Shakchunni

There is no place for monsters in civilized society. If such creatures roam the earth, they do so out on its uttermost rim, consigned to peripheries by conventions of disbelief…but once in a blue moon something goes wrong. A Beast is born, a ‘wrong miracle’, within the citadels of propriety and decorum.
—Salman Rushdie, Shame

Description

Clan: Tzimisce/Strigoi(?)
Affiliation: Byzantium Coven
Role:  Templar, assassin

History

Shakchunni is a stunning Bengali woman with a terrible past. Born in Calcutta in the early eighteenth century, Ekata Sheth became renown for her beauty, which attracted a well-to-do husband who promised her life in a higher caste. Her beauty attracted another suitor as well—a deranged Saxon Tzimisce. Falling in love with Ekata, the creature demonstrated his passion by murdering her husband and Embracing Ekata when she was three months pregnant. Cast into a coffin European-style, Ekata spent two weeks clawing her way out. Her vampiric fetus found the task significantly easier, and chewed its way through her womb in three days, emerging from her abdomen and fastening itself onto her thigh like a leech. Spurred by this additional horror, Ekata made her way to the surface, where she plucked her daughter from her flesh and pierced its body with a splinter from her shattered casket. Weak from diablerie and mad with thirst, Ekata searched in vain for her creator; but the Saxon was nowhere to be found.

Lacking any background on vampiric customs and society, Ekata believed that she had been turned into a churel, a succubus-like creature from Indian mythology. Created by the wanton death of a pregnant or unfulfilled woman, a churel is spurred by revenge to seduce and devour men. Driven by hunger and conditioned by myth, Ekata began preying on the hapless males of colonial Calcutta. Her Tzimisce blood enhanced her already unearthly appearance and granted her the strength of twenty men, and she found herself growing more powerful with each soul she consumed. In time, Ekata learned to change her shape, transforming from a comely maiden to a hideous churel in the blink of an eye—sprouting claws and tusks, twisting her feet around backwards, and growing an additional set of fangs to mangle her prey. Slowly migrating north in search of her creator, in Turkey she began to hear stories of creatures like her, and by the turn of the century, she came across Prince Radu Ionescu in Romania. The Prince was fascinated with this strange Bengali vampire, a Tzimisce who exhibited qualities of the atavistic Strigoi. Against the wishes of his own advisors, Prince Radu admitted the “churel” into his court for “a formal education.”

Unfortunately for both Radu and Ekata, a century of feral existence had wrought irreparable damage. Although she was a bright student who absorbed information rapidly, Ekata railed against Radu’s Enlightenment principles. She was a monster and so was he, so why all the pretentions? One night Ekata discovered that Radu had known the identity of her Sire for years; but because the Saxon was an important strategic ally, the Prince was withholding the information “until she was ready.” Disgusted with the “Great Hypocrite,” Ekata ran away from Radu’s court and joined the Sabbat. There, Ekata could be the vampire she was born to be, and renamed herself for a hungry Bengali ghost known as the Shakchunni.

Encouraged to embrace her bestial nature, the Sabbat instructed Shakchunni in the arts of seduction and assassination. She learned to control her powers of Vicissitude, and mastered the subtle craft of poisoning. The Sabbat were also sympathetic to Shakchunni’s craving for vengeance, particularly because her Sire had succumbed to the influence of Prince Radu. While they could not assist her in the murder a fellow Tzimisce, they were willing to turn a blind eye—this one time. In 1848 the Hapsburg Camarilla foolishly weakened Radu’s rule through ham-fisted interference, and Shakchunni sensed her moment. Amazed to see his beautiful “peasant bride” once again, her Sire proved ridiculously easy to seduce, and never suspected that she had poisoned her own blood. Erupting into Strigoi form, Shakchunni tore his paralyzed body limb from limb and sucked the marrow from his bones.

Art: Chillalee

Current Role

Today, Shakchunni serves the Sabbat as one of its most terrifying Templars. In human form, she appears as a ravishing young woman, dressed in a red sari and bedecked by seashell bangles. She is pleasant and courteous, approaching every interaction with a curious formality mocked by a sardonic sparkle in her eyes. She partakes in the Rituals of Amizu, and gives her blood willingly during the Vinculum orgies. However, when her “particular talents” are required, Shakchunni sheds all pretense of humanity and becomes the monster from legend. Even more fearsome than her physical prowess is her talent for poison, and one drink from her envenomed blood can drive a human mad, change the allegiance of a ghoul, or shock a Cainite into torpor. It is said that only Sister Lilith has the antidotes to these ancient toxins, but even she treats Shakchunni with an uncharacteristic degree of respect.

Notable Ghouls

Buqat Akbulut, “The Incubus”
Templar—Assamite Sun Eater, Tzimisce Lich
Buqat Akbulut is a type of ghoul known as a “lich”—a human who’s been enghouled so long he’s become part vampire. Despite the unpleasant image of a shriveled revenant evoked by the term, a lich who receives regular vitae appears indistinguishable from normal human, and Buqat is a brawny, handsome fellow with smoldering eyes and a well-placed facial scar. He’s stylish as well, sporting a natty turban, dressing in impeccable gray suits, and often found behind the wheel of a silver Lamborghini Miura.

Created by a Turkish Assamite during the Siege of Vienna in 1529, Buqat was a “Sun Eater,” an Assamite ghoul trained in the arts of surveillance, infiltration, and assassination. A highly effective agent who operated across Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire, Buqat remained a ghoul for centuries, rejecting his masters’ offers to be Embraced for reasons he consistently declined to articulate. In the 1770s, Buqat’s Assamite kabile was systematically destroyed by vampire hunters working for the Sultan Selim III. As part of the Kindred realignments stemming from the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, all remaining Ottoman Assamites were forced to vacate Eastern Europe. Bereft of a home and feeling somewhat betrayed by his Clan, Buqat was “adopted” by Prince Radu Ionescu, who had his own uses for a Sun Eater. Because there was no Assamite in Radu’s court to renew Buqat’s vitae, the lich was assigned to Viorel Iclozan, a Tzimisce vizier who had defected to the Camarilla in 1717.

After Ekata Sheth joined Radu’s circle, Buqat became fascinated by the Bengali churel, and began to offer Ekata quiet support as she struggled against Radu’s constraints. It was Buqat who learned that Prince Radu knew the identity of her Sire, and Buqat who helped Ekata plan her escape. When Ekata ran away to join Sabbat, Buqat followed her to the Carpathians, and thence to Barcelona, and finally across the ocean to New York. For reasons he again refuses to explain, Buqat is fanatically dedicated to Shakchunni. While the pair have never been lovers, he remains enghouled through her blood, and serves as her personal Templar—one casual suggestion from Shakchunni, and the source of her irritation simply vanishes.

Known as “The Incubus” since his time in Barcelona, the source of Buqat’s nickname is obscured in mystery, and many lascivious rumors tumble in his wake. Humans have claimed to become aroused by his very presence, and even Cainites confess to his alarming frequency in their dreams. Additionally, what exactly the Incubus does with his victims is a mystery, and no one has ever witnessed Buqat killing, drinking human blood, or disposing a corpse.

Buqat is the only Templar of the Sabbat who is not a full Cainite. Despite this, his centuries as an Assamite ghoul have flavored his Tzimisce vitae in strange ways, and his mastery of Quietus is equal to any Assamite neonate. Still, being essentially mortal, the Incubus takes no chances. An expert in Krav Maga, Buqat is armed with a 6½” Taurus Judge, plated in stainless steel and loaded with silver snakeshot. He maintains a bunker full of shotguns and sniper rifles “somewhere” in the city, and is said to have moles planted in every law enforcement agency impacted by Byzantium’s illegal activities, from the Port Authority to Homeland Security.

Sources & Notes

The core of the Gotham Sabbat was first uploaded on 31 October 2000, but the Byzantium Coven was extensively revised during the August 2018 update. The picture of Shakchunni is actually Raima Sen, a famous Indian actress. The wonderfully detailed illustration in the middle of the page is by the Chinese artist Chillalee. Visit his Deviant Art page to see more of his fascinating work. The photograph of Buqat is the Turkish actor Burak Özçivit. Just look at that smolder! That’s some damn fine smoldering.

Author: Great Quail
Original Upload: 31 October 2000
Last Modified: 20 August 2018
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
PDF Version: [Coming Soon]