Tzimisce
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The Tzimisce (pronounced Zhi-mee-see) are a fictional clan of vampires, associated with the Sabbat, from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade books and role-playing games. Their symbol is the Ouroboros. The Tzimisce, more so than any other group in the Sabbat, do not consider themselves to be human. These vampires are obsessed with their birthplaces and graves; they almost always carry around some of their "sacred" soil (on which they must sleep every day), and are fiercely territorial.
The Tzimisce are known for their body altering technique, called Vicissitude. Tzimisce can magically alter the bodies of living and unliving organisms, even to the point of melting them. For this clan, body alteration is an art and a philosophy. Most Tzimisce are transhumanists, posthumanists and social Darwinists. The Tzimisce seek physical and spiritual purification and perfection. Many elder Tzimisce sooner or later become totally lost in this cold and utterly inhuman way of thinking. They often "fleshcraft" themselves into another state of being.
The most common "path of enlightenment" for a Tzimisce is called the "Path of Metamorphosis," which is a replacement for their lost humanity. A Tzimisce with this path only have one goal with her whole existence, to become so powerful that the whole world becomes part of herself --- Ahzi Dahaka, when the world becomes a part of yourself, a sort of inverted Nirvana.
According to the Tzimisce legend, The Cathedral of Flesh was (and is) the most beautiful creation ever. The Cathedral of Flesh is just what it sounds like, a gigantic living being formed into a cathedral. The legends say that the high priest was part of the cathedral and that he spoke with its walls instead of showing himself in person. The cathedral has moved several times since it was created and is now located under New York City.
The Cathedral of Flesh is actually Tzimisce itself, the clan's Antediluvian founder. It has transcended humanity and vampirism to become a gigantic blob of constantly mutating flesh. In one Gehenna scenario, Tzimisce erupts from the sewers of New York City and devours vampires and mortals alike.
References
- Vampire: The Masquerade (3rd Edition) by White Wolf (1998)