Tremere | 10th Generation
One of the few survivors of the Los Angeles Chantry since he was not present at the time of the mystery attack upon it that took nearly all members of the Tremere Chantry. Since nothing was taken or destroyed the sudden dissappearace of the other members of the Chantry left a mystery that Mateo tried to investigate, but either he simply lacked the knowledge or there were precious few traces left of the killer or killers to be investigated. Although Clan Tremere itself was hesitant to send in any help since the Free State already had a reputation, had already taken the lives of many Tremere, and was descending into violence even as Mateo reached out.
Mateo found himself reaching out to Anarch leaders for any assistance, but they either played coy or didn't care. Only after asking around did someone appear to him; three someones. They sat down at a table he had sequestered himself to in the back corner of a dive bar Mateo had grown to favor. Just sat down like they belonged, as affable and charming as any Kindred he had ever seen. Two women and a man, and almost immediately they introduced themselves: Yanci, Rachel, Andre. They knew who attacked his Chantry, but in telling him, they explained, they would have to tell him the whole story.
That was the evening Mateo became one of the few Kindred in the world to know about the truth of Los Angeles and Hollywood, about Christopher and Eva.
Mateo is the childer of Lucas Halton, a 9th Generation Tremere and the former Prince of Houston. A 7th Circle High Apprentice at the time of the attack on the Los Angeles Chantry, Mateo spent much of his life in Mexico as a son, brother, and medical student at various universities. It was traveling in Texas when Mateo sat in on several 'mystical parlors' on Galveston Island, and there he first met Lucas. They spent much of the evening making sarcastic commentary at the expense of the 'mystical' charade they were bearing witness to that evening. Lucas would talk Mateo into staying on Galveston Island, sparking a friendship that would culminate in Lucas embracing Mateo a year later.
Mateo's initial unlife was difficult, and he would find many of his fellow new Apprentices committing suicide as they struggled with the cold reality and hard demands of Clan Tremere. But Mateo had both intellect, talent, and enough interpersonal skills to survive until he found his footing. From there he became even more of a devoted academic in unlife as he was in life, being allowed access to various paths of Thaumaturgy to see which he had the most aptitude and talent for. Much of his unlife remained the paths and his study of them until he was promoted a few times, Lucas calling on Mateo to assist in the guiding of what would become one of the largest cities in North America with Houston.
At the loss of his sire, Mateo was asked to transfer to the Los Angeles Chantry. A dangerous proposition, it was explained to him, given the nature of the Free State and the fact that the Los Angeles Chantry had to exist as an "unofficial" chantry. Mateo was happy to have a new role after the loss of his sire, and soon settled in just fine at the Los Angeles Chantry. It took him longer than he would have liked to settle into the city, he found it far more unpredictable than Houston and South Texas. Mateo was pleased that the Tremere of the LA Chantry were mostly open-handed with knowledge and encouraging.
The sudden attack broke blood bonds, such as they had been broken when his sire was lost. Mateo felt too alone, too isolated, in the wake of the attack. When the three Kindred sat themselves down as his back corner bar table, it was a mixture of dread and hope he had felt. The trio offered him a place to stay, a safe house of theirs they could let him borrow for as long as he needed. The large male, Andre, assisted Mateo in relocating many of the Chantry's secrets to a secure location. Andre invited him to meet the other member of their coterie, and Mateo agreed. Far up in the Hollywood Hills, behind a white stucco wall and black gates, on a canyon road that winded this way and that for miles, they arrived at a large house that seemed to Mateo to be all glass walls.
He met her in front of one of those walls of glass; the one in the massive, sprawling, sitting room with the sunken floor and the Hollywood style. Then and there was Mateo finally confronted with the bare truth: there would be no justice for his Chantry. They would not move on the Kindred behind the attack, they as a group were too close to offending party, and doing so would incite the kind of conflict that could easily break the Masquerade. All Eva could offer him were answers and friendship, and one day, she promised, justice. Mateo thanked her and left that night. He would return in following nights, spending time with the mystery Hollywood coterie. It was a high, though the coterie worked to influence and control Los Angeles and Hollywood with an impressive dedication they were fun, they were kind even to their ghouls.
It was bizarre. It wasn't long before Mateo found himself smiling more, and enjoying conversations that lasted all night. When Mateo made the decision to leave Clan Tremere it was because he had found a new belonging in the mystery coterie of Hollywood. Mateo and Eva's friendship would deepen greatly as he began to teach her Thaumaturgy, their library of artifacts and knowledge growing in time. Mateo would even be taught a few things himself; the Path of Technomancy would become an obsession and specialization of his, giving Mateo a new role in the city. The Free State had become a haven for hacktivist former Tremere, and now Mateo had the resources and network to keep track on all the various coteries and cells in and around the city.
Mateo stood with the coterie as Eva came into conflict with Kid, and was there as he saw Eva give the Kid final death and the Tremere of the LA Chantry some measure of justice.