The Black Thorned Rose logo of Clan Toreador
The Toreador are a clan of Vampires, one of the core clans of the Camarilla.
History[]
The Toreador clan founder, Arikel, was a mortal artist in the City of Enoch before the flood. Since then, the Toreador have been known as artists, poets, and lovers of beauty in all its forms. As such, they are among the most loyal members of the Camarilla, as their survival and ability to practice their crafts requires the sort of civility and stability that only the Camarilla's organization can provide. Their clan founder rose in Gehenna and allied with Ventrue to defeat the other Antediluvians, and eventually they co-founded the Kingdom of Enoch. After Ventrue's death at the fangs of Mordred, Arikel took his place as Queen of Enoch, until she in turn was killed when a Dooms Day Device was used to send the Enoch sun into supernova while she slept. A few whispered rumors suggest she was rescued and survived the blast, only to become struck immobile in fascination as she viewed the growing nebula where her capital system once was, and it may be centuries before she can be roused from her reverie to take revenge.
Clan Traits[]
This rumor is somewhat credible because those of Clan Toreador are often known to be frozen into utter immobility by the sight of something particularly beautiful, whether it be a painting, a statue, a person, or even a sunrise (which is of course usually the last beautiful thing that vampire will ever see). This crippling fascination with beauty and art often led Toreador into love affairs with mortals, requited and unrequited, and thus Toreador are also known to almost exclusively embrace only the most beautiful of mortals to join their ranks. This beauty and charisma make Toreador surprisingly good politicians and leaders, as well as seductive spies and schemers.
The Toreador do not get along well with Nosferatu or Tzimisce, and many among the Anarchs and Sabbat view them as hopelessly decadent and weak. One notable offshoot from Clan Toreador was an all-female sub-sect known as the Daughters of Cacophony, who practiced a form of song-based magic known as Melpominy, which could be used to sway the emotions or even control the minds of others through tone and rhythm. The Daughters of Cacophony have not been heard from in centuries, and are believed to have been destroyed during Gehenna.
Notable Toreador[]
Aside from Arikel herself, notable toreador have included Francois Villon. Lilith, and by extension, her childe Izzy D'Argent are widely assumed to have been Toreador, perhaps even from the Daughters of Cacaphony sub-sect.