilling to join the Camarilla, have sought refuge among Anarch communities across the world or sought refuge among their Shango brethren in Africa.  A few ultra-hardcore Loyalists still cling to the vision of the Black Shepherd; these killers now lead nomadic existences, selling their services in the old way and seeking to destabilize the entirety of a Kindred society they view as abhorrent with targeted killings. 

Banu Haqim and Other Clans:

The Banu Haqim aren't uniform in their thinking, much like they aren't uniform in culture or really... anything else.  But they do have some opinions that have shaped the clan's outlook.  Most of these are based on the clan's history... and the Banu Haqim have a long memory for slights.

Tremere - Hate: Most Banu Haqim hate the Tremere with the sort of icy, rigid vindictiveness hat indicates a hatred so profound it's almost dispassionate.  This all ties back to when the Tremere ensorcelled the entire clan after its defeat by the Camarilla.  This curse was ostensibly to rein in the Banu Haqim's bottomless thirst for the blood of other Kindred but for most, especially the clan's proud warriors, it was a humiliating yoke.  There is more to it than that, of course - a long game of blood-tag occurred for many centuries when the Tremere were building their Thaumaturgical libraries.  To do this, they raided the sancta of other Blood Sorcerers, and the Banu Haqim of Greece, the Balkan States and what was then the Byzantine Empire lost ancient troves of sorcerous knowledge to looters and mercenaries paid with Tremere gold.  Some within the clan believe that now that the Tremere are weakened, the time has come to begin raiding chantries in order to reclaim ancient relics and tomes stolen a thousand years ago.

The Ministry - Loathe: Everything about the Ministry seems tailor-made to get under the skin of the Banu Haqim.  Where their hatred of the Tremere hearkens back to specific events in the history of both clans, the Banu Haqim's hatred of the Ministry seems to be born from the blood.  Even Haqim and Sutekh apocryphally hated one another.  The Banu Haqim crave the blood of transgressors; the Ministry exists to transgress.  Alliances between the two clans have been few and brief; wars, many and ongoing.  Persia.  Carthage.  Iberia.  Greece.  Everywhere the two clans meet, conflict erupts; and the Banu Haqim and Ministers have been neighbors since nights of antiquity.

Banu Haqim Castes:

Previous theories dividing the Banu Haqim into disparate bloodlines were overstated, but the Clan of Judges is highly organized, with three distinct castes, each emphasizing different skillsets necessary for the clan to achieve their goals.

Warriors:

The Warrior caste are those responsible for the Banu Haqim's physical security as well as its combat endeavors.  Their training emphasizes martial discipline and the use of Blood Sorcery for combat and defense.  Once the dominant caste among the Banu Haqim, most of the Warriors made the mistake of following the Methuselah ur-Shulgi and their discipline and humanity was thus debased.  The Warrior Caste among the Camarilla have rededicated themselves to the clan's defense above all else.  The Caliph, or head of the Warrior caste, is Fatima al-Faqadi.

Ashipu:

All Banu Haqim possess the talent for blood magic, but the Ashipu are those Banu Haqim whose charge is to delve fully into mysticism and the exploration of the discipline of Blood Sorcery.  The leader of the Ashipu (sometimes just called the Sorcerer Caste) is the Amr al-Ashrad, who is also Ra's al-Usra, the supreme leader of the Banu Haqim.  The Sorcerer caste had faded into obscurity prior to the schism, but breaking of the Tremere curse and the defection of several powerful Ashipu to the Camarilla has revitalized the Sorcerer caste and returned them to prominence.

Viziers:

The Viziers are responsible for the clan's influence, intelligence, and academic endeavors.  They are lead by the Grand Vizier, Tegyrius.  The Viziers use Blood Sorcery to augment their powers of influence, insight and manipulation.  For many centuries, the power of the Viziers had been slowly eroded by the Warrior caste, who had begun to treat their clanmates like servants.  It was the Vizier caste that defected to the Camarilla and the great risk they undertook has seen their return to the ascendant after the Fall of Alamut.

Historical Range:

The Banu Haqim are traditionally thought of as "the Middle-Eastern Clan" but in reality their historical range has been one of the largest of all the Clans of Caine.  While their spiritual heart remains in old Sumeria, the Children of Haqim still hold domains as far west as Western China.  They remain powerful in Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (as the "Shango").   They once held domains in Andalusia, Greece and the Balkans, though the pushback against the Moors and the Turks over the centuries caused them to retreat from these domains.  In Asia, Banu Haqim Emirs once held numerous domains in India during the Mughal Yoke, but the Rakshasa always considered them hated interlopers and eventually drove them out; they still hold domains in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Lexicon:

Al-Atashan: "The Thirsty Ones."  Sabbat of Banu Haqim lineage, seen by the clan as infidels who have abandoned Haqim's Laws to revel in meaningless, undisciplined bloodlust. 

Alamut: "The Eagle's Nest."  The hidden fortress in Iraq founded by the Banu Haqim Antediluvian, now broken by the Sabbat and abandoned.

Amr: "Long-lived." The term for the supreme leader of the Ashipu, and synonymous with the Methuselah al-Ashrad.

Anath: "The Goddess of War and Love."  A 4th-generation Banu Haqim Methuselah, location and fate unknown.  The sire of Tegyrius.  Believed by some clan historians to be Haqim's first childe.

Ashipu or Asipu: Sumerian.  "Exorcist."  The formal term for a member of the Banu Haqim's Sorcerer Caste.  

Assamite: "From Assam" - A term European Kindred used to describe the Banu Haqim, "Assam" having been a common term for a remote, far Eastern place.  Considered highly derogatory, since Assam is in Northeastern India and represents the furthest fringe of the clan's historical range, to put it generously. Still used by some vampires as a name for the Banu Haqim, except now they're doing it on purpose.

Banu Haqim: "Children of Haqim" - the clan's correct Arabic name.

Council of Scrolls: The Banu Haqim elders responsible for coordinating the clan's various interests, answerable to the Du'at.

Dispossessed: Banu Haqim anarchs, those of the clan who cannot stomach the thought of joining the Camarilla.

Du'at: The triptych that forms the clan's highest level of leadership beneath the Eldest: The Amr (mysticism), the Grand Vizier (scholarship, intelligence, and influence), and the Caliph (military and security).  Currently consists of al-Ashrad (Amr and Ra's al-Usra), Tegyrius (Grand Vizier), and Fatima al-Faqadi (Caliph).

Dur-An-Ki: "Mastery of Heaven and Earth."  The term the Banu Haqim use for the discipline of Blood Sorcery.

Caliph: The leader of the Banu Haqim's warrior caste.  The current Caliph is Fatima al-Faqadi, the Hand of Vengeance.

Eldest: A term for the leader of the Banu Haqim in a domain used in the West, or as a colloquialism for the clan's supreme leader (see Ra's al-Usra).

Haqim: The Banu Haqim's Antediluvian progenitor, revered by much of the clan and worshiped by a faction of it as a demigod.  Also known as Haqim the Hunter and Haqim the Judge.

Kalku: A Banu Haqim (presumably) lineage found among the Drowned with an affinity for Blood Sorcery.

The Laws of Haqim: Also called "The Five Laws of Haqim" or the Five Laws, these declarations are believed to be handed down by the clan's Antediluvian.  They concern the clan's hierarchy (the Law of Leadership), the treatment of the Kine (the Law of Protection), how conflicts within the clan are handled (the Law of Destruction), behavior when interacting with other Banu Haqim (the Law of the Word), and the handling of punishment of Kindred outside the Banu Haqim (the Law of Judgment).  Those who scrupulously follow these laws, especially the Law of Judgment, are said to be walking the Path of Blood.

Leopards of Zion: A group of Jewish Banu Haqim dedicated to the protection of Jews and the preservation of the Nation of Israel.  One of the few groups of Kindred that boasts consistent success fighting the Sabbat during the Gehenna Crusade (they have effectively barred the Sabbat from Israel), and who are now applying their skills to rooting out the Sword of Caine's remnants in the West.

Loyalist: Banu Haqim who followed the teachings of ur-Shulgi.  Now a shattered faction of dangerous apostates after the Fall of Alamut.

The Path of Blood: The code of honor upheld by many Banu Haqim who believe their charge is to judge the Kindred and cull the most depraved among them (see the Laws of Haqim).  When Banu Haqim feel their clan compulsion, they are said to be called to "walk the Path of Blood."  A Path of Enlightenment once existed based upon following this compulsion but it was debased by ur-Shulgi and abandoned by the clan almost completely after the Fall of Alamut.

Rafiq: "Intimate Companion."  A title used by the Banu Haqim to refer to their consanguinity as descendants of Haqim.

Quietus: Once thought to be a unique discipline wielded by the Banu Haqim based on a phrase often used by its Warriors during the Middle Ages: "quietus est" (various translations, but in this case "he [has been] silenced.")  Actually a combination of specific discipline techniques and sorcerous spells favored by the Banu Haqim.

R'as al-Usra.  "Head of the Clan/Family."  The Arabic term the Banu Haqim use to refer to the clan's supreme leader.  The current R'as al-Usra is al-Ashrad.

Shango: "The Storm Kings," The Banu Haqim of Africa.

ur-Shulgi: "The Herald of Haqim" or "The Black Shepherd" - a 4th generation Banu Haqim Methuselah who awoke in the early 20th century and whose hardline policies tore the clan in two.  Disappeared during the Fall of Alamut - the "Old Man" the Sabbat crows about destroying was actually the Banu Haqim elder Thetmes.  The Banu Haqim elders are desperate to find out where the Shepherd has gone, because it may be the most terrifying vampire currently awake that isn't of the third generation.

Thousand-Meter Club: An informal society of Banu Haqim snipers.  To get in, a member of the clan needs to send an enemy Kindred to their Final Death from a distance of no less than 1000 meters (a bit more than 3/4 of a mile).

Vizier: A high-ranking servant or official, a term commonly used for Banu Haqim in the clan's clandestine and academic caste.  The leader of the Vizier caste is The Vizier or the Grand Vizier, Tegyrius, who is also the Banu Haqim Justicar.

Web of Knives: A once-elite cadre of hardcore assassins that pledged their blades to ur-Shulgi.  Decimated during the Fall of Alamut and officially disbanded during the clan's reconciliation.