Gehenna: A Concise History of the End of the World
The following narrative contains background information for the current LARP being run in Mount Pleasant. This LARP is expiramental in nature and is (obviously) using a completely new concept as the basis for the game.
Dearest Phantomas: The computer disks you’ve sent me have greatly aided my research into this project. They have also confirmed our suspicions about the portent of recent events. It would seem that we indeed are upon the verge of Gehenna, perhaps the end of the Jyhad, and apparently your tattooed friend’s Grandsire is in part responsible, or at least several of his Childer. Although you are aware of the last few years happenings, for sake of completeness, I have felt inclined to re-record them herein. Please forgive my historical obsessiveness in this matter. The occurrences began in the year 2001, although none of us knew so. The problems with the so called Y2K breakdown were just being cleaned up with the aid of several Brujah “hackers” when the riots began in New York. We believed at first that a Sabbat Crusade had been launched, but quickly realized that several established packs were also fighting for their existence. If you will recall, I was in New York when this began. To my knowledge, I am the sole Kindred survivor of the city wide purge by the Tzimice. To diverge for a moment, I feel the need to discuss what happened. I was in the Elysium when a man with elongated features entered the Prince’s court. He was obviously a victim/product of Vicissitude. He entered the “Horrid Form” and simply began several minutes of carnage. Thereupon several other Tzimice, in similar form, came into the Elysium, they killed few, seemingly intent to make escape impossible via twisting of limbs through Visiccisitude. If not for that ritual Etrius had taught me prior the Revolution in Russia, I would have met Final Death. Similar episodes continued throughout the night, throughout the world. Etrius’s Chantry was raided, and most of the higher ranking Tremere destroyed. Tremere himself it is rumored was sleeping in the Chantry still. Etrius was at a meeting of the Inner Council when it was attacked. He and Karl Shrekt escaped, the status of the remaining council members, and the Justicars themselves, is still unknown. In a display the likes of which not seen since the Council of Thorns, the Malkavian Clan disappeared completely for the night. The following dusk, as we awoke shaking in our crypts for fear of a second Tzimice raid, the Malkavian Clan called together meetings of the surviving Camarilla members in each city. It is assumed their counterparts in the Sabbat did the same. They proposed a truce between the Sabbat and Camarilla, with they serving as the intermediaries between the two sects in order to forge a united front against our new enemy. For myself, this was the first indication that the Tzimice had left the Sabbat, indeed, I was originally afraid the entire occurance was Malkavian prank. It has taken roughly two years since that date for these meetings to finally begin taking place. Many Kindred had retreated into hiding, hoping the purge would wear itself out. Others are only now managing to pull themselves from Torpors. However, within the next few months I am sure that a treaty will indeed be reached. Continued existence being a difficult habit to break. The most unique turn of events however, occurred in Washington DC shortly after, or even before according to some rumors, the Malkavian call for peace. When the Tzimice raid was launched at the Elysium below the Lincoln Monument, a single individual, believed to be of the Gangrel, stepped forward between the incoming Tzimice and the Prince himself. As he did so, a third eye appeared on his forehead, and the Tzimice was forced out of “Horrid Form”. How this was accomplished I do not know. The Gangrel, now revealed as a Salubri, turned back to Vitel and began to inform him of something in a quiet discussion. What was said, I still do not know, but afterwards Vitel called off the Bloodhunt of the Salubri, as the story of this spread, more Princes called off their hunts, and have begun to grant the Salubri added protections and sanctity. Since this has begun, many of the Clans have remained unchanged. However, a few have suffered grievous blows. The Tremere, are all but extinct. Only a few of their eldest have held onto their unlives. The Malkavians have re-united their Clan, many have stated when asked about this simply that “the joke is over.” The Nosferatu still retain their Sabbat/Camarilla split, but are even less conscious of it than before. They often serve as intermediaries between the sects when their are no Malkavians present, or sane enough to handle the duties. In the Sabbat, the greatest shock came with the rebellion of the Tzimice of course. However, it has suffered the loss of three other full Clans as well. With the Rebellion, the Ravnos Clan disappeared without trace (reports are that the Clan as a whole has also vanished). The Tremere of House Goratrix were quietly annihilated before the Rebellion even began. Then on the second night, a call was sent from the Alamut asking the Unconquered to return to the Clan. They have, and since that night, few Assamites have been seen outside the Alamut, save their most powerful Unconquered (judging from the rampant reports of their diableries on certain Elders). The Settites and the Giovanni are operating along the same lines as always. The fanatical Followers feel that Set is about to awaken, and when he does, they feel sure that a God can easily destroy their enemies. The Giovanni, while not as zealous, also believe they have a way to see out this threat. If anything, they seem the more self-assured of the two Clans. A final rumor I’d like to lend credence to is the Inconnu. The reports that they had finally come out of hiding is indeed correct. The Monitor of Manhattan was apparently one of the first to do so when he appeared at a Treaty Convention between the Sabbat and Camarilla last fall (Aug. 2003). Although he neither spoke, or gave any advice, he did announce who he was, and to which sect he belonged. Since that date, several other Monitors have followed suit, notably in DC and Berlin. What brought about this change in a policy over 2000 years old, I am again unaware of. In celebration, Ayisha Jocastatian P.S. Give Becket my regards should he ever give up his self-pity and leave his library.
