Priss LaForay
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Torture

Note: These are not for the faint of heart or Stomach to read. These are real torture discriptions used over History.

Tzimisce's use of Torture

It is an unpleasant fact to some Kindred, that a large portion of the Tzimisce culture revolves around ways and means of hurting other beings. Many Kindred would understandably prefer to ignore or gloss over this aspect of the clan. Still, Tzimisce are dubbed Fiends for a good reason, and information from that perceived evil that is the Clan Tzimisce, may be particularly useful to those used to a more benevolent Camarilla perspective.

Psychological preparation is vital for any torture session and Tzimisce disciplines are admirably suited to this. Vicissitude allows the torturer to assume a shape appropriate for the situation. Perhaps an incredibly beautiful member of the gender to which the victim is attracted, to heighten their shame; or an impossibly hideous one, to heighten the revulsion and terror; or even the form of the victim's worst enemy, or closest friend. Auspex allows the Tzimisce to discover the victim's phobias and dirty little secrets, and to discern which areas of the victim's body are particularly sensitive.

Tzimisce disciplines also vastly aid in the actual torture session. Vicissitude allows the torturer to become his own tool kit, reforming his extremities (or the victim's extremities) into a variety of intrusive implements, perfectly shaped to fit the victim (or, not quite fit, as the case may be...). Then, too, the sight of one's bones heaving of their own accord through one's skin is always disconcerting --- and it becomes difficult to find release in a scream when one's tongue has been grafted to the roof of one's mouth.... Animalism allows for a variety of noxious creatures (particularly those inspiring panic in the victim) to be summoned and precisely directed around, on top of, or even into the victim.

Of course, as is commonly physical torture has it's limits and this is particularly true concerning Kindred. Most Elders worthy of that title have experienced massive body trauma at least once during their unlife and thus, are somewhat numb to the standard concept pain. Moreover, Kindred scoff at threats that would break many mortals, such as amputation or castration, given their regenerative capabilities. And how does one threaten a Nosferatu with disfigurement? Sometimes even mortals display surprising resilience.

Unfortunately for such victims, Tzimisce are equally skilled at emotional torture. Centuries of unlife have given Tzimisce torturers an uncanny degree of psychological insight into the way the human, and Kindred mind operate. Furthermore, Tzimisce control over the Blood Bond provides torturer's with a variety of fiendish new ways to hurt their victims. For example, two Kindred may be forcibly Blood Bound to one another and then one painstakingly disfigured before the other's eyes. Alternatively, the Tzimisce may break one victim's Bond, while leaving the other still Bound; then the un-Bound victim may then be re-Bound to the torturer and induced to inflict physical or emotional pain on the other remaining victim. Tzimisce may also, through rituals, can cause already Bound beings to feel emotions other than love. A victim capable of bearing the most atrocious wounds without flinching may be utterly broken by a contemptuous slap from the hand of the now hostile love (or childer). Certain Tzimisce actually eschew supernatural means of torture, considering such practices effete.

Boiling Alive: Another form of cooking people, popular in the Middle Ages.
 
Buried Alive: Widely used around the world throughout the ages. For example, in India they buried women in sand up to their necks, then left them, head emerged only, to bake in the sun. 
 
Burned at the Stake: Popular during the Inquisition for heretics, witches, and uppity women.
 
Eaten by Animals: The early Christians were thrown to the lions. This has actual historical backing and was a favorite of many Roman's to watch as a sport.
 
Skinning/Flaying: The skin is removed in strips.
 
Drawn and Quartered: The person is carved into pieces while alive. It was often combined with hanging and used for extremely serious crimes such as high treason, where mere hanging alone was not enough.
 
Impaling: Stakes are driven through the person's body in such a way that vital organs needed for survival are not pierced.

Iron Chair/ Iron Bed: These pieces of iron furniture were placed over a stoked fire and occupants were roasted to death.
 
Iron Maiden: Female effigies constructed of wood or iron with the inside hollowed out and filled with sharp iron spikes. The iron maiden would be opened up and the offender placed inside. The person would then be embraced by the iron maiden, being impaled by all the stakes.
 
The Wheel: Wheels were used in a variety of ways. For example, a person could be somehow attached to the outer rim of a wheel and then either rolled over sharp spikes or off a hill.
 
Crucifixion: Most people immediately think of Jesus. Early crucifixions were carried out on trees, later to be done on crosses in the AD era.
 
Drowning: Used in a variety of ways. Popular at sea and witch trials. Probably the most well-known variation is the witch's test. If the water rejects the woman and she floats, then she is guilty and executed by anth method. If the water accepts her and she drowns, then she was innocent.
 
Blown from a Cannon: The person is positioned across the mouth of a can, then a shot is fired, blasting through the person's body.
 
Pendulum: Just like in the Edgar Allen Poe story. A person lies on his or her back and a razor edged pendulum swings above them, slowly descending. There is question if this actually existed, or was just a creative work of the imagination.
 
Poison: Interestingly, this has not been a common method of execution. Socrates, who was forced to drink hemlock, is probably the most well-known victim of poison.
 
Pressing: The person lies under some sort of slab-like surface and then heavy objects such as stones are placed on top until the person is slowly crushed to death. This process could take hours, or weeks to die from.
 
The Rack: Catch-all term for a number of mechanical devices and practices which cause torture and death by stretching the person.
 
Sawed in Half: Not just used in magic shows
Death by Insects, Etc. There are many variations on the scenario in which the person is staked to the ground, smeared with something sweet like honey, and left out to eventually be eaten/stung to death/devoured by insects. This was a favored tool of the Muslims, and some Native America Tribes.
 
Disembowelment: The torso is slit open and the entrails are removed.
 
Shot by Arrows: Practiced by the Vikings. They would aim at non-vital parts of the body in order to prolong agony as long as possible.
 
Spanish Donkey/ Wooden Horse: The person sat astride a V-shaped structure as if on a horse or donkey. Weights are increasingly attached to the person's feet pulled increasingly downward, until the person is split in two. Also used modernly as a tool of sexual torture in the SM movements.
 
Starvation: The person is put away in a cell or cage and not fed anything. For example, in medieval France there were oubliettes (oublier is France for forget). Currently, the CIA still uses this method while making them stand at attention during the duration of it all.
 
Stoning: Rocks are thrown at a person until he or she dies. Often members of the community will assist in the stoning. Still in practice in some Islamic and African  countries (or at least until very recently). Some great fictionalized depictions of stonings include Zorba the Greek and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
 
Garrote: Oftentimes a hybrid of the rack and hanging. Something is tightened around the person's neck until death results.
 
Dragging: The person is tied to a horse and dragged until death.
 
Throat Slitting: Not used very often because of it's lack of drama.
 
Thrown from a Great Height: The person is thrown off a mountain or a high wall. comment: "Being thrown from a great hight" nowadays includes being thrown from a helicopter (unofficial method by certain military organizations)
 
Tied in a Sack with Animals: A favorite practice in Ancient Rome, a all time fave of the Spanish Inquisition. 
 
The Cauldron: A iron container, mouth down, is placed on the victim's stomach. The container is lifted a bit and some mice or rats slipped inside. Then the container is heated up from the outside with a flame. As it begins to get hot, the mice want to escape, but there is no way out except through the mouth of the cauldron. So they begin to gnaw through the person's stomach and do so until the person dies.
 
Torn Apart Between Two Trees: As in the Robert Frost poem "Birches", two trees would be pulled down so they would come together from opposite directions. One arm and leg would be tied to one tree, the other arm and leg to the other tree. Then, let go of the trees.
 
Torn Apart by Horses: A person is attached to four horses, one to each limb of the body. The horses are then giddied on to gallop in oppostie directions, in the aim that the person will become dismembered. Not a very effective method unless certain tendons in the limbs are pre-cut.
 
Water Death: Person is forced to drink water until death. Traditionally a stiff tube (made of intestine) was forced down the victims throat and they had a non-stop flow of water entering them, or a slow trickle depending on how long they were to suffer.
 
Water Torture: Used in U.S. prisons in the nineteenth century.  Water was poured on top of the prisoner's head and a large bucket of water was also placed under their chin to simulate the feeling of drowning.
 
The Gag: This device was placed in prisoners' mouths and kept in place by locking the chain around their necks. Used in U.S. prisons in the nineteenth century. People starved to death via the gag.
 
The Cage: Giant oddly-shaped metal cages were placed on prisoners' heads and worn throughout the waking hours. Used in nineteenth century American prisons and asylums.
 
The Cat/Flogger: Prisoners were whipped with leather straps and cat-o'-nine tails until their flesh was raw and bleeding. Used in nineteenth century American prisons.

The Aeroplane Treatment: About the first thing that suspected terrorists or harbourers were put through in the backrooms of many police stations in the Punjab in those dark years of terror. Gradually, in many places, it replaced intelligent questioning, Security forces in Kashmir also made wild use of it. It has caused limbs to be amputated and even death. The accused is hung upside down. It starts getting bad as soon as the blood rushes to the head. The second stage of torture commences from here, starting with the beating of the soles. Even without this, heavily-built men can withstand the ‘aeroplane’ treatment only for a few seconds. Lighter men can put up with it for not more than ten minutes.
 
The Bombay Cuf: A variant of the aeroplane; method: The prisoner’s hands are tied behind his back and a pipe is placed under his knees. He is then elevated just above ground level. It is impossible for anybody to remain in that position, with the body weight entirely on the knees, for more than a few seconds.
 
The Roller Method: Perfected in Kashmir, the prisoner is forcibly laid on his back. Then a round pole is rolled over his legs and body, sometimes with the tortures standing on either end of it and rolling it up and down. Terribly painful, and with long term consequences.
 
Cog Needle: A thin iron rod is inserted through the umbilicus, tearing the skin and the muscles, or up the anus damaging the muscles, or up the arms damaging the mucus membrane and other parts of the rectum.
 
Bellary: One of the oldest torture techniques, and still prevalent. A stick smeared with red chilli powder or green chilli paste is thrust into the anus.
 
Breast Ripper: Cold or red-hot, the four claws slowly ripped to formless masses the breasts of countless women condemned for heresy, blasphemy, adultery and many other “libidinous acts”, self-induced abortion, erotic white magic and other crimes. In various places at various times –in some regions of France and Germany until the early nineteenth century– a “bite” with a red-hot ripper was inflicted upon one breast of unmarried mothers, often whilst their creatures, splattered with maternal blood, writhed on the ground at their feet.
Besides the punitive function, breast-ripping also served as an interrogational and juridical procedure.
 
Head Crusher/Head Screw: Recorded in sources dating as early as the Middle Ages, head crushers enjoy the esteem of the authorities in many parts of the world today. The victim’s chin is placed on the lower bar, and the cap forced down by the screw.
All comment seems superfluous. First the teeth are crushed into their sockets and smash the surrounding bone, then the eyes are forced out of their sockets, and finally the brain squirts through the fragmented skull. Although nowadays no longer a means of capital punishment, head crushers are still used for interrogation. The modern caps and chin rests are padded with soft materials so as to leave no mark on the victim. Examples of headcrushers can be seen in the Tower of London and at the Tijuana, Mexico Cultural Center.
 
Head Screw: Another very effective device was the Head Screw. It consisted of a metal hoop, which could be put around one's forehead and the back of the head. With a screw the hoop could be tighten more and more, so that the delinquent was afraid of having his head crushed. This caused extreme panic, so that nearly every confession could be reached.
 
The Pear: These instruments were used –and still are, no longer ornamented but otherwise not much changed– in oral and rectal formats, like the present specimen, and in the larger vaginal one. They are forced into the mouth, rectum or vagina of the victim and there expanded by force of the screw to the maximum aperture of the segments. The inside of the cavity in question is irremediably mutilated, nearly always fatally so. The pointed prongs at the end of the segments serve better to rip into the throat, the intestines or the cervix. The oral pear was often inflicted on heretical preachers, but also on lay persons guilty of unorthodox tendencies; the rectal pear awaited passive male homosexuals, and the vaginal one women guilty of sexual union with Satan or his familiars.
 
Knotting: This form of torture was specific to women. It involved tying a stick into a woman’s hair and twisting it tighter and tighter. When the Inquisitor no longer had the strength to twist, he would hold the victim’s head or fasten it in a holding device until burly men could take over the chore. Not only would the hair be ripped out, but the scalp would often be torn open, exposing the skull. As expected, only women with thick or long hair were chosen for this torture.
 
The Strappado: The strappado was one of the easiest and, therefore, one of the most common torture techniques. All one needed to set up a strappado was a sturdy rafter and a rope. The victim’s wrists were bound behind her/his back, and the rope would be tossed over the beam. Then, the victim was repeatedly dropped from a height, so that her/his arms and shoulders would dislocate.
 
The Wheel: In France and Germany the wheel was a popular form of capital punishment, not least becasue it was pure agony for the victim. In concept it was similar to a crucifixion. The prisoner was tied to the side of the wheel lying on the scaffold, stretched across its spokes and hub. The victim's limbs shattered the limbs one by one with a heavy iron bar. Each arm and leg was broken in several places before the job was done. A skilled executioner would smash the bones of his victim without piercing the skin. The wheel was then propped upright so onlookers could appreciate the dying gasps of the victim. At first the severity of the injuries was thought to be sufficient to bring about death. Later the exectutioner ended the torture by one or two blows to the chest. The wheel could be refined, too, to include other torturous aspects. A suspended wheel might be turned over a fire or a bed of nails. In any event it meant unbearable suffering for the victim.

This is a Fictional Character for a RPG.