Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom - Definition

The Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom, known among themselves as the Laibon, are vampires native to Africa in the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game set in White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness setting. Though having the same roots as the western Kindred and being aflicted with the same curse, the Laibon have existed in relative isolation from the western Kindred for an extended period, and have become distinct in a variety of ways.

The most striking difference between the Laibon and the Kindred is their tenuous balance between the world of mortals and that of the supernatural. Unlike Kindred (who are most commonly defined in their adherence or violation of "Humanity"), the Laibon owe a dual loyalty to their mortal counterparts (called Aye) and loyalty to the spirit world (called Orun). Failure on both loyalties leads to monstrous degeneration and feral predatory behavior. High Aye causes a Laibon to appear alive, while high Orun causes a Laibon to appear unearthly and often demonic. Those few Laibon who can maintain high Aye and high Orun simultneously appear angelic, possibly transcendent.

The Tenets of the Ebony Kingdom

Handed down for millenia, the Tenets represent the consrvative status quo of Laibon society. Recently brought into question by the rapid change of the modern world, they are nevertheless fiercely upheld by the Guruhi and the Shango.

1. The Guruhi are the land. In other words, as the oldest Legacy, the Guruhi have a natural right to rule.
2. Those who endure judge. Leadership and status is naturally assumed to derive from age and experience.
3. Belonging grants protection. More cynically, "citizenship implies fealty." This tenant helps ensure that power is not questioned and rulers not overthrown.
4. The Secret must be kept. This is essentially a variation of the Masquerade, ensuring that mortals are not acutely aware of the existence of the undead.
5. No Secrets from the Magaji. The Magaji (dominant Laibon ruler of an area) has little to benefit from allowing scheming to occur, and this tenant is enforced to keep the Magaji "in the know."
6. Sires command, childer inherit. In other words, just as age determines leadership, lineage determines fealty.
7. The eldest command undeath. A reinforcement of the rulership by the eldest, this explicit rule has come under considerable fire in recent times, and is treated delicately by wise Magaji.
8. Travellers obey the Tenets. This twofold rule requires that Laibon away from home adhere to the Tenets, as do outsiders in the Ebony Kingdom.
9. The eldest are Kholo. This Tenet allows some flexibility in any given areas power structure, as travelling elders (particularly among the Kinyonyi) are granted due respect despite their not Belonging.

Legacies

Unlike the highly political clans of the western Kindred, Laibon can be devided into Legacies, which act more as extended familial relations than as unified factions. These Legacies are bound by a common lineage and curse, but hold no overwhelming loyalty to one another.

The major legacies are:

• Akunanse: Likely an offshoot of the Gangrel, the Akunanse are tricksters and storytellers, most closely tied to the animals of the Ebony Kingdom than other Legacies. They practice a discipline called Abombwe that resembles the Protean of the western Kindred.
• Followers of Set: This legacy is one and the same as the clan known to Western Kindred. They are the only clan known among Western Kindred to have a strong presence in the Ebony Kingdom.
• Guruhi: The oldest of the Legacies, the Guruhi are the defacto nobility of the Laibon, maintaining their individual kingdoms through a network of shrew alliances with the Shango and the Osebo. Their origins are unclear, and while they are more likely a far-distant offshoot of the Nosferatu than any other clan, they are so distinct from that clan that they may be a distinct lineage.
• Ishtarri: Few have stronger emotions than the Ishtarri, descendants of the Toreator clan, who have recently entered the Ebony Kingdom via the Middle East. Gourmands and bon-vivants, they see themselves as the keepers of the arts, but many other see them merely as covetous.
• Kinyonyi: This Legacy is descended from the Ravnos, but have distinguished themselves as versetile mercenaries and jacks-of-all-trades. Relative newcomers to the region, this legacy neither has nor especially seeks status, and have a widely-renowned tendency to cause upheaval wherever they spend time.
• Naglopers: A forgotten offshoot of the Tzimisce, this legacy revels in its monstrosity, and has retained skill in the art of Vicissitude, though over time it has mutated considerably. Lacking the surgical precision of the Tzimisce, Naglopers can use the Discipline at range, making them a universally feared force in the Ebony Kingodm.
• Osebo: Probably descended from Brujah who escaped the fall of Carthage, the Osebo are a passionate, impulsive legacy, and are among the most numerous of the Ebony Kingdom. Though highly diverse, the Osebo generally support the Guruhi, who in turn take special care to placate them.
• Shango: Only the Guruhi are older natives of the Ebony Kingdom than the Shango. Though superficially similar to the Tremere, they have existed for many centuries longer, practicing their own brand of blood-magic called Dur-An-Ki. Conservative and secretive by nature, they ally closely with local Guruhi to defend the status quo.
• Xi Dundu: Probably an offshoot of the Lasombra, this legacy values power. Among the msot tightly-knit of the Legacies, it generally find itself in opposition to the Guruhi, and in modern times has used the rapid change of the world as an opportunity to undermine and eventually overthrow the Guruhi's leadership.

In addition, a handful of minor legacies exist in the Ebony Kingdom.

• Malkavians: Ostensibly led into the Ebony Kingdom by a self-made messiah known as "Arcus", they exist in scattered clusters, seeking the "lost secrets" of the Dark Continent.
• Mla Watu: These descendants of the Cappadocians are among the very few who were untouched by the Giovanni curse that led to the affliction of the Samedi clan. Reviled among the Laibon, they nevertheless have thrived in seclusion, taking in the deep spiritual ties of Afirca with the underworld.
• Nkulu Zao: This Legacy directly descends from the Salubri, hiding from Tremere persecusion in the depths of Africa. Widely distrusted, they nevertheless remai a viable (though small) Legacy.