[Cardinal Seth Gabriel is a very old character who has been played in several chronicles over several years.  His role-playing experiences have been integrated to make his history more "whole".]

Beneath Seth Gabriel's benevolent nature, there is a story that stretches back to the beginning of the last millennium, when Seth was born on the Winter Solstice in 999 A. D., in the land presently called Finland.

Seth's mother, a 16 year old peasant maiden, became pregnant. When the villagers discovered her condition, they demanded to know the name of the father, but the girl insisted to all that she had known no man. When her condition and story reached the ears of the local Priest, he pronounced her as the Devil's concubine and her child as the prophesied anti-Christ. At this time, people were very superstitious and many believed the world would end at the end of the Millennium, only a few weeks later.

Some less superstitious villagers thought the girl was simply trying to protect the child's father from punishment, but the majority supported the Priest in his desire to burn the "Witch", lest the anti-Christ be born in their very village.

The village mob easily apprehended the girl, but just when they were about to begin the burning, the Bishop arrived to stop the proceedings, saving the girl and her child. After chastising the Priest and the villagers for being too quick to judge, the Bishop took the girl away to safety and she became one of his servants.

At first, the girl believes her new life was a dream come true. However, after she delivered Seth, she learned her benefactor was actually a Cappadocian Vampire. The Cappadocian had rescued her after becoming intrigued by the story of her child's parentage. The girl and eventually her son as well were ghouled to the Bishop.

For 440 years, Seth served the Cappadocians faithfully as a ghoul retainer. He became noted for his ability to persuade others and was often used on diplomatic missions. Like many Cappadocians and their servants, Seth developed an obsession for obtaining knowledge and power. His service with the Cappadocians instilled within him a fear of death and he looked upon the possibility of an eternal unliving existence with abhorrence.

In 1439, the Clan assigned Seth to Claudius Giovanni, a Cappadocian Methuselah, as Captain of his local garrison. Knowing Seth was loyal to his Cappadocian superiors, Claudius attempted to co-opt Seth through the improper use of his vitae. However, he found Seth resistant to such techniques. In 1444, Seth's mortal life ended the night the Giovanni manse was attacked by Camarilla forces.

Unbeknown to Seth, Claudius Giovanni had secretly assembled a cross-clan group of Elder Cainites committed to helping the Giovanni achieve supremacy over Clan Cappadocian. On his last night of mortality, the Camarilla Founders attacked the Giovanni stronghold to destroy this group of conspirators.

Quickly awakening at the sounds of the attack, Seth sounded the alarm. Realizing their hopeless situation, Claudius Giovanni and the other conspirators forced embraced some mortals to serve as shock defense troops. Seth was sired by Lady Theophana, a Malkavian Elder. The newly created Cainites were Dominated by their Sires into stalling the attack long enough for Giovanni and his associates to escape.

Seth came to believe his new existence as a Vampire was a punishment by God for having committed the unpardonable sin. Like Cain, who was cast out for killing Abel, Seth was being cast into eternal darkness for his long service on behalf of the Cappadocians. He fears the eternal torment he will suffer in Hell for it.

Seth and the other newly embraced Cainites were soon overwhelmed by the attacking forces. Their unlives were spared when the Camarilla’s intense interrogation revealed their limited and forced role in the conspiracy. However, Seth was then introduced to the world of Cainite thralldom when the Ventrue Hardestadt forced him to help the Camarilla work against the conspirators.

During the course of his service, Seth witnessed the Diablerie of Cappadocius by his Chylde, Augustus Giovanni. The incredible powers released at this tragic event were such that Seth has been filled with an urge to commit the act himself.

In 1523, Seth was offered and accepted membership in a secret society called the Tal’mahe’Ra, which is dedicated towards serving the Antediluvians and leading the army of Gehenna.

In 1580, Seth took up residence in Barcelona, which at that time was a city under siege by the newly formed Sabbat. Seth's interest in occult knowledge soon brought him to the attention of Marcus, a Sabbat Archbishop. Marcus revealed that he was secretly a member of the infamous Baali bloodline, and promised Seth great knowledge in return for his services in taking the city. While Seth served a brief tutelage under Marcus , he soon grew afraid of the Archbishop and fled to Bordeaux in 1593. His association with Marcus has left Seth with a deep fear of Lucifer, a very real personage of immense power.

In Bordeaux, while hunting one night, Seth came across a stray black cat and decided to adopt him, naming him Thoth. It soon became apparent that this cat was not an ordinary cat, but in fact a Spirit entity materialized from the Umbra. For his own reasons, Thoth had in fact decided to adopt Seth and tutor him in the ways of Thaumaturgy.

While living in Bordeaux, Seth quickly came to the attention of the powers that be within the Camarilla hierarchy. Within a few months of his arrival, Isabella, the new Prince, invited him to assume the Malkavian Primogen seat. This made sense as he was the only Malkavian in the city at that time. Seth served the Prince well and faithfully.

During this period, Seth took a paramour named Angel, of Clan Toreador. Unfortunately, the Toreador Elders disproved of the relationship which in turn soured his relations with the other Camarilla Elders.

When Isabella was overthrown by her own Ventrue clan, the new Prince invited a Malkavian Elder to reassume the Primogen seat she had once held. She had returned from Paris in connection with the coup. When Seth objected to the loss of his seat, Kayla threatened him with Final Death. Since he did not have the power to oppose her, Seth abandoned his claim. Daniv was soon slain by a Sabbat Elder and replaced by another Ventrue named Petrov. Seth gained the displeasure of this new Prince and was forced into Torpor after the Prince attacked him. While Seth body was rescued by the Gangrel known as Raven Storm, Petrov did manage to destroy some of his prized fetishes. From this episode, Seth developed a fear of being constrained or dependent upon others.

After his recovery, Seth decided to flee to Rome. In 1666, Hardestadt took advantage of his new habitat and pressed him into service again. He was given the assignment to find a necromantic document, the Sargon Fragment, once owned by Cappadocius and now possessed by Ambrogino Giovanni. While tracking the movements of Ambrogino, Seth met a group of Sabbat Elders.

Having grown weary of his servitude to Hardestadt and the Camarilla, and feeling an affinity for the Sabbat's ideology of freedom, Seth decided to affiliate himself with the nascent sect, and moved to Madrid. Before doing so, he decided to repay Clan Ventrue for their 200 plus years of kindness by destroying via Diablerie the Duke and Duchess Amber, twin chylder of Mithras, Prince of London. Since this episode, Seth has lost all desire for the blood of Kine, believing that only Cainite Vitae can sustain him.

The Ambers were only the first of many future victims. Seth’s propensity for Diablerie along with his apprenticeship under Marcus has caused him to become disassociated from the Tal’mahe’Ra. It is unknown how much the sect leaders know of Seth’s actions.

During his Sabbat Creation rites, Seth was skinned by the Lasombra Methuselah, Marco Toyotomi. This left him with a fear of becoming deformed. Since this episode he has had difficulty developing any close relationships with Tzimisce.

In his Madrid period, Seth sired two chylder: Haley and Savannah. He has since lost touch with both chylder and does not know whether they continue to exist or not. At this time, Seth began experimenting with some Thaumaturgy rituals which allowed him to purloin the abilities and powers of other Cainites. At times Seth was successful and at other times, he was not. One failure bears special mention for the effects it had upon him. Seth kidnapped Jade, the chylde of a Tremere Antitribu named Alex McCray. While Jade was incapacitated in his lab, her Sire used a mirror walk ritual to enter the facility and rescue her. Since this episode, Seth has somewhat of a paranoia about being robbed. In addition, Seth is no longer comfortable in the presence of mirrors.

In 1705, Seth challenged Monomacy for an open Archbishopric, but was defeated after a closely contested duel. As a consolation prize, Seth was appointed High Priest of Madrid.

In 1758, Seth once again challenged for an open Archbishopric. His primary contender for the job, a Toreador AT named Morena, refused to challenge Monomacy. Instead, she conducted a guerrilla warfare political campaign. Soon, the Sabbat divided along sides and it appeared that a war would break out.

In her bid to defeat Seth, Morena has spread the rumor that Seth was an Infernalist. The Sabbat hierarchy demanded a trial. Seth decided to take no chances with the Inquisition and fled to London, ending his formal association with the Sabbat.

In 1848, Seth again became entangled in the intrigue between Hardestadt and Ambrogino Giovanni. No longer the young neonate, Seth could no longer be compelled to assist Hardestadt. However, he chose to assist him in the hopes of acquiring some of Giovanni’s knowledge for himself.

By 1902, his many years of undead existence had taken a toll on Seth's humanity. To win himself back from the Beast, Seth began following a path of enlightenment known as the Path of Lilith. Feeling that Jehovah had already assigned him to an inescapable damnation, Seth was naturally attracted to the claims of Lilith being coequal to Jehovah. For if Lilith were equal to Jehovah, then surely she alone could save him from destruction. Following this belief most religiously, Seth has quickly become a tool for the Dark Queen in this world.  Yet, believing that Lilith is his only hope for redemption, Seth is afraid of displeasing the Dark Queen in the least degree.

Seth's belief about having committed the unpardonable sin along with his new association with Lilith has given him mixed feelings for the things of Jehovah. He does not hate Jehovah or his servants, but he believes that fate has conspired to keep them apart. He wanted Jehovah, but Jehovah did not want him. Therefore, he serves the Dark Queen by default. He fears the servants of God as barriers to his eventual salvation by Lilith.  For if Jehovah transcends above Lilith, Seth has no hope of eventual salvation.

By the 1920's, as a measure of Thoth's teaching ability, Seth's skill in blood magic was exceeded by very few Thaumaturgists. While Thoth had never done anything to warrant explicit concern, Seth began to wonder about the origins and purposes of his long-time friend. He began to suspect every stray black cat that crossed his path was really an Umbral being intent upon manipulating him in some eternal scheme on behalf of the Court of Shadows.

Furthermore, Seth began to feel that his search for redemption might be ended prematurely due to the interference of the Great Powers. He studies astrology devoutly, and sees doom in every sign.

In 1933, Seth relationships with Angel and Morena had warped him and instilled within him an obsession for Clan Toreador women. His repressed anger and hatred led him to kill a young Toreador named Marcia. However, as the number of his Diablerie victims added up, Seth apparently began to lose control over his actions. From time to time, he is apparently being possessed and controlled by the united strength of victims.

In 1950, Seth moved to America and took up residence in San Francisco, claiming the title of Prince. He soon faced a challenge from Vera Hong, the Toreador Primogen, who was revealed to be affiliated with the Baali. Seth incapacitated her with his Thaumaturgical arts and then ordered her Final Death, which was carried out by Clan Tremere. While Seth felt the urge to Diablerize his enemy, he was so afraid that her blood might be infernally tainted, that he passed on the opportunity.

Seth has found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the changing trends of the modern era. While he is not above using modern conventions, Seth is not an early adopter and demands new ideas to be thoroughly tested before he will use them. He simply prefers the old ways.

In 1999, having grown weary of the eternal betrayals of the Camarilla Elders, Seth publicly renounced his affiliation with the Camarilla and renewed his allegiance with the Sabbat, claiming the title Cardinal of California in the process.

The San Francisco Primogen quickly appointed a new Prince: Tara of Clan Tremere. Realizing that his 1000 years of existence have left him with many powerful enemies among both the Camarilla and the Sabbat, Seth has taken special security precautions for both himself and his haven, the West Tower of St. Dymphna, the Sabbat Cathedral.