Coterie: The Guild (WoD)

The Guild: Purpose

The Guild is a rumoured group of kindred in Ashford that hire themselves out for their martial and combat skills. This includes predominantly assassins but also includes bodyguards/personal protection and bounty hunting, or even espionage. None of the Guild members, if asked, will acknowledge the existence of the coterie or membership thereof, and it is not known if this is due to a secrecy pact, or if the coterie is more of a loose association of kindred with overlapping interests, and a coordinated attempt for them to work together (or at least stay out of each other's way). All the members are either good at some form of combat, tracking/locating targets, or stealth (or all the above).

The coterie is led by Mira Panikkar, or at least coordinated as she is able to contact all the members and give them jobs. It appears that Guild members are not forced to only work for Mira.

The Guild: Background

The Guild is relatively new in Ashford, appearing on the scene only after the end of the Sabbat Crusade. All the members have operated for a while (some, literally, for over a century) but independent of each other. At times, this has caused them to cross paths with each other.

Unsurprisingly, the Assamite clan has always been on the forefront of the kindred-assassins-for-hire sector, but many have noticed that, in recent years, the Assamites have become erratic in their organisation, professionalism and observance of classic rules. Traditionally, Assamites have had to keep a low profile in non-Assamite domains, working for Princes, Bishops or other controllers whilst following Sect rules to prevent problems. Mira Panikkar has claimed, however, that there is a large faction within the Assamite clan that believes that the clan would be best served no longer being independent, but by formally becoming members of the Camarilla. Whilst the clan is officially independent, many of these Camarilla-Assamites have found varying degrees of acceptance in Camarilla domains. Due to a formal agreement made with the new Primogen council of Ashford during the Crusade, Mira has been officially appointed as Assamite Primogen of Ashford. As a result of this, more Assamites have come into Ashford. Most of these, Mira claims, believe that the Assamites should be Camarilla members, though she admits not all are - but even those who are not are still Assamites, and therefore follow her direction and rules regardless and therefore, at best, not a threat to the Camarilla. With the recent losses to the Sabbat in the Crusade, as well as the loss of Camarilla domains in the southern states of America over the last decade, leaving Ashford relatively isolated as a Camarilla domain amongst Anarch Free State domains in California and Sabbat domains/contested domains for most of the southern and west coast states, the extra martial aid loyal to the Camarilla is a welcome reprieve, especially since the Gangrels left the Camarilla.

Since officially setting up in Ashford, Mira has endeavoured to prove the Assamite clan's loyalty to the Camarilla and, as part of this endeavour, has attempted to take over the domain of contract killing - allowing a degree of open transparency of Assamite activity to the Camarilla members of Ashford, as well as coordinating with others that have overlapping areas, for the mutual benefit of both members and the Camarilla.

The Guild: Rules

The Guild has few formal rules, at least that are known, include:

• The first rule of the Guild: You do not talk about the Guild.
• Guild members will not take contracts against other guild members, nor engage in personal vendettas against other members. Any past conflicts or grievances are to be set aside or run formally through the Guild.
• Guild members will not take hostile actions against other guild members, except when required to fulfil a contract; In such cases, Guild members will endeavour to not send other Guild members to final death.
• Guild members will coordinate activities through Mira, regardless if given contracts through Mira or taken externally; by doing this the likelihood of members encountering each other at cross-purpose is reduced.
• The Guild will take a percentage of fees gained from arranging contracts directly. They will not take a cut from independently-arranged contracts, although there will be a fee if contracts are taken which are not declared, and this results in a class with Guild contracts.
• Guild members are to answer calls for assistance from other members, especially if such call is to preserve the Masquerade or prevent attention from kine institutions than can be problematic for the Guild.

The Guild: Members

At present, believed members (ie active, recruitable agents) of the Guild includes:

• Mira Panikkar, Clan Assamite (Coordinator)
• Faran Haroon Salahuddin, Clan Assamite (assassin)
• Helena Baker, Clan Assamite (trainer;bodyguard)
• Evelynn "Eve" Wren, Clan Gangrel (courier/scout/bodyguard)
• Bruce Phoenix, Clan Gangrel (bounty hunter)
• Kisa, Clan Senya (espionage; assassination)
• Tatjana, Clan Toreador (assassin; espionage)

Believed associates of the Guild (ie not active members and recruitable agents, but often coordinate with, or provide assistance or services - personally or via their clan/influences - to or for the Guild) include:

• Marina Vasilyeva, Clan Nosferatu (espionage) - Marina is the Primogen of the Nosferatu clan and believed to be the mysterious Shadow Bratva crime syndicate boss. She has a lot of contacts and russian mafia members under her and sells information to the Guild as well as accepting contracts for espionage (and occasionally, assassination) by the Guild which she subcontracts to either Clan members (typically espionage) or members of her human crime syndicate (typically assassination or protection).
• Braxton Donahoe, Clan Senya (espionage) - as Primogen of a Clan notorious for being spies, Mira endeavours to keep close relations with him as, like the Nosferatu, he serves as the central hub for being able to access Clan Senya's ability for espionage, which rivals that of the Nosferatu, even moreso in the business and political kine worlds or amongst other clans.
• The Bertoli Brothers, Clan Toreador (protection; assassination) - the Bertoli brothers (Tony and Franco Bertoli) are prominent members of the Italian mafia in Ashford and can be used to bring the mafia's resources into play. The Bertoli brothers will occasionally directly take assassination jobs (mafia-style hits), as they were mafia enforcers even during their mortal days and as kindred simply moved up the Cosa Nostra's ladder.

Member Profile: Tatjana

Full Article: Tatjana (WoD)

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• Real/Birth Name: Tatyana Dragomirovna Yurlova
  
• Known Identiy/Mortal Alias: Tatjana
  
• Place of Origin: Raevskaya, Russian Empire
  
• Height: 5'7"
  
• Occupation: Hired Assassin (presumed)
  
• Apparent Age: Mid-20s
  
• Embraced: 1926
  
• Kindred Status: Ancilla
  
• Sire: Joan d'Aulon
  
• Clan: Toreador
  
• Camarilla Status: Autarkis (former Scourge)
  
• Sabbat Status: Unknown (formerly Priest & Black Hand Ductus)
  
• Coterie Role: Assassin/Espionage

Information

Tatjana is possibly the most well-known of all the kindred rumoured to be members of The Guild. She is known to have been embraced in 1926 by a Camarilla elder, then defected to the Sabbat where she served as a soldier and assassin for their elite Black Hand faction for many decades. She is known to have killed many Camarilla kindred, including two Alastors and various elders, including her own sire. Although she was considered for the Red List, she was never placed on it - but had enough enemies that some Camarilla elders employed the Assamite Clan to eliminate her. The Assamites would send the renown assassin Persephone to kill her. It was believed for a while that Persephone had succeeded in this endeavour, but has since been revealed to be the reverse. Tatjana succeeded in counter-ambushing her would-be assassin and diablerised her, then used the Discipline of Vicissitude to impersonate Persephone. This was apparently around the time that Tatjana defected from the Sabbat after being disillusioned by their refusal to allow her to eliminate her sire when it was discovered she was a diabolist and would be performing a ritual that would release actual demons - something that Tatjana felt should be stopped, but the Sabbat felt would be useful to allow as it would weaken a notoriously strong Camarilla domain. Taking Persephone's identity and accepting a temporary job as Ashford's Sheriff, allowed her to stay under both the Camarilla, the Sabbat and the Assamite Clan's radars for a period. Her true identity was revealed when she actually eliminated her sire and her diabolist allies, with the help of some Camarilla kindred. Since then Tatjana has been officially Autarkis, but questions about her allegiance to the Sabbat floated ever since, although Tatjana was not active in kindred affairs for several years after this.

Tatjana resurfaced recently during the Sabbat Crusade. It became apparent to AJ, the Malkavian whip and Willa Jade of clan Senya, neonates who crossed her path whilst fleeing the Opera House Massacre, that Tatjana was not on the side of the Sabbat - who obviously considered her a traitor and enemy during the brief discussion between the Sabbat and Tatjana that the neonates witnessed before Tatjana killed all the Sabbat before her, helping the neonates escape. In the end, the new Prince (via agents of Clan Senya) managed to negotiate a deal with Tatjana, gaining information about and employing her help against the Sabbat which proved to be crucial to ending the Crusade; in exchange for being pardoned. Although the Camarilla has not officially removed the label of Autarkis, they have noted her actions and respect the Prince's authority within the domain and so, within Ashford, Tatjana is not considered Autarkis. The fact she has refused sect membership means that there are still trust issues and uncertainty about her actions, but Tatjana appears to have little interest in Camarilla or Sabbat affairs since.

Tatjana has most recently been seen dealing with some controversial elements within the lupine Sept of Sacrificial Friendship, along with some neonates with believed links/sympathies to the Anarch Movement. She has been seemingly re-engaging in doing professional contract work, but has become extremely choosy about which contracts she accepts. Few, even Mira, seem to understand what her criteria is - but some theorise that she is choosing targets that, somehow, aid the goals of the lupine Sept. Regardless, she is typically the most expensive and reclusive reputed member of the Guild; rarely taking jobs but with a reputation for deadly effectiveness when she does.