Jocelyn Marsh

Seneschal Jocelyn Marsh
Clan: Nosferatu

Embrace: 1902

Covenant: Carthian Movement "'My mad face and my happy face are the same.'"In nearly all senses of the word, Jocelyn Marsh is an unconventional Seneschal for an unconventional city. A native of Santa Cruz by birth, and a member of Clan Nosferatu by Blood, her appointment as Seneschal shocked many. Partially because she is Nosferatu, and partially because she is the Prefect of the Carthian Movement. Some believe that the Cardinal selected her as Seneschal so he could keep a close eye on her. Others believe she was given the position so as to placate the young Carthians in the city.

But there is an old saying that goes, “Never underestimate a Nosferatu in power, because she didn’t get there through charm.” This is certainly the case with Marsh, though she is fortunate enough to bear only minor physical deformities from her Embrace.There were two reasons, and two reasons alone, that Jocelyn Marsh became Prefect of the Carthian Movement after the death of Minister Black. First, she was the only candidate that all factions within the movement could agree upon (they were no more unified then than they are now). And second, she truly is a competent administrator and organizer. Unofficially, she is widely believed to be the one who killed Minister Black.

Jocelyn Marsh also enjoys the dubious distinction of being the oldest members of her covenant. While not yet an elder at just over 100, she nevertheless commands a significant amount of power and is well versed in the eldritch powers of the Blood. Her enemies within the covenant point to her age as a sign that she is too inflexible to truly effect the needed changes and may grow too comfortable in power to ever surrender it without a fight. Her enemies outside the covenant disparage her “youth” as proof of her inability to lead. For the most part, Marsh is content to ignore these voices while working to undermine their influence and prove just how dangerous she can be when angered. In part, her nonchalance is a result of much larger and more dangerous issues she must deal with.

Embraced early in 1902, Jocelyn Marsh has what some might call an unfortunate past. Born the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute and an unknown father, she grew up on the streets and was forced to weather the violence therein and her own mother’s neglect. Beginning as a pickpocket, and later as a prostitute herself, Jocelyn learned the hard way exactly what the dark side of life was all about. Eventually, she was Embraced by a Nosferatu seeking quick sustenance, but who lost control and hastily brought her over. Her feelings on the matter seem largely indifferent, though, and in fact she considers the Embrace to be one of the best things to ever happen to her. It may have its own trials, but she knows Hell and exactly what it means to die by inches. Curiously enough, she began her Requiem among the unbound, but was later inspired to join the Carthians in 1941 by a charismatic young Daeva. There she shone, building a power base and a reputation for reliability and ferocity in equal measure.

Those who first meet the Seneschal are often shocked by her appearance, especially having learned of her clan. Not because she is ugly, but because she is not. Jocelyn could never be considered beautiful, but with the proper clothing she might manage cute (at a glance, anyway). Usually, though, she prefers to look indifferent, or even creepy, an air that is only enhanced by her skill with the Discipline of Nightmare. Young at the time of her Embrace, Jocelyn can pass herself off as a teenager, a twenty-something, or possibly even a child, although she generally prefers to project the air of a disaffected youth. Regardless, she is Nosferatu and is surrounded by the air of a predator. None can deny that they stand in the presence of a monster, even if the uninitiated cannot tell what kind. This is only enhanced by fangs that will not fully retract, a gaunt appearance, and skin as pale and cold as a bled-dry corpse.