Otto Schneider

The Mortal Man

Everyone knows the Great Depression, but not nearly as many people will recognize Black Monday. For Mr. Schneider, it was the end of his life. Growing up in a White, middle-class family in New York City during the 50s, he lived a pretty easy life. The worst he had it was the occasional dirty look or insult for being born to German immigrants. Beyond that, there wasn't much to tell; stable home, married his high-school sweetheart, went to college, got a degree in finance, his life's story was remarkably unremarkable. Once he became a stockbroker, something clicked. He was really, really good at handling other people's money. The rush of what was, essentially, gambling on somebody else's behalf was intoxicating. And all it took to convince them to trust him with their finances was a smile and a handshake. Having a talent for aggressively growing clients' accounts certainly helped.

Life was good for a while. He was a rising star at his firm, he made enough money to actual own instead of rent property in the city, he had the envy of all his friends and relatives, he wanted for nothing. But then in October of 1987 came Black Monday. There is still some discussion on what actually caused the sudden and massive market decline, and it certainly can't be pinned to any one, specific factor; economic trends of this scale are rarely simple things. Mr. Schneider knew, even before the exchange opened, that there was a palpable tension. During the previous week there had been a downward trend, pressure to sell, bad signs to be sure but not necessarily enough to lead to doom-saying on the trade floor. But on the morning of the 19th it came to a head, due in part to a build-up of tension from nervous buyers over the weekend. "Sell", was all anyone heard. "Sell!", the cry came louder. "SELL!!", the exchange was a frenzy of activity as nearly every call was followed by an order to dump stock, tanking the value across the board and seeing fortunes fall apart. There were even some who feared it would lead to a second Great Depression.

By the end of the week, he was practically broke. Everything he had earned over the last decade was in shambles, he had been forced to sell his own stocks at a fraction of their value just to preserve enough money to survive another month. The house would have to be mortgaged or sold outright, his reputation would never recover as clients blamed him for their losses, he was left with nothing. He had actually considered ending it all and perhaps would have done so if he hadn't been approached by an admirer amongst the Kindred.

Becoming a Lord

Countess Catherine Holstein of the Invictus saw potential in him. She had actually been one of his clients, but unlike most of them she took the long view on matters of finance and didn't blame him for the decline in her fortunes. In fact, she was impressed by how much he had managed to grow them in the first place. She saw potential in him and offered a place in the Danse Macabre, and with it a new identity. Having been despondent at his losses and now seeing a glimmer of hope, he accepted. Catherine taught her Childe the finer points of Kindred culture, as well as the Ventrue practice of taking new names. Taking the name 'Otto' for himself, and knowing little else of the eternal struggle of their kind, he served the Unconquered. Trained to serve as a Commissioner, managing the finances and investments of more powerful Kindred, Otto initially took to his role quite well.

His Sire was respected, ambitious, and knew talent when she saw it. It was her hope to establish a dynasty, and she often promised Otto that he would have a place in the upper echelons of the Invictus if he continued to serve. For a few years he was content with this, but over time he became disillusioned with the covenant. He had enjoyed finance as a mortal man because it seemed like the simplest way to be happy. Now he knew that a world of darkness existed beyond mortal eyes, that magic was real and human life was just another form of currency. Especially considering that he would (potentially) live for eternity, what was the point in making money? When mortal billionaires were apparently just pawns of ancient monsters who could cause nations to crumble with a glance and some magic words, it made everything feel so... insignificant.

The Invictus's first tenet was utterly uncomforting for him; The Purpose of Power is Power, they said. He simply didn't believe it. His Sire grew increasingly annoyed at his moping and suggested that he sit in on a Lancea sermon for an evening to see if that might alleviate his ennui. It was not uncommon in that Domain for members of the Invictus to show interest (feigned or real) in the words of the Sanctified due to the covenants' ancient ties and the fact that their focuses on temporal and spiritual matter respectively meant that some Kindred saw them as directly compatible. Unfortunately for the Countess, this would prove to backfire dramatically for her.

Damnation

The Bishop of Staten Island gave a sermon that touched Otto's soul in a way he hadn't expected. He had never been particularly religious in life, though his parents were both devoutly Lutheran. So he had not expected to find "purpose" that night, at most he figured there would be a chance to meet new Kindred, get new perspectives, and move on. Instead he was drawn to the stories of the Centurion and the Monachus, the idea that there was a distinct mission for those of the Blood. With trepidation, at the end of services, he approached the Bishop and introduced himself, half-expecting a follow-up lecture about how he had committed some moral failing by serving the Unconquered instead of the Almighty. To his surprise, the Bishop gave him a smile and a handshake, thanking Otto for showing interest in the message of the Damned. This led to a long friendship and further attendance of sermons.

Countess Catherine grew increasingly concerned with her Childe's interest in the Sanctified, believing that it was affecting his duties. Eventually she delivered an ultimatum and demanded that he stop associating with them entirely. However, she greatly over-estimated the hold she had over the neonate and when she tried to force the issue at Court, she found herself greatly embarrassed by the local Archbishop's insistence that Otto be permitted to follow his own path and the lack of backing from any of her own covenant. Thus Otto broke ties with the Invictus and, for the benefit of continuing covenant relations in New York, moved to a domain in New Jersey.

Hell on Earth: Newark, NJ

The parish in Newark was of a more severe bent than he was used to, but Otto thrived as a Lay Priest in the congregation and dreamed of one day joining the ranks of the priesthood proper. While the Sanctum is perfectly willing to accept converts, allowing them to join the ranks of the Anointed is a different matter. Given his relative youth as well, it was a pipe dream unless he were to distinguish himself in a spectacular fashion. Around 2011, he would get the perfect opportunity.

Over the years there was a growing concern that roving packs of Belial's Brood were becoming too aggressive and even presenting a serious threat of exposing Kindred society to mortal scrutiny. Believing that "nip it in the bud" applied equally to gardening and threats to domain stability, the Archbishop of Newark declared a Crusade. Other covenants took a dim view of this extreme measure, but did not take any measure to stop Sanctified from waging their holy war; if zealots wanted to risk Final Death fighting satanists, they were welcome to it.

Otto eagerly volunteered to assist in rooting out the Sanctum's enemies, but he severely underestimated the strain the effort would put on his soul. It was well and good to preach about the teachings of Monachus and that his disciples must not shirk from violence and cruelty to serve god. It was quite a different experience to be ordered to destroy other Kindred, and to even stake them on a church roof so that the met the final judgment of the sun. Still, he obeyed. Though the campaign to destroy their enemies dragged on for over a year, Otto distinguished himself as both a competent soldier and devout enough to push his feelings aside to complete any task.

There was no lavish reward or triumphant procession in his honor, merely a quiet acknowledgement from the Archbishop that he had proven his worth and any doubts about his devotion had been put to rest. It would take several years for this to manifest in any meaningful way, but eventually, almost a decade later in early 2024, the Archbishop of Newark declared that there was great concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the Damned of Sacramento and that the Sanctum needed to reinforce its hold on that distant city. In recognition of his dutiful service, Otto Schneider was Anointed as a Priest and tasked with maintaining a parish of his own.