After the awakening of Tristan Lossio, a member of a long-extinct clan of vampire, it has been discovered that at least one Kindred from every ancient clan of vampire still exists in the world today. They were sole survivors of an occurrence witnesses called The Red Star, wherein the sixteen original clans mysteriously disappeared, leaving only five clans left on earth. Those who retained their memories and clan identities before Gehenna were in torpor when it occurred, and those who were awake changed drastically, losing all memory of themselves prior to the event.
These ancient vampires believed that the grandchilder of Caine, the Antediluvians (or "those before the Flood") would awaken at the time of Gehenna and either lead the Kindred world to salvation or to destruction. When they awakened after The Red Star, they saw the coincidence between what had occurred to them and the foretold circumstances of Gehenna, and therefore refer to themselves as "the Antediluvians".
At that time in Kindred History, two major factions existed in society: the Camarilla and the Sabbat. The Camarilla created the Three Traditions, the tenets around which modern Kindred society revolves. The Sabbat sought to undo what was created by the Camarilla by exposing the vampiric existence to mortals and forcing mankind to bow to their will as the superior immortal beings. Although many of the Antediluvians alive today still hold true to the beliefs of their old factions, others have strayed from their clan's traditional stances. When they meet every several centuries or so, those from the Camarilla fight for the right to lead Kindred society towards a greater existence, while the Sabbat seeks to wipe the slate clean and rebuild Kindred society from square one through complete and utter annihilation. Sixteen Antediluvians, one for each of the sixteen ancient clans, is permitted to vote at these summits, and should the council be unable to reach a decision with a two-thirds majority in the span of one year, the Antediluvians agree not to interfere in any way with modern Kindred society. That is, of course, until the next meeting.
We know now that the Antediluvians are coming to New York City, and they will meet once again on the evening of December 31st, 2010 to decide their role in this world. These are those confirmed to speak with the voice of their clans...
Bartleby Crane (played by Basil Rathbone)
The Voice of Clan Ventrue
Faction: The Camarilla
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Aleister Blackwood (played by Ian McKellen)
The Voice of Clan Malkavian
Faction: The Sabbat
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Galway Lossio (played by Ralph Fiennes)
The Voice of Clan Brujah
Faction: The Sabbat
Current Status: TORPID
Jonathon Hawthorne (played by Matthew Goode)
The Voice of Clan Ravnos
Faction: The Sabbat
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Adele DuBois (played by Olivia Wilde)
The Voice of Clan Cappadocian
Faction: The Camarilla
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Kofi Owusu (played by Kevin Grevioux)
The Voice of Clan Nosferatu
Faction: The Camarilla
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Motecuma (played by Danny Trejo)
The Voice of Clan Gangrel
Faction: The Camarilla
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
Pope Pietro Sangiovanni (played by Jason Isaacs)
The Voice of Clan Giovanni
Faction: The Sabbat
Current Status: ALIVE, UNWELCOME IN NYC
Rosalina Almodovar (played by Gemma Arterton)
The Voice of Clan Toreador
Faction: The Camarilla
Current Status: ALIVE & WELL
"The Tremere"
The Voice of Clan Tremere
Faction: The Sabbat
Current Status: UNKNOWN