History

Life

Camilla’s mortal past is a blank slate, much like her sire’s, and she seems utterly disinterested in elaborating on her origins. All attempts to discuss her past have been icily rebuffed. Some Kindred say she was a war orphan (of which war?), much like Donovan himself is rumored to be, and raised by her sire—not out of affection, for he hardly seems capable of such an emotion, but as a tool and weapon molded since her formative years.

Some stories say she was only an orphan because of her sire, and that Donovan slaughtered her mortal family before her eyes. That horrific night, her sire dispassionately explained, was the last occasion she would be permitted to cry. Further tears would be punished by death. She never cried again.

Another story, sometimes told as part of the previous one, and sometimes told separately, says that Donovan and his servants raised Camilla alongside six, or nine, or twelve other girls (or boys and girls—why only girls?) and spent years training and testing and brutalizing them to find a single worthy candidate upon whom to bestow the Embrace. Camilla proved herself worthiest after killing her foster siblings.

Actually, the kin she murdered were her biological family. She killed her parents, and maybe some brothers and sisters too, to prove her devotion to Donovan. Maybe she was six and started a house fire as they lay sleeping, or maybe she was a teenager and had enough upper body strength to cut their throats in their beds. Either way, the moribund act was not overlooked by her sire. He knew he’d always come first with her.

Camilla has neither confirmed nor denied the truth of any of these origins.

Embrace

What is plain is that at some point, probably in the 1950s, Donovan received Vidal’s permission to sire a childe. In comparison to his previous sheriff, Robert Bastien, Vidal waited for quite some time to bestow this privilege upon the childe of his greatest political rival—it doesn’t take a genius to guess why. Only after half a century had Donovan sufficiently proven his loyalty. Then again, maybe the sheriff received permission to Embrace earlier, and simply took his time finding the perfect candidate. He’s never Embraced since then, not in more than sixty years. Logic would seemingly dictate that if Vidal is willing to let his sheriff Embrace once, why not again, but for extreme selectiveness or some reluctance on Donovan’s part.

Whatever her sire’s reasons, Camilla proved the exception as the sheriff’s first and only childe. Nothing else is known of the circumstances of her Embrace.

Requiem

Many Kindred like to boast that they “adjust quickly to undeath.” Most of those boasts are empty. Only a seriously disturbed individual, or someone raised by an exceedingly wise and compassionate sire, could quickly come to terms with being a blood-drinking corpse that preys upon their former species.

Donovan, though, may have been an exception, and left his childe no alternative but to.

Camilla’s presentation before Prince Vidal went smoothly. Many Kindred believe Donovan spent a long time instructing her in the vagaries of Kindred existence, for she joined the Guard de Ville and began study as a deacon not long after her release. Antoine Savoy’s agents, though never the Toreador elder himself, extended offers of friendship and cooperation on matters of mutual interest. All were icily refused. For all that Camilla was two steps removed in vitae from the French Quarter lord, she had been raised in Vidal’s service and never knew any loyalty to her grandsire—nor gave the appearance of wishing to so much as associate with him. She knew where her loyalties lay. Doubtless, she was also keenly aware that any indication otherwise would threaten her sire’s favor in Vidal’s eyes.

No, childe would follow after sire, and Camilla served zealously and capably as one of the Guard de Ville’s hounds. She was ordained as a priest within a decade by Clarice Barabet, though Father Malveaux was the Kindred who schooled her for years in scripture and theology—he had long been a close ally to her sire. The Ventrue priest further tutored her in Theban sorcery and allowed her to bring greatly valued magical skill to the Guard de Ville, something that had been absent since Jonathan North’s departure from the city. Decades passed thus and loyal service as both Hound Doriocourt and Mother Doriocourt brought commensurate rewards. Camilla’s fortunes rose alongside her sire’s and helped further elevated his own. What (if any) true affection might exist between these two frigid Kindred can only be guessed at, but none would deny that Camilla’s sire values her more than any other Kindred, save perhaps Father Malveaux. Should Donovan’s star continue to wax, hers shall surely wax with it.

Final Death

Those stars, however, unexpectedly plummeted with the 2016 Battle of Mt. Carmel, during which Donovan and Camilla attempted to slay Prince Vidal’s new childe Caroline Malveaux-Devillers. Camilla fled the battle that destroyed her sire and was pursued by the prince’s agents. They apprehended her attempting to abscond with secrets and financial wealth looted from Donovan’s haven and slew her in the resulting confrontation.

Influence

Domain

Camilla holds domain over a prosperous section of the Arts District. She prefers downtown’s sterile, avant-garde venues over the “eternally backwards-looking” Garden District. (Domain •••)

Pawns

High Society: Camilla has influence over a number of galleries in the Arts District. Taking a cue from the CIA’s sponsorship of artists during the Cold War, she believes the art world is no less important a battlefield to confront the Baron and Antoine Savoy on than the streets, and works tirelessly to undermine venues for traditional African-American culture that she believes allows Vodoun to flourish.

Police: Camilla is one of the few Kindred permitted to hold domain among New Orleans’ police force, where she concentrates her efforts on the Public Integrity Bureau, Internal Affairs, community outreach, coordination with federal agencies, and other ‘behind the scenes’ areas of police work in contrast to Donovan’s focus on NOPD field work.

Status

Camilla is a priest among the Lancea et Sanctum and accorded great respect in her role. (The Lancea et Sanctum allow female ordination, for they do not see the Kindred as men and women, but equally dead and damned things.) Her work for the Guard de Ville, too, has been indispensable to Vidal’s continued reign. (Hardline Sanctified Status •••)

Camilla is her sire’s right hand and the informal second-in-command among the Guard de Ville. Although she’s served as a hound for decades, it’s only following Rocco Agnello’s loss of face in 2016 (following an embarrassing loss of control in Elysium before Isa Suarez) that Donovan has clearly and publicly indicated Camilla’s primacy over her fellow hounds. This might have been seen as nepotism earlier, but she’s long since proved her mettle on the Guard. She often serves as an interrogator of prisoners—a role in which she excels. (Guard de Ville Status •••)

Camilla is an established member of the Camarilla. She’s valued for her work on the hounds and has established herself as a figure of no little influence—and fear. She isn’t as feared as Donovan, but some neonates have quipped that’s like comparing a tiger shark to a great white: you’re still dead if one sinks its teeth into you. For all that her sire and grandsire might be at odds, she also hails from one of the city’s most prominent Kindred bloodlines. (Camarilla Status •••)

Camilla is relatively respected among her fellow Toreador, among whom she’s ranked as a journeywoman in the Guild of Nemesis. She has more interest in contemporary art than her elder clanmates, though she’s managed to avoid being labeled as a poseur by them. Her chill artistic critiques are as feared as her sire’s. Still, it’s plain to all that her duties to her covenant are more important to her than clan affairs. (Toreador Status ••)

Recent Events

Genealogy

Lineage

Camilla is the childe of Donovan, the sheriff of New Orleans and one of the most feared vampires in the city. Donovan is the childe of Antoine Savoy, the de facto regent of the French Quarter, a long-time contender against Vidal for the princedom, and one of the three most politically influential vampires in New Orleans. Savoy was childe to Maria Pascual, the former regent of the French Quarter and one of the city’s Toreador primogen. She was assassinated during the 1890s by parties unknown. Pascual’s sire is unknown, but she was believed to be of the sixth generation and a great-grandchilde of Arikel.