David Blackstone was a magician, a master of sleight-of-hand and stage illusionism. While always fascinated by the occult, he had reluctantly drawn the conclusion that "real" magic was nowhere to be found. Still, his brand of macabre Gothic performance made him a decent living and let him work his oily charm on crowds of people begging to be deceived. He was going places, until the accidental death of his assistant in a trick gone wrong.

Disgraced and fallen to depression and drug use, he was approached by a long-time audience member with an offer: real magic, immortality, power... in return for just his freedom and his soul. David didn't have to think about it for long.

Embraced into Clan Tremere, he was apprenticed by the warlock Martin Fayne. However, Martin quickly grewed bored with his childe and sent David to be fostered at a distant chantry. In fact, seemingly by mistake, he gave the Primogen the impression that David was a full magus, not a mere apprentice - a misunderstanding that David has taken care not to correct. After all, he knows better than anyone that the appearance of arcane power can sometimes be more useful than the fact of it...