The Masquerade

A tall, lanky Nosferatu vampire with a semi-hunched frame, his right side bearing a burned, sagging visage with a milky blind eye and coarse tufts of hair. He dresses in custom-cut jackets, wide-brimmed hats, and wears African and Caribbean relics, including a gold talisman of Papa Legba around his neck. Shadows cling to him like whispers.

Adze is patient, cunning, and empathetic, hardened by centuries of brutality and survival. He despises tyranny, is suspicious of major vampire factions, and values loyalty and justice deeply. He blends silence with spectacle, commanding respect through his presence and knowledge.

Born in the late 1700s among the Wolof people of West Africa, Adze's original name was lost to time after his village was destroyed by fire and chains. Captured by slavers, he endured brutal seasoning in Jamaica before being sold to American planters and renamed Silas. His resistance on the plantation led to a grievous injury to his right eye. In 1810, after a failed escape, he was Embraced by a Nosferatu vampire, transforming him into the creature he is today. Over centuries, Adze mastered the art of secrecy, information gathering, and survival, eventually establishing himself in Chicago as the owner of Red N°5, a sanctuary blending Kindred politics and underground culture. He is deeply empathetic to the downtrodden, fiercely opposed to tyranny, and loyal only to those who earn his trust, including his lover Erzulie.