Sword of Caine (History)

This is meant to be an optional bit of information; take it as a 'Dark Eras' entry.

History
The Knights of the Purple Cross was formed during the Dark Ages by the German Ventrue Prince Hardestadt looking to establish his own personal Knightly Order. Wanting a Ghoul Family he could call his own, he began to selectively breed physically capable mortals together in an attempt to breed the ultimate knight. After a few centuries he had succeeded in his charge. These knights went on to win Hardestadt many victories during the War of Princes, and were the envy of European kindred. Hardestadt had become a powerful Ventrue Prince in Germany, sitting on the Camarilla Elector's Council that ruled within the Holy Roman Empire. His knights ensured his position's security and quelled any would-be dissidents.

Things changed for Hardestadt (and the Camarilla as a whole). Prince Hardestadt was murdered by his childe, Hardestadt the Younger. Using Vicissitude he changed his face and body to that of his Sire, and masqueraded as him for centuries. In 1184 when the Delegation of Ivory met, Hardestadt the Younger remained in hiding and declared support for the Camarilla.

However behind the scenes Hardestadt had been secretly funding Carthian cells all over Europe. When the War of Oaths came to an end, Hardestadt felt unsatisfied. When the Sabbat openly declared themselves Hardestadt decided to throw his support in with the newly formed Sect. His rebellion against the Camarilla in favor of the Sabbat earned him, ironically, Final Death at the hands of Scolzech, a Tzimisce elder who wanted his throne. The Scolzech reformed the Knights of the Purple Cross into the Sword of Caine.

Formation
The Sword of Caine migrated into the hands of the Scolzech, a 400 year old Tzimisce. It was then that the Tzimisce embraced the first of the knights, turning them into fully fledged Cainites. Augmented by their new found power, they slew the Tzimisce Scolzech and each took turns consuming both his flesh and vitae. It was then that they had finally been freed of their strings, and struck out on their own accord.

Abandoned by the Camarilla, the Sword of Caine eventually ended up pledging their allegiance to the European Sabbat. However given their origin they were treated with mistrust or in some cases outright hostility. When the New World was discovered, the Sword of Caine found itself in position to flee Europe and start anew. In the colonies, the Sword of Caine found new purpose and organized into a fully fledged Covenant. They existed independently of the American Sabbat until the Covenant Law, at which point they had fully pledged themselves once again to the Sabbat. They would go on to become one of the most influential Ghoul Families & Covenants within America.