MALKAV

 

Where is Malkav?

Rumors place the body of Malkav in the Middle East, near (or under) the city of Petra. However, his mind is claimed to reside in the Astral Plane, and is believed to be quite active.

The revised Malkavian Clanbook and the Dark Age Chronicle, Fountains of Bright Crimson, both speak of Malkav's location.
 
From the revised Clanbook:
 

After escaping the fall of the Second City, Malkav ran into a bit of bad luck. He was attacked and torn apart. For some unexplained reason the attackers feared Malkav's blood. Malkav detected this, and moved his consciousness into his Blood. The attackers scattered and buried the remaining body parts. (This may have preserved his flesh from the sun.)

Afterwards, as if summoned, Malkav's childer found his pool of Blood, and drank of it. The consciousness of Malkav now flows through them and their descendants.
 

From "Fountains of Bright Crimson":
 

During the Crusades, the streets of Jerusalem ran red with blood, and Malkav was distracted. This distraction allowed a low generation Malkavian who held a major fragment of Malkav's consciousness to be diablerized. However, as the diablerists weren't of malkavian blood, the fragments of Malkav's consciousness went wild within the new hosts, and had to be recovered.
 
NOTE: A tribe of werewolves is rumored to be guarding Malkav's sleeping form. Its possible his attackers were werewolves, and their descendants are guarding the body parts to prevent their discovery.
 

I love little girls they make me feel so good
They don't care if I'm a one way mirror, They're not frightened by my cold exterior
They don't ask me questions, They don't want to scold me, They don't look for answers, They just want to hold me

-- "Little Girls" by Oingo Boingo
 

What exactly is the Malkavian Madness Network?

According to Daniel Greenberg, the original conception for the MMN was Malkav's consciousness descending into his clan. The clan as a whole have consumed him, rather than him consuming them. He was supposed to be the only Antediluvian trying to save his clan.

White-wolf actually used part of this idea. The revised Malkavian Clanbook speaks of Malkav and the nature of the MMN. The revised Clanbook is a "must read," as it can explain it so much better than I.

Malkav moved his mind (consciousness) into his blood, and his childer consumed this blood to protect Malkav. This did not diablerize Malkav, instead Malkav survived intact, flowing through the bodies of his childer. However, even in this state of existence, Malkav was more than just blood. His mind not only flowed within the blood of his childer, his mind flowed between his childer. Creating a web of connections.

This flow of connections is called many things: the Cobweb, the Malkavian Madness Network, the Weave, the Tapestry, etc. Although it began as a sharing between the ones who consumed Malkav, it spread to their childer, linking all Malkavians.

While the nature of the Network is always in question, it does act as a "shared consciousness." So far, Malkavians have used it to:
 
  • access the memories of other Malkavians, especially within one's own lineage. In theory, a Malkavian can learn to shift through these memories, much like a child exploring a cobweb filled attic, finding information passed down by those who come before. However, he could also become lost, forgetting which memories are his, and even believe himself to be one of his own ancestors.
     
  • abandon the flesh; uploading one's mind into the Network. Some of these disembodied Malkavians act as Mentors to embodied Malkavians, while others become nothing more than a series of accessable memories.
     
  • broadcast messages, impulses, visions, as well as where-and-when a gathering will take place. However, each Malkavian has to filter out this information on their own (or rely on another Malk). Some fail, unable to hear even the loudest, clearest messages. Others will travel half-way across the world on an impulse, unaware they have hear someone's Call.

 

Little Girls, Little Girls, ev'rywhere I turn I can see them.
Little Girls, Little Girls, night and day I eat, sleep and breathe 'em. --

"Little Girls" from the musical "Annie" -- Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin

 

Thank you to this site for some of the data here:   http://homepage.mac.com/ronromine/FAQ/gameplay-oddclaninfo.html

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