Lille Haake

Lille Haake was raised by her father, an instructor with the University of Amsterdam. He taught philosophy in his home, and Lille became known for interrupting classes and lording over her permissive father. The university students took to calling her “Mrs. Haake” — a nickname that she adored without understanding the Electra complex that fueled her feelings.

After her father died on her 13th birthday, another university family took “Mrs. Haake” in. Although still frightfully headstrong, she withdrew into the school’s library. When she came across An Essay on Witchcraft, Lille was instantly taken with the notion of controlling the forces of nature. More specifically, she was obsessed with contacting and raising the dead.

For the next 32 years, Lille dedicated herself to the study of the mystic arts. When the speculative tomes in the universities of Groningen and Leiden and Utrecht could no longer satisfy her, she spent time with a Huguenot refugee who knew things at which her books only hinted.

As her network of associates grew, she moved beyond common magical notions of black cats and stillborn calves and learned a little about the true supernatural creatures of the world. One night in 1779, she knocked on the door of Amsterdam’s only chantry and informed Thorbecke, the Tremere Regent, that she was ready to become like him.

To say that Thorbecke was surprised would be an understatement. A kine — a female kine — had discovered his chantry and knew something of the nature of the Kindred. Admiring her resourcefulness and directness, he decided not to kill her right away. After several years of interviews and several more years of consideration, Thorbecke finally agreed to make her “become like him.

” Lille was a quick study. Although she always did the bidding of her sire, she generally divorced herself from the nightly events of Kindred society. She buried herself in her studies, and it took Thorbecke’s death at the claws of the wretched Sabbat in 1989 to make her face the world. Lille had felt a great deal of respect for her sire and knew that there had been much left to learn from him.

She found having him taken from her to be completely unacceptable and resolved to punish the offenders severely. At the same time, the Tremere High Regent of the Low Countries decided Lille should take control of the Amsterdam Chantry and assume Thorbecke’s position as primogen.

She developed contacts among the Kindred and littered Amsterdam with magical surveillance automatons to gather information. She spent nearly a decade learning the secrets of the city and its Kindred; the results shocked her. The princes of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg had long been united in a group called the Consortium.

The Prince of Amsterdam, a Consortium member named Arjan Voorhies, had been steadily losing face because of his inability to deal with the encroachment by the loathsome Beryn family of Giovanni vampires. Recently, however, the fortunes of Prince Voorhies had changed.

He enlisted the assistance of Luxembourg “free agent” Hendrik Van Dyck, who led an independent strike force against the Giovanni concerns in the city. By all accounts, the action was a success, but while the Consortium congratulated Voorhies, Lille made her shocking discovery. She uncovered evidence — not proof, but compelling leads — that Van Dyck was a leader in the Sabbat.

It seemed that Van Dyck’s move against the Giovanni had been designed to draw attention away from Sabbat activities in Amsterdam — activities that included the assassination of her sire. Enraged, Lille confronted Voorhies and demanded a blood hunt be called on Van Dyck. Had she been more politically savvy, she would have approached the matter more tactfully.

As it stood, the prince was riding the wave of success following his pogrom. Should it be revealed that he had been duped by the Sabbat, his position in the Consortium would become tenuous at best. Voorhies opted to ignore the matter and threatened to decry Lille as a hysterical renegade if she approached the other princes about the matter.

After weeks of arguing, Lille came to a decision that would forever change her place in Kindred society. She went to the Giovanni. Lille secretly struck a deal with the Beryn family of the Necromancers. She agreed to apprise them of any actions that Voorhies planned against their interests. In return, they would support her vendetta against the Sabbat.

If the relationship worked well, Lille explained that she might require one other favor of them. Soon all of Kindred society was abuzz. It was said that Lille Haake had uncovered a major Sabbat coven. She had single-handedly burned them out and sent several to Final Death. Prince Voorhies publicly applauded her, but secretly cursed her for undermining his authority.

He also doubted that she could have accomplished this act on her own, and he set about learning the truth of the matter. Now, Lille is at the center of an intense four-way standoff. She, Voorhies, the Beryn and the Van Dyck Sabbat all hold cards that — when put into play — are sure to yield spectacular success for some and Final Death for the rest.

Lille is determined to emerge from the game having learned the ways of Giovanni nigrimancy, and not staked out for the sun. She suspects however, that either eventuality may take her one step closer to the dead father whom she has been chasing since childhood.