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    16 Ansichten106 Seiten

    Vampire Revised Clanbook Lasombrapdf

    Hochgeladen von

    The Witch Blair
    Vamps

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Markieren Sie unangemessene Inhalte
    von 106
    By Bruce BauGHu Crepiis Weitten by: Brace Baugh Developed by: Justin Achilli Editor: James Stewart ‘Art Director: Richard Thomas Layout S Typesetting: Becky Jollensten Interior Art: Michael Gaydos, Leif Jones, Andrew Trbbold, Drew Tucker, Christopher Shy. Front Cover Art: John Van Fleet Front & Back Cover Design: Becky Jollensten Game STuDrD © 2001 White Wolf Publishing, Inc.All rights revere Reproduction without the written permission of the pub- lsher is expresly fobiddlen, except for the purpotes of ‘eviews, and for Wank character sets, which may be repro- duced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire, Varpiee the Maxquerade, Vampite the Dark Ages, Mage the Ascen- sion, World of Darkness and Aberrant ate registered tuademorks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights re- served. Werewoll the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Hunter theReckoning, Werewolf the Will West, Mage the Sorcerets Crusade, Wraith the (Great War, Trinity, lanbook Lavo ters names, places and text herein are copyrighted by Write Wolf Publiing, Inc. Them these pages concerned This book uses the su nce te any sompany o peels not challenge worhe tademath or copyright tural for settings, characters and themes. All myst ipernatueal clenrents are sion. and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book ‘contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Fora free White Wolf catalog call 1-800-454-WOLF. Check ovt White Wolf online a hetpul/www.white-wolficom; alt.games.whitewolf and rec-gamenfipstonyteller PRINTED IN USA, Dean “Unrelenting” Burnham, for two solid weeks of none stop punishment. Mike “Stank” Tinney, for renting the room that smelled like ole lady arm Jess “Comespondence” Heinig, for tying desperuely to create an aisport that came to him, Twice. Joba “What the Funk?” Chambers. for “rescuing” the juke. box ftom Garth Brooks and the Backstreet Boys. Conrad “Zoomtard” Hubbard, for nearly dying twice and being utterly unaware. Fred “Naprand” Yelk, forealling it quitson the fist night but towing progressively more psychotic over the restof the trip, ‘Chad “Von Tabs" Brown, for pills & thrills & bellyaches. Brian “Wingman” Glass, for being there every second ofthe o-weck joutney into the guts of debauchery. Tim" Whoah” Avers, for learning about titty bar the hatd way. Steve“Parience, Grasshopper” Wieck, for not ninja-kickiny the bejeezus out of those three drunken hooligans battering, ‘down hs door at half past two. Spirit Creek, for hosting the GenCon party Lost Goth and Big Daddy Thwak, for, wel, pom. ‘Trem Own Cmencor Fen. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM! “Housekeeping! Clean your rom?" Oops A conection: Ree Soesbee's “Additional Material credit ‘was inadverently left out of Clanbook: Tremere. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: THE DARKNESSCLAIMS YOU CHapter One: AN UNMIRRORED CORRIDOR Cuapter Two: THe Keepers’ UNuITHALis Cuapter THREE: New SHADOWS THe DARK NESS CiaciiveS Wou Ese mein ach a if Te cp roe gaa how many powers of darkness him for their own. oe Perea, “Heart of Darkness” Ten years age: Jean featthe pulstin my tiah lander ad faster as mitre SatA spurts jrinw a Anzeii cult @@ Arip past my face toevaed the pile sf riley glade Saleer sit, Twn merge flashes rfl Hak frm aparks, Yecime aupare that cherchna tony int of chs. Event these EVN made it here vnichin the met— no, Tue gotng to Ale. Ye happend suddenly, 71 bein Ativing meg nese testing the modifications far hands-only cantrit af 4 manual bransmiision. Scary stuffy dnt J vas ‘deluge. Vite and Dad sat in back, Aisappreving | bolt not quite soiling ts any 3, amd managing the gart af ereversatiin ove alias had. to this arosiversary. Nathing avvbindtd Cike."A re you surethat a cripple P shentA. be trying thts sorting thing or, “dent yon thdck that tee years of vhscksivé anger iabent the accihtiat is wnanighi” Dah analy hh leit sega recent construction prtjects and pintih out cook his firm Aad dene trthe mansions ore. drrve past. Th ‘Aecided to take theidens sony home, maaniering arewnd the Arreyn Gico and sesing Keir mitry tandmarks vve conta identify from varions movies. A Gotof Dads corporate castomers ved here, and some Ad the money 0 bring, his firm in for demastic evork. Siraet of saat just plabe strange, tov, (ike the eArsom swith the elevater-monnted ceiling that the voner comth Covver to five feet aboe the fleer for a Aerstert fool. Dad started Dating all the bait Ang | codes that had te be cirenmvented or brifed past fer that bre. Then atl che Cights event ont far cove Becks on every side. Not just the streetlights — everything. Prvch lights, hense Oghts, ever the dashboard becnrity, systems Cights im parkeA cars, There ons total Aarkness evith andy the rave meer overheads J ‘started te pull rver, hit something slippery and coent ver a SriAge abutment. All a matter of tinsing, 1 suppose. A fecw seconds cartier and 1 evenlA have steercA inte a ten- POeigh meisereAnction toatl TE crontd have hart, oayben lot, bat then coed Be stopped. A ferv sectnds tater aud YA have bib OA 18201 Srutage, sxicihen Aisconraging hurricane fauce. Likely vcd have caread off that and span, maybe (lipped, but slapped. semsterhert pw the bridge: Theres enty a small gap betoreen evatl and fence, and J hit tt just right, “TDC ou The van tumbled leregtherise am tts tay th the onl af he evrchense. Thats hy Fm here ambit npsihe Aston, my nscless legs Atngtng werbead ohile may hrmes are pinned. If J conte raise my right ‘Arm: J cOntA tench pre Of the fanr glass Ths that ammeh through the syinihshiedA And br ints the back. Onered mansthrongh Dan's throat, Tes wiore pitrce Vom, one in her right eye anda past belove her collarbone. Dsad gurgtid for a fety mutrentes, bot ‘Vier never mane A sound. J think death’ came prickly for them, Se its just me: J can't opens ney hoor. chn shent fr help, but there hocsn’t seem te be asysne arian. J cant mee t2 release my harness tn disengage the ‘steering colnmun brace or punch in ancdmergency irde ithe car phawe Then the Oights came Sack my, taithont amy pritininary flickering. J caw see the wvhole (rere- fense sprean ene dxlovey or perhaps abrve, wes Its bert War 19 comstenction. 7 verete an article mee abent the immense Anrabitity of "temperary’ baitd- Ings Che this me. Tovisted sheets af corrngated atzainnm nove ie sprasvled aver Lang reves of glass. Whirvors, windoves, peculiar panes vohase fraction J sant imagine, Exit lights reflect threngh the Gnnarectipte, dark red and tminons, Thetvhale sete reminds me of something. Pant Kitts m a bad day. Sime Faturist nightmare. The bleed keeps prand- ng in wy head. Gtngih education. Cmart doesn't ftp yen evhene yen re pinaeh in an npstde-dscen van, Ne Klee voasn 39 ham-harhid. D take another lok ie tha rear Veoy mit thh Wy parents are right where they entre. The car sides Aston a bite The seatbelt ents inte my mack and collarbone \Aithent vvarning, theres « hard, tm my shankder. 7 car ten ey head, 69 J have to roll my yeh as best J can tr set the Lhimz nantly marenred Pngermaite Hs a small, grcegal ad, very hark ImAech, perhaps African vt from Mute Guinea. A {00k chicken the’ mittor shaved nebeky there. J an Aalincinating. ‘ Andrise he weil ib cléar bat tafe, abmiseohispered: Each syllable emars perfectly fopaseh I ioe wath dug inthe mirrors] fl the hah on ney shastder. The hand has mb pntse. Ardeece, acioirivtedge me: fon har md! Tsay mthing. Diam nat a haltncination. rae Aging, and ove nat spek> Visay withing. "Vine Ofe 15 n story you havn't Yeah, Creal ‘th me! Something abaitchatiamads 2, boererringhe that I almost Laugh, suk J sprahe t» the musene presence. VPhat storgt Arve yim going to ctaim ty be Wearehitect of my mideryt The mess tyke made ma Anffer for sey arth: GPive nd, wreaks Even siaygen SATViA, J expict something fatter than that! *Thatls precisely what. 7 rbot te tell yor! “hae "I mean te tall yin that yore Life has Kee my ‘bby fer abont a hecade, and that the melas come frrigem be decide vphat to-do went. Listen te mes’ The wie unfit sendy Cary sf sicrte, things Te ever told anyorce dds: the petty frustrations as tuall ‘ae the great ines, the miner Ole ating vith the ‘massive calamities The bpeaker,erhase sex J carte gress. speaks to me shout caritese Antind and ‘Berserk: mailien and arrogand editors and the einnte Cass tthers ophaoe madd my Ofe nnpleasant. J realize, Homctohere along tha ivey that the velce never panes yr breath Ard yon made it happen? “Aid vohat F cont” Lanagher. Grr the first time J feet confidens that the ice begs tea extoare Dot yon kines the story Hf ek, Andree” "Of canrae. Ged tark nevay everything frim ns “to prrve to Gatan thal ob eons evrrthy. J hope yonte ‘nat going to claim te fe the angel of the Lord” “Listen te me.” The voice remains sift, but theres A command 1 1 Why minth snaps closeh epithont anny comscions ecsion tn may part. A Snagte nti be that immaculate hank pierces my skin: "Spare me ine efforts at Aamuar, J Aid wot select yon tr fe my Fasten J cannat ask the rbuiens grestion; ft she antia- © pates it nreghooe.T wached to find ont evhat yon toate ike eotchane the chins char Aefine yonr Whenctey. If 7 cent remeve year fran and. put Tt ix a jar te periment nomi] tvontd. I Aad te cut acony the Oe erbicnh your mind, as FAT AS pessibCe, €2 see Rory yw UAipe weith lots: Yfonr Cife has been a test. Yon pass, If yon ish” Nowe J can speak again. Phat de J aint 7 ape tts 4 torvel. My eyes ating.” Meeritig?” "D.ssih J didw't want to speak vsith an angel? Yow Aided Am vet an angel."I can haar a sunite tn that lees ALet mesdhore nc? ‘YT hear metal scream anid break pehind me. At \ frat 7 think that I’m losing my peripheral vistim, Then J realize theres tangible Stackwess Beside’ the ear/a edtnmen of soncehing Oke smoke. Floating he y the middle of ty 1 s2e-a extn. Shei tall bot shies, her face heavily seatria. Her hair... isw'thabrat ally 4h layer men lager tf mrvineg shadains, Oke vefal ating granite or pecing bark Per arms Seem vormal exangh— J recognize the hand and toristehat rested im my shentder, Batie them, thongh a second set of p arms pokes through slits nthe gray robe she vvears. hegre mattled black, reminding me stightly of (pictnres nen trhers thansepertmarteie loft rey math anchors for & year, photographing its changes, She scares wie half te heath, nt chat that se far A Grip just nocy, Je halincinaten Sufore, anh J Kee ‘bsatately wore if the enes that tell me my brain ts fabrication the seane. Ye takes mea namie to vention that shes hanging npside dovin in that Aarkwesss (Blmce toe se ee to eye. J fal chaires of association at typhi my mind, as though seme antenomins chonight process has gone searching for everything that “darkness” means 9 me. THemorics flicker and are Gike the darkness artnnd the cotmar. Andreer? she bays thringh latticed ips." Yon ‘See your fears inthe darkoness, Aan’ yout” Sheseed my Bght 0h GAUL yon Dif. all argoa’s De, thine things live beneath yonr skin. Voce they love ont along with your Gife itself. Learn’ (Ome of chase shanory-arms scretches cov9M rh me, Fes lave ok smashes thringh the remains of the Ativer-sihe evindoey ak snakes aronnd in front of ee VRE ane sivift mation it cera arennd my head, completely covering my eyes. Bor an instant there's Kiker. grofannA nothing. Ever the retinal flickers that Been Behind chrseA eyelids disappear; in some Sense) thearkiness pours behind ney eyes.) can't even take a breath, The ftashes of memory become wench moredretense, Thereh ne sensory component ta then, only states of seted Angee: Mt the acsidout: at the hospital at my Parents, ‘at the government. burcancrats, at the focehend doctors ivho fail to understand tohat Tell ass Foote, of resto, of Ung mip mrad an crall as my Corps, of never voriting again, of 0A age and poverty inthis condition mbition and pride, for the ‘meke great everk, to prove urrowg att the doctors and Aonibter, to shave meg parents the fally of thar hrpes for mes Depression ivoven in throngh tall, the destre ‘Tre Dies Clans You te simply Arift Avsay from the body. 7 see myself as 4 veanil sopping aver With Aatk passinns, Cacking neg to e for, fidting the emptiness vith a leveg Geary of thing to Be against ange Vision returns. Tt clandy voce, Gome Sled hans eragulated arennd my eyes, and vive ung peripheral faking fer lack of xygon. Diath sarniet be far avony. ilow reall “Yen see, Anarene, yon have cnt yourself ont of the fabric of stciety. Bout yen do ym tent to clothe yearsedf ines and jt Laie eohat ener aver is net itngh Ze yp see” D wad rr at east J try. My face rttee mink. "Lot int bl yon enhat nbvaitor Atf tale pastiche, Gt Aescribes graveing up in the Becgian Conge, searing in her heart the veces of PAs that the colsnial masters sonrght to destroy. She Acseribes rapive, the hestrnction of sohele tribes, eisavinrt ark hnmibition atthe hands of Enripe ir atery seem irrclevant, same second: ns cme te get rich, Che describes heaving the pee if the Hight inside a partiontarty ambitions ontpest ly te Lose has fo big mAness and self inpervis destrictin suffers Sheteltsiethe story of evarderie at night, hopseg t0 hear a vverd from the shadsces And swe wight the shadsoos spolsts hen 4 pate man emergid and to6d her the Gi serreves and affercd het the pr swatch Adres “8 yon see, Aridrece, others keris tere The shadvey-arm grabs the seat I'm tn and Arner it suas dy tnt of the cary Leith the other shadoee- arms cenrineg off the remains Of my Aver int one ytnk, Waieh a sudden flip, Vm right side np again The ivtman pivits te remain faclng mie and shiks HOUnLY Ee Che grbnnd. VMy shots tench Slordy shards 9488. The cwoman steps ext of the column af darkness and picks the seat and me np vith one Aa he tosses me casnally ints the aya fer Geo: Leow 8 f fifore settinng me Abin. YA vemit If there ever nythiong tefl tn rg atemachs She sguats te lork Airactly at me a5.) fumble for the seatbelt balch.t Stig she says, and] freeze. At S HLeANse’] twat (0, Out, Becanse not ame vetnncary minscle ansivers me. “Stand? Aeghinst meg evil, my arms wnbnekle me and prs me Inte ani mpright peiidion. J teeter for « mbuicsit ied then, duesitably, fall ace forevard onte the glass. Patf 4 Abzen sharks slice me open, tne Big fractione nf Ave inch from my right eye. A. plece poles inte mi math, Uokging agalush my apper frotc 7 can feck te scrape tooth beneath the gam. Nore Arian, Andress. Jnagine yonrsctf abet Ha ephat Tee Prat minds yon de. Yon remaster zene eremies J made ante of that. Can yon envision them a fferinng as you do nore, and exoract Pie yom accept a Tie fsal veerd catches rue by surprise "Ggifte” “Ths bord and hurt is a gift Bus mce again the F chains of assiclation are, J have been very confident thant 1 mivderstaseh hove he vorrth toorkes. Tse mackeh Bihesd coh disagrecd. In my Aesk at heme theres a file of lattrs trom readers ivhe report Aisitta- Mi oh lots of oith becanse of what Tre seridten: LaPinld amythinog Less than this have con: inced mat And J pictare the tart if torment the cxoman caeeithan Yr hesverd somes tub arrnicd the glass S ovedgeA inte may mani. Yes.” fGhadves arms flip md over s4 that I’m bying on ny HER, She Opens Her mans 8 here me (args They don't Lok: Gké mevie-manater props. These are tha reat thing, emergiveg organicalty brim her jnre | toud servated Dike cansivore fangs, As she leans over iy mack, op Sreath stirs wy shvedded eotlar. For a | moment J see channels alneg the farege'inside Ages, stained with small flecks of dried blood. J marvel at thadr offictomeyases T thanght that 7 knee somethinig:abrnt suffer ing, Bt this is the sharpest, mast consaming agticg ‘Tioeever felt. Lhe pricks are saat, and J nove that there are xe Ajit nerves arinund then, but wonethe- ess its Gike fore scveepoig frome me de vf wey brdy (e the other. nat as quickly, theres plensnres Hat orgasmic pleasure — there's ne physiological comphwint, nly completion and sightwisse In my minds T hear the cveman say, "This ts your fanetlon as prey. Remember what yen are Leaving, kine va mite.” My prlse becomes erratic, creak Stops. Clrnizalty, Ym dead. Hh epee cotinme to see, Ail bt hat ope ori. Me mses ry gore i the blard- Wr scree boo, “There's stillreess ine my body. My eyes Aimy st J dart s0e the sopman Bend over mt, J'Mear her Bice semeching: She presses her crthe brit te ney math. Her both — thiekand stoce— valves past mey stilt Cips. Pain veterna, ane clictrica shack or simething Cike it rippling pat. from wig throat. It’s been tow years Bice I felt mrtg veal sensation belo meg his, Mocs, as the shock blasts thinnggh then, J can feel them aggtin. ] feat the hebris; anh mig tronsers tonching the hair oe my legs. Simathindg hat isn't Cife stra veithie mas My eyes eport. The veeman sulles at me. That toms the first sep.” ax Mews Sir yon see yonire nat the oily ret Renee he sort of Coss yom fetes Yes, T'm bmethat che pln evhere our family, your Jrb, your standing in the comain- nity ance svdre le sharp, 7 racy these thinegs ter Theres a tony to redress it, if yon trkit. Are yen veal tb become a predate for reat; vather there prey sith detasions of granhentt TreDanies Cans You And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkn est erifles, Win us with ho us maths In deepest consequence William Shakespeare, Macbeth Tue FirstLesson: BEGINNINGS This nights cold, not that the packomate admit it. The winter storms blast off the North Pacific and up the Columbia River, driving sleet ike lnives, The wind hasn't fallen belowe 25 miles an hour since sunset. Gusts feel something in the air, though, andl without actually speakinga wend cacach othe, they agree that they must cake they understand their comalition, Only the new recruits have any real prophetic sere, bu that's enough. The Vauldere erst their gop impending encouruer with the mentonudelteacherlcop of their brethren So i's with special flourishes that they ascend to thetr meeting ground, the rf of the sll finshed municipal administrative hudding, Nobody wears an extra layer of insulating clothing, Druitt makes a grand show of sipping his chest hare before dragging himself up the scaffoldmyg one- paint. "Ye understand that the me vain let up, he could look over ti bualdingand see the scorch marks where Leo met th the hang ofthe basics. His wheres anal Andres di f this pack. He with the bn n't notice any litle patherings of destroy anothe n feel not as pleas but d i. He hopes that is wall make it through the night. Inst all seven of Andrew's charge sprated on che rooftop T the Vin cia sense ther fear and anticipation. He's Gurna Ou: AW Uosnca Come sunnple hen ha ulien hi much foresight Ming and the Other Razor show, and comeratulates them. “You're deing well. It's nor qui enough, of course. If you really thorght it was trap, you stayed away, But your concer isa good sign of you who survive will probably do wel for y nd each other." He ies. None ofthe fledgling ‘can sense it, but Andrew hears the whispers in shadow: and hurries on lecture night." The pack groans in snison ight youl be Resrng from the really did, once upom a tine, teachme everything ! knows Fle makes slightly thearical bore, ard Demba x ‘out from the shadous in Andrew's coat. She does moc sm au the students. All thei liede motions, nervous tics and semiconscious habits, stop immediately. Her native ap cance is completely hidden: Tonight she stands as a st carved from shadow, lacking any facial features excep very tong, very sharp fangs. She has no mouth that any v students cam see, but her words cary through the ar rather than directly into their minds “Good evening, young Keepers. This isa lecuere and test, rolled into one. Let us begin." Ai TRUTH First, I will tell you the foundational truth, the key tounderstanding everything about the vampiric cond tion. This is it: We can never know the truth. You know that all evidence can be fiked. Some of you here can yourselves craftworks of arto flawless that no breathing art critic can distinguish them from the real thing. Youknow that maney can buy many thing that persuasion and intimidation can earn you the rest. and that no human being begins to grayp what you ar your kind can do. You know that the kine desperately try to deceive themselves and each other about us. You've benefited ftom this willful denial, and you must realize that other Cainites do as well important realities never appear in any records you cin examine Furthermore, vou know that will and memory ar something less than absolutely sure. Most of you here can force a mortal to do something and never realize that he was, for that moment, your direct rool. Some of You are learning the art of personal charisma, making them love you simply because of the power in your Blood. You've no doubt seen that your ductus and other older Cainites can do fur more than the few tricks you've learned 4 fr. Where is truth in any of this! Anyone's memorie can be changed. All records can be adjusted, created or removed. There is absolutely nothing youcan councon Everyching, inside you and out, might bea le, pera selves tothe fullest. Burt pio Dats Human philosophy cok fresh twists in those cen- tunes, So-did ours, But first | must lay the context for Yyou, as: was a time very different from this. Most Cainites throughout history haws albeayskept twa moral standard more of less like thac of the human society in which they originated. They reject some tenets, of cours, but keep to others. They are more likely to think of dempelves as wicked people than as ood beige by standards that have nothing todo with humanity, Around this contemptible fascination for the ways of the living, tradition placed a number of Roads," more or fess formalized etuial systems rellect- ing vampitic experience. Most of them took some fpaticularinterest— chivalry, or tssight into mortality, orwhat have you —and magnified it into a whole... [ believe “paradigm” ws the modern word. Inche late Mididle Ages, the weakling in the newly created Camarilla went on a crusade against the Roads. Yes, faced with rising challenges from humanity and given the opportunity re Join the unarchsand Sabbat- tobe in tuming on elder tyrants, they chose to purge Cainites who refused to pretend ta he kine. I'msure this impresses you jest as it dad me when I fine learned of i Yes, the Camanillain its collective wisdom decided that the real problem waswith these Cainites who chosenot toerxist in vaysconducive to hiding aimong humanity. Many of the Roads simyycwsea akegeriss, und the rest vanished from general view. Afterward, their practtio ney kept their secrets hidden. Allofthiscreatedan intellectual vol amongCainites ‘Under the segisor the Sibtar, a gear qtellectual fervor ‘oiled dvoughout the 16ch and 17ch centuries, ‘Nearly a ddoren new ethical systems came into existence and re- ceived the nuthless acid test of practice in the hands and minds of Cainites very keen to shed more humanity withoutlosing themsel vesto the Beast. Collectivelyknown asthe Paths of Enlightenmene, chese systems are amon the great lating achievernents of purser. It goes neatly without saying, Thope, chat Clan Lasorabraplayed a vital rok in this development. We wisely refrained from nnni- hilsting our own distinctive Road of Night, and thus eran with a bviter foundation fr Path development than any other clan. The Amies Noir privided extensive mippert fs the plilosophsisan! fying other approaches, as well There's a curious feature af this work. Most of the ‘key inventors chose to remain anonymous. We simply don't have reliable numes or necragraphies (i L my coin a tern) for che Cainites who), or instance, formal teed old dualist notions into the Path of the Cathari at worked out the elegant compromise that is the Path uf Honerable Accord. You can learn much about early adherents to each of these, snd it'saplausile guess chat those speaking and wrtingesrly on abouea given Path are the ones who created it, but that cannot he moe than a guess. Pethaps there's somerhing in the act af éreatingasystem interned o he univers that conflits with the normal egoism of Cainites. Orperhaps, assome Lauomba rell it, the face char the c temuin in the shadows is a literal fact as well as a metaphor, and indicates the creative pawer of the Abyss at work within them. Into tHE New WorLD Ido nat reveal a great secret when I say that despite tout best effors, we didnot succeed in displacing the Conon ions Exsarpes This shoulda’ be ay ypeat otc prise, of course. Of the clans outside the Camanila, only weand the Giovanai ha Europe. The others were all, in their rspective ways, marginal, attached to other lands. We had fervor on out side —hely fervar, I like to think, am echo of the passion thar drove Caine — bur we lacked the resources Inevitably, then, we examined altematives. The ‘Camurilla knew abouthe discoveries across the Atlan- tic just as we dic, of course. They simply didn’t care except fora passing interest int Aztec ural Incan cities ‘We didn'chave the luxury of passing interest — we had to find new realms for ourelves. So it was that, ind vidual andl then collectively, we sailed with ourclan's own conairs (and unwitting mortals) @ earve out enaptone From the lande'af ce exvage nificant presence in Wester Tsee a question in your faces. Yes, | sail sa, Udan't care what social feats they achieved before Europeans came. people whodo not build great ities axe sist a people worth feeling from, let alone worthy candidates forthe Embrace. The European notion that the city defines civilizations atleast in part veribute 1 our influence, and i¢ is one of the great truth of our kind, Gangrel and other rabble notwithstanding. We backed settlement ventures everywhere Worl! to create proper homes for curselve Those were nightsof chao, oro those who made the trip carly on tell me. Cut off fiom their various clare Cavaco: Las % procedures for governance, the emigrants constantly squabbled among themselves. Efiors to organize conti nent-spanning Vaulderie gatherings came to nothing, $0 the only reliable hondsofunity were local. In addition, the ‘migrants encountered a level of Lupine activity unprec- cedented in our experience since the Stane Age. Nor did wwe get the continent to ourselves Camarila rabble (and some infiltrators disguised as rabble) made their way actos the sea aswell, bringing with them the stifling protocols they wordhip a "Traditions" Ie goes withour saying that in the middle of this struggle, we distinguished ourselves as leaders. The somewhat decentralized nature of the Friends of the Night means that our clan's members are never wholly cut off so long as an experienced clanmmates is nearby. The Courss of Blood became, for several decades, the closest ching to procedural justice in the New World, andon some occasions the Friends even contracted out their services to Camuxilla Cainites needing disputes settled. Just see if any of the participants who still remain active ever discuss tat, hough. “The subject of parallels between our practices and various traditions the savages practiced warrant discus- sion, but on some other occasion. Suffice it to say for ‘now that just as we'd incorporated disparare European traditionsto suit our emerging body of tae, so we drew con these unfamiliar customs as well. Unfortunately, while we engaged in this syncretism, the main force of the Camarilla itself arrived in the late 17th century; by. 1700, significant enclaves arose in most port cities and some interior settlements. Our hit-and-run tacticsfared berteron the frontier, so we concentrated there, leaving behind too many choice morsels. ‘Wedidberterin Central andSouth America. Mexico, of couse, has been ours almost since Cortez. We were thereas the old city of Tenochtitlan became MexicoCity, with literally miles of warrens perfect for our gatherings. ‘We were slower to follow Pizarro and his ilk, bu that's the foul of the Amazon and the faratcally Cainite-hating ‘Tue Bion. Mospes Piatt. Several bolesin| Lasorbea history ges he eiteiacr eee Dl et se peruhed voluntary. ‘They might just aseasily be out therein thedeserts and mountains, puruung. whatever ends-brought: them across the Adantic millennia creatures who dwell ther. It took time to work out safe routes to new Sabbat strongholds in the mountains and southem shores. I don't wish to give you the impression thar we did nothing in the English- and French-speaking colonies, merely that ic was harder to make progress. For some reaton the Camarilla “Kindred” from northern nations did a better job at opportunistic aggressin than their southem cousins. We faced the sharpest competi: ton along the northem Atlantic seaboard and down the Se. Lawrence Seamer. Your instructors have, I'msure, pointed out thatas aclan we seldom attempr to drive human affairs, simply to profit from them as suits our own interests. The ‘matter of the conquistadors and the Aztecs is an inter- estingexception. Two Lasombra scholars accompanied the second expedition to Mexico, and they listened with great interes to Aztec priests'accounts of how the sctificesto Huitsilopochl, godofthe sun, insured that the sun would rise every day. These were nights of sometimes mad ambition among our clan, and apaitof ish packs decided that they just might be able to plunge the world into etemal darkness by eliminating the Aatecs. This wasn't quiteas ludicrous anotion as you might think. Farly Sabhar travelers in the New Weld en- ‘countered ancient thaumaturgists lurking in the wilds, practicing paths unknown in the Old World. Some of them seemed to be very old indeed, Methuselah, per- haps even Antediluvians whose names were lost to history. Ir frankly didn’t seem entirely out of the ques- tion that they might have powerful magic affecting the sun, or at least the passage of light to Earth, We did not make the great genocide. For that matter, neither did the Europeans, direct, at least Disease did most ofthe work long before armies arrived. We did as.a clan provide funds or missions of conquest, ‘and we used our influence to suppor the dream of conquest at moments when bad news mighthave wesk- ‘ened mortal commitment to the cause. All of this amounted to helping mortals do what thev already decided to do, but we made them more effective than they'd have been otherwise, ‘Asyou know, the sun did not go out when sacrifices to Huiesilopochtl falkared and etapped. Pity Peaceann Fuicur Thecentury of mortal evolution wasalsoacentury of war within the Sabbat. No American or French revolu- tioncould beany moreincestucusandaltogether wretched than the conflict for scarce herds chat swept through our sect, For a tense decade around 1800, it looked like the Cover Ls 2B "proclaimedanendlte cf destruction against Indlividels acting in ways that threatened the s interes This later gave moe power tothe ee hierarchy that was forming at the time. ( titles and ranks didn’t appear unl later in the 15th century.) The Purchase Pact cd’ end all rife within, the sect, nor did anyone expect tt Would, It reduced the level of existing tension and made it easier to respond quickly to future conte arkable, under the circrnstances, Thepeace, such asit was, took time tospread southof sh-or French-speaking lands. Irnever fully took hold in the new nations carved our of northeastern South Amerien Simon Ralivarand hicreunhiion changed the imix of forces at work. The Camanillastayet further away from the ongoing mess, while our kind reveled ini, Even now; you simply don’t find! many of the Antediluvian’s Calorbin, Uragiiny or Veresvel ronment with fewer external pressures, our inte diffeences ranged more freely, andscmethinglike wa fiay always existed among the loeal archbishops Mists. Which vesalids re Caintresin Miers Some of you, I'm sure, have wondered how it isthe ag freeexpression ur innermost selv ro resemble human stitutions dedicated to doc:rinal conformity. Two. tunct but constantly interacting forces make First, th Jy, or sather satire. We use the af mortal religion, primarily but nat exclusively Roman Catholicism, because it amuses us £0 dos (Cainitesget bored, and a bunch of x initesin one pluce is an inviuation wo wouble, Since we need some affairs, why normake i ul much potential for administrative 3s? Our institution, like our rites isin part ond — yes, we glaify the power of the indi vidual Cainite. But rofully understand whatth is, must suck the truth and eschew er ners. We must nor deceive ourselves. The truth we tsultimately religious, Whether you subscribe t jtesin anthropological owledge thar usr God, spirit, soul and other facts the modem world flees, you must see that the «questions we pose are religious ones. We deal with the nature of the world, of sin and damnation and redemp: tion, of cuses and death, These are real things, not the product ofour imagined hopes orfears. There are active powersin the nightandbeyend che stars. and those whe approach them unprepared perish. The ecclesiastesl hierarchy, atleast when admin- isvered the way we run the Sebbat, brings prepared individuals tothe top. Tha structure serve? t9 remind ut all that discinetions exist hetween usyand that some are in face better prepared for particular roles than athees You give ubedience to your superiors because they are superior in certain regards. You owe your survival co them for pecforming their assigned roles properly. You ate net prepared toconfrontalene the enemies weface, lec alone the deeper threats behind them. You serve precisely in onder to develop yourselfin fteedom, Total freedem would be mere annihilation — you surrendet what you must co gain what you can. Otheryeteransof the Sabbat would cite at least wo. sree points, Neither of them impresses me much, hut you may as well hear then as not. Some members of cur sect believe that this or that human religion sctaallyspeake ruth, The lare Cardinal Mongada was our mos. prominent exponent of that notion with regand to Roman Catholicism. The pec line Abyss cule among the aniribu helds the same notion with regard to Zoroastrian and other dualistic religions. They would tell you that we use mortal religious structures when those stracturesare true. Give this notion whatever expect you feel it deserves. ‘And finally, some ofour most prominent eldersargue forthe use of mortal religious structures for purely psyeho- logical reasons, When theSabbar eame intobeing, Roman Catholicism was the official ligion in the lands wewere strongest in, Protestant Christianity prevailed elsewhere, hut has frankly never generated a very strong set of symbels, owe ean make litle use of Even in Protestant lands, Catholie (or Eastern Orthadox) imagery convert sense’ of sacred authority. In- Hindu lands, our cathedrals hold shrines toall the gods of death, chaos and reece In the Americas, we erect totem poles co dark forces and sather in sveatlodges aswell astemples. Wherever we vo. whatever speaks ofthe sacred becomes a tool for us to evoke state of mind in you, while you learn to grasp the truths to which the symbols point Tewronws late. The restisforsomeone clas ta tell you THe FourtH Lesson: THe Rest or tHE WoRLD {e's heen fifteen nights since the battered fighter eft Bangkok Andrew and his pack are having @ marvelous time. They came on business: The Pacific Rim cardinals Mashed” sever vellable bishops ua wivesigute ramurs of hetezodaxy and possible infernalism among the Sontheast Asian packs. Androw decided to bring the pack akg, help them make contacts (and establish some Vinculu tes ‘hat might come in harady somewhere denen ad) and or a change of scenery, Back in his lame days, Andrew sometimes comesporided with a mysterious old cme named DorMedling who resided im Bangkok and wrote some of the Imasescathingly nihilistic revohtimary screeds Audtew ever enccuntered. It was, inthe end, notagreat surprise to learn that she was 4 Cainite— Brujahantii — cr had besn for decades Dien's pack shows unusual prowess, enough wo fuel suspicions that they've received infernal investments. “An red incroduced himself and his pack, anal prompely gan ingitarion to join Dany ana her brow om pvatcal wands The time since then has been glonens, The freighter, with base crew of completely conditimed mortals, memesuers domgsidea ange ship crud asks for help. Dien dspenses wth the mortal trappings of Asian pracy. he specdaaats ands om, favor of rue strength Sheleaub the packoverthe side oftheir ship nthe target leaps or spin swing. They desiwy any resistance by hand, take whatever valuables catch thelr fancy and depart. Semesimes they sete she ships, sometimes they leave empry dereliss to comjuso ‘mori authorities. Tonight the two packs rest comyertably pm the forvor deck ofa chareered yacht. Pees of the cre ant tounst passengers drift behind cher, the wake glitering re in the reflected June mocnlight. One of Du’s brovd ters out t be Lasombma, anda Chinese Jew at that, This boggles the Americans. Lin Baloh laughs at ther confusion anu suc cinely explains the Jewish settlement in Nanking, syna zope hualding under the Qing dynasry and other strange ‘matters. He's something of a scholar ane! a ranulom aes thom aban some. aspect of Sabbat history faams inta am increasingly formal lectere. Andrew sits back and tstens 0 Lin's careful cadences Tir CLanistHe Wore Fve noticed thar while many proletarian Ameri- ‘cinsand Europeanshare toadmie that anything's wreny arn Ost As Unies Conon cansand Europe right. The culture yo The same istrucin vampiric affairs, We chiller of Caine all sping from found from Europe through Ania tablish, aad vr aisee spread from thet So the Europes fou can take proper pride in being clove tothe heart ofthe clan and the sect, j as the Americans among you should glory in being £0 close tothe greatevents of ourtime. Youdonot You, pive offense by pointing should they emba ASIA [can establish with some certainty that Lasombra were creating childer in China before 1300 BC... and that Brujah and Malkavians established broods in can peninsula not later than 1100 B.C. Dating early arrivals by the other clans is difficult. Of course, many ut facts of history, nor tion by the n inite-spirits, whom some of you call Cathayans. It rakes great determination and intel ligence to flourish amid hostile natives, which of co ed selves. We have never en) through numbers her wfesw doen of ir havens here Crs Traditionally. more Lasombra exist in China than, sy, Japan or India, for several reasons. Indiaseesenough ther clans to make comp vely unchalk ive, fr perspective, ind Ri those whe ters change. Th things who d de reat challenge dothepeculiarmortal hi ir various preter natural gifts and the fiendish alliances of Lupines and recreatures of other breeds. E ad yours after our ava ‘once again with Ventrue at glory comes ns. Fu swith much remate mysterious to us I shouldn't give the impression that it's all jus fighting othe res encounte ponsters. One can go decades or centu ng no other supernatural beings at all host. My sire and! apart frompethaps the occasional dhissireandso on Choudynastyhav often exercised power tn never had direct exp surts,and half of them ice with the "Cathayans.” atc Idcullices do's aiine etnghg lie Lascrabea Gust Elxopes Ee al pare eee clan disciplines. Whar differs s the ringe of com- mon out-of-clan disciplines. Mindl you, mortals can be great challengesby them: phical cradicion in which { grew up eupernst ond not co much at us fatrusion, the wey many of you were taght, bur as 9 privare marter best handled through polite sifence until t yoes away. That's opportunity ve concomitant challenge is that observers who be lieve themselves skilled in-cmens ard propriety feel at liberty to-attack those who engage in “improper” mani festations, where sour mortal ancestors would! have redtfted Fully a thitdot those mmy lincagehave petished at the hands of mobs, I've heand that Western Lasombr date their lan fir great expansion rw the aftermarh of the Thera feuption, That fits my research, My great. great-great. great gransicearrived as | std sometime before 1300 BC. — that gives three centuries to travel from the Mediterraneanto China. plenty of tine even with stops ro estublish broods und purste goals other than travel. Lean enly prove thearrivalefmy remote ancestor in the Bool, bus L would be unsuepried to find that he reweled with companions whowe linenges have perished, Inow af tothe Chine Lascmbea lineage upper Yangtze Valley, ofahout the same vintage, ind | can trace hack a Japanese Lasombra Iineage © 1200 B.C. or so, More Lascmbra ansived around the dawn of the Christian era, as part of the gost-Pompey dispersal. Many of you never learned this in school, but for a century or more, che eastemedge of the Roman empire and the western edge of the Chinese eampine were within i few hunted miles. While diplomats never made the crossing officially, traders did. At least half a. dozen lineages ron back ta the period from abeut 50 B.C, to A.D. 200, when the Han empire fell into civil was and the western frontier became rmuch less hospitable Lasomiora who tresented themselves as ods of dark nies seldom flourished — the Confucian tradition i nc receptive to claims of authority on the part of evil spirits, given Confucian’ obvession with moral government. Con: fuciarcdorespenl quite well rosage spirits in chadlowwho fer wise inlvice nd speak with the voices of ancestors Thuis my ncestors m the Blaad have often erphasized the mentalarts of domination over Olsenebiation. Some f daa aly Laiopopn oct es hnclght wie em sSinsy (Chara, Ont Av Unis Coen he diviners ats, secrets of concealment and diguise ind seme forme blond magi. A seper in parseular i common among us as Obtenebvation, which | gather confuses hidebonind clasifiers of clan, Vamiprric anmigration came to a nearly complete nop for sentuties alter Rome und Han Ching fell Climatic changes dried up old routes, and various inter: nal conflictsamongthe "Carhayans” made ihfficalt eo develop new ones. The existing lineages seteled ince am tsolatedexatence, crawing intellectualstimulition from theic mortal envircns rather than the snterplay of ki hed thoughts. Some, like my own line, flourished in frat ties, playingéabile gamesof influence and sudy. My own sire and grandsire still compile their notes for a comprehensive mathematical model of human be: havior, with enthusiasmnornoticeably dimmed despite centuries of data collection. The Yangtze lineage | mentioned earjer occupies itself by acting as oracles flirting here and there ts answer prayers and petitions A:small brood ringing through the northwestern desert J mo of ie time desecrating torah in the search for evidence of elders in torpor. Whatever keeps one’s attention focused, L suppose. Contact with Europe resumed inthe 5th century, 1 of purses folded pugs sane: lenvinra rived. Some Asian lineages had become just plain peculiar and not dedieared to behaving in ways cond: civetosuryival. Wend ofthe Ancediluvian'sdestruction ans rise of hue Sabla cume les than ceneuty after the initial contacts with Lasombra whod come on Port avese and Spanish vessels, and icwasadeeply confusing time, The face that om here now, comfortable among ‘you, showsthat the Sabbar viewprevsited, hur} ean and do stll regres chat nearly half oF the Lasombra lineages active in 1400 had te) be destroyed by 1600 for heir refusal ty adjust co the new reality Ina way, thenewsthat one ofthefoundingCainites had been destroyed helped win us-telief from some conftontations with the native Cainise-spinits, The inwtheloay teachwass wereinn of the Weal of Agee in Witch, ns time pases, more demons arise. Creatures expuble ofstaying the eldest are sufficiently demonic for tnany *Cathaysns,"and while they didn’t like us much, thoy lft uralonet ton oftheage. We were af cot to secure ourselves. nome ofthe time, asharbingers glad to-exploir this belie! Industrialiation was a boon for us. Lange urban populations ina condition of extreme alteration make wonderful prey andalso sometimes cast up just the sort of humantiy-hating visionary who becomes an asset to our clan, The smoke of factories particularly the ald coal-barners, mikes marvelous night sky, all cloud and reflectedfire, much more interesting fatlesseto ny eye) shan iefelavet ata: amie lf wan one als visonay lat the wake of the Taiping Rebellion, bitterly disill sioned by the manifest failure of my revered leader and by apsoeiation disillusioned with all of Chinese tradi- sion. Lehrewarysei iy Westeratauion wholeheartedly, though ic id norrelieve my soul. My sire spotted same of my poetry — way, Bishop Emory, yousmile. You to? Heb Once again we find that the Tereadar bold ne mooopoly on the urts as a tool for recruitment. In any event, when I spcakof the desirabilityof the wretched age, you must understand that | have a per- sonal attachment to it all. L give thanks for the circumstances hat brought me hete. LANDS Anounn Chana Tothe bestofmy knowledge, few Lasombra flourish, tm Japan, the Koreas, the Indochunese peninsula and ebewhere in Asia, nor have they ever dane well chere. My sire used to speak of bands of “feral” Lasomibra who roam the New Guinea highlands, encouraging tribal warfare anc! feeding on the fallen. [ didn't hear the phrase “urban legend” unl much larer, hut even atthe time T suspected a tale, Arica Discussing Cainike history in Altice before the colonial powers’ arrival isa messac the best of times. In teceat years — the last generation or so. — mortal scholars have argued quite passionately and semetimmes fentertainingly about che real ethnieity of chs civiliza ton or that, the flow of ideas ftom one civilization to nother: They don’t realie that arguments over who owes what tb whom have been geing on since hefore anything their history records The est person | knavy of th mall with you about tls would have been our packimace Liv Boa, whe resided in Kenya from 1575 until 1976. Unfortunately, lase yearhe ran into amid-level bureaucrat whose view of herself as. monster hunter in training proved much Jess delusional chan we would have guessed. She's dei row, but Liv is ash. will da what I can to pass along his shoughes aleng with my own stud, {u's yery difficule vo disinguish early Lagombya from early African Cainites of any other sort, Asthe saying hast, theyall lookalike roEuropean-based chroniclers. | myself cannot resdily distinguish che various eribes ‘thot produced Lin's childet. orevenprediceably dency an African us Bantu or Nilstic or what ave you. Many observers, particularly these with sxes to grind, fail eo make important distinctiens or create divisions where nome evier [nen quite certain, for metance, that while Clasoe: Lacy R some of the members of the African bloodline some- times called "Laibon” do refer toone oftheir distinctive gifts of Caine with the Swahili name “Abombwe,"none ofthem did so before the invention of Swahili and that even now Cainites inhabiting all the places in Africa that do not speak Swab are unlikely t do so. [n some ras, mania for grand syntheses arise, often at the expense of particulars When dealing with Cainites, the problems that affecteheetudy of moreal cultures anly get worse: Few cf uy exist, and when we get powerful enough, our delu- sions become very hard to shake. In his final decades, for instance, my grandsire refused to acknowledge that the ‘Mingdynasty had in face fallen to the Qing. And within. his haven, it hadn't, orat least you couldnt tell that ic had. His hapless, mind-controlled guests created arti facts to support his views, and no one in che area could rithout w tremendous mca of will. Su the ft that an elder believes it was a great force in the land in the time ofthis dynasty or that doesnot itself constitute proof, even if you find the account credible in some ways. So you must understand that everything I have co ‘ay on these matters istentative and conditional. Pro- ceed carefully. Wuere NoL Asomana Have Been ‘Asnearly as [know, there has never been a signif cant Lasombea presence in Egypt. The Setites have always thrived there, as have Lupines with a particular fetish for hunting Cainites. Even more so than their kkind’s general obsession with that pastime, 1 mean. ‘Only the advantages of Sabbat practice makeit possible for a band of Lasombra to venture in reasonably safely con a particular errand, and even then they shouldn't linger. Likewise, I now of no Lasombrapresence among the Pyemy peoples. Ancient Kincpoms Now, clear-cut evidence places Lasombra in eas ‘em Africa south of Egypt even before the post-Thera ‘Sisperadl alfa dozen words inthe ancient language of Merce, for up the Nile from Egypt, reflect names of known childer of the Antediluvian. Pottery from the Kharum Mesolithic culoure, around 10,000 years ago, sometimes depicts scenes of shadows flying under the ‘moon, images that look familiar to anyone who knows cour powers. The Antediluvian's Sicilian stronghold contained silver artifacts crafted in styles that flour- ished in Nubia and Meroe in Mesolithic and Neolithic times, and as nearly as know they came across the sea not long after their making. One of them, at leas, features in Pompey's account of his attack on Siciy's pirates as “a chalice of great antiquity, ascribed to the power ofa night spirit from farto the south," which the Pirates filled with bleod and drank betore their rai A little further south, we find similar evidence of Lasombra presence in Ethiopia. Ic is, of course, well known that the Antediluvian’s eldest surviving chille. the great failure Montano, came ftom one of the tribes wandering through the land that modem maps divide between Ethiopia and Kenya. If you listen carefully, you'll hear thar the stories speak of previous experi« ments by the Ancedifuvian among those various tribes. The nomadic peoples who settled Kenya 4,000 years ago almost immediately took up maritime activity. | strongly suspect thar the Antediluvian’s interest in seafaring had something to do with this, with it using them forits sundry ventures. Hind intriguing hintsofan ancient Lasombra presence in what'snow Mozambique, bbuc the migiations shat sctthed Kenya abso wiped out preexisting societies on the southeastem coast. Too little evidence exists to settle the question. Suanaws Amona Many What interests me most is that once our clan arrived in Africa (or retumed toi, depending on your preferred theory of vampiric origins), our predecessors ever made mush ofa mark en the moval ssshetee uy prejedupon. The Antediuvian itelfengincered eatas- ‘trophes of various sorts but gave that up after the second dispersal, and few or none of it childer attempted todo the same. Did the Antediluvian fear the creation of some destructive rival? The ironist in me wants to believe thar it did, and that this set the scene for its destruction thanks tothe absence of areal challenger to Gratiano, laver. Cainites of otherlans set themselves up from time totime as kings and sages. Wedid nor. We inspired far. Our influence was indirect and indeed ‘While you may tracethe evolution of myt godsand night powersand show how they stem fromour activities, you will find precious few accounts of any of these powers speaking te fearful mortals. providing: explicit lessons or commands, We were what we were, and they reacted as they deemed fit. ‘You will also finda surprising number of havens — Leary dosse if not hundrede—-inhabeed by eighty bound broad lineages for centuries of millennia, that seem to have had no impact on any nearby kine, They fed, chose childer, pursued their philosophical or reli ious ambitions and passed without a trace, Abyss: mysticism flourished among the African lurkers, along with research into the nature of eur blood-borne pow= crs, Pethaps if some strong leader had risen among (Garma Ove: An Usinoxo Comoe B them, the Afticin lineages wold feature prominently tnvclan history. As itis chey’te scarcely a foomote, THe FirtH Lesson: INTO THe FINAL Nicuts Dentarettst Perlanaden mid-October. She'sbeon traveling annum Cabfernia, eying 10 make sense of the continuously evolving chaos among Cainites cere, and not ut all sre she anders what's going on, She decided to. celobraw the Grmel Bal ix mone sect cicienstances an likes the style of the Oregun Sabha Andrew, or his fart, continues to consolidate his position as Hshop. It's tricky, parecularly ith tv of his fasiame'ind rsawces. Mung lee a nun saying she was off ta find theansiray, Druitt promptly challenged Andrew to Monamacy, claiming obvious faduere ‘of kclership, ond the ambitious your Camite perished an de fickl, Two mane meatal from odher packs also mtd fo ake the bishopric away; Andrew mastered Black Meta morphs inthe course of eum them down [e's teoo nighes before the Grand Ball, now. Nomadic pucks tegn to gather, Andrew's own pack is back from storing up incidents to keep the police busy, and rea in thechillrain. Pemba started talking about the Anarch Free State, the New Promise Mandarinate and the rest of the sordid mess down south and gradually egued mea « more thorough review of Sahbacafairs in modem times. Andrew enjrys herteviews, since healways picks up something new Beronea ie INpusrmaL Revouution Tie Lasombra position in Europe before the nls tral Revolution may best be described as "bad." The se goestor the Sakbarsa whole. Ie’ just noc easy to ‘ake on a well-established secret heerarvhy connected tw variety of groups who'd love ro destroy you. We ‘etaned few strongholds in Spain, the Sieiian fortcess td enclaves here and thete, Beyond dha, emly no. rmagie picks could flourish. The one good thing about the Camarila in Europe te that it very thoroughly. ich subdued the Lupine menace long:ago, making i ‘note feasible fo us to flourish én rural lands In the Americas, things were herter. The antieou in the Sabbur did usall great seryice, most especially the angel, Malkavians and Ravn, In forging havens among the shoriginal tribes in Noth America. They jpresented our kind os familiar monsters and spirits who shared enmity with the forces of static civilisation. Never nindthatwe would gladly havepaved them over ounelves given the shuuee, The wibes needed ta see only thatthe Camarills'snation of desirable cities isn't urs, The Camarllas findnecsformodem eoverstoriae played into air hands as well, since our missionaries could point our quite cruthfully how seriously we asa sect take spiritual matiers. Central America scunaiised.adcliheial pyground We have never bothered establishing extensive infhi- ‘nice in mortal afluies in Mexico, primantly because we don’tneed to, Thesuccession ofryranny andrevalution hops the population more than avequately roiled tor ‘our purposes. American invasions and imperialist in the peninsular lands served the same function. Who needs to onder mortals when they think of such things all by themselves? South America lamgely remained hospitable, apart from the great wildemess in the Am In Buenos Altes, our clan took the iniristive in working ont a sensible compromise with the Toreador of the area, which keeps sect strife to a minimum thanks in part t9 the Courts of Blood. They often settle disputes before they osealare In Aftica, as [believe Lin Baloh described to you, our clin continued making litle difference, before the colontal era began in earnest. New Toots, New Congquests Unlife improved for us quite: dramatically 1 the early 19th century, The industrial Revelution, begin hing in England and spreading rapidly throughout Christendom, created whole new apportunities for us, Firsc of all, factories discupted pattems of rural life Teople gathered in towns, then in cities. They had to ive upold customs, old noticnsc family organization, adoptnew ways of organizing cheie days and years. They ‘were confused and scared. They made womnderiul prey, {ye often wished for the ornoranity to travel brek those nights. Ofall theerasof Cainite history, l believe that none is more perfectly suited to our way of exist ence, Preywas plentiful, andso disorientedandsuspicious 28 rw suthnritine thor many cvimae wert aluogether unreported except in private jccounts, Reading the diariesof workers in ManchesterorLondan, tracing the litany of munler and mysterious weakness, provokes oe With industrisliation came empire-building om a much granderscale. Forcencuries some barshor rugged environments haul held Europeans at hay. Nu longer. Mid-ventury, Europeans spread throughout my awn ‘continent, ending an eri of relative fiolation and. 11 stagnation, because in fact Africans developed several societies compurable to anything in Europe before the Kenaissance, Rather, an eraof change within linus, in Cawoae Ls u sence of resources and concepts to progress beyond a medieval stage of technology limited innova: thon to cultural rather than scientific spheres Industrialization alo opened up Central and South Americatomere effective exploitation. Humanityeven soths of the wed, in small numbers The urban blight that made Englandso interesting soon appeared on the European mainland and in slums around the world Lin Raloh talked shour his own experiences in that time, yes? Many of the clan’s current leaders originated at about the sate time, and with similar mocives. It was a real outpouring of passions sitable for leading one away from humanity. I became 4 Cainite a few decades lazer, on the outskirts of the ‘ame phenomenon in Africa THe Cove or Mian Some Sabbat historians like to speak in terms of “Sabbac civil wars.” If you fancy such terminology, then the First Sabbar Civil War took place from the late 1790s uneil the Purchase Pact in 1803. I've already luded to why no single date makes sense avan ending, point for the conflict, and frankly think it makes little sense to lump a great many disparate battles together. It impliss a unity of cause thet never really existed that was the first civil war, then the Second Sabbac Civil War occupied much of the early 20th century. Something like coordinated clan strife actually existed between our clan and the Teimisce around the tum of the century, with extended recriminations over ho was responsible for letting the Camnarilla gain 10 much ground in the United States. Obviously that particular iswe didn't matter much anywhere ou North America, but the existence of one feud catal the emergence of others. The two clans and the vario hangers-on came to blows over countless local issues, TheCodeof Milan, isued atthe end of 1933, broug anend toall tha. Itreflected theconventional wistom of 1c about what the Sabbar’s founders intended. As precarious balance between the viewsof the Black Angels and the rest ofthe major camps. I’snot quite what any read in mind in the 14th or 15th century, statement, the Code of Milan could easily be its. ean tell youwitha straight face thac if you adhere to its tenets with reasonable faithfulness and duties with competence, you are unlikely 10 ever face harsh punishment for deviation from your lead 13! wishes. That may not sound like much, but in asect apm Ont A Unseen Cont 8 driven by conflict as ours, t's more impresive than you muy vet realize, It's worth noting that no later effort to update or relacethe Cod has won widespread suppor. Shouldyou ‘urborrevolitionary impulses, atleast study the filuresof ethers and try to make some fry intsrecting mistahes ‘Tue 207H Century Individual Lasombra won notable triumphs and of course continued to previde good leadership for the Sabbat, butthat'sinot really the same thing. The closest ‘we came to united clan action was in 1957, in what you ‘ray hear called the Third Sabbac Civil War. A Brajah antitribu uprising in New York went down to its inevi- table defeat, andsomehow the restof the abbledecided Co mount more uprisings in, | suppose, a display of sympathy for those unable to properly gauge che odds, We and the Trimisce joined forces to suppress the rebellions, Intheirwake, wise Lasombra leaders persuadedthe Trimisce toaccept the existence of a sort of “new clan” ce provide aceruain familial sense for interested Cait and antiibu, The aggressive if not always very intelli- gent Joseph Pander gave hismame tothe newentity and henceforth the Fanders would take pain sect delibera- tions. Keep this lesson in mind. Even the most patently ridiculous offers can appease the foolish ifyou make the offer seem sufficiently worthwhile. Let the foolish be- lieve you're acting reluctantly andl giving up something of value, and they will not notice what you do behind their backs, Tne Comin Wangs Never mind what the nostalgic among us tell you: The Sabbat has never been stable, We are born out of chaosand alwaysmove anid turmoil. There'snobaseline reference time to point at and say, "This is what we are when the world allows uso be.” Our fundamental goals remain constant — most particulaly, to destroy every- ‘one who'd stop us, from Antediluvians on down to mortal resistance. So while we face new opportunities and challenges in recent times, this only meansthatwe continue to exist in history. “This is not your father’s: Sabbat,”I believe some of you sy, and you are correct, butpart of your father's Sabbar was exactly the capacity to change into your own Subbat. More clans are in upheaval atthe moment than at elders fear active Antediluvians. Let us all pause for a ‘moment of shock and surprise that it took only five centuries for our founding tenet to register within the collective snconscious of a Camarilla clan. The Assamitesaredoingsomething complexand messy, and not talking abou it a great deal Lesser «chiens oxciet hither and yon. Allof this adds up to opportunity for us, since we combine a moxicum of clan unity with inde- pendent action in a largely ideal balance. ofp reavelysaarent feral red new ones take theirplace. The Camara regards thisasabaalthing, because their whole existence depends on protecting the power of elders. They run on individual identities. The ‘Sabbat, by conrrast, exists primarily as an idea, and one Cainite can hold to the creed and act on it as well as another. We are, by undead standards, a sect of fledglings. IF you pay attention and keep youriclves fit, the next generation of leaders will include you. IsGehenna upon us? I think not. Ie's posible that some Antediluvians str in their slumber, but I chink that what we see is mestly a combination of panic and seliberae hoaxes. Last year, for instance, | was sub- jected to a long diatribe by a peculiar old Ventrue antirbuwhoclaimedhe used tokelongtosomeGehenna cult operatingwithin the Sabbat, and that 1 great storm in the afterlife had destroyed his leaders, and now the end would come at any time. I diablerized him, in the end. His rant was too painful to endure. Keep in mind that he could have used tremendous ceaiuices wo buck, up his delusions, if he'd chosen to. Apply a certain Principle of parsimony as you look for signs and por- tents: Remember how much our kind can do, even unconsciously, and retain your skepticism. ‘That's all for tonight. ’ THe ANTITRIBU S STORY The Seattle Police Department responded ta sres of calls shorty before sunrise on June 12, 2000. Several ‘morning-shift workers reported sexing what looked tobe an Asian worean nailed or bolted to one ofthe Floating Bridge tills lv enoughto dash around bu clear adn fat. he plice armed as afer sense, and found Body bos bun sign of the woman herself. A schel om the sidewalk

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