El Murciélago

And if I consume another
mortal’s flesh, will I like
god before me, shit a million stars upon
the naked, wretched sky?
—A.P. Sweet, “Dead, But Dreaming”

El Murciélago

Clan: Tzimisce
Affiliation: Byzantium Coven
Role: Surgeon, artist

History

Known only as El Murciélago, this Tzimisce elder arrived from Barcelona in 1899 in the entourage of Prince Gratiano. After spending a few decades in voluntary torpor at the bottom of the Hudson River, he roused himself to seek out Venus and Orchid, claiming he was “drawn by her song.” Bug-eyed, gangly, and boasting six spidery fingers on each hand, the creature was certainly an outlier in the Daeva’s growing coterie, but his powers in Vicissitude were useful, and he tended to remain mercifully out of sight. Soon El Murciélago began dabbling in volitional flesh-crafting, smoothing out “imperfections” brought to him by the coterie’s Cainites and retainers. By the time he relocated to Byzantium, the Tzimisce had acquired a more pleasing aspect; lithe and delicate, with a domed forehead and almond-shaped eyes. It soon became evident that he was mimicking the human figures drawn by Harry Clarke, but whether as a tribute or a joke, no one could say. El Murciélago rarely spoke, and seemed content to remain reclusive and mysterious.

In the late sixties, El Murciélago began surreptitiously “correcting” humans without their consent—not just his victims, but guests and employees of the coven’s clubs. When he refused to desist, Venus dismissed the Tzimisce from her coterie, and El Murciélago took up residence in an old firehouse near the East River. He converted the space into a macabre studio, kidnapping victims from the street and lazily sculpting them into las gárgolas vivientes for his amusement. After Sarnath opened its doors, Malachi asked the Tzimisce to “beautify” human prostitutes for the Bordello of Sirens. Impressed by his work, Roger and Kitty Plant invited El Murciélago to Siddim, then housed in a derelict cruise ship. Ensconced below decks, El Murciélago was free to ply his trade on willing and less-than-willing humans, creating a menagerie of whores that ranged from the angelic to the monstrous.

It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Daß sich das größte Werk vollende,
genügt ein Geist für tausend Hände.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust

Current Role

El Murciélago continues to work for the Plants, and his “Serrallo de Grotescos” is one of the most trafficked brothels in the Goblin Market. Reserving his more attractive creations for Sarnath, El Murciélago has become more daring in his work for Siddim—coiled lamiae, blind hermaphrodites, human centipedes, mermaids and centaurs; every season of Siddim has its favorites. Some of his gárgolas approach the status of Tzimisce vozhd, such as the Priapus, or the nameless, multi-orificed monstrosity quivering in the center of the Serrallo’s orgy room. Unfortunately for these gárgolas, once they pass el punto de no retorno, El Murciélago drinks their blood and retains their bodies as mementos. Usually he just flays them alive and stretches their skin like canvas; but his firehouse is populated by numerous exhibits preserved by the magic of modern taxidermy, from his first “Siamese twin” to a shoggoth recently cobbled together from the remnants of a Korean tour group. Whether El Murciélago performs these procedures himself or retains a morally bankrupt taxidermist is just one more mystery.

Although he’s still nominally a member of the Byzantium Coven, El Murciélago has never repaired his relationship with Venus and Orchid. She detests the Tzimisce elder, and if the equally-loathsome Plants hadn’t convinced her otherwise, Venus would have ordered him back to Barcelona. While Venus is not above using supernatural methods to enhance beauty and wholeheartedly embraces the erotic potential of physical deviation, she scorns El Murciélago’s recent work as aesthetic perversion, akin to an out-of-control plastic surgeon consumed by his own ego. The Daeva is also wary of Vicissitude in general, and having some experience with the Discipline herself, has sympathy for the Tzimisce who believe that flesh-crafting is an addiction that masks infection by an alien parasite. The last thing Venus wants in her coven is a creature like Vona Loath, or god forbid, another Paramándala Voin. If that day ever comes, Malachi and the Plants be damned—she’s going to torch the firehouse herself and watch El Murciélago burn.

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 banner uses artwork from Harry Clarke’s illustrated version of Faust; Mephistopheles being the figure El Murciélago strives to emulate. While the Tzimisce and his gárgolas would be undoubtedly awful to behold in real life, everything is more whimsical when seen through the eyes of Harry Clarke!

The quote from Faust is translated as, “One mind is enough for a thousand hands.”

Author: Great Quail
Original Upload: 31 October 2000
Last Modified: 19 September 2018
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
PDF Version: [Coming Soon]