Domination over humanity is the very birthright of the vampires
Melissa Cortona is a vampire and a member of the Sabbat.
General Information[]
Melissa was born in 2210 in Tantras, which is a city near Calaunt on Wilke's Star. She was the daughter of Micheal Cortona who was a legendary martial artist. Micheal Cortona was a soldier in the Light Infantry. Early in his career, he twice won the Grand Championship in the Federation Interplanetary Kumite, which was a freestyle full contact martial arts competition for normals hosted on Wilke's Star every five years.
Under her father's guidance, young Melissa learned the discipline and focus, and developed the fighting spirit necessary to be a great fighter in her own right. In 2232, Micheal received an honorable discharge from the light infantry and returned to settle on Wilke's Star. Together Micheal and Melissa opened a martial arts school for normals so that they would better able to defend themselves from the numerous gangsters, werecreatures, and worse roaming the streets. Micheal and Melissa also instructed normal humans in ways to defend themselves with a variety of weapons, including guns.
In 2236, during the assault by Clarke's Raptors some Sabbat members took refuge in their studio in order to hide from the Tech Infantry. Melissa was not present when they first entered, but she did witness what happened when the Raptors found them. She saw the soldiers use heavy weapons and explosives to destroy the building, which resulted in the death of her father along with the others inside.
Melissa swore revenge on the TI, Raptors, and Crusader Teams. She returned to he
Melissa when she was seeking revenge for the death of her father.
r home and began a slow silent war of assissinating TI soldiers and other personnel that lasted for nearly a year. Eventually, her exploits reached the ears of Magnus. In 2238, one of his immediate decendents embraced her and brought her into the Sabbat as a Templar. He had this done in order to replenish the losses the Sabbat had taken during Clarke's campaign and because he felt that she would be highly motivated.
She served as his Templar and gained experience within the Sabbat. She played a role in the War of Blood. In 2250 the Black Hand made an organized attack on the Sabbat in Calaunt. The attack was led by one of the Seraphim, the highest ranking vampires in the Black Hand, who had been personally embraced by Ventrue himself. The Sabbat responded and brought in reinforcements from Tantras, including Melissa, to counter the Black Hand attack. In the chaos that ensued both the Sabbat and Black Hand suffered heavy losses. In the climax of the battle, Santino, Melissa, the Sabbat Archbishop of Calaunt and others of the city managed to severely weaken the Seraphim and his guard but all except Santino and Melissa died in the process. In the Seraphim's moment of weakness, Santino subdued and diaborized him. Melissa in turn defeated his guard and diaborized him as well.
In the years that have followed, Melissa has been promoted to be a personal Templar for Magnus. It is also rumored that Mordred has a special place in his cold heart for her. Some of the Sabbat elders believe that this is the case, because Melissa seems to resemble a former head assassin for the Sabbat that was killed named Elizabeth.
Melissa is now a 6th generation Lasombra vampire. In addition to the normal disciplines available to a Lasombra, she has also learned some Brujah abilities from Malikait. She was killed in battle with Demar Palencia.
Behind the Scenes[]
The player that created this NPC really liked having Melissa for a first name. The last name Cortona was an ancient Roman city. The city Tantras was used in Forgotten Realms and is along the same coast as Calaunt. Her Actor Avatar is Kate Beckinsale.