Bonus Points 15: -5 Dexterity, -1 Gen, -1 Resources, -2 Mentor, -2 Willpower, -4 Melee

Crafts: Metalworking
Language: Greek, Latin, Egyptian, Farsi/Persian

Combat Equipment:
Two Handed Spear, Spathion (Bastard Sword), Gladius (Saber), Four Daggers, Small Shield, Light Armor, Light Helm.

As successful mercenary Marcus maintains a personal armory and is never without weapons. All are high quality and well maintained. Like any smart warrior he has several spares in storage. However what he carries on his person varies with the situation.

Mentor-Darius:
Marcus' sire and an elder among the Assamites. Of Persian extraction and several centuries old, he is a fairly benevolent sire but expects his child to stand on his own. Though is not above assistance. He was once known as a deadly swordsman (and still is) but over the centuries has become more of a scholar and learned something of Blood Magic from the Sorcerer caste. Currently in Constantinople though Marcus does not know for how long or what his sire's plans are. While Marcus respects his sire's skill and knowledge he is not slavishly loyal either.

Marcus carries a Pebble From the Mountain. The seemingly innocuous stone is a result of Darius' blood magic studies, a basic ritual creation that allows Marcus to contact his sire. Darius had made clear it is not to be used frivolously.

Enemy-Black Dog:
A rather infamous barbarian Gangrel wanderer who only goes by the name of Black Dog, which he rather resembles. Their enmity stems from the Sack of Rome when the Dog came looking for prey in the chaos. He chose Marcus' current employer though, something Marcus did not allow. After the Sack Black Dog disappeared but Kindred are rarely forgiving and never forget. Marcus doesn't know where the Gangrel went, or care which is sure to enrage Black Dog. Marcus is confident he can beat the Dog and has before, is probably a more skilled fighter on the whole, but failed to kill him despite trying.

Description:
Appears a man in his early thirties of swarthy complexion with black hair cut short in the Roman style and stubble he does not bother to shave off most nights. In excellent physical shape. Considered handsome by most though not a big talker. Projects the moderately cynical personality of a mercenary. While he holds no loyalty to anything but Alamut he does care about his reputation so will (generally) keep commitments he makes.

Background:
A Kindred for about a century Marcus was the second son of a an Alexandrian merchant. He was apprenticed to a smith and there learned something of the making and care of swords and armor before deciding he'd rather swing then make one. He became a private guard for merchants and a good one too soon protecting wealthiest men in the southern Med. That change one night when his employer was stalked for an unpaid debt to a vampire. Doing his job Marcus protected his employer. Sufficient was his skill with a sword that when it was done the vampire died the final death.

Watching this was the vampire's sire, the one Marcus' employer had actually offended. Impressed by the Marcus' skill the vampire took him while settling the debt. And so Marcus joined Clan Assamite and was brought to Alamut. Here he went through the training and rites of the clan, becoming respected for his skill with a sword. Here he first picked up the moniker "the Egyptian" to note his origins. After a time in Alamut Marcus returned to his previous employ, only now for Kindred and working for much larger sums. Five decades back he found himself where all roads lead and stayed there for an extended period. For over several decades Marcus plied his sword for one employer or another, growing wealthy. He fought in the shadows as Odoacer sacked the city and barbarians infested the Eternal City, but it was no avail. The barbarians and the pagans came in, Cainites as ever following the shifts in mortals. Rome was never the same and Marcus drifted quickly between contracts, but it was not the same. In recent nights he received a message from his sire, now in Constantinople and inviting his childe to join him. Aimless but ready to seek a new purpose Marcus answered the call and made his preparations to leave

Other Acquaintances:
Atia Thurina Major- Influential Lasombra in Rome of patrician family stock and Marcus' last employer in Rome. After the Sack of Rome she sought to retain as much influence for those Cainites of true Roman stock like her; opposing the flood of barbarians that shadowed the mortal conquest. She had no problem with a simple sword with no political delusions and they got on as well as any two Cainites could. The parting was amicable when Marcus decided to leave the city for New Rome.
Triple A- Marcus has taken a contract with the Ravnos slaver to supplement the mortal guards in the event of trouble. Obligating him to defend the caravan and employer, though he is not strictly a personal bodyguard. Triple A has made overtures of a more long-term relationship upon reaching Constantinople but Marcus has not yet agreed waiting to confer with his sire's plans.

Secrets:
-Marcus is that rare Cainite without many secrets and no political ambitions, something which has puzzled a few that have interacted with him. In typical Cainite fashion they assume he must be hiding something and go chasing phantoms.
-This is not to say that he is without secrets. Marcus' relate to clan business. He sends semi-regular reports to the Mountain on what he has heard (which as a trusted bodyguard is plenty) and has put his sword alongside his brothers on several occasions in ways that did not benefit his current employers.

Goals:
-Immortality is beginning to wear on Marcus. He's been a sword for hire for a long time and acquired decent of wealth with it. He is starting to quietly desire something more to fill his nights with though, it might be a noble purpose or simply developing a great vice.