SchreckNet Data File
- Real/Birth Name: Mohini Joshi
- Known Identity/Mortal Alias: Mohini Lohita Vinchhi
- Place of Origin: Calcutta, West Bengal, India
- Height: 167 cm (5'5¾")
- Occupation: Dancer/Assassin
- Apparent Age: Early-20s
- Embraced: 1984
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Abdel-Fattah
- Clan: Assasmite (Warrior caste)
- Clan Status: Respected warrior-caste neonate
- Sect: Camarilla
- Sect Status: Hound
- Player/Type: NPC
Appearance
Mohini is typically described as gorgeous, small, slim and dusky-skinned of obvious Indian ethnicity, with milk chocolate brown eyes and long, straight, shiny crow black hair, although since her embrace she occasionally tints (or obfuscates) it henna red, especially when carrying out assassinations, and fashions it into shorter styles appropriate for the social situation or outfit she is wearing. Whilst most use the Obfuscate power to avoid detection or blend in, Mohini is the reverse, fond of using her Obfuscate power to change the perception of her hair, skin or eye colours to suit occasions to make her more conspicuous, such as appearing as a blonde caucasian if that would appeal more to her target. Whether kept long or cut short, her hair is usually kept loose or in a ponytail or similar style, and tied up typically only for formal occasions such as when wearing ball gowns and maang tikka jewellery.
She was raised as a traditional Indian girl and most of the natural instincts and habits are still there - so she is usually considered to dress in quite girly styles - typically cocktail and summer dresses in popular styles for the area, or gowns/outfits of traditional Indian style. Occasionally (especially if expecting trouble) she is encountered in jeans (if attempting to integrate culturally) and t-shirts, or Indian-style pantaloons along with blouses. She seems to favour red, maroon, purple and gold-coloured outfits. Her outfits are usually supported with conspicuous accessories such as earrings.
For more elaborate occasions, she will wear gowns, favouring long gowns and minidresses equally, often in red, gold or black. Depending on the situation, they will be elegant and modern styles, or (especially when wanting to attract attention) India-style gowns such as Legenga. In these occasions, it is common that she wears heavily conspicuous jewellery of Indian styles including necklaces, ear-rings and maang tikka head jewellery.
Background
Origins
Mohini was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) to a traditional Hindu family led by a strict but loving father who raised her according to traditional Hindu beliefs. Despite low literacy rates in India, especially amongst women, Mohini's father allowed her to attend school; predominantly so that she could better study The Vedas (the Sacred Hindu Texts), as well as skills that could make her a good Indian and Hindu, and help with the family business; such as learning English, which would help when dealing with tourists in the family store. Although traditional and strict, Mohini acknowledges her father was quite open-minded in allowing Mohini to make her own choices about what she wanted to do with her life, including being educated, marriage and employment - things not common for traditional Indian women, who were typically expected to simply prepare to be good wives and mothers. Mohini was a bright and spirited girl and found herself enjoying school, especially dance and music, which she participated in after school in events such as dance festivals and Hindu ceremonies. Overall, although she had a busy childhood between school and working in the family shop, it was a happy one. She grew up independent enough to want more out of life than be a mother and wife, yet traditional and faithful-enough Hindu to make her father proud.
Her life took its first major change when Mohini was 8 when her little brother nearly died after being stung by a red scorpion that had taken shelter in his blanket; a sadly common occurrence in their area during the summer months. This prompted Mohini's father to finally accept his cousin's offer to join him in his grocery business in America, and moved the family to Pawtucket (Providence County, Rhode Island, USA) seeking to improve the quality of his family's lives. This introduced Mohini to American culture, which she took to with enthusiasm. She made many friends and did well both socially and academically, especially during her teen years in Charles E. Shea High School, where she was popular because of her exotic good looks, natural charm, and her participation in both the cheerleading squad and the school's Glee Club. It was as a cheerleader that she met Daksh, the boy that would become her future husband, a football player and fellow Indian who's family hailed from Jaipur, a city in the Rajasthan province. Although there were many non-whites in Pawtucket, the number of ethnic Indians were comparatively low and most were American-born. Mohini and Daksh became fast friends over their commonality of having been born in India and come over to the USA later in life - although Daksh had come to America in his teens, rather than adolescence as Mohini had. She helped him acclimate to life in America (and the language, as Mohini had learnt English at school in India and used it daily since moving to Pawtucket, whilst Daksh had only a limited understanding from a couple of months crash course before coming to America. They started dating when she was only 14, although Daksh was a year older than she.
In high school Mohini became increasingly involved in music and (especially) dance, participating in Indian community dance troupes and backing singer and guitarist for a teen band. After high school, Mohini chose not to go to College so as not to put the financial burden on her family. She worked in the family grocery store for the most part but took part dancing in theatre and as a private tutor (especially teaching traditional classical and folk Indian dance to young girls). After six years of dating, she married her high school sweetheart in a beautiful and traditional wedding ceremony. A short while after, she and her new husband travelled to his family's home city of Jaipur on what was meant to be an extended holiday and belated honeymoon.
Married Life
In Jaipur, things initially began well, with her being perceived as from respectable Indian stock by her husband's family, but things quickly turned sour. The family was more extreme in their traditional and social beliefs than her own and seemingly took offence to everything she did. They blamed her (and her father) for not providing her husband with a dowry for marriage which, considering Mohini's advanced age should have been considerable, in their opinion. They disapproved of her having an education and career of her own - things a good wife did not need and brought shame on her family. And most of all, they disapproved of her independent streak and the fact she stated that she had no desire to have children for a few years until her intended career as a dancer (or actress) had taken off. Amongst all this, Daksh's true colours began to show, and he began getting increasingly aggressive. Soon after, Daksh was informed by his family that Mohini had been seen talking to a strange man in the market, an act seen as dishonourable and unfaithful to her husband, despite Mohini's pleas of it being a harmless, innocent conversation. That was when she received her first beating at his hands. The next day she attempted to flee, only to discover that Daksh had cancelled their return flights and confiscated her passport, trapping her in what, to her, was now a hostile and foreign country.
Although she attempted to seek sanctuary and help from the local police she was, according to Indian law, simply considered her husband's property and found the authorities unwilling to help at first, then later angered by her continual annoyance and disloyal attitude as, not only was marital violence not against the law, but the law considered marriage in itself to even be consent; therefore her failure to carry out Daksh's desires and deny him his conjugal rights, were considered to be both a social disgrace as well as civil offences. The police would return her to Daksh, telling her to be grateful if her husband chose not to charge her for her disobedience.
The beatings from her husband intensified after that, especially whenever she attempted to assert any free will or defiance (and Mohini was nothing if not stubbornly defiant), and her freedoms and actions became more restricted and monitored; Mohini was not allowed to have friends, except those that Daksh approved of (and never any male friends under any circumstances) nor allowed to even leave the house without her husband, or one of Daksh's family chaperoning her in order to ensure she acted respectfully and did not attempt another foolist escape. Whenever Daksh desired the pleasures of the flesh, he would beat her and force himself on her whenever she did not willingly consent - which was continual, as Daksh's abuse had killed the love she once had for him, leaving only resentment and fear.
From his family, she received no sympathy. They, and any other woman she was allowed to converse with, all saw her as a disobedient wife corrupted by Western influence, who should learn and accept her place. Even the one time she was able to escape the house long enough to make a desperate international call to her parents for help, she found her own family were unable to provide any assistance. By Indian law, she was no longer considered part of her father's family since they'd married and, due to being Indian-born, it was considered an internal, domestic affair by the US Embassy and her father could not get any legal recourse to help rescue her.
Certainly not by choice, she soon after became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter shortly after her twenty-second birthday. Even in this, Mohini was considered a disappointment to Daksh and his family, who blamed her for incurring the unnecessary expense to the family by creating the need to raise a dowry for the girl's eventual marriage. Daksh refused to even hold the child and, too weak from childbirth to prevent it, Mohini's darkest moment occurred when Daksh ordered the nurse to suffocate the child to death (Daksh was offered the choice of using a painless poison, but did not see the need for further financial expenditure on the child). Daksh never even gave the girl a name - though Mohini always remembers the child with the name Riku, meaning innocent.
The infanticide of her daughter broke something in Mohini, however, and her hatred for Daksh still raged like a forest fire even sometime later when, whilst still undergoing postpartum recovery at her home, she witnessed a red scorpion taking shelter within a garbage pail in the garden. Careful not to attract attention, she captured the creature using a small box and, later that night, lured Daksh into the bedroom with the promise of desire and a stated desire to attempt to conceive a male child. As he lay in postcoital slumber, she retrieved the box she'd hidden nearby and, prying open his mouth, dropped the creature into Daksh's mouth. A frantic struggle ensued and, although Daksh was far stronger than she, the scorpion had stung him inside his mouth. The potent venom caused almost immediate intense pain and vomiting, disorienting him, before quickly beginning to cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Debilitated and finding it hard to breathe or act, he was almost powerless as Mohini launched herself on him, venting all her rage and fury for every injustice. Mohini never ceases striking Daksh's pulp and bloody face, even long after he'd gurgled his last breath and stopped moving until she was physically pried off him by his family which had been alerted by the commotion.
Rajasthan society never saw her as either a victim of abuse who snapped. Nor even as a grieving mother suffering from mental illness, as modern-day or western courts would likely have considered. And so Mohini was charged with pure deliberate murder instead of culpable homicide. All throughout her show trial, Mohini was defiant; it did not help her case that she showed visible contempt for the court and Magistrate and stated her only regret was not being able to kill her husband before he'd killed their daughter. The show trial's Magistrate proclaiming Mohini a disloyal wife, a demoness who'd murdered her husband - a good member of society, faithful Hindu and provider to his family - in cold blood, and sentenced her to death, rather than the more common life sentence. Although some women's rights groups had attempted to aid her, hard-traditional public opinion in the town was set against her, and the townsfolk eagerly anticipated the public execution of the vile murderess that had so badly shamed the community.
One door closes, Another one opens
On the day Mohini's sentence was to be carried out, however, a man with jewellery depicting traditional Muslim iconography, but with skin like ebony, visited her in jail. He had learnt of her actions and felt that they had both been justified, and skilful in execution. The ebon-skinned man promised her freedom and power unlike any she'd ever dreamed of, provided she was willing to kill again... and again. An offer that Mohini accepted with little hesitation.
The stranger secreted Mohini away from the area, made her taste of his blood and began training her in kalarippayattu. Mohini would soon learn that her domitor was an Assamite elder of the warrior caste, but one who believed in the old traditions rather than what he considered to be the corrupted blasphemy of the Web of Knives who now dominated the clan. Mohini gathered that he wanted to prove a point to his political rivals, which is why he even considered a female warrior Assamite, a non-muslim, without even a background common to those being considered for recruitment into the warrior caste. He saw in Mohini simply pure potential and gave her the chance to prove his point that the old ways, with the right potential, were better than the extreme conditioning and training of the Web of Knives.
Knowing the price of failure would be death, Mohini became a loyal and driven student. Although she loved her life prior to marriage and in America, she knew she could never go back. Even were her domitor to allow her to return to her old life in the USA, Mohini had been through too much and had changed. Although she could never reclaim her lost innocence, her domitor now gave her a new purpose and the ability to reinvent herself into someone that would no longer be anyone's victim, and be able to punish those she deemed deserving of it.
Three years later, he was satisfied with both her moral development as a Sentinel, her proficiency with poisons, as well as her Kalaripayattu skills with weapons and bare hands to give Mohini her final test. Her mentor provided her with a picture of a middle-eastern man, a name, and nothing else except for the instruction that if she delivered him to final death she would receive the Embrace. If she failed, then if the target did not succeed in killing her, her mentor himself would mete out the punishment that had been deferred when he rescued her. One way or another, her mortal days were now over. It was difficult to catch the target unaware - Mohini was cautious and learnt about her target as much she could and observed him secretly, learning he was well-trained as an assassin himself and, like her mentor, a kindred. But Mohini relied on her cunning, knowledge and preparation to lure the assassin into a trap - learning of his feeding habits then envenoming a hapless mortal with Ricin poison - a slow-acting poison not immediately obvious after poisoning - and positioned the mortal as bait for her target's hunger; the only way for a kindred to be affected by venoms. She stalked her quarry back to his haven and watched in satisfaction as, several hours later, he began showing signs of her poison taking effect. The pivotal moment having arrived, she attacked her target. He was kindred and she only a ghoul, but he was a fledgeling still, and her poison weakened him just enough to remove the edge he had over her, slowing his perceptions and reactions for her to take advantage of the element of surprise. She drove a stake through her target's heart, paralysing him and leaving him powerless to do anything but glare in rage as she bound him in chains, then tied him to a column in a room with clear exposure to the dawn sun. As the sun turned his body into flame and reduced him to ash, Mohini proved herself worthy of the blood of Haqim.
Her victory complete, her mentor fulfilled his promise and the Embrace was bestowed upon her. Mohini later learned that her target was a newly-Embraced member of the Web of Knives, the childe of her mentor's political rival. The two childer had been a form of competition between them over proof of the superiority of their ways, observed by many in the clan. Mohini had been the underdog, expected to fail as her target was both a kindred, and one of the Web of Knives, but in succeeding, she had proven her sire's belief over the fallacy of the Web of Knives' rhetoric and arrogance. Her sire then hung around enough to teach Mohini about the Banu Haqim, the castes and their rules, then released her from his responsibility to her own devices, giving Mohini her freedom now that she'd claimed the power he had promised she would gain.
Mortal Society
Despite her time of abuse, subsequent training as an assassin, and Embrace, Mohini's stubbornness and defiant character have remained fairly intact. She still loves music and dance, and these things are not just best done with company, but with the kine - who's vibrancy of life and passion for dance and music help connect Mohini with her humanity, serving as an anchor against the pull of the beast whenever she must carry out assassinations. By keeping close to the kine, she still values their lives and prevents her growing cold and distant.
Mohini works predominantly as a dancer at Kerala Spice, an Indian-culture club/lounge which is quite popular due to its traditional Indian menus and entertainment. This serves as both a source of income as well as a way to keep close to her Clan - as the club is essentially the clan's base of operations in Ashford. She typically functions as one of the many traditional Indian dancers (specialising in the 8 classical Indian dances, although she is familiar with others such as Bhangra) and a main attraction. She also serves as a private dancer and may even masquerade as one of the private dancers/harem girls, typically as a way to hunt or get close to a target. When not performing at the Kelara Spice, she freelances in other areas, which can vary from participation in Indian cultural events, private dancing, film and theatre, or dancing in nightclubs. She has even been known to dance in strip bars or take jobs as a private, exotic danger or escort mostly as a means to an end, such as to get close to a target or to carry out recon, if not simply as an easy way to hunt. When taking temporary jobs, or involved in Kelara Spice's Harem, she is likely to use fake names and employ careful use of Obfuscate to conceal her true identity from the kine. Due to her participating in Indian culture, Mohini has developed (and maintains) active connections with the local Indian community (especially those associated with the Hindu temple).
Mohini is a known member of The Guild, a semi-secret organisation of elite spies, bodyguards, mercenaries and assassins operated by Mira Panikkar, the Assamite Primogen, as a source of income, a cover for a rumoured secret coterie of kindred spies, bodyguards, mercenaries and assassins, as well as being a good way to scope out potential new talent for recruitment into the comparatively small schismatic warrior caste. Although Mohini's services as an assassin can only be contracted via Mira, she can be directly approached by interested parties and will make the proper introductions. Mohini is known in the criminal underworld as an assassin for hire, although only underworld-connected kindred actually know that she is an Assamite. Mohini is careful to keep Mohini's name legally clear - not because she is worried about the police, but because it is easier to keep her Indian community contacts without the associated stigma of being a known assassin. She has some limited connection with the Punjabi-Canadian mafia and has done work for them, but again this is done via Mira, who has the active connections with the Punjabi-Canadian mafia.
Personality
It is common to hear others say that Mohini is not what they expected. She's an Assamite of the warrior caste, and therefore an assassin, naturally inclining kindred to expect her to be an extremist and vicious psychopath just waiting for the opportunity to commit diablerie on the unsuspecting. And yet, those who meet her, are often surprised by how energetic, friendly and normal she appears.
She will defend her beliefs by stating that only the extremist Assamites of the Web of Knives cult follow the Path of Blood, which she claims is a corruption of the original Road of Blood path that elder warriors used to follow; such as her own sire, although he did not force Mohini to have to convert to it herself. Even within those who follow the original Road still it is a distinction, she points out, that makes an entire world of difference. Whilst the Web of Knives' corrupted beliefs makes them extreme fanatics who believe that all non-Assamites are unworthy of the blood of Caine and should be diablerised, most of the Assamites of the Preservationist Conspiracy faction that defected to the Camarilla (comprising the majority of the Vizier and Sorcerer castes, and many warriors like Mohini and her sire) differ in their belief. She believes that it is her clan's duty to monitor and judge the worthiness of the children of Caine, but only those who prey indiscriminately or truck with demons should be destroyed (making her naturally opposed to the Sabbat). As kindred are immortal, however, this is not a judgement to be taken quickly - as kindred may begin on a bad path because of their sires or existence up to that point, and gain worthiness as they maturate. Or a Cainite may begin with promise but fall to the lure of the beast or power over time. Everyone can be redeemed, and anyone could fall.
She believes that only the Baali are automatically irredeemably unworthy, as are those that willingly consort with them. All others need to be monitored, then judged accordingly. In this regard, she acknowledges her lack of age as a kindred, and is wise enough to heed the wisdom of her elders. Therefore she reports whatever she feels is of concern to her superiors, but acts directly only when ordered to, or if provoked. Most believe that this is the reason why she was contracted long-term to the new Sheriff as a Hound, as her mindset to seek out, judge, and punish the unworthy lends an excellent mentality for the Sheriff's enforcer. In essence, those who the Sheriff's Hounds pursue are law-breakers and, in the Camarilla's eyes, effectively unworthy.
Outside of her role as a warrior, Mohini is still passionate about dance and music, as well as performing arts in general, and enjoys both observing or participating in these events, especially at Elysium. She has shown a great appreciation for the Vizier caste of her own clan as well as the Toreadors because of their talents in these areas.
When she hunts, she feeds solely off those she deems unworthy such as criminals, abusers and others who prey on the weak and innocent for their own gratification. She generally accepts assassination contracts only against similar kine, though she is known for dispensing vigilante-style instant justice when she witnesses something that triggers her sense of justice.
And at the heart of it all is the fact that Mohini is still a neonate. She has enough decades behind her to be competent but is still young and inexperienced from a kindred overall perspective. She is aware of this, and is keen to learn from the experience of others and figure out her way and role in the grand scheme of things - especially since she is one of the relatively-few warrior-caste to defect to the Camarilla during the Assamite Schism. Having pretended to be a lowly caitiff for all her time in Camarilla territory, her now being open about her clan is a shift in dynamics that she needs to figure out (including coming to terms with kindred who previously would have mocked or berated her when they believed her a Caitiff now suddenly scared of her or fawning over her).
For now, she focuses on her role as a Hound, observing, learning and judging others, and only acting when instructed to by her superiors (both her Clan superiors, and the Sheriff) - and enjoying her freedom and musical interests in-between. Or, more accurately, doing assassinations and Hound work in-between her lifestyle of song and dance.
After all, what's the point of freedom and immortality if you cannot actually enjoy it?
Other Notes: Hound
Mohini is a known Hound for the Sheriff. Although her loyalty is first and foremost to her Clan, she is effectively "contracted long term" to the Sheriff as a Hound. This has been done to help to build proof of the clan's commitment and loyalty to the Camarilla by assisting in its defence and law-keeping. It also allows Mohini to fulfil her role as a member of the Warrior caste whilst having to take comparatively few assassination contracts - with most of them being under the Sheriff's instructions.
Combat Style
Despite being in the "warrior" caste, Mohini is an assassin, not a soldier. She underwent three years of training prior to her embrace, which principally focused on learning Kalaripayattu (an Indian ancient battlefield martial art) and as such is trained in traditional weapons such as a range of swords, knives and daggers, spears, unarmed combat, bows and shields - as the consequence of failure to learn was death, Mohini became proficient enough in these to satisfy her sire and earn the Embrace and then her [relative] freedom. In the three or so decades since her Embrace, she has kept practising (and employing) her skills regularly enough to be a highly competent warrior even in a straight-up fight. When paired with respectable levels of celerity (for a Neonate), she is both swift and deadly against mortals and kindred without physical disciplines or combat training. She has also learnt to combine her Celerity with her Obfuscate to make her a harder target during combat.
But despite this, straight combat is something she gets involved in only when there is little option. Mohini prefers to stealthily take out kine targets using poison, such as by poisoning their drinks or lacing her lips with poison and seducing them. More directly, she will strike from range or concealment using her bow or katar, probably laced with poison, typically her signature red scorpion venom which can be fatal but most commonly causes hypotension, pulmonary edema and myocardial dysfunction; all of which can weaken a target, for her to then move in for the kill. Against the kindred this is of little use, but her use of Quietus allows her to turn her vitae into a virulent venom that can weaken kindred, or an ichor capable of causing aggravated wounds. These venoms can be applied to her weapons in combat.
Social Style
Mohini is generally considered easy to deal with as she is almost two-dimensional in her outlook. On a personal level, she is passionate about music, dance and similarly-related activities - and these are interests she will happily discuss or share with others who are interested. Unlike the Toreador, however, she does so at face value and not with duplicitous or ulterior motives... both because she is too young and inexperienced in the games of the Jyhad to do so, and because she is a warrior and has no interest (or patience) for these games. Those who try this will quickly lose her respect and she will at best refuse to aid or associate with them (or worse, may come to believe them unworthy and therefore an enemy). Although she is no fool and has proven to be quite seductive and manipulative when using her preferred honey trap assassination style - she lacks the experience or innate ability to pick up on nuanced kindred deception and can be manipulated into action if she perceives a situation she must act on. Most are wary of earning the enmity of an Assamite warrior needlessly, however. Especially when it is so much simpler to usually contract their services.
Signature Equipment
- Katar dagger - a traditional Hindu and Kalaripayattu weapon.
- SAS Recon Folding Bow - a metal, survival takedown longbow that can be unstrung and folded into a small package easy to conceal and carry in a jacket or bag, including three break-down arrows within its frame.
Signature Quotes
- "Duty isn't always honour. Our greatest challenge isn't speaking up against our enemies, but defying those whose approval we seek the most"
- "I'm aware of the decisions I make and the responsibility I have as a Hound. I wouldn't disregard that. It's a privilege."
- "I'm my own person. You can't generalise about people."
- "Let the storm in, I cannot be broken."