Hidden 11 yrs ago Post by Zacharius
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Zacharius

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Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Ruby
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Ruby No One Cares

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Faction Name: Unknown
Allegiance: Unknown (Christopher Houghton)
Location: Malibu, Chateau Marmont
General Information:

For a group of immortal midnight runners, the Kindred in Los Angeles have always had short memories. Most vampires in the city have a history within LA that goes back a few decades. Maybe they were around for the riots mundane mortals blamed on racially charged conflict, likely they were around for the explosion of Camarilla and Anarch violence and mistrust. But the timeline of the City of Angels' history goes far past the recent conflicts, to the days when Los Angeles was no more than a far away outpost of the Spanish Empire. And for nearly as long as there's been a Los Angeles, there has been a shadowy group of Kindred in the shadows, using figureheads from the Anarch to the Camarilla to the Sabbat over it's long history to remain hidden from view.

'Led' by a mere child, this shadow group built Los Angeles, established the golden age of Hollywood, and built Los Angeles into a cultural epicenter for not just the New World, but the Old World as well, using beauty and art and careful planning to accomplish their goals. Recent events in Los Angeles have escalated to the point where the secret powers behind the city have lost direct control, leaving the group in a position to pick the next 'figurehead' to throw their immense and ancient power behind.

For so long as there is Los Angeles, those ancient few that crafted the city's growth and ensured the city's unusual balance of power will endure.



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Kingfisher Observing or participating?

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Myst

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Name: Juliette

Generation: 9th

Clan: Ventrue

Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, Presence

Personality: Juliette is very two-faced, able to project an outward appearance of innocence, submission and compliance, when inside she is cunning and secretive. She is a helpless lamb, until you turn your back on her. She uses the Discipline 'Presence' heavily, to make people want to protect her. She doesn't want to dominate, she wants to manipulate without people being aware of what she is doing. This works more on men then women and because of this she doesn't like being around women.

Biography: Juliette was born 'Jennifer Von Jordan', the daughter of a socialite and a Wall Street business-man. She was a spoiled child, Daddy's little princess. Imagine a modern Shirley Temple and you've got Jennifer. She has never known poverty, never known what it is to be hungry or cold or scared. She was a brat that grew into a proper young woman. Piano lessons, horseback riding, country club, private schools, ski trips to Aspen, summers Italy and Spain... she had every advantage, was given an impeccable education.
But this privileged life is what led to her death.

Her fate was sealed when her father entered into shady business dealings with Sebastian Lacroix. He ended up in debt to the Camerilla Prince and Lacroix accepted Jennifer as payment of the debt. Using his abilities as a Ventrue, he convinced both of her parents that their daughter was dead and made them move on, pushing her memory to the back of their minds.
He embraced Jennifer in secret, not wanting to give anyone a weakness to exploit. Lacroix broke her down using mental and emotional abuse in order to build her up and reshape her into what he desired. He renamed her 'Juliette', taking the last piece of her old life away, and started tutoring her in the history and culture of their clan, planning to reveal her as his childe at her induction ceremony.

Although she put on a very convincing act of loving Lacroix, Juliette harbored an intense hatred of him in her heart for all he has done to her. For taking her life, her home, her family, her very identity from her. So deep was her hatred that she secretly joined the Anarchs and became a spy for them, feeding them information about Lacroix and the inner workings of the Camerilla. Her greatest desire was to see Lacroix brought down to nothing, to see him grovel and plead for mercy, then squash him under her heel like the parasite he was. But that joy was robbed from her by an ancient sarcophogos and an explosion.

Once Lacroix was killed Juliette's connection to the Anarchs was exposed, causing her to have to run from her clan to avoid being killed as a traitor. She is now a refugee, seeking the protection of the Anarchs.



Name: Mina

Stage Name: Lillith

Generation: 11th

Clan: Malkavian

Disciplines: Auspex, Obfuscate, Domniate

Personality: Completely batshit. No really, she is. Mina is mostly serious and speaks in weird almost poetic language, but make her angry and she will go Hannibal Lector on your ass whether you be Kindred or Kine. She has been warned in the past about violating the Masquerade, but her fellow band members are good at keeping her under control.
As far as the whole Camarilla vs. Anarchs, she doesn't really give a shit. She plays with her band and that is really all she cares about.

Biography: Mina spent most of her teenage years in a mental home, claiming to hear voices. Her parents didn't know what to do with her. Their own daughter made them so uncomfortable that they barely came to see her, then stopped coming altogether. They moved across the state and told people they didn't have any children. Once they stopped paying for her treatment the doctors kept her there to study and test new treatments on. The various drugs and other forms of treatment, not all legal, only made her insanity worse.

She managed to escape the mental home after her door was left unlocked by a lazy orderly. She found her way to a rave when the voices told her to approach a man there, a man who ended up being a Malkavian. Because of their shared mental status he was drawn to her and embraced her, considering the lack of a Prince to ask permission from.

Unfortunately for Mina, Malkavians are not known for there loyalty and her sire dropped her fairly quickly after her embrace. She barely got a rudimentary knowledge of the world of the Kindred. Thankfully she was taken in by the band where she can pound on drums and feed on drugged up groupies all night.

She feels there is something brewing in the background of the recent upheavel in the city... something big... and very very bad...
The voices in her mind have been whispering a name...
"Ankou..."
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Marra Mistborn
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Marra Mistborn Dancer In The Mists

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Faction Name: The Camarilla Prince of Los Angeles
Allegiance: Camarilla
Location: Millennium Biltmore Hotel
General Information: This is the official Camarilla faction in Los Angeles. The Prince came from another city to try and fix things after the city fell apart and she is a visionary who wants to improve things. She expects the loyal Camarilla to give her support.

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Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by cider
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cider

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Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.
So much he profits in divinity,
That shortly he was graced with Doctor's name,
Excelling all, and sweetly can dispute
In th'heavenly matters of theology.
Till swoll'n with cunning, of a self conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach
And melting, heavens conspired his overthrow,
For falling to a devilish exercise,
And glutted now with learning's golden gifts,
He surfeits upon cursed necromancy.

- Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe


Faction Name: The Los Angeles chapter of the Giovanni family
Allegiance: Independent
Location: Burbank
General information: The Giovanni clan is the youngest clan of Cain, and known for being the usurpers of the previously powerful Cappadocian clan. Practicers of necromancy, the Giovanni trace their history as far back as the Roman Empire, when they as humans were known as Jovians. The Cappadocians eventually embraced the family, and the Antediluvian known as Augustus Giovanni, the father of clan Giovanni, would come to defeat and usurp the Cappadocians from within. The expertise the Giovanni possess in necromancy is unmatched, and it was through this power Augustus Giovanni came to outline his goals for the clan and family.

The specific goal is to tear down the Shroud, potentially gaining Giovanni power beyond comprehension, but the necessary rituals require huge amounts of souls, making this a goal spanning many centuries. As the years went by, the Giovanni expanded. Families like the Pisanob, Milliners and Ghiberti were incorporated into the family, with others to follow, and thus the clan continually spreads across the globe. As the Final Nights came and ran out, the Giovanni began to wonder if maybe they'd made a mistake. Maybe Augustus Giovanni had underestimated the Antediluvians; maybe the dead would become more potent if the Shroud were pulled down; maybe Caine was real and in the end all of these petty plays and power moves had been nothing but a diversion until Gehenna.

Nothing about the goal was certain, but what is certain is the turmoil Los Angeles has been in for the past two years. Ever since the Prince of the Camarilla was killed, various factions has vied for control over the city. So far, none has succeeded, least of all the Giovanni. Following the Fledgling's crusade across the cityscape, the Los Angeles chapter of the Giovanni family was left weakened, nearly obliterated. Opting to stay out of the chaos that followed, the Giovanni elders chose not to send new members to reform the chapters during the initial years, leaving the remnants in decay. Now, however, as the chaos has slowly began to subceed, the Giovanni family have decided it is time to regain their turf in the City of Angels, thus sending their foremost expert in the rebuilding and establishment of organizations, Samuel Giovanni, to restore order to the Giovanni chapter and, subsequently, expand into the filthy mess that is Los Angeles.





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Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Zacharius
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Zacharius

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Faction Name: Saxon Investigations
Allegiance: Anarch
Location: Officer/House in Santa Monica, House in Little Armenia.
General Information: Saxon Investigations is a genuine business, generally known among the Kine as a pair of particularly effective private investigators working for a mysterious 'Saxon' who is very rarely seen, but is hardly an enigma, personally meeting a few clients if their cases grab his particular attention. In reality, Saxon Investigations is an operation of four individuals, Frederick Saxon, two ghouls and a mysterious Eastern Kindred, and stems far beyond the world of the Kine. Only the most informed of the Nosferatu can claim to rival the network of informers and genuine spy work that Saxon has put together. Trading favors for favors, the small coterie has built and broken plans with whispered words. Treading a fine line between being too useful to remove and too much of a threat to permit, the general feeling towards Saxon is mixed among the kindred, to say the least. Having existed in LA for the last century, the coterie is loosely linked to the Anarchs, simply as they have been the main force in the city for the longest time, but that hasn't protected some Anachs from being 'outed' and not guaranteed allegiance against the Camarilla.

Recent History:

Despite the chaos that has gripped the city of LA being wholly contrary to Saxon's more idealistic goals, Saxon Investigations (SI) has only become increasingly prominent during such a time. With plans and schemes unleashed into as close to open war as the Kindred of LA could risk, the value of a detective and spymaster short up, particularly one that didn't require sacrificing some boon to the Nosferatu. Early on, Saxon decided to work in such a way as to both ensure his own place in the future nights of LA, but also to bring the fighting to a close in a sustainable manner, without sacrificing the city to those he did not wish to see in power. His vision was not always perfect, nor did he always work for his view of the greater good, but with the conflict coming to a close within two years, a blink of an eye for a Kindred, it is suggested his initial plans worked out. The Assamite Kindred, Peleni, both ally and occasional rival to Saxon, has taken up residence among the kine of her cultural heritage, putting a more violent edge to the shadow tactics of SI.

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Vanq
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Vanq The Chaos Ladder

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Faction Name: The Plebes

Allegiance: Anarch

Location: Watts is a roughly 2 sq mile neighborhood of LA. It's a severely low income area and incredibly densely populated. The Crips and the Bloods are the most influential gangs in the area, but certainly not the only.

The Plebes make their home and headquarters on a street between Wilmington and Compton Ave, near the tracks, not quite central to the area, but close enough.
Through the use of members of the smaller gangs, they keep the area patrolled loosely. They warily allow others of their kind into their territory, as long as the Masquerade is upheld. The invitation is based on the third tenet of the Status Perfectus, and is held up about as well as the actual document. But, it sure does sound good.




Vadim on the left, Ivan on the right

Name: Vadim "Abaddon" Durov
Generation: 7th
Clan: Brujah
Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Presence
Personality:
Vadim is a softer sort of Brujah, if such a thing were to exist, but he has become less brash, less brawn over brains, perhaps only because of the depression he battles following the losses during the Kuei-jin incursion. That he was not always this way is stranger still. He considers himself to be an idealist, with a renewed interest in the philosophies that lead him to create the Plebes, that lead him to the idea of the Free State. If only he were an Elois, able to disentangle himself from the rage that builds within him, he could focus on these things that truly matter.

Vadim truly believed in the Free State and the Status Perfectus, and though he cannot always follow its tenets, they were a guiding influence in his creation of their new territory in Watts. More and more these days, he is to be found in the small library he built into the slum house they call their headquarters. The walls are covered in bookcases, the shelves filled with philosophical treatises, political histories, memoirs and biographies of activists-both kine and kindred, and on and on. He has instead tried to fuel the rage, the beast within, to the music of the band. Something that had been a cover, and provided access to easy meals, has become something much more to him, though he is uncomfortable at anyone else knowing that truth about him.

Biography: See General Information

Name: Ivan "Sammael" Durov
Generation: 9th
Clan: Brujah
Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Presence
Personality:
Everything your sire warned you about regarding the Brujah. Wild, unruly, and rough, Ivan's anger and passion that were once kept under control by Vadim's leadership, is now only tempered by his peer's advice. Ivan is much the same as he always was from the time he was embraced. Ambitious, if not the brightest, he has a hunger for power that is not easily sated or diluted even with failure. He has seen what happened to Vadim after their loss of power in Russia, and now in LA, but where Vadim has become introspective, Ivan has ignored it, seeing the way forward as needing to do something big. Something bold. He wouldn't risk taking on the Pyromancers so soon, but he knows the longer they hide and bide their time, the more irrelevant they will become. Irrelevance, tossed aside to become little more than targets for others, is not something his ego can stand the thought of, is not something the rage that boils within him can allow.

Biography: See general Information

Name: Lillian Dolan, "Lily Ellis"

Generation: 8th
Clan: Toreador
Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence
Personality:
She is a typical Toreador in many ways, always publicly displaying an air of beauty, grace, and seduction. It is a facade, but a well maintained one. Anger, resentment, and a need for revenge are what fuels her, what drives her ambition. Her years of exile though, have made her cautious to act. She knows she will not have a second chance.

Biography:
Lillian was born into lucky circumstances, though it was the midst of the Great Depression, her father was a banker who had managed to keep his job, food on the table, and a roof over his family's head. She was the youngest of three children, her parent's only daughter, and duly spoiled. From childhood to adolescence she bloomed into a beautiful young woman, and with some help from friends of her father, she entered the modeling world. She wanted to be a star, to move to LA and be an actress. This world was much harsher than the one she was raised in though, and she was quite unprepared for dealing with it once she left behind the small roles gotten for her through nepotism.

At 18 she got herself an agent and moved, against her parent's wishes, to LA as she had wanted. The next few years were dark and she quickly wanted to return home to her parents only to find that she couldn't. The agent she had hired was a shady man, the contract she had not read but signed stipulated the payment she owed him for finding her work. With few options to take work elsewhere, or return home, Lillian, did the work gotten for her. Bit pieces if she was lucky, photo sessions that she was ashamed of. Her career, if she had ever had one, was spiraling down quickly.

On the precipice of giving up, on everything, Lillian met Jean-Marc Fais. She had heard his name whispered, a god of sorts of aspiring models and actresses. If he took an interest in you, your success was nigh guaranteed. With the jobs she had, and her dire straights,she doubted that he would ever have any cause to even hear her name, much less see her work. And yet, one day, she received an invitation. The next night, she dined in an exquisite penthouse suite as she received the best news of her life. He had seen her work, a careful and meticulous man such as himself had to look everywhere to find the real talent, he explained. So close to wanting it all to end, Lillian ate it up with no questions asked. She didn't care what he would ask of her, she would do it.

He only asked for her life.

Waking as a kindred was overwhelming. She hadn't really believed the story he spun in explaining what he wished to do, what was done was done though. Her Embrace, in 1955, provided a short-lived high point to her existence. Jean-Marc held a comfortable position in the Camarilla hierarchy, and Lillian, now going by Lily Ellis, would reap the benefits of it. Actual jobs came in and it seemed like any day would be her big break, any day her position with the Toreador as Jean-Marc's childe would be solidified. She just needed to prove herself worthy.

It never came, Lily may have had a pretty face and body, but even with the benefits of her kindred nature, unless her sire pulled strings, the job offers dried up just as before. She was given one role as the leading lady in the booming movie industry, and the film died during testing. The reviews of her acting were deplorable, and just two years into her new life, her sire abandoned her, too ashamed and angry at what a mistake she had been.

Too young to be on her own, Lillian drifted from one coterie to the next. There was too much she didn't understand, but what she quickly learned, was that Jean-Marc was out to ruin her. Any time she did find a home, someone to take her in and teach her, a rumor would come out, whispers into her "adoptive" sire's ear, and she was sent packing. It all came to a head in the 70s, when fed up with being black-listed from Camarilla society, that she found Jean-Marc in Elysium and publicly charged him with abandonment, with blacklisting her, with spreading lies so vicious that none would touch her.

It didn't end well in any sense. She was forced to leave LA, though there was little that Jean-Marc could "legally" do to her, she was sure there was to be no safety left at all in the city. The coming decades proved to be trying. Lillian knew few people outside of the area, and fewer still who were not connected in some way to her sire. Still so very young, and without a teacher or surrogate sire, she needed something to replace the gaping emptiness she felt night after night.

Ignoring the kindred for a time, she latched on to wealthy old kine. If she could not be famous, then she could at least see to it that she lived well. Staying mostly on the east coast, back to NYC, to Miami, even a brief stint in DC, but always teetering on the edge of Camarilla society. And always, always watching the ever rising star of Jean-Marc. And as the years passed, a new art form was discovered within her. Revenge, "justice," she had heard a few others call it, burned white hot within. Lillian began to make a name for herself within the kindred world along the east coast. There was no coterie, just herself and whatever ghouls she could support at that time, but she was effective and it finally seemed like she might have overcome the shadow of her sire after all.

The rumors, dark and nasty, returned and brought death to her fledgling hopes. She had become too successful, and though she couldn't find anyway to point the blame directly at him, there was no doubt in Lillian's mind that Jean-Marc was to blame. Business dried up nearly over night, kindred walked away without a word, her kine lovers or beneficiaries turned their backs. It was the final straw.

News of the disaster in LA reached her ears before she was halfway across the country, headed back to seek her own revenge. With a mix of disappointment and relief, there was a brief moment where she thought that she had been too late. That Jean-Marc had already been ruined. It was not to be; instead, in the aftermath of the chaos, he had been raised to Primogen of the Toreador. There was only one position hire than his, and she doubted he would stop before he achieved it.

Certain that none would touch her, especially now, especially with the prominent role and power her sire held, she balked outside of LA. Revenge was necessary, but it wasn't a road she could travel alone, not this time. Just how she came to find the Plebes and their HQ in Watts, she has never fully disclosed. She simply showed up on their stoop one night and explained who she was. She offered a subtlety and tact that they had been without, and they offered apathy for her past. It was an uneasy alliance to begin with, but she has become somewhat fond of the philosophical Vadim, and there are times that she is fascinated by the fire within Ivan. Betty and Mina are anomalies to her, but tools to be used in her eventual crusade against the Toreador Primogen.

Name: Betty

Generation: 11th
Clan: Gangrel
Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Protean
Personality:
Biography:
Just where exactly Betty came from, what her actual name is, and anything at all about her past are largely unknown. Found by the two Brujah in Russia, and that she could speak Russian, lead to the belief that she had been Russian in her life. That she was of Clan Gangrel was also immediately clear, though how long her un-life had been was also unknown. She had already developed the feather's on her arms, the predatory eyes, and the skin on her legs toughening to resemble that of a bird when they had found her. She had frenzied too many times, and it was taking a toll on her body. That she had been alone, barely able to speak, seemed to point to the fact that she had not been brought up properly. Either no other Gangrel had found her, or the one that had had not done well in raising their pup.

Betty isn't sure either. Memories of her life are dulled to oblivion. The passage of time from when she entered this new life to the present at times seems like forever, and at other times all too recent. Vadim and Ivan explained as much as they could to her, some of which she understands. The Masquerade, the need for her to remain largely unseen, that does not overly bother her, especially since they are in a city. She also knows that she would leave, if she could. There are times where hates Vadim and Ivan, particularly Ivan, more than anything else. Yet she finds herself incapable of leaving or even lashing out. Ivan had explained that as well, the blood bond between them.

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Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Raptorman
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Raptorman

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Faction Name: The Palm Springs Crew

Allegiance: Independent

Location: Palm Springs

General Information: The Palm Springs Crew is a faction that has been around for a considerable length of time and it is a faction that has been forced to hide its nature in almost all interactions. As one of the few if not the only old Tzimisce domain in the new world the vampires who run the town have long been incredibly secretive and cautious. Most dealings with outsiders are done through ghoul emissaries or through the member of the crew known as the Emissary who is of unknown bloodline. The leaders of the crew were never seen by outsiders for nearly 60 years since they first took up dominion over the small resort town.

However in the last two years things have changed slightly. During the chaos that followed the assassination of many anarch and camarilla leaders several groups attempted to seize the town, viewing it as a sign of weakness that the vampires in charge had hidden behind ghouls. This belief was mistaken and the incursions were smashed but the force and means used to suppress the incursions have led to the rumor mills churning and some of the veil of secrecy was damaged.

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Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Instantes
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Instantes

Member Offline since relaunch

Faction Name: Camarilla Investment Group - Los Angeles Division (CIG LA)
Allegiance: Camarilla
Location: Downtown L.A., principally the 54th and 55th floor of the 777 Tower
General Information: Although the Camarilla has little central organisation as such, save for the mysterious Inner Circle, the international world of global finance and its vast potential demanded Camarilla Princes coordinate their efforts to ensure the transition of banking into the modern era remained heavily influenced by, and guided towards, Camarilla interests and needs. Those who held prominent positions in European and American Banking firms formed their own secret council, the Camarilla Investment Group, to ensure that all forms of banking and related financial activities (investment banking, venture capitalism, hedge fund management etc) benefited Camarilla assets and maintained a steady flow of wealth with which to combat the Sabbat and other forces opposed to the Camarilla.

Secondarily, the CIG also takes a more direct influence in growing the assets into which it invests, and pulling strings of both private and public companies to organise and cement Camarilla power in certain areas. Coordinating with political assets amongst the Camarilla, vampires are often placed on boards of companies and local government organisations to influence key decisions; the motives for these vary - to reassert lost power when force is a less desirable or valid option, strengthen power and influence in particular areas or make life difficult for Sabbat or even Anarch operations opposed to Camarilla interests.

Character Sheets:


Name: Vernon Grant-Bell
Generation: 8th
Clan: Ventrue
Disciplines: Fortitude, Dominate, Presence
Personality: Calm, measured and exuding a captivating gravitas, Vernon is a benchmark of Ventrue leadership, even without his mastery of the 'presence' and 'dominate' disciplines. Every sentence he speaks is carefully weighed, every stroke of his pen fore-planned to work in his favour, every action pre-aligned like a chess grandmaster. Coming from traditional Scottish aristocracy, Vernon is a highly cultured man with interests in classical music, poetry and many other rich artistic pursuits. He is engaging and prefers diplomatic solutions wherever possible, but such is his self confidence (many would say arrogance) that 'no' is something Vernon struggles to readily accept; thus "non-diplomatic" solutions are not unfamiliar to him, and he is prepared to use whatever resources he can muster, including his own prowess if necessary, to ensure things are done to benefit the Camarilla and his own interests.
Biography: Born in Edinburgh during the year 1773, Vernon was the son of a prominent Scottish Earl - the Earl of Sterling, and as such was Born to his official title: Lord Vernon Grant-Bell, The Viscount of Sterling. His upbringing was privileged, cultured and secure; his education was first rate and he possessed a particularly keen mind for mathematics, although philosophy, literature and languages both contemporary and classical were well received upon his studious mind. Following several years of study at Cambridge, Vernon returned to his inherited home to an array of options: he could join the army or navy, enjoying the fast track that a landed title brought; he could become a doctor or lawyer, although neither of these truly appealed; or he could travel to London and expose himself to a life a court, living off his family's financial wealth at least temporarily. Guided by his father's steady hand, he chose to join the army in December 1796 as a Lieutenant, taking a commission in the 71st Regiment of Foot, before quickly transferring to the 74th Highlanders in 1797 once a position to become Captain had presented itself.

For several years Vernon took posts across varying positions in the British Empire, being cited several times by officers for his intelligent, quick thinking mind and calm, assertive leadership that struck the right balance with the men he led. He was firm but fair, and when the opportunity presented itself, he demonstrated his bravery too. By 1801 he became a Major, and by 1803 he was to lead a company of men into one of the most famous battles in his regiment's history: the battle of Assaye in Western India. The battle that made the highlanders and Sir Arthur Wellesley famous also brought Major, The Lord Viscount Grant-Bell praise worthy of his grand name; stepping forward when the line was in peril, Vernon demonstrated great courage and leadership in steadying his troops and leading them on the field. Back home in England, this acclaim brought other noble eyes upon him: the country's Ventrue clan.

During the Peninsula War, fought against Napoleonic France's grand army in Portugal and Spain, Vernon transferred to be an intelligence officer although he kept his official title as an officer of the 74th Highlanders. Sharp witted, with a keen tactical mind and a flair for languages, Vernon excelled in this role and was bumped up to Colonel by Arthur Wellesley himself following a string of well executed assignments that led to significant tactical advantages over the French. On his return to England in December 1808 on brief leave, Vernon was invited to a masquerade ball held in London by an Earl well known at court for his lavish parties. It was at this party that the Ventrue took their mark; sired by the Marquess of Bath, himself a prominent member of the clan. Following this night, the world of the rich and entitled developed a whole new light: the kine didn't really rule - the Kindred did, as he was soon to learn.

Using their significant power and influence, Vernon was excused his duties in the war, only returning there for two months so as not to draw undue attention, although he maintained his official post as an intelligence Colonel in the British Army; as of now his new training and demands lay with his clan. Vernon thrived as a member of the world's elite kindred stock, taking apprenticeships under Princes of cities littered throughout the Empire. It soon became apparent, however, that his leadership and intelligence has destined him for greater things; specifically, this mathematical mind was seen to be useful in wealth creation and 1865, after many years of training, he became a founding member of HSBC, although his role was one played out in the shadows, scheming behind human figureheads. For a century and a half, Vernon has innovated and crafted modern banking and wealth creation, investing in key assets and linking them inextricably to the Ventrue and Camarilla. Although his life as a soldier and intelligence officer facilitated his interest in other roles, particularly when he was bored of desk work and number crunching, the Inner Circle always prompted his return to what he did best.

In the modern nights, the year 2006, Vernon has been sent to L.A. to sure up the Camarilla's influence within the city following the failure of the former Prince. Vernon is subtle but astute, even direct when called for, and his knowledge of intelligence operations betrays a darker purpose to his presence in the city. He only knows he cannot fail... because he cannot remember the last time he did so.


Name: Aurelia Núñez
Generation: 9th
Clan: Ventrue
Disciplines: Fortitude, Dominate, Presence
Personality: Aurelia is Vernon's childe, closest aide and one of the few people he entrusts to carry out is business in absolute faith. Whereas Vernon oozes cool confidence, Aurelia's charisma is far more gregarious and passionate. If new clients need taking for dinner and drinks to seal a contract then Aurelia will take the lead, ensuring the matter is sealed as expected whilst, in all likelihood, leaving such an impression that repeat business and recommendation is all but certain. Exerting a confident, intelligent femininity, Aurelia is a fast riser in Camarilla circles and her ambition is masked thinly behind her loyalty to Vernon.
Biography: Born in A Coruña, Spain in 1790, Aurelia Núñez was daughter to a dairy farmer and his young wife; her mother died giving birth to her and she was raised solely by her father - a kind, hard working man with a gentle spirit. Aurelia helped on the farm her whole life, and whilst her father taught her to read and write a little, not being a well educated man himself she grew up destined to work the land - milking the cattle, tending to their needs and selling their produce in A Coruña. Her life was happy enough in many ways, although as a teenager she found it rather dull.

In May 1808 events conspired to shatter her world; the uprising in Madrid against the French occupiers set off a chain of events that would lead to a full military conflict between Napoleon's France and the allied forces of Spain, Portugal and Great Britain. The flush of fresh and experienced French troops into Spain in late 1808 crushed the Spanish and by January they had pushed the British forces in Spain into a corner: that corner just so happened to be at A Coruña. The night before the battle, several French scouts entered their farm looking to steal cattle to feed their amassing forces. With a noble spirit, her father resisted but was quickly overwhelmed and murdered by a single musket ball to the skull. Aurelia remembered the screams she uttered that night; at barely over eighteen she saw her father killed, was savagely raped and left beaten within an inch of her life.

The same night, a British patrol was scouting the area when it came across the same French forces that had stolen the cattle; a brief fire fight followed in which the French were driven back, but having got their prizes, were happy to withdraw. The leader of the patrol, a young captain, saw the barn ablaze and diverted to take a brief look when he heard Aurelia's screams. Her wounds were severe, but upon his honour as a gentleman he took her back to the camp surgeon to make an attempt at saving her life. The situation looked doubtful, such was her loss of blood. It was after the captain had reported the sighting of the French patrol to his superior officer, who in turn passed it on to Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, commander of the British forces, and his intelligence aide - Colonel Vernon Grant-Bell. Vernon wished to question the surviving girl, but upon seeing the surgeon he understood she was likely to die within the hour. He asked to see her alone. She was unable to speak, savaged with wounds yet still striking; her raven hair was matted with blood, her eyes were fierce and defiant and her lips pursed with the effort of trying to talk. He saw something in her that spoke to him - this girl had passion and fortitude - it was a miracle she was not dead already; and so Vernon decided, that although she was not a candidate of ideal bloodlines, he would not let her meet a true death, but rather an undeath. That night, privately, he sired her.

The battle itself was fought in the day, but as an intelligence officer no-one expected Vernon to be leading the line, and so his absence there was not really accounted for; neither was that of a lowly Spanish girl. In the town itself, he sheltered her whilst both sides fought themselves to a draw. Soon afterwards he led her into Portugal, before the Ventrue arranged for his transfer back to England.

When he returned to London, the presence of a new childe with him shocked the established Ventrue; although Vernon was a promising new vampire, to turn another so quickly was highly frowned upon, not to mention her low birth. A presentation was made of Vernon and Aurelia to the Prince of London, where their fate and punishment would be presided over. Death for both was strongly considered, having broken a sacred code of the Ventrue and the Camarilla. However, Vernon's promise allied with the argument that he had not yet been adequately taught by his own sire deflected much of the punishment onto the Maquess of Bath. Vernon was warned, whilst Aurelia was given an effective death sentence - sent to fight as a front-line soldier in the street wars against the Sabbat: if she died, so be it, if she survived it would prove she would be a useful addition to the clan.

It took fifteen years of fighting and scrapping, killing and nearly being killed; in all this time she was forbidden from seeing Vernon, but her uncanny survival instinct and remarkable resilience was noted. She was taken off the front lines, and as a Ventrue, was given tasks far more in line with a vampire of such a noble clan. The only issues were her struggles in reading and writing; as of yet, she was a Ventrue by blood only, lacking the intelligence, sophistication and grace to be a true member of the clan. In truth, she was more like a savage Brujah than a Ventrue, and so she was given back to Vernon to culture and educate. This year was 1825, and from this point forward Vernon never let her go. He relished in teaching his only Childe; he was firm but caring. In many ways it was a paternal love that guided him. She had never aged beyond her eighteen year old body, and her youthful beauty charmed him into protecting her in a way he would do for no other. She wasn't coddled - how could one coddle a vampire so exposed to terror and violence? But little by little, the care and attention, as well as the education, allowed her to flourish. She became his closest aide and most trusted advisor, travelling with him to many places in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

In the modern nights this relationship still holds true. Fierce, feisty and yet richly sophisticated - Aurelia Núñez is like a well aged bottle of Spanish Rioja; whilst she does not have Vernon's raw intelligence and methodical mind, she offers a passionate counterbalance which has proven equally useful in securing desirable contracts for the Camarilla's growing portfolio of wealth.


Name: Gregor McCrone
Generation: 10th
Clan: Gangrel
Disciplines: Fortitude, Protean, Animalism
Personality: Ruthless and aggressive, the beast stalks in Gregor with great potency; as a Cainite his servitude to Vernon has been reinforced by a blood bond that the Ventrue sees is well maintained. It is only this, and the occasional tutelage of his master, that enables Gregor to seamlessly fit into human society: rarely leaving Vernon's side unless by his direct instruction, he is able to stay in better control of his base urges and even pass as having at least competent social etiquette.. As both bodyguard and enforcer, however, Gregor is an extremely apt individual - violence releases the predator which lies within - something he finds highly gratifying.
Biography: Gregor was wild even as a kine; born to a small village settlement off Loch Rannoch in the highlands of Scotland in 1894, his father fished the Loch and his mother made clothing from wool to sell. Their life was simple and wild, lost amongst the sublime landscape that both cradled them and kept them in awe. Gregor was 20 when the first world war broke out and he volunteered straight away. He wasn't to know what horrors the war would bring and it all seemed like it would be a good laugh at the time. He fought bravely throughout the war, being cited for his rather fearless actions on several occasions. Eventually he became accustomed to it; the violence became normative, became expected even, so that the moments of peace were welcomed only briefly. Many soldiers beside him thought Gregor too wild to follow into battle - somehow reckless, but admirable nonetheless. During the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, this reckless luck would run out. The bullet from a sniper missed his heart but smashed a hole that nearly killed him nonetheless.

The war was over for Gregor, and as he recovered back in England, he decided he could not stay in the oppressive setting of a city such as London and that he needed to go back to his home in Scotland. He recovered there amongst the highlands' beautiful landscapes, soothed by the mountains and the loch itself. But such a peaceful life after the everyday grind of war was difficult; although the war itself contained long periods of boredom, Gregor could always volunteer for a patrol or forward posting. His friends thought him crazy, but something ineffable and violent lurked within him - where it came from he could not say, but the war, dreadful at first, had appeased it, and now it stirred restless.

Recovered, Gregor wandered the lands with a unquenchable need for something greater, and yet the call of his homelands somehow rooted him there. It was an evening spent running in the vast wilderness of the Rannoch Moor that showed him the answer he had subliminally longed for. Running amongst a patch of pine woods, he tripped in the darkness and fell. Before he could arise he was set upon by a powerful man who slammed his head into the ground and hit him with such force that his lung collapsed on first impact. Gregor wheezed and coughed, but the bloodlust in him stirred again; previously lost with the absence of war, he had found it now. Although his opponent was freakishly strong, Gregor threw as many punches as the strange man, scrapping for his life. The fight was bloody but brief; Gregor had given a good account of himself, but there was no way he could win. Even his strongest blows did little but raise a smile from the villain who attacked him, but unbeknown to him, the immortal foe was impressed with the spirit of his victim. That night he was turned, the Gangrel who fought him pleased with the outcome of his test.

Joining the Gangrel was a liberating experience for Gregor; his rage was fuelled and celebrated, but subject to control and guidance from experienced members of the clan. The highland Gangrel were equally pleased with their latest recruit, and Gregor became an experienced hunter. He quickly learned his limitations, however; the lands of the Garou were to be respected at all times - a lesson painfully learned by many new recruits.

In 1962, the Highland Gangrel joined the Camarilla as increasing urbanisation forced them into a decision between them or the Sabbat. In the early 1970s, a Ventrue vampire called Vernon Grant-Bell returned to his native Scotland to oversee the bank of Scotland's expansion into North Sea Oil and the energy sector. In actuality, he had tied portions of the Camarilla's wealth into the quickly growing industry and bought a great deal of shares on behalf of the organisation. Aware that the Sabbat would want to sabotage this process to prevent the Camarilla securing a firmer power base in Scotland, Vernon orchestrated a pre-emptive offensive to cripple certain Sabbat power structures throughout Scotland. Vernon oversaw the offensive directly and kept a close eye on individual reports fed back from commanders on the ground. Several cited one name in a ferocious assault on a Sabbat industrial complex in Glasgow - Gregor McCrone. Reports that Gregor had rallied against the Sabbat counter attack where others fell away reminded Vernon of his own role in the battle of Assaye; the more he dug into the background of Gregor and his previous career as a soldier, the more Vernon saw of the same spirit he recognised in the very best soldiers that he had worked with. He asked for him immediately.

By now Gregor had grown almost too wild to integrate well within human cities. Technology was lost upon him and he had forgotten much of civilised manners; Vernon however, saw the warrior underneath and trusted his ability to mould the clay he saw. The Gangrel did not want to let their best go, but Vernon's influence in the Camarilla made sure he batted down the objections. Gregor was assigned to Vernon's personal coterie as an enforcer. He didn't like this at first - learning culture and etiquette wasn't an interest. Vernon knew that Gregor would only respect strength, so he showed it. Vernon was an older, more experienced vampire and whilst he lacked Gregor's prowess with the Protean discipline, Vernon's knowledge of fortitude was greater, and his extra experience allowed him to beat Gregor frequently in their sparring matches. Gregor, begrudgingly, showed deference to his better and the assignments he was given appealed to his violent side - he was appeased. Still, he was unaware that Vernon had reinforced these 'normal' means of gaining respect with supplying Gregor with his own blood. Thus over time, a strong blood bond was created between Gregor and Vernon, so that now Gregor almost always seeks to please the man he works for. It is an arrangement that suits both well: Vernon leads, and Gregor sees how far he can push people's noses towards the back of their heads...
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