24

Corliss rolls her eyes. "And you believed that the Prince's favor afforded you the privilege of peace of mind? Have you any idea, Vizier, how many death threats I receive on a weekly basis?" Kashif shakes his head. "Enough that I no longer read them. My servants simply burn them and make note of their purported authors in a ledger."

Kashif seems taken aback, but that doesn't stop him from continuing. "When I confronted Lang about his clan members' insult—"

"You did what?" Corliss's eyes burn with anger.

"He insisted that my allegation was absurd and went on to suggest I had fabricated the letter in the first place!"

"And what did you expect?" Corliss hisses, reasserting control over the room. "After the Prince offered you protection, most Tremere left Ottawa in protest. Is it too much for your fragile ego to know that a single one remains? Does Lang's continued presence so stick in your craw, Vizier? When did your once-proud clan grow so fearful and petty?"

The Tremere have been loyal members of the Camarilla for centuries before your rebirth, and you were quietly disturbed when your Prince had forsaken them in favor of admitting one of the Assassins.

Assamites, Assassins—or the Banu Haqim as they're now properly called in the West—have a long and sordid history with the Tremere dating back centuries to 1496, when the Tremere afflicted them with a Blood Curse to prevent them from feeding off Kindred Blood—their precious vitae. The Banu Haqim had never forgiven them, and the mutual enmity has run hot ever since. The curse has been lifted for over twenty years now, but it seems some individuals refuse to leave the past in the past.

Kashif seems taken aback by Corliss's bluntness and his right arm twitches involuntarily, hand twisting into an arcane claw. Corliss raises an eyebrow and the Vizier slowly relaxes his posture. "I am neither fearful nor petty, Seneschal," Kashif replies dryly. "I merely petition the court on my own behalf. I was accepted into this city by its Prince under the Tradition of Hospitality, after which the Tremere voluntarily left the domain in protest. If they now make external threats against Kindred within the city, is that not an affront against the Prince's domain? The Traditions themselves?"