Josefa Teotalco

As a mortal, Josefa Teotalco joined the Church as a nun. She was not pious, but Mexico held few other escapes from grinding poverty. As Josefa mouthed CHAPTERTHRLL: a5 the worlds and went through the motions, however, her faith grew with practice. Her sire’s pack wanted an all-nun auxiliary for some bizarre scheme now long forgotten. Josefa received the Embrace and a shovel to the head. Her damnation horrified her at first, but she adapted with her usualpracticality. How could she advance herself in this society of monsters? Especially when, at 14th generation, she was significantly weaker than the other Cainites in her pack? Once again, Josefa chose religion. The PathofCaine’s faith and practices seemed at least a little like the Church she already knew. She mouthed the words of the Book of Nod and went through the motions of the rim. What she lacked in Cainite power, she strove to remedy with a show of devotion. It helped that Josefa sometimes showed uncannily shrewd insight into the hidden motives of the sect’s elders. Once again, her faith became genuine with practice. Josefa joined the Little Sisters of Zillah, a pack of other female Sabbat who honored Caine. Her unlife changed in 1999 as a terrible Week of Nightmares and fratricidal frenzy swept over the Ravnos untitribu. Josefa’s packmates held her in chains, defended her from other Ravnosuntitribu who sought her vitae, and marveled as strange, apocalyptic visions played out above Josefa as she screamed and thrashed. Josefa emerged from her frenzy a changed Cainite. She had seen Gehenna, and survived the judgment of God and Caine upon her clan. The other clans would receive their trials before long. The Sabbat must prepare itself for the last judgment, now. The priest for the Little Sisters of Zillah doubted her; Josefachallenged her to Monomacy on the spot, and diablerized her. The Little Sisters of Zillah now exhort Mexico City’s Sabbat to revive their faith in Caine as sole prophet and redeemer of the Cainite race. They say that the Sabbat must make a final, great push to overthrow the Antediluvians’ conspiracy of elders. No more strategizing, Josefa says; no more husbanding of forces. The Sabbat must fight like there’s no tomorrow, because there isn’t. Josefa’s new fervor and apocalyptic charisma make her a rising star in the Sabbat. Dozens of common Sabbat regularly attend her revival meetings and chant her slogans. Josefa’s prestige now exceeds her actual Status as a pack priest; consistory members speak of promoting her to a bishopric or guiding her into the Sabbat Inquisition. Not a few bishops see her as an emerging rival they should co-opt or destroy. Although her Noddist fervor is entirely sincere, Josefa does not actually know much Noddist lore. An influential elder noticed her fanaticism and charisma, and now mentors her. The ,elder vampire supplies Josefa with Noddist information and rhetorical points to use in her sermons and revival meetings. This elder is not a devout Noddist, but Josefa’s gratitude for the help and her limited knowledge blinds her to the distortions and outright lies that her mentor plants in the Noddist lore. When Josefa lowered her generation, she lost her intuitive sense for the plots of fellow Cainites. The elder uses Josefa as an unwitting mouthpiece for his or her own agenda. We leave the identity of the elder for Storytellers to choose for themselves, but any of the three senior prisci described in this chapter would suffice.