Vampire

Vampire:??the Requiem

City of??Darkness:??Manchester

The Endless Waltz

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Prologue: The Depth of Shadow

????????????????????????It is mid September, 2004. Labour is in it???s second term of office and Tony Blair still holds the office of Prime Minister. The??London??bombings were still to happen and the ???War on Terror??? is still in it???s infancy as British and American troops wage war in??Iraq.

????????????????????In??Manchester??the Kindred wage a timeless game of politics and intrigue. Currently the Carthians, the democratic Covenant of vampires, holds power over the city, led by the stern and fair Chairman Jonathan Williams. He however is aided in his governing of the city by a Board of Representatives, a gathering of key Kindred representing the Clans and Covenants of the city. As Chairman he acts as judge and overseer of the democratic body that is the Board of Representatives.

????????????????????It is the 18^th??of September, a Saturday night. The cool and suave Dimitri, a Daeva, awakes in his apartment in central??Manchester, in the exciting and fashionable area of the Northern Quarter. Dimitri spends his day in the on suite bathroom of the main bedroom, the room lacking any windows and so is easily sun-proofed. Speaking with his ghoul and aide, Karl, they discuss the plans for this evening. Dimitri is to hold a party and so Karl must gather guests, drinks, food, and of course an adequate herd. However, to begin the night Dimitri heads to one of the largest alternative clubs in??Manchester, Jilly???s Rockworld, to find his first juicebag of the night. But before Dimitri leaves Karl hands him a letter. It reads that Dimitri has been invited to Elysium tomorrow evening at the Urbis building where he will be formally presented to the Kindred of the city.

????????????????????At the other side of town in a partially built block of apartments Kane awakes. A brooding, long haired figure, well built and somewhat feral, and a member of the Gangrel, Kane is an Unaligned Kindred, but such is the way of the Carthians, this neonate has been provided a haven. There is a rap at the door and Kane opens the door to another vampire, the Carthian in charge of the communal havens that are located in the building, Alexander du Prais. Alexander is a well dressed and handsome young man, though with a touch of arrogance and self importance. Alexander hands Kane the letter of invitation to Elysium, just as Dimitri received.

????????????????????The Nosferatu known as Stella awakes in her dilapidated Victorian house in??Salford. She clambers out of the basement, dressed in tattered black clothing and immediately heads out into the night to hunt. She watches patiently in the inner city streets of the city of??Salford??(a city consumed by the city of??Greater Manchester) and timing the moment lures a hooded young man to her before launching herself at him, restraining herself when feeding. Returning to her haven she finds waiting on the doorstep the Constable (the??Manchester??term for Sheriff) Ihram, a dark featured man wrapped in loose black robes, much like those of Arabic descent in the city. Ihram hands her the letter inviting her to Elysium.

????????????????????Chuck Taylor, a Gangrel, awakes in the basement store room of the gym that he owns in the east of central??Manchester. Chuck is a muscled ex athlete who conducts himself in a military manner. His ghoul, Dean, greets him as Chuck heads upstairs. Before Chuck goes for his nightly run he is given a letter of invitation by his ghoul.

????????????????????At Rockworld Dimitri, having already got the attention of a number of girls and guys, inviting them back to his flat for his late night party, finds his Beast is arosed. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he feels a deep growl in the back of his throat. He looks about the dark club and finally spots a man with scruffy short hair, a slim build and in a blue shirt. He casually smokes a cigarette as two girls sit next to him chatting. He pays them no attention and beckons Dimitri over. He introduces himself as Zahred Zilber and it is clear that he is a vampire. Dimitri leaves him on good terms, even inviting to his after party later that night.

????????????????????On the Sunday night before the Elysium gathering Stella sits in her study, water dripping down from pipes, walls lined with a large collection of books, candles flickering in the cold Autumn breeze, and prepares a ritual. As a member of the Circle of the Crone, the Covenant of eclectic pagan vampires, Stella is already trained in the basic arts of Cr??ac, and keen to have an upper hand at Elysium, while also being quite worried and afraid of her presentation, she performs a small ritual. Forming a ritual circle and filling a bowl with water, Stella slices her hand and allows a few drops of her vampiric blood to drip into the water. Concentrating and focusing on the spiraling patterns of blood she is able to read the patterns. Her growing experience allowing her to see the patterns of chaos. It is obvious there is some form of disharmony in Kindred society that will make it self known at Elysium. Finishing her ritual Stella prepares to make her way to the centre of??Manchester.

????????????????????In the cool dark of the night Chuck arrives at the Urbis building. The glass slope of the building reflecting the gothic spire of the nearby cathedral and the rotating white beams of the Manchester Wheel. All about steel and glass stands next to Victorian and Gothic architecture. Chuck approaches the rear doors of the building where two guards await and Constable Ihram watches. Chuck is welcomed in and asked to wait, but is first padded down for weapons. The next arrival is Kane who is likewise checked for blades and guns and then asked to wait for the others to arrive. Stella makes her entrance, having previously been waiting in the Cathedral gardens watching people arrive at the Urbis building. Finally, almost 10 minutes late Dimitri makes his way in. All of them are then greeted by Spokesman Mathew Rain, a charismatic and sharply dressed man, and also the sire of Dimitri. He explains what will happen upstairs, and then together they take the lift to the top of the Urbis building. The lift exits out onto a clean white corridor that then leads to a darkened room, lit by minimal lamps set into the ceiling. The room is completely exposed, windows all looking out on to the city about them. Against the lights of the city many others are silhouetted and at the other end of the room, the room tapering, is a single desk lit by a lamp. At it is sat a man with a goatee and short hair and dressed in a fine mourning coat and loose shirt. His stern features are made ever more so by the shadows cast by the lamp. Mathew Rain and Constable Ihram walk forward and stand next to the desk, Rain on the left and the Constable on the right hand side, next to another figure who has long hair and is also dressed in a long mourning coat.

A single light above illuminated an area in the middle of the room and Dimitri, Stella, Kane and Chuck stepped forward into the light. The Chairman, Jonathan Williams, stood up and walked around the table and stood before them, studying each closely before asking for each to announce their name, their Clan and their sire. Once that had been done the Chairman went about informing them of the nature of the democratic system of the city, of the three traditions, and the additional laws known as the fourth tradition and the fifth freedom. These laws, the executive powers of the Office of the Chairman, allows the Chairman and his officers to break all traditions and human rights so that ultimately all are restored. The Chairman then goes on to explain that as members of the city they may always ask for the aide of the Carthians so long as they support the city when needed.

With the ceremony over the Chairman takes his seat again and the lights come up and the new neonates of the city are presented to the Board of Representatives. There is Prefect Arken, a shaved head but dressed in the most fashionable of modern suits, a Daeva and also the representative of Carthains on the Board. Priscus Stewart, a spectacled shabby fellow who represents the Mekhet and is a member of the Carthians. Priscus Kollins is a brutish dreadlocked man of Clan Gangrel and the Carthians. Priscus Max Neils of the Daeva and the Carthians is a large framed man, ruddy cheeked and long beard. Judex Lord Peter Hawkins, Viscount of Northern Manchester is the Ventrue leader of the Invictus. Hawkins is dressed like a military officer, a dark uniform bearing medals and a red sash with bears the Invictus emblem. The Good Alder Lady, Natalia Kerkoft, Viscountess of Southern Manchester, is the Ventrue Priscus and is red headed and wears numerous jewels and a long green gown. Bishop Michael Kenner, a Venture, is the leader of the Lancea Sanctum. Dressed in the purple robes of his position, he is steely eyed and has a shaved head and a well kept moustache. Priestess Amanda Heath is an emaciated figure, leathery skin and wrapped in red robes befitting of her position in the Lancea Sanctum and is the Priscus for the Nosferatu. Finally there is Magus Gregor of the Nosferatu, representative of the Circle of the Crone, and also head of the local Crone cult, the Cult of Cernunnos. Gregor is a truly ancient vampire, a pallid skinned figure, tall and sneering with a lipless smile of piranha-like teeth.

Once all the formalities were over Dimitri, Stella, Chuck and Kane were free to stay and meet other members of the city or leave if they had other things to do. Dimitri casually approached the fiery blond, Lady Tabbitha Gao, Harpy and Daeva of the Invictus, a politely asked if he may sate his thirst on one of her herd. This of course caught the attention of a number of Carthians vampires. But before leaving the group is approached by the charming and discerning Ventrue, Patrick Falken of the Carthians. An intelligent and polite business man, he offers the coterie employment and his patronage and suggests that he will call them soon.

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Episode 1: Blood Ties

Since their presentation at Elysium the coterie has been pursuing a number of things.

Kane has been scouting the city for a new haven, in particular looking for abandoned houses or warehouses at the edges of the city.

Dimitri has been following his profession as a blogger and photographer, using his vampiric abilities to stalk and photograph celebrities.

Chuck has been looking up what he can find on Patrick Falken while Stella has been attending to her grandsire at hierophant, Magus Gregor. The Hall of the Hunt, a warren of caves and tunnels in a hillside north of??Manchester??out towards??Bolton. With the nights growing long, and the feast of Samhain approaching, the Cult of Cernunnos, some half dozen Kindred, study and follow the rituals of the

The coterie is summoned to Patrick Falken???s office at Ship Canal House in the financial heart of the city of??Manchester. Patrick has a simple task for them to perform. He has some files, photographs, which are being analyzed by Rizor Systems, a computer data analysis company based halfway across the city centre. Falken has given the company strict instructions to not keep any electronic copies and so physical transfer is the only way possible to retrieve the files.

On arrival to the Rizor Systems, based in a small block of offices, the coterie is directed up to the third floor where they would be greeted. However, upon arrival, they find that the offices have somehow been broken into. The man they were to contact is dead in his office, the back of his head caved in. A quick sweep of the office shows that the computer hard drives have been ripped out. The files are gone and so are any possible prints. After some snooping about and use of Majesty by Dimitri they were able to find the video footage from the CCTV for that evening. The camera over looking the corridor. The footage shows an image freezing and not changing. Going back to the camera itself they find that it had been tampered in order to show a still of the last image. The CCTV also showed that the fire escape door opened and closed by itself, suggesting that something invisible entered. Following this up Kane spoke to a rat in the alleyway outside the fire escape and discovered that a man with ragged teeth and blood red lips had passed that way. Also within the corridor they found a book of matches for the Sugar Lounge, a club on Deansgate Locks, and with a few calls it was discovered that a man, who also works at the Sugar Lounge as a DJ, is the most likely person to have sold the device attached to the cameras. It seems as if that was where they were going next if they were to get these files back for Patrick. Stella, wanting some sort of advantage, performed a quick ritual to see if she could gain some insight into what was happening. Taking the blood of the deceased programmer and her own she used a clean coffee mug to act as a vessel for her magic so that she would be able to see into the future. She could taste molasses, see a battle field with dead Romans lit up by lighting, and the smell of mercury and the sound of loud drums.

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