Cradle of Lost Liberty:
Philadelphia By Night
PART THREE
Masters of the Night
By December of 1900 the forces of darkness made their move into Philadelphia. Having established a Hive in King of Prussia the Black Spiral Dancers began their siege upon the Garou caern in Valley Forge. For three nights waves of fomori and Spirals attacked the outmanned Garou in what is remembered as the Nights of Tears. However, age old tribal differences continued to divide the Garou in their effort to stop the Wyrm; distrust leading to defeat. When the smoke cleared twenty-five Garou lay dead as the victorious Spirals defiled the caern, calling upon foul Banes and other minions of the Wyrm.
Meanwhile, a less obvious plot had begun unraveling within the city limits. The smoke of the Second Mage War had settled and the remaining anarch threat was at last destroyed. It was new century; time to think of rebuilding and advancement into the future. The most ravaged of the clans, the Gangrel, sought to Embrace so that their presence in the city might be restored. Upon hearing this, the other clans clambered for their right to Embrace as well. It was decided by Charles that the two smallest clans, the Gangrels and Malkavians, would be each allowed to create one new vampire. Those who remember Charles’ decision are divided into two schools of thought. Some say that the end result was one of the biggest assets to the Kindred. Others say it brought unrepentant doom & destruction.
A New Hope
The next three nights saw the creation of two new vampires, one Gangrel and one Malkavian.
The Tale of Hannibal
Hannibal Barker had been studied for months by Valerius, the Gangrel Primogen. A local farmhand, the man had a natural ease around even the wildest of animals. His love of nature amazed Valerius in a age when man sought to exploit what they could from the earth. One night Valerius followed him deep into the woods near modern day Trenton. Here Hannibal met secretly with the Garou who dwelled within the woods. As Valerius quietly watched, the man’s aura burned with desire to be a werewolf. Shortly after midnight morning Barker made for home and was approached by Valerius in his wolf form. He stopped Barker, Dominating him into telling him the details of this meeting. Barker was Kinfolk to the Shadow Lord Garou, but would never be Garou himself, to his great shame.
“I can ease your pain, your anguish. A wolf you desire to be and a wolf you shall be...” Under the full moon Valerius Embraced Barker, but not just for his obvious Garou connections. A fire burned in Barker to protect the wild, the same fire that ran through Valerius. Two nights later he was proudly presented to the Prince.
The Tale of Walter
Roaming through the muck of the asylum she found him. Covered in filth, muttering to himself about the caterpillars, there lay her childe-to-be. Lucy, the infamous Diva of Delaware, took the schizophrenic known as Walter Upshaw from the retched asylum and put him in yet another hell. After draining Upshaw and giving him her blood back, Lucy promptly buried Upshaw alive. The terror stricken Upshaw, already past the realm of sanity, managed to dig his way out and stand before his Sire. The Diva smiled, “Oh yes, you’ll do fine. You’ll serve the Sabbat well....” Upshaw, a raving lunatic, had now become something much worse. The Sabbat scout premiered her Childe to the Prince one night after Barker.
The Years of Decay
By the time the Roaring Twenties came the Kindred were supreme masters of Philadelphia. The Brujah manipulated organized crime while the Ventrue dominated city hall. In speakeasies the Toreadors luxuriated in the adoration of the foolish kine. Charles slowly expanded his empire east into New Jersey, finally taking Atlantic City after an exhausting war with the city’s Ventrue prince. With the Valley Forge caern destroyed, the Garou presence in the area dwindled to an all-time low. Following this the Spirals controlled Chester county and areas to the north of Philadelphia. Charles and the Kindred moved unopposed into these areas, aligning themselves with their former allies’ enemies.Several especially sinister Ventrue were urged to invest in the newly emerging corporation later known as Pentex.
Suffice to say, although the Prince looked to expand his empire he neglected to monitor the activities of his fellow vampires. Like fruit slowly rotting the Sabbat creeped their way into the city, planting agents in all the clans. Lucy, now with two Sabbat packs at her disposal including her Childe Walter Upshaw, made her move in November of 1922. She ordered her packs to embrace as many kine as they could find, creating an army of disposable vampires for the main assault upon the Prince. First the newly embraced vampires were unleashed upon the city, attacking key spots known to be controlled by the city’s Kindred. In a war of attrition waves upon waves of vampires swept through the city, followed by experienced Sabbat who moved in to quickly finish the remaining Camarilla vampires.
Within hours the Sabbat had slain three members of the Primogen and had driven the rest into hiding. Charles and his retainers retreated to a secret haven he maintained in nearby Coatesville Pennsylvania. Unknown to the Prince one of his retainers was Spiral kinfolk, who lead the Spirals & their Sabbat allies right to the Prince’s door. Charles & his ghouls were no match for the invaders, who slaughtered everyone in sight except for the Prince. His fate was left up to Lucy, who had much worse things in mind.
Once Charles was staked the Sabbat descended on him, draining his potent vitae. Now that his power was theirs, Lucy casually left the dead Prince to the Spirals, many of who devoured great chunks of the vampire as they tore him into pieces. Then using an necromantic ritual Lucy bound Charles’ spirit to the earth, to dwell until “you have paid for your crimes.” About ten years later the house mysteriously burned down & now the site is just a lonely hill, sometimes popular with amorous couples. Witnesses claim that by the light of the moon they’ve seen the Crying Man, a ghostly figure who weeps softly in the night.
“Endless waiting
For nothing to appear
Even when your eyes are shut
The visions are so clear
Harmonious dissidence
Obscure reckoning
Did you hear that final note,
Of silent suffering....”
Testament, “Chasing Fear”
Coming Soon
Reign in Blood