Anastasz di Zagreb

Anastasz was born the son of a wealthy textile importer in Slavonia during the late 1840s and raised with all the comforts of money and prestige. As a young boy, Anastasz found himself fascinated by the strange and supernatural. His governess told him stories of the zhulo that would come in the night and terrorize villages, and the hobgoblins and sluagh that would steal his voice if he were bad.

Far from being frightened, the fact that the world contained such wonders thrilled the young Anastasz. He decided that when he was older he would see and speak with them for himself. Anastasz’s father, a solid, practical man felt that his son’s flights of fancy were detrimental to the boy’s development and sent the governess away.

Taking charge of the boy’s education, he sent Anastasz to England and enrolled him in the best schools. Anastasz left home filled with the tales his governess had told him. As his world of magic and wonder fell victim to the world of geometry and economic theory, Anastasz quietly became the staid young man of whom his father would have approved.

In his first year at Oxford, Anastasz encountered a retired stage magician at a local pub. The man’s ability to create illusion was astounding, and learning the art of sleight of hand obsessed Anastasz. Practicing his new skills constantly for most of his school year, Anastasz almost failed his courses, but nevertheless became quite proficient at legerdemain.

Soon he was performing at small venues and billing himself as “The Imperial Magus.” After gaining his bachelor’s degree at Oxford, he attended the prestigious London School of Economics. During the day, he discussed theories and economic models. At night, he joined a society calling itself the Magic Ring and traded secrets in the craft of illusion.

It was Anastasz’s quest for a flashy new trick that brought him into the clutches of the world he had left behind in his youth. Investigating a back alley in search of an obscure bookseller, he happened upon a man who seemed to be biting another. With horror, Anastasz saw a rivulet of blood trickle from the man’s mouth.

The attacker, noticing Anastasz, dropped his victim, and in the gaslight, the young man could see bloodstained fangs protruding from the attacker’s mouth. Anastasz quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out the packet of flash powder he always carried. With a swift motion, he used his ring-igniter and threw the tiny pouch at the monster.

The powder ignited with a bright flash, and the monster hissed and recoiled. Before it could recover, Anastasz fled, terrified. The next evening, Anastasz recounted his adventure to the other members of the Magic Ring, and they scoffed at his tale, suggesting that he have it published in a penny dreadful. Dejected, Anastasz returned to his flat.

Upon entering his home, Anastasz found a man seated in a wait for him. Chilled, he realized that the intruder was the creature he had seen the previous night. With a gesture, the creature made the door close of its own volition. Anastasz wanted to flee but could not; he had been transfixed by the creature’s eyes.

The vampire, for that is what he was, spent the night explaining to Anastasz the truth about real magic — blood magic — and how a noble group similar to Anastasz’s Magic Ring decided to become true sorcerers and found a way to trade their mortal shells for immortality. As the vampire talked, Anastasz realized that the creature was offering him a chance at real magic.

Without hesitation, he agreed. Anastasz spent the next 25 years in Vienna at the Tremere chantry, there learning the realities of his new existence and discovering his incredible, unnatural aptitude at Thaumaturgy. Completely devoted to his new clan, he became an accomplished researcher and powerful magus in an astonishingly short time.

When a new Tremere justicar was chosen early in the 1900s, he chose Anastasz as one of his archons. His skill as a magus made him a useful agent. He saw horrible things, includCHAPTER TWO 49 ing many of the mythical creatures his governess has once told him about.

Anastasz became known as an authority on the occult, and his open, friendly demeanor and willingness to help made him a catspaw in Tremere interclan politics. In 1998, when the time was nigh to choose a new justicar, the Tremere found themselves split over several candidates. Jean St. Frederique, a very powerful Tremere presiding over a large chantry in France, put forth Anastasz as a candidate.

Assuming he could control the ancilla, St. Frederique used his influence to swing just enough votes to clinch the election for Anastasz. Thrust into a position for which he is not truly ready, Anastasz has become zealous in his attempts to prove his worth as a justicar. He has offended many of his colleagues, including the new Brujah justicar, Jaroslav Pascek.

As a result, Pascek has set up an operation to teach the young Tremere a lesson. Anastasz is planning to take back Montreal from the Sabbat. Should Anastasz succeed, Pascek plans to reveal that he was the source of the intelligence essential to the operation and take the credit.

Anastasz knows that many members of the Camarilla and his own clan see him as too inexperienced and weak, and he is determined to show everyone that he does know how to be a justicar. He relies on his mentor, St. Frederique, for advice, and the older vampire is glad to give it. Although Anastasz’s skills are improving, it may be decades until he properly fits the role of justicar.