NAME: Alistair Blackmoore
TRUE AGE: 580 (or so)
FAMILY: The history of Clan Blackmoore is a long, bloodstained one that few can remember. It was once made up of numerous groups, each with their own leader that ultimately deferred to the chieftain; however, there are so few of them left that they have coalesced under one banner.
They originated in the far north of Scotland – described as “savage, mindless beasts” and “banshees” by human villagers forced out of their homes by the vampires' unending assault. In harsher years, the clan would cut a deal, if possible, with a representative of a town. In exchange for their worthless, their ill and orphaned, they would get a peaceful end to the slaughter. They turned some of their prey, but only those they felt would be willing and able to continue the line. As a result, the oldest members of the Blackmoores tend to be the youngest in appearance; no more than children.
By the time Christianity came to the Isles and began to vanquish the native pagan religions, the clan was widespread. It was made up of covens of two to seven vampires each present in every region of Scotland and the fringes of England. A majority of the clan, particularly those near the borders, revolted against the new religion. For vampires, they tended to be devout in their original polytheistic religions. So began a bloody crusade – a hunt of the Scottish devils – which continued for centuries until the lowland vampires were wiped out. Though they could have fled north, having the courage to protect what was theirs was of utmost importance to them and to some extent it is still present in their code of honour.
The north remained impassively silent about their fallen brothers and sisters, but they never forgot.
A second rise of the Blackmoore occurred in the mid 14th century as the touch of the Black Death reached the shores of Scotland and England. Mad with bloodlust and at being forgotten for so long, a group of defectors murdered the previous Blackmoore chieftain and eradicated some small, southern settlements off the map before anything could be done about it. It was around this time that Alistair – the current chieftain – was born and sired, and he is one of the few remaining Blackmoore vampires who took part in the attacks.
The barbarians were pushed back, whittled away one by one and forced into a starved panic as they reached the desolate moorland with no human life for miles. Stubbornly, they refused to back down from the strong efforts to subdue them, perhaps thinking themselves better, stronger than the humans. This would eventually cause the first fall of organised vampirism in the country, cutting their numbers from close to a hundred to twenty or thirty.
It was only during the Jacobite rebellions when the 'new' Blackmoore clan's ideology became abundantly clear. Attack silently and stealthily if at all, and do not under any circumstances, reveal the location of the other vampires if caught. During this time, the nomadic groups began to band together and flock to Alistair Blackmoore's safe haven in the north in search of protection and power.
Even those who still wander the lands call themselves Blackmoore now, dedicated to answering the call if summoned to the chieftain's side. The four most venerable of Scottish vampires stand by the chieftain's relatively peaceful ways and rigorous rules, having seen too much blood shed in the name of savagery. This tiny group of ancients is called The Council and support the chieftain in political matters as well as monitoring their own prized territory. Any vampire that is either turned or shows up unannounced in Scotland must be presented to them. The risk of rogue vampires sparking the interest of the hunters and leading them to the headquarters is far too dangerous for the chieftain and his advisors to ignore, especially with the church already picking off those it can.
FAMILIAL POLITICAL SUPPORT: Liberal – strongly believes that vampires must adapt to changes in their environment so as to survive, mostly because his clan's old ways are all but impossible to follow in a civilised setting.
BLOOD LUST AFFINITY: The fatally ill and those with chronic, life-long health conditions.
BIO: Alistair remembers very little of his human past, being so close to death and almost delirious when he was turned. He was born in a medium-sized port town on the coast, he thinks, and his mother was so very poorly with a cocktail of disease and poverty when she had him. Nevertheless, she continued working in the brothel – holding on long enough until her son was independent enough to find work and shelter of his own – until her untimely death when he was ten years old. Without a father or any guiding figure in his life, he resorted to theft and looting to survive with a band of other misfits, most of whom had a home to return to at the end of the day.
When the Black Death rolled around, arriving in the town via ships and trade routes, the whole area was ravaged and the poorest fell first. Alistair was twenty when he was struck down with the virulent bubonic plague. Just before his inevitable death, after he had renounced all ties to the religion that couldn't save him in his desperation, he was inexplicably turned by his sire. The vampire was the acting chieftain of Clan Blackmoore, at least those who were readying an attack against humans in an attempt to restart their previously barbaric way of life. It was when he was little more than a fledgeling that Alistair discovered his preference for the taste of weak, disease-ridden blood, given that he was only left the dying by his higher ups.
While starving in the moors with the leadership stubbornly refusing to let anyone flee in fear of their lives, Alistair had just enough charisma and relation to the by then deceased chieftain that he attracted a small following. These vampires he led to safety, fighting through his own brothers and sisters and humans alike. After waiting with them until the massacre on the moors had finished, his was the largest gathering in Scotland. Cowardly at the time, yes, but many of his kind admired his dedication to saving his people.
He acquired a reputation as "the smiling tyrant" during the Jacobite rebellions when other vampires attempted to surge up and attack humans again. Alistair relentlessly weeded out these upstarts and executed them publicly along with their families and anyone associated with them. This quieted any of his most conservative followers, those who wanted a return of the days of barbarism; however, he is still a popular leader and has a core base of support who would charge with him into any danger, not out of fear but out of loyalty.
Alistair's decision to attend the meeting in London personally was somewhat controversial mostly because he had not left his home country in centuries; however, he was adamant on it, claiming that, "It is a chieftain's obligation to do whatever he can for the sake of his people, and that includes walking into what may well be a trap."
