Vampire Sanctum



It all began with a letter. A simple enough instrument for communication. It was spread far and wide, via rumor networks, vampire-appropriate mail drops and listserves, Schreknet, the Malkavian Madness Network, or even rosewater-scented, official-looking documents sealed with wax seals. The distribution was wide enough that all of the kindred of Necropolis and a great many outside of its borders would receive the message. The missive, in nearly all cases, was identical:

"It is time for a change. The Vampires of this city are disorganized, scattered, best upon by lupines, hunters, and worse terrors. We are, and should rightly be, the lords of the night, the rulers in darkness. But we are not. Not in this place, and not in this time.

It is time for a change. In the past, the Vampires of this city had some structure, but were forever at one another's throats. Cainites and Kindred tearing at one another's balls, squabbling in the middle of the road, unaware of the oncoming traffic. We cannot be as dogs, anymore. Events of the past decade have proven that even if one does not accept belief in Gehenna, it is obvious that something terrible is coming. Whatever it is, we cannot fight it alone, separate, tearing at one another.

It is time for a change. I know attempts have been made in the past to set another Sabbat member on the Archbishop's seat. I know the Camarilla has tried, and failed, to establish a Prince. We are each responsible for the others failures... and for our own.

All this changes, now. I have established a new Elysium, where all of the blood, Cainite or Kindred, may be free to come and go without fear. I have set in motion a new order, that we might grow strong, together, our backs safely turned to one another so we may keep our eyes on the Lupine, the Hunter, the Magi. I have claimed Praxis, as is my right by age, by blood, and by my honor and oath to serve you as Lord with all the faith that you serve one another, and the city. This is my honor and my pledge.

The Elysium is open. All are welcome."

-Marcus Halliward Smythe, Lord of Necropolis

For almost a year, Marcus ruled Necropolis with friends, allies, and even a few rivals. Regardless, though, of how any individual felt about Marcus' claim to Praxis, there was a year of prosperity and culture that could be described as nothing, if not both rare and successful. The vampire population rose in prominence, was highly active, and accomplished much in its time. Elders from across the globe saw the benefit of a neutral court, set in the old ways, before the divisions that came in the wake of the first Anarch Revolt. These elders brought their childer, and they, theirs. The kindred population swells, those claiming loyalty to Marcus' court multiplied, and it seemed that there might be no force in all of Hell, Earth or Heaven that might be able to challenge so stalwart an organization. In the end, though, perhaps it was this court's success that proved its undoing.

It was in the summer of 2012 that Marcus became more and more scarce of a personality in his court. By August, it because positively uncommon to see him present, at all. As is so unfortunately common with those of the thickest blood and most advanced years, it was assumed that Marcus had succumbed to the sleep of the ages. Even now, the visionary Lord of Necropolis remains missing. In the late nights of 2012, just before the Sabbat's Palla Grande, a great tragedy struck when a splinter movement developed, decrying the power of the elders and calling for the end to the reign of ancients. They were the same tired cries that had been heard in the centuries past; typical rhetoric of the anarchs. The machines of the court spun to life, looking into how to put down this rabble quietly and to marshall them into their own destruction--and it was in that time that they struck.

During a court event celebrating Marcus' benevolence and ensuring the future of Marcus' vision in his absense, the leader of the local anarch movement revealed a surprising gift to the city: A bomb, smuggled into the secret chambers and catacombs beneath the sanctum. Marcus' adopted childe and representatives of the local Tremere chantry valiantly held the crazed anarch at bay while the rest of the court was able to escape safely, only narrowing making their own escape before the weapon's failsafe trigger exploded, leveling the building and everything beneath it, making Marcus' great Sanctum naught but a great crater in the center of Necropolis.

Description
The approach to the Vampire Elysium is not an easy one. Once one has pierced the veil of secrecy to know to approach the door at the lowest level of the downtown multi-level carpark, one has to have the proper contacts and information to get through the door into the underground parking lot. Other layers of security are found there, including armed ghouls, sensors, scanners, spirits, wraiths, wardings, and worse things. Once the approaching creature has been determined to be a vampire, or other being recognized in the city... and determined to be carrying no inappropriate weaponry... the being would be admitted into the Elysium Proper. The first floor of the Elysium is an expansive salon, in wood inlay, marble, and statuary.. mirrors and fountains. Chairs and Chaise Lounges and Couches are scattered throughout the place, and two bars serving mortal and cainite drinks line each side of the place. Also available are trained blood dolls, offering vitae 'on draft' for those who wish it. Booths line other walls, with sound-damping curtains that can be pulled for privacy. More private rooms sprawl off the sides of the place.

4 October 2012 Update: It is worth noting that late in the night, near dawn on 4 October, the Keeper began removing some of the artwork and started posting "Under Construction" and "Caution" signs in and around the Sanctum. He has asked as many of the personnel as possible, particularly those who are still mortal, to remain at home, cutting the staffing down to merely a skeleton crew. Several moving trucks have been coming and going, and some sort of construction is going on in or under the Sanctum, though he has been careful to ask people to keep back, for their own safety and for the security of the Sanctum.

9-10 October Update: Four days later, the moving trucks stop coming and going at the site of the Sanctum. The screens and retaining walls for the construction site remain up for another day, and by 10/10, they are taken down. Things are dustier. The new flooring replaced during the construction is a little bit discolored, but most of the woodwork and stonework looks mostly good.

Cleaning continues, but the staff is still sparse. Mortal staff is completely absent. Those with heightened senses will find increased warmth and a dull hum under the floor, but it's well-insulated, and deeply muffled, even for heightened senses.

Notices are posted at the Sanctum bar, the G club, and passed to the Nosferatu available regarding the grand re-opening of Marcus' sanctum, a court to honor his grandeur, and opportunity for tabula rasa for absolutely one and all, who have grievance with Marcus, or who feel that Marcus does or may have grievance with them. The notice is signed by Alexander Köster and written in his hand. The court is scheduled for the evening of Friday the 12th, at midnight.

12-13 October Update:  And so it came to pass that Alexander's call to the Sanctum was answered. A dozen of the city's more prominent personalities showed up, and several of the lesser, largely unknown younglings came to hear his address. The decor was restored, the site lovely, and staff friendly. Everything seemed to be pointing toward a pleasant evening.

As the evening's business began, Alexander made a plea for jubilee with Marcus and his courts--and elimination of all debts owed to or against Marcus in Necropolis, that a new chapter... Nay, a new era of kindred enlightenment and camaraderie might flourish in the city. With the greatest sense of hope, Alexander announced his resignation from duties as Marcus' seneschal, and named Tasha as his successor, as someone closer to Marcus' own will and vision. It was just as Alexander began to explain the new security features he had ordered for the Sanctum in order to keep it safe, he and Tovi received calls at their emergency phone numbers. Their domain was under attack. Swearing great doom and damnation on Al Kavian, who had been in attendance, Alexander and Tovi fled to secure their home.

With one of the city's great halls under attack, Kavian addressed those at the Sanctum--and promised them a great display of anarch power: He had a bomb in the building that would destroy it utterly, and it was due to explode in a quarter hour. Most in attendance fled. Some--notably the Tremere and Tzmisce present--worked to stop Kavian's mad plot. Tasha and her ghouls attacked Kavian directly, whilst the Tremere worked to secure his dead man's switch. Ancient enemies put aside their centuries-old differences and tried to save something greater than themselves, showing even in the last minutes of Marcus' sanctum that the lines drawn between the kindred are at best, just smoky, imaginary lines.

With Kavian's head lonely for its body and the remains quickly crumbling into dust, the others fled. Like a fist from Hell itself, a wall of force, and then of flame punched out from somewhere deep beneath the Sanctum proper. A massive explosion, channeled and focused from being deep in the bowels of the complex ripped through the structure, shattering windows in the adjacent buildings and causing the Sanctum and the parking structure it existed beneath to buckle, crumble, and collapse inward on itself.

Fortune would have it that precious little involvement or attention came from the mortals. The loss of life was relatively small. A fire team returning to its station from a charity even across town was in the area when the explosion occurred, and had already secured the crisis scene when the other police and fire arrived. The investigation into the explosion was handled quickly, and ruled that old subway tunnels in the city had collapsed, giving way to a large, unknown cavern beneath. This allowed for a relatively minor natural gas leak to build up and build up for years, and finally, spectacularly, and lethally explode. Those first responders from ladder 47 have since had some issues with their memories; most remember fighting the fire, but the details are hazy and some have begun to question the consistency of their stories. Their ailments, officially at least, are attributed to being on the scene right after the blast, and their exposure to fumes of the burning natural gas, mixed with the various chemicals and compounds that would have been present in or around the parking structure.

The masquerade was maintained, if only just. In one vast, fiery strike however, it was shown that the jyhad was still very much in play in the City of Necropolis.

City Positions: 

Lord - Marcus Smythe -- Missing in Action

Lord - Tasha Zantosa -- Appointed a few minutes before the bomb went off, and then resigned.

Sheriff - Bashnia Aurora

Seneschal - Alexander Köster -- Resigned

Keeper - Alexander Köster -- Resigned

Scourge - Belinda Arcanum -- Missing in Action

OOC Info
What this IS - An attempt to get the vampire game going again as a Vampire game. Vampires are social creatures, and without any IC organization, we've got little reason to socialize. I thought it would be a good thing for the vampire players to have an organization, to join, to plot in, to rail against, to undermine, whatever. And my character thought the same way, funny that, so this is an IC action, with no real OOC subtext. Leading me to...

What this IS NOT - This is not an OOC power-grab. I dont want to be OOC in charge of anything, and I dont want to create any OOC drama. Its just an IC action by an IC character. Deal with it as you find appropriate, IC

Notable Players
Room Owner - Marcus Smythe