Since the first of them followed their Antediluvian to what is now known as the Carpathian Mountains, the Tzimisce have spread over Eastern Europe like a looming terror. Although few Tzimisce have ever claimed praxis in western Europe, they are now all but the only Clan to rule within the former provinces of Dacia and the client states of the Empire that lay north of the Danube. Many of them have held these lands since before the birth of Alexander’s Empire and many expect to rule even when the Byzantium is naught but dust.

Tzimisce itself, often called The Eldest, has not been seen for millenia. Some claim it has transcended the limits of Koldunism, becoming the spirit of the Carpathians itself. Some that it walks the land incognito.

Where other Clans might claim political hold over a domain, the Tzimisce’s mystical insight and obscure elemental magics allow them to literally grasp its soul. A bond that goes both ways, the flaw of their line imprisoning some in their domains more firmly than any who earn their displeasure. While this does not prevent Tzimisce sharing territory, it has sustained the Clan’s tradition of single voivode ruling over independent domains with a small brood of childer, often bound by blood, and a few vassal vampires of other Clans.

To many, especially those who live within their domains, the Tzimisce are brutal overlords to be propiatied in the hopes they will look to another should they feel a cruel whim. However, they are also hospitable and strangely honourable to a degree rarely found in all but the rankest neonates of other Clans — thus, once they have offered sanctuary or given their word they can become equally terrible in their adherence to that oath.

Some younger Tzimisce find this adherence to tradition restrictive or have grown weary of service and servitude to their sires, seeking new territories or new ways of ruling. Some have even proposed strengthening ties between the domains of the Voivodate beyond the icy politeness of honourable enemies. Other Tzimisce have set aside their roles as rulers, focusing on abstruse knowledge or even pursuing evolution into something beyond vampirism.

As Bavaria borders the lands of the Tzimisce, each mortal invasion has brought with it members of the clan. In times of greater peace, it is often the first destination for both those fleeing their dire masters and those acting as their emissaries to the wider world. Equally those Tzimisce seeking to expand beyond their Clan’s traditional areas, whether politically, intellectually, or spiritually, have often visited and sometimes stayed. Thus, they are now one of the most populous Clans in the region.

This has led to a dichotomy in the Clan between those who wish to expand the borders of the Voivodate, either for themselves on behalf of their sires, and those who seek to step aside from questions of rulership in pursuit of more unusual goals.

Tzimisce looking to Sire often seek out those of an intellectual or mystic bent, placing great value on individuals who are already aware of the spirits of the land in some fashion. Given the Clan tendancy to keep Childer close by in service, those seeking to add to their line often observe their potential childer for long periods before coming to a final decision about whether to Embrace them.

When it comes to ghouls, as creatures of twisted nobility who value unchanging tradition, many Tzimisce consider it only sensible to train a single servant in the correct way to handle a matter and retain them indefinitely rather than allow them to die. Due to the strength and loyalty vampire blood imbues, many Tzimisce who do not have an appropriate Childe to fit such a role will instead ghoul the leaders and elite members of their guard. Equally, those of a more experimental nature will often bind ritual assistants or researchers to them by blood.

The Voivodate is also home to various Revenant families, clans of hereditary ghouls loyal to various lineages of the Tzimisce; while those who know how to create Revenants conceal even the fact that they can, most Tzimisce will go to considerable effort to bind a member of an existing Revenant family to them if given the opportunity, rather than create a new ghoul.