ABOUT LE PROCURO:

Early on in the Roman Catholic Church’s history, there were those servants of God who saw the truth of the world: otherworldy forces live among us, both black and white in nature. They believed that as God had created all things in this world, so he had also created all things supernatural in nature, with the same capacity for holiness and corruption that lived in the hearts of man.

Rome, however, did not see the validity in this belief.

These forward thinking men and women believed that in their service to God, it was their duty to stand against the legions of the devil, be they natural or unnatural in origin, and that use of any means to rid the world of darkness was sanctified, even if that means was pagan in nature. For this belief, these servants of the Church were shunned by their fellows.

When this faction of rebels began to make their beliefs more vocal, the Church threatened them with excommunication. Eventually they made good on that threat early in the Fifth Century, and the group took part in a schism so scandalous and vile in nature that it was hidden from all sight. These men and women...nuns, monks, priests and friars all, went on to form their own church, one that followed the teachings of Catholicism with the utmost devotion.

Beneath its churches, however, this sect fostered a secret order devoted to the fight against Satan's legions here on earth. Led by a High Council of former Church elders, the order called itself Le Procuro (The Protectors), and away from the watchful eyes of history, amassed a library and army of occult power the likes of which the world has never seen, along with a dedicated group of followers who gave their lives to the task of protecting the souls of Man from the Devil's grasp.

Le Procuro labored tirelessly against all those who opposed the sanctity of God and human life, including the unholy Order of the Black Rose, for nearly a millenium until the group was violently and abruptly obliterated in the early 1400's at the hands of the same group. During their existence, many of the world's greatest minds, miracles, and mystic powers sprang from the machinations and works of Le Procuro. Of all their contributions to the world, however, their greatest came with the birth of a warrior race the likes of which the world would never see again...

ABOUT LOS VINDICIS:

In their war against darkness, the soldiers of Le Procuro learned the ways of the enemy, used their own devices to make themselves stronger. Combat, alchemy, sorcery and science...all those avenues of study and practice the Church believed were heretical and evil. As time went on, however, it became clear to them that only one force could stand against the darkness: something derived from the power they fought. Human bodies were too fragile to stand against creatures three times stronger than mortal men. Human senses were too dull, and human minds made for worship unaccustomed to bloodshed.

And so they turned to the world of the dead to preserve the world of the living.

Little knowledge remains of exactly how the process worked, only that both magick and early science aided their endeavors to create an army of soldiers. They drew from countless sources of power in creating their holy warriors...from the African continent, they adapted the use of voodoo, the practice of raising the dead. With alchemy, they unlocked the key to eternal life. From lesser known regions such as the Central Americas, they drew on communion with the animal spirits...strength, awareness, abilities beyond the norm. Witches gave them healing magick, and their own brotherhood gave them the compassion, sanctity, and soul a warrior of the faith would need.

Flesh, however, could not be created from the ether...it was instead procured from the graves of the forgotten, long desolate bodies that had been reclaimed by the earth. With all respect and ceremony, the bodies were removed and the graves reconsecrated in respect for the dead...fresh graves were never searched.

Ancient Egyptian rites restored even the most derelict corpse to incorrupt flesh, while long forgotten rites and procedures went into restoring life to that flesh. Long before Ben Franklin brought the world electricity, Le Procuro realized the life-giving power of the storm and harnessed it by means no longer known to history.

The end result was a wholly new race, borne from the shells of mortal men and women. Blessed with a warrior's spirit and strength, an animal's superior senses and prowess, and a sanctified magic all their own, they became Le Procuro's instrument of protection against the forces of darkness until, along with their makers, the last of the race was supposedly eradicated in the 15th century.

Among the gifts of those known as Los Vindicis (The Avengers) were the ability to read thoughts as well as auras...know the hearts of men, be they pure or corrupt. Sharp minds gave them insight and cunning, while magic gave them superior strength, speed, and senses. They were also blessed with the ability to heal in a unique fashion...a wounded Vindicis could heal with the touch of any object imbued with the energy of human faith. Holy relics of any kind were the most effective, with holy water being the most commonly used for its easy availability and use.

In every great achievement, however, there are always flaws. Though strong bodied and swift healing without the aid of outside influence, a Vindicis could die from a mortal wound as easily as a human without proper treatment. Furthermore, a forceful blow dealt to the base of the neck where spine meets skull...the place where life-giving electricity is channeled into the body at rebirth...is always fatal.

The first of the Vindicis were Gabriel Veritas (rb. 496 A.D.) and Delia Vitori (rb. 515 A.D.). In a massive attack by emissaries of the Order of the Black Rose, the last of the Vindicis were slaughtered somewhere between 1400 and 1415. Although Gabriel Veritas was exiled in 1054 after falling to a werewolf's bite, and Le Procuro was rumored to have hidden some Vindicis in the mortal world at the time of the attack, there has been no evidence that any others remain alive to this day. At present, Gabriel Veritas, AKA Michael Hunter, a werewolf/Vindicis halfbreed, remains the last known living evidence of Los Vindicis.