Saulot, also known as Zao-Lat, Zao, the Dragon or the Warlord, was

an Antediluvian who was diablerised by Tremere (possibly voluntarily), in 1133. The

warrior and the healer Salubri are his main progeny, who were nearly destroyed after
his diablerie; the warrior Salubri recently resurfaced in the Sabbat.
The Malkavians consider Saulot and Set to be brothers to Malkav, and that the third
eye was given to Saulot by Malkav himself. [14]

CONTENTS
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1. Biography
1. What the Kuei-Jin Know
2. Things Others Might Suspect
2. Speculation
1. Horribly Evil Antediluvian, Somewhat Evil Antediluvian
2. Interpreting Justin Achilli
3. Version Differences
4. Gallery
5. References
BIOGRAPHY EDIT

The history of Saulot is obscure, but summarized as follows: in the First City of Enoch,
the ancient Enoch Embraced a young man with prophetic gifts. This seer differed from
other Antediluvians in his explicit disquiet with the Kindred state. He focused on
meditation, prayer and other abnegation techniques, often in tandem with his mystical
siblings Malkav and Set. Nothing could quell the Beast for long, however.
Still, Saulot had his duties to his kin, and he embraced a clan of healers, the Salubri.
These vampires were unique among the kindred for their compassion the Salubri
were healers of kindred and kine, unable to take blood unless freely given. Sometime
after the Deluge, Saulot gave up on the disciplinary techniques he had developed and
sought enlightenment in the East under the tutelage of Indian gurus. He disappeared
from the sight of all for centuries, only to return, worn and weary, but now with a third
eye and claiming a new path to enlightenment: Golconda. With this wisdom, the Salubri
claimed a new role to healer - teachers of enlightenment and the guides to mastery of
the Beast.
After Saulot returned, demonic creatures arose in the East these were vampires sired
by an unknown elder and named Baali in the service of their lords. At this time, Saulot's
childe Samiel, never at peace in the role of a healer, took up the sword and became the
first of the Salubri warriors. Samiel led the troops of the Antediluvians against the Baali,
eventually defeating them at Chorazin. With the collapse of the Second City, Saulot
wandered and taught Golconda, eventually falling into deeper and longer torpor. Some
time after the Crucifixion, Saulot disappeared.
Until 1133, the fledgling bloodline of the Tremere sought legitimacy by claiming the
blood of an Antediluvian for their own. After much scrying and searching, the mages
came on Saulot's torpid form. Unguarded, lord of a relatively passive clan, and unable
to move, Saulot was the perfect target for the ambitious Tremere. A party of Tremere
raided Saulot's tomb and the founder himself drank the Antediluvian's essence. The
Tremere, flush with the power of an Antediluvian now found themselves marked
as diablerists, usurpers, and dangerous. They reciprocated by launching a slander
campaign against the Salubri, always feared for their strange spiritual powers, and
eventually won over the rest of the Clans, who were always willing to sacrifice principle
for present advantage.
In 1998, Saulot took control of Tremere's body after quite a struggle, he then broke the
wards set to hold him and is now free again. [15][16] He has since taken up residence
in Hunedoara Castle, though none residing within know of his presence, disguised with
his massive powers as a mortal servant named Stefan. He hopes The Twelve in
residence there will put aside their differences and grudges and turn back to the path
toward Golconda.
WHAT THE KUEI-JIN KNOW EDIT

The name Saulot is unknown to the Wan Kuei, who generally view the barbarian
"Kindred" with their homicidal farmer stories as so much unenlightened trash. However,
the Wan Kuei do know of Zao-Lat, a student of Xue, a thief, a despicable creature who
benefited from Xue's compassion, learned Ch'iuh Muh, sat at the feet of the master and
stole his wisdom. Zao-Lat was not one of the Wan Kuei, and when he left, he left behind
his messes.
Now inhabiting the East are the two families of Zao-Lat, the Wu-Zao. These two families
are descended from two living beings twisted by Zao-Lat: Zao-Xue the scholar and Zao-
Zei the thief were once captured by the Wan Kuei, but escaped and their progeny have
since popped up throughout the Middle Kingdom. As for Zao-Lat, he hasn't been seen in
millennia, and the world is better off for it.

The Kuei-Jin never refer to Zao-Lat without some sort of epithet attached to the end of
the name; the most common is "Zao-Lat the Traitor".

THINGS OTHERS MIGHT SUSPECT EDIT

Saulot's darker history appears in several locations, most notably in the stories about
the odd progenitor of the Baali. It is universally accepted that the Baali founders were
three demon worshippers who were tossed into an organ pit and thrown some vampire
blood, told by a contemptuous vampiric ancient that they understood nothing about the
true nature of evil. The Baali claim that the elder came from the East. The Baali claim
that elder was Saulot.
An additional witness for the prosecution may be Haqim, whose judges worked with the
Salubri warriors during the Baali Wars - Haqim himself did not trusted Saulot, who
seemed obsessed with exterminating the Baali. Tremere himself may have something to
say, since due to a miscalculation he found out that Saulot had played him for a fool,
and for eight centuries fought the Salubri Antediluvian for control of his own body, only
to lose. The passive founder of the clan might not be so passive after all.
Finally, a small coterie of Vampires who have wandered through Transylvania might
mention a document they found from Saulot, where he claimed that he would survive
the Wheel of Ages and control the world. That might be considered a bit... cackling
mad, though.
SPECULATION EDIT

Between the extensive retconning and the somewhat fuzzy nature of dating in the
Second City era, Saulot is open to a variety of interpretations. We outline the more
common ones here.
HORRIBLY EVIL ANTEDILUVIAN, SOMEWHAT EVIL
ANTEDILUVIAN EDIT

Saulot is one of the most prolific of all the Antediluvians, having formed the Wu-
Zao, the Salubri, the Baali, the Nkulu Zao, the Tremere (loosely) and (possibly)
the Salubri antitribu. He may have been seeking something, and each line failed
him in some fashion. Saulot may be most dissatisfied with the Salubri proper, and
the antitribu may reflect his view on what his clan should really be like.
Saulot studied enlightenment under Xue. That means that Golconda might be
equivalent to one of the Dharmas. Certainly, Saulot exemplifies Devil
Tiger behavior with the Baali. Saulot may be powerfully enlightened, and may
have achieved Golconda, only it may be something more terrifying than anyone
conceived.
Saulot may have flaked out in the East, and what happened with the Baali was
an aberration from a personality genuinely seeking redemption. Or the formation
of the Baali may have been, in some incomprehensible way, a service for good in
the long run. Clanbook: Baali suggests the Baali's ultimate purpose is the sating
of chthonic entities (called Children) with sacrifice. Without these sacrifices, the
Children would awaken and devour creation. Thus, the Baali's seeming evil
protects humanity from a worse fate. Saulot may have sired the Baali to serve
this purpose.
In two of the four scenarios for Gehenna Saulot saves the world, with the
players' help. He is present in a third, and is mentioned in a fourth as passively
accepting his own failure and destruction. He is described in the book as a
classical "ends justify the means" Machiavellian, and the implication is that he
sacrificed his own enlightenment and his clan to save the world from the worst
effects of Gehenna.
INTERPRETING JUSTIN ACHILLI EDIT

When Saulot was introduced (in A World of Darkness (1st Edition) ), he was treated as
noble. This interpretation ties in with the first edition's propensity for highly humane,
good vampires who have reached Golconda with relative ease. Saulot darkens
progressively with the 2nd edition of Vampire, notable jumps including:
Kindred of The East: Introduces Zao-Lat
Transylvania Chronicles: Much of the TC series covers revelations about Saulot's
unsavory activities.
In the Revised Edition, Saulot appears in VTM: Gehenna (book)
and VTM: Lair of the Hidden . In LoTH, Saulot is a deus ex machina and
generally portrayed as frustrated with his straying school of Golconda-seekers,
while in Gehenna, Saulot appears in two scenarios. In both interpretations,
Saulot is portrayed as a redeemer for the Vampire race, but generally not
 exemplary or noble (although he is a pre-adolescent clone in one, which may limit
Messiah-potential).
Saulot's darkening goes hand in hand with the general reinterpretation of Golconda
in Vampire: The Masquerade.
VERSION DIFFERENCES EDIT

V20 presents an alternate continuation of the events detailed above. Here, Goratrix
already claimed during the Dark Ages that he was, in fact, Tremere, having been forced
outside his body after he was possessed by Saulot and that the thing that the Clan
served was an abomination (likely referring to [Tzimisce] and Saulot struggling for
control over the body). In this case, Saulot would have overtaken Tremere immediately
and would be the force that sent Clan Tremere against the Salubri, into the formation of
the Camarilla and would have defeated [Tremere] when he destroyed the antitribu.[17]