E M E R A L D C I T Y C H R O N I C L E S
S E C T S : T H E B L A C K H A N D
The Black Hand, or simply The Hand, comprise a special sub-division of the Sabbat, a sect within a sect. They are an elite group of vampires recognized as separate from all other members of the Sabbat. They are, essentially, the assassins of the Sabbat.
The Black Hand is not truly a separate body, however, since all its members are loyal to the Sabbat over all else. Until recently, this sub-sect was composed primarily of Assamite antitribu, as well as many of the more militant vampires from other clans. The members of the Hand do not exist in packs of their own. Rather, they are members of normal Sabbat packs.
Nonetheless they may form temporary packs compose of solely Black Hand operatives. This war bands are usually referred to as the Kamut, to clearly distinguish it from the ordinary Sabbat packs that Black Hand members are also a part of. A kamut can be as small as two or three members or as large as a dozen, depending on the mission involved. Most kamuts are one-shots, assembled by a dominion for a particular mission, and then dissolved when the mission has been completed (most, but not all).
Put simply the Black Hand is a special militia which the leaders of the Sabbat can muster in times of need. Hand members are rumored to be particularly skilled in the ways of war. The members of the Black Hand themselves select the Sabbat vampires who are to be offered a chance to join the Hand. The Black Hand puts all candidates through a rigorous series of trials which test cunning, willpower, physical prowess and martial skills. Those who pass these trials are inducted into the Black Hand; the new member receives detailed instruction in the order's ways, and he must come when the Hand calls him to action.
The true strength of the Black Hand has never been in numbers. Being small, several hundred members at most, it has never had an elaborate organizational structure. Flexibility is of far more value to the subsect's leadership than tiers of hierarchy.
Most of its agents are distributed throughout the Sabbat as members of ordinary Sabbat packs, and are only called into active duty as needed. When the Black Hand acts, it acts primarily at the level of the kamut, a pack summoned into existence for a specific and finite purpose and then disbanded, its members dispersed once again to their original Sabbat packs.
Extraordinary circumstances might call for more than one kamut to be assembled for a more complex mission, such as the recent (and highly successful) Sabbat drive up the East Coast, but such occasions have not been frequent in the faction's history.
Only two intermediary tiers of command stand between the common Black Hand member and the Council of Seraphim: the Dominions; and the ductus of their kamut (if they're on active assignment), or the local Watch Commander (for those who aren't).
It is a council of four powerful Cainites who rule the Black Hand. These four are known as the Seraphim, and act as generals for the order, serving the Regent directly (at least namely). The First Seraph will serve as the highest-ranking member of the Seraphim, with three others of his choosing to serve as his advisors and fellow Seraphim.
All Hand members are immune to the Vinculum when it pertains to the direct orders given to them by the Seraphim. The members of the Hand answer only to the Seraphim when conducting Hand business. Other than that, they are bound by the Vinculum and Sabbat codes of justice like all the rest.
The leaders of the Sabbat don't like it either; the Hand could easily wipe out the entire lot of them in a night. The Hand's members are usually give solo assignments directly from the Seraphim or her messengers, and are rarely called together as a group.
S E C T S : T H E T A L ' M A H E ' R A
The Tal'Mahe'Ra was a society of vampires dedicated to supporting the Antediluvians in their crusade to destroy other vampires, hoping to be spared by the Antediluvians during Gehenna. They also aspired to eliminte supposedly impure bloodlines including the Tremere and Tzimisce.
The Tal'mahe'Ra was a super-conspiracy and allegedly the oldest sect of vampires still active. In addition, the Tal'mahe'Ra membership included several bloodlines who were more or less exclusive to it. The Tal'Mahe'Ra also employed several revenant families and specifically trained kidnapped children, known as Chatterlings, to become vampires. Chatterlings typicaly were embraced when they are 2-3 years old.
The True Black Hand was concerned with two major events: the first is the eventual return of the Antediluvians and the coming age when Vampiric taint will be eliminated from the earth.
The True Black Hand was eliminated when they were the subject of a nuclear attack by Stygia, a sect of Wraiths within the Shadowlands where Wraiths and Spectres dwell, and a second nuke launched in the heart of the Labyrinth, another Shadowlands location. Enoch, the hidden city in the Shadowlands where the Tal'Mahe'Ra dwelt was annihilated as were the vast majority of the leadership. The Aralu provided no foreknowledge of the attack, nor any assistance at its commencement, and grew silent afterwards. Even more damaging to the sect was the Week of Nightmares. When the Ravnos Antediluvian rose and began to wage battle against the kuei-jin, members of the sect rushed to India to assist it. To their unbelief, the ancient did not acknowledge them in any way; the cult simply didn't matter to its masters. Coupled with the Aralu's silence, this led to many members of the sect losing faith, and the organization fracturing into small Gehenna cults.
Most of the Nagaraja perished in the attack, and the survivors found refuge among the Green Court in Korea. In exchange for providing a great deal of information regarding recent changes to the underworld, and sharing almost all their knowledge of necromancy, the surviving Nagaraja were declared "honored guests", although not permitted to Embrace. A considerable number of True Brujah struck up a partnership with the Followers of Set, while the remainder disguised themselves as members of other clans. The Tzimisce of the old clan returned to Eastern Europe, even more embittered about working with other vampires than before.