SHREH-REN



   By Kwei-Cee

   There stood the remains of the Second City; the Sire gazed upon it for
   hours, motionless, silent, filled with sadness. When our Sire at last
   turned to me, a great fury burned in his eyes. "They have destroyed
   that which was greater than them. Never forget, nor forgive. They are
   to us, less than the cattle of the Land, and I do renounce all of them
   and their get. This I charge you: Go from this place, never to return,
   until there be nothing of the Faithless but ashes. Grandchilde of
   Cain, I release thee!" Thus spake our Sire.

   - The One and Prime

   Ah, China! So very mysterious, so isolated, so closed! Many Kindred
   have tried to pierce the Veil of the Lotus, few have succeded, fewer
   still have lived to tell about it. China, what secrets do you guard?

   The Shreh Ren

   Kindred in China do refer to themselves as Kindred; they are "the
   Faithful", to set themselves apart from the rebels of the Second City
   and their childer. To call them Kindred, while accurate, is also a
   grave insult. Dominant among the Faithful are the Shreh Ren, the
   "People of Blood". The rest are blood- lines derived from the Shreh
   Ren.

   The Shreh Ren are unique in that their founder is not of the 3rd
   Generation, but in fact, 2nd Generation. What this means can be a
   matter of much spec- ulation. However, it does seem as if the
   fractiousness that plagues other Kindred Clans has been muted in the
   Shreh Ren. This does not surprise them at all, for they regard all
   other Kindred as the rebel childer of rebel sires. Their organization
   is said to surpass that of the Tremere and Ven- true.

   The Shreh Ren have one purpose, and one alone: The total annihilation
   of the non-Faithful. They take this purpose quite seriously, and
   literally. In fact, interpretation of the Purpose has been a valid
   reason for splitting from the Shreh Ren (The Avengers of the Black
   Lotus believe that only the Antediluvians of the Second City need be
   extinguished, for example). It is to this purpose that they organize.

   Nickname: (yeah, right)

   Appearance: Official functions: Embroidered silk robes with
   headdresses denoting exact rank. Unofficial: traditional robes,
   sometimes suit and tie, "official" kine clothing.

   Haven: Palaces, subteranean complexes (furnished palatially); wherever
   one could "live" in opulence without causing a furor.

   Background: Almost always a mortal descendant.

   Character Creation: Must show excellence (i.e. a five in a trait). Any
   Ability may be primary. All Shreh Ren must take at least one dot in
   Status, and Mentor, Generation, and Resources are other common
   Backrounds.

   Clan Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Shreh Nao

   Weaknesses: Shreh Ren are always Blood Bound to their Sires; those who
   find themselves without the Bond through circumstance find them-
   selves unable to perform Shreh Nao. Further, must feed from a mortal
   descendant, or a mortal descendant of the Sire, Sire's Sire, etc.

   Organization: As mentioned before, Shreh Ren are perhaps the most
   organ- ized of the Kindred; they are organized into thirteen Ranks,
   always starting from the bottom, each Rank having thirteen degrees,
   this is represented by the embroidery and color of the formal robes of
   the idividual, and informally, it is custom to exchange rank and
   degree before names. Furthermore, each different rank/degree has a
   differ- ent function and duty.

   View Shreh Nao discipline.