Places

For those steeped in the lore of the Kindred, the city of Vienna is synonymous with the Tremere for a key reason: The most advanced chantry house of Clan Tre­ mere is here. The Prime Chantry serves as the inargu­ able bastion of Tremere authority and activity, politi­ cally and Thaumaturgically. The phrase “called back to Vienna” instills dread in even the most stalwart of the Warlocks, for the Pyramid is not a loving institution.

The Tremere are of course very secretive about spe­ cifics regarding their ultimate redoubt, but no end of rumors circulate about the strength and extent of the great chantry. Some claim it is the oldest surviving structure in Vienna and the rest of the city was built upon it at the secret direction of the Tremere. Some say it sprawls as widely as the city, with vast geoman­ tic connections between its various annexes under the Danube, atop the Millennium Tower, among the

foreboding towers of St. Rupert’s Church, and in the service hallways of the Hundertwasserhaus.

In truth, the Tremere’s Prime Chantry cannot be adequately described, as the Warlocks expend a great deal of effort using their Thaumaturgy to change the nature of the stronghold, sometimes as frequently as weekly. Gargoyle thralls shuttle alchemical tools and ancient thaumaturgical accouterments back and forth among the ever-changing laboratories of their War­ lock masters while the Tremere themselves jockey for position in a rigid hierarchy that is much more resis­ tant to change than the headquarters of their clan. Still more terrifying is the fact that the Tremere con­ trol the flow of information among their members as efficiently as they do the pyramidal ambitions of the clan. Grimgroth’s library resided at the Schloss Schonbrunn last night, but tonight it’s housed be­ neath the statue of Athena in front of the Parliament Building and somehow all the Tremere just know that the change has taken effect. What other information evolves so quickly and communicates so well here in the House of Tremere? And does this influence extend to outsiders — or those whose blood the Tremere have harvested? Even the Malkavians shudder to think.