The First Strix War:

Of all the hardships, intrigues, horrors and oddities that have influence the modern court of Perth, none have sculpted the landscape so much as The Birds of Dis. The Strix. They were few, at first. Potent, immortal and terrifying. Their introduction to the court was during Black Mass of Christmas Eve. As most understand it, the guys up on those crosses were apparently touchstones to some of the City’s Eldest. What happened to them next, made even the most hardened Kindred spew vitae.

One of the three stood out, its eyes burned bright, staring into the exposed souls of the congregation. Its name was Mr Finch. A small of small stature, but of a malefic nature so palpable even the other owls would shy away from him. Mr Finch was a being of pure spite. Not content to simply hunt and feed in his own twisted way, he set about making the Kindred suffer, however possible. His preferred method, it seemed, was to possess revenants of the city, and commit the Amaranth upon their coteries and allies.

Mr Finch and his small parliament began to grow. The Owls grew in number, and some, in strength. The kindred began to fight back, but Finch was potent and cunning. City leaders began to fall, one by one they would succumb to trickery, possession or outright assault. Kindred were turned upon one another. It was difficult to tell friend from foe. Once again, the domain fell into chaos and the Kindred population began to fall. Seemingly from nowhere, emerged Mahyar al-Sahand. A kindred-warrior of middle-eastern herit-age and an apparent command of the same darkness the as the Strix. His assistance was at first refused by the city’s leadership. al-Sahand was a barely known member of the Lancea et Sanctum, and of clan Mekhet. His faith was rooted in the Testament of Longinus, but viewed through the lens of Islamic scripture. Much more than this is not known about al-Sahand, at least not publicly.

What is known, is that he took the fight to the Strix directly. He had some means of combatting The Owls, and he shared this knowledge. Many of the cities Mekhet of sufficient strength were adopted in al-Sahand’s bloodline in secret, and trained to combat the Strix. After a few brief years, and the Strix’s growth had been stymied by a combination of al-Sahand’s Asps, and ruthless law laid down by the City’s rulers, law that decreed all revenants be brought into the fold, as one of al-Sahand’s Asps, or be executed.

Finch has not been seen in some time, but this was a time of war. The smaller Strix were frequently eliminated by the Asps, but their fellow Owls would just as regularly devour the Kindred. Eventually, and some might say inevitably, Mr Finch resurfaced. He resurfaced in the skin of Harrison Brandt. Elder of Clan Gangrel and Inquisitor of the Lancea et Sanctum.

The damage was beyond measure. Brandt, with Finch behind the wheel, dispatched a coterie of bodyguards before sending the Prince to meet his final death, via the Amaranth. The rampage continued, until the Asps arrived. Many kindred met their end, or worse were devoured by the marauding beast. al-Sahand eventually cornered and confronted Finch, with a half-dozen hardened Asps by his side, all of whom met their end. Finch also met his end then and there, only to resurface mere minutes later.

As the story goes, al-Sahand requested he be left alone for in the temple for one last prayer in private, before setting off into the Strix heartland of Northbridge. Neither Finch, nor al-Sahand were heard from again.