A Senegalese prince sold into slavery in 1603, Malik Dior was a proud man, unwilling to be defeated by his captors, yet intelligent enough to channel his energy into manipulation rather than fruitless physical disobediance. By the time of his arrival in Santo Domingo, he had already learned much of the ways of his captors and was able to see to it that he was purchased by a powerful plantation owner and quickly rose to an overseer position by playing to the man's favor. When his master fell ill, he easily acquired more control over his affairs, until his influence was so instrumental to the continued production of the crops that even his mistress deferred to him. This situation continued until the master's death of yellow fever, when his son arrived from Spain to attend to his affairs. Noting the dangerous position of his father's overseer, he made arrangements to have Malik killed discretely, so as to be able to pass his disapperance off as an escape and thus avoid rousing the slaves.
Malik's skill and success had been noted, however, by a Spanish Setite who intervened in order to Embrace the young prince, using his disciplines to allow the assassins to believe that they'd succeeded. Taking his charge back to the capital with him, he explained what Malik had become and why. The transition from man to monster was smoothed by Malik's royal pride and his far from sated desire to control those around him. By the time the French took control of the colony, the young Setite had already used his considerable skills to build a network of influence across the colony. However, it wasn't long before he decided that his sire was unnecessary, and so a plan was hatched. In the days leading up to the revolution, Malik quietly gathered allies, including the island's Samedi and a number of practitioners of an old religion from West Africa adapted to the New World, called voodoo. When the time came and turmoil gripped the island, he attacked and diablerized his sire with the help of a half-dozen newly Embraced progeny he'd secreted among the encampments of escaped slaves, to whom he came as the voodoo loa Legba.
Legba also used the revolt to further extend his power base, moving his own pawns into positions of power as the structure of society was dismantled and disrupted. His plot looked to be an unqualified success when he got word of possible English interference towards the end of the 18th century. He decided to change his plan slightly and investigate New Orleans, a city of increasing importance on the Gulf, sending ahead a trusted ghoul by the name of Jacques Paris. His childer were given orders on how to procede while he was gone and then he departed. When the anticipated invasion occured, but with little effect on his power structure, he was expected to return. However, his short stay in New Orleans brought a number of new opportunities to his attention and he put off returning home while he explored them. Using Paris and a new ghoul by the name of Doctor John (who proceded to incorporate elements of his master's life into his own myth), he made efforts to establish a presence within the city. This brought him into immediate conflict with the Lasombra Vicario, with whom he had a brief, subtle struggle for control of the city.
The onset of the first Sabbat Civil War, however, forced Vicario to concede to the Setite's presence and the assistance of Paris (now calling himself Louis Glapion) and other Setite pawns in the War of 1812 helped to cement the alliance. Freed of the effort of fighting the Lasombra, Legba instead sought to increase his influence within the city, using the population he had in Santo Domingo, slaves and the gens de couleur, and the tool, voodoo. Noting the limitations of Doctor John, he decided to create a new figure from scratch. With the assistance of Paris, he seduced and corrupted a woman by the name of Marie Laveau and set out to make her into the Gran Mambo of New Orleans. Surprisingly, she needed very little prompting, showing a flair for mixing Catholic elements into the African beliefs and a remarkable charisma. Pleased with his efforts, Legba began to consider returning to his island. Paris had received the Embrace as a reward for his service and would serve as a fine representative of Legba's interests in the American city.
The growth of the city during the Antebellum period, however, convinced him otherwise, and talk of his return grew less frequent, causing some tension with his new childe. The success of their efforts mitigated this somewhat, though Legba began to grow concerned at Marie's own influence and power. To test her loyalty, he decided to set her on the destruction of his ghoul Doctor John, her former mentor. John had proved a disappointment, despite his great successes, and Marie was easily able to destroy him with a careful set of curses and planned misfortunes that left him destitute and powerless. Impressed at her eagerness, as well as her methods, Legba promised her the Embrace as soon as her use as a public figure was no longer needed. This drove another wedge between Legba and Paris, which almost led to an outright conflict, if it hadn't been for the onset of the Civil War.
The arrival of the Brujah Callough and his brood into the city challenged both Vicario and Legba's control of the city. However, Callough's attempts to gain influence in the underclass of criminals and poor immigrants directly challenged the Setites' powerbase. The period of Reconstruction hid an extended war between corrupt elements of the city's underbelly. Carpetbaggers under the control of the Brujah attempted to woo the newly franchised blacks to their camp, while the influence of voodoo began to wane as the impetus for its existence, slavery, ceased to be an issue. Even after the reassertion of Democrat control and the end of Reconstruction, the battle raged on. The Embrace of Marie by her "husband" Paris was prompted by a scheme the former had hatched to regain some manner of dominance, which resulted in the birth of Storyville.
Legba finally decided to return to Haiti when it fell under U.S. military occupation prior to first World War, leaving Paris to see to Setite interests in the Crescent City. He found, upon his return, that most of his web of influence had fractured as his childer had fallen to fighting. He began the slow job of knitting it all back together, finally achieving his goal with the rise of Papa Doc Duvalier in 1957, the same year as the third Sabbat Civil War. He is forced to return to New Orleans, where he negotiates with Vicario's child, Paul Delacroix, for partial control of the city, along with Baron Samedi. Together, they finally drive the Brujah from the city. Further negotiations lead to his entire sect of Setites' entry into the Sabbat as the Serpents of Light in the 1970s.
Settling into his new role, Legba has again become concerned with the ambitions of his progeny. In order to solidify his position, he had begun to import childer and neonates from Haiti with strong ties of loyalty. The decay of the Duvalier regime in his absence has concerned him, however, and he is contemplating a return to the island nation when circumstances allow. Given the delicate situation he perceives himself being in, however, it is unlikely this will occur any time soon. Particularly, the Embrace of Aida Dior, a distant relative from Senegal, has tied him to the city for at least as long as is necessary to see her powerful enough to stand on her own against her older, jealous siblings.
Legba was born and raised to power and privilege and these two urges have never left him. What little lingering respect for his fellow man he had was lost during his years as a slave, to be replaced only by a desire to control those around him for his own personal use. While this was predominantly a means for survival and comfort during his neonate years, it has since been magnified into an end in itself such that the acquisition of power is pursued with no mind to personal satisfaction or even real gain.
His manner remains that of a prince: authoritative, self-assured, and regal. He is impressive in person, even without the aid of Presence, radiating a sense of nobility rare in the modern age. In many contexts, it is almost anachronistic or even buffonish, leading some to underestimate him. He is, however, sharp, manipulative, and much more subtle than he seems.
Over the years, Legba has grown increasingly paranoid of his childer, generally as they've begun to have motives similar to his own. Most of his fears are well-placed, leading to a great deal of tension in his pack. The escalating war of influence between himself, Marie, and Paris are likely to erupt into overt conflict shortly, unless the situation changes.
He shares a certain respect for the Lasombra, but had more for Vicario than he does for Delacroix, just due to the relative youth of the latter. However, he has thus far been impressed with the man's ability to hold up his end of ruling the city and has come to enjoy his company on its own merits (mostly because of shared motivations).
Baron Samedi is something of a troublesome issue for him. He has known several members of the bloodline, and suspects he knew his sire (its founder). However, he is unsure of this one's motivations and is particularly wary of his knack for knowing everything going on in the city before anyone else. Also, he is vaguely threatened by his involvement in voodoo, which has kept their relations cool.
Legba intensely dislikes Malena and the effect she is having on the other kindred in the city. He finds the Albigensian philosophy to be repellant, as he feels it encourages weakness and decadence and is undermining the strength of the city's Sabbat. Thus, he has begun to take a keen interest in her movements and mechanitions and even suspects she was responsible for the death of her childe.
Legba's influence in New Orleans is limited by his uncertain personal commitment to the city and to the fact that he's let his brood do most of the work, leaving them with the requisite contacts, money, and power. He relies almost solely on his status as something of a feudal lord, able to call upon his vassals to put their personal resources at his disposal at a word. He's rarely had to do this and it is likely, particularly now, that he would not receive the response he hoped for, should he decide to call upon it.