The Red Council

## Information acquired from (name redacted), Hotel Switzerland, St. Mary Vincent, 2017.

### Red Council

The Red Council is a centuries old social gathering between vampires. Its primary objectives are that of exchanging information and protecting vampires from human persecution.

### History

The Red Council was founded approximately seven centuries ago in Northern Europe by Gerhardt von Waldstein, Dorothy Nifas, Laetitia Gitarin Aztanduja, Melhilm Herzog, and the brothers Yellow Bridgestone and Aiji Ishibashi. They agreed that creating a vampiric group with an information network was important to protecting their kind, though some also planned to use the Red Council to infiltrate human society.

Gerhardt - the original chairman - eventually left the Red Council of his own accord in order to rule over Waldstein Castle. Gerhardt reclaimed his position as chairman in 2005 after relinquishing his lordship to his adopted son Relic von Waldstein.

### Research

The Council has had a history of scientific experimentation, its research headed by Melhilm Herzog. In its history, countless lifeforms have undergone experimentation sponsored by the Council. This venture has made the Council (and Melhilm) responsible for several deaths and tragedies. Strict measures were put in place on this experimentation in 2005, and all experimentation is now done strictly with volunteers and overseen by an ally organization not directly tied to the Red Council.

### Structure

There are around twenty-thousand members of the Red Council, and about three hundred officers. Officers are considered responsible for vampires in their local areas. Some officers oversee hundreds of vampires, while others might be responsible for as little as under ten.

Senior officers are assigned a moniker, preceded by a shade of red. There are seven in total. Officers are assigned shades of red only. Monikers are chosen either by the individual or a committee if the individual is too embarrassed. Officers (as a collective whole) are sometimes referred to as "Reds."

#### Current research names senior officers (names redacted) as:

1. Lucas Bergeron, The Burgundy Cauldron
2. Carina Mondragon, The Carmine Shadow
3. Wadim Yonescu, The Crimson Reaper
4. Ulyana Belyayev, The Scarlet Torch
5. Farid Mirbahar, The Amaranth Lantern
6. Kutsuki, Touma, The Vermillion Darkness
7. Jurgen Richter, The Zinzolin Fog

The council accepts all kinds of vampires into its ranks. Pureblood vampires (vampires who evolved from humans), dhampyrs, vampires that evolved from plants and animals, and even such curiosities as a robot-vampire. This is one of the main reasons why the Red Council is despised by several Clans, which view such vampires as inferior beings. However, some clans willingly interact with the Council for various reasons.

The Council also makes use of and engages with non-vampires frequently. It employs at least two Eaters for its missions and has used humans for jobs. Many werewolf packs, primarily of the Ossonian and Kurtadamian types, have either allied with or are directly employed as mercenary groups by the council. Individual members of the Council with their own familiars, pets, or subordinates may use them in a fight for the Red Council's benefit as well.

### Meetings

Meetings of the colors are held in a banquet hall with many small round tables set up around the room, and lavishly decorated walls. Each chair has a uniquely red colored cloth draped on its back; the color is a marker that indicates where the officer with the corresponding color should sit.

The conferences often take place in Paris. Which Paris specifically has not been stated.

## Information Learned While Staying in Peles Castle

·       An organization of independent vampires with the primary objective of the free exchange of information between vampires and protecting vampires from human persecution. The council accepts vampires of all types and does not believe in the superiority of so-called “pureblood” vampires or the pseudo-aristocratic hierarchy of the vampire clans. They are strongly opposed to the practice of feeding on a human in such a way that causes death, as well as the creation of a vampire without the turned individual’s explicit consent. Repeated and/or intentional acts of terror against humans are also considered grave offenses, as such practices inspire fear, hatred and violence toward vampires in general.

·       The council’s practice of policing vampiric activities is a secondary but crucial aspect of ensuring the safety of vampire-kind. By instilling order internally, it prevents or reduces interference by outside organizations, which may be hostile or unsympathetic.

·       There are around twenty-thousand members of the Red Council, and about three hundred officers considered responsible for vampires in their local areas. These officers are supported by one of seven Senior Officers charged with overseeing the organization as a whole, as well as retired former officers serving in a less formal advisory capacity.

·       Any officer of the council may attend any officer’s meeting, and details of meetings are made available to all council members. All council members, including non-officers, are invited to attend the annual Red Council Symposium in Paris in early fall...

### **The Red Council’s relationships with other organizations vary.**

·       Phenomenonal International Escorts (P.I.E.) The general relationship the Red Council has with P.I.E.S. is a positive one, as P.I.E.S. is an organization fairly sympathetic to and accepting of non-human entities. The Red Council is known to employ P.I.E.S. Hunter teams to assist with operations and investigations, and P.I.E.S. specialists also serve as overseers of the scientific experiments conducted by The Red Council to certify ethical conduct. P.I.E.S. is, however, more of a labor union or guild than an organization with a centralized power structure, so the philosophy of individual members and teams may vary widely, with some being more sympathetic to the Red Council’s cause than others.

·       Brotherhood of Vampire Hunters **(BVH)** The relationship between The Red Council and the Brotherhood of Vampire Hunters is long-standing and adversarial. In the early days of the Council, members of the Brotherhood saw it as a target and launched relentless attacks against it. This led to more losses on the side of the Brotherhood than the Red Council, and significantly reduced the Brotherhood’s numbers. Membership in the BVH declined further as The Red Council’s internal regulation of disruptive vampire activities made the Brotherhood redundant.

  In modern times, the BVH tends to concentrate on blatantly criminal vampires not under the jurisdiction of the Council.  Though occasional clashes are to be expected, the two groups are no longer blatantly at war.

·       The Eastern Seaboard Society for Psychical Research **(ESSPR)** This organization generally deals with hauntings and demonic entities, so there is not a lot of direct interaction. They have been known to try to perform exorcisms on vampires. By the Red Council’s principles, a vampire held against their will is given carte blanche to defend themselves to the fullest extent of their powers, so most of those exorcisms have ended poorly for ESSPR.

·       The Humanists Little is known about this underground conspiracy, most prevalent among hunters, dedicated to preserving human supremacy through the eradication, imprisonment and/or enslavement of “monsters”, specifically monstrous humanoids. These beliefs are new, but the organization of individuals around it is. There does not appear to be one cohesive set of agreed upon beliefs, and there seems to be significant differences of opinion of what constitutes a monster, as opposed to a human possessing supernatural abilities.

Though they have not presented any significant threat yet, the potential for serious damage exists, so they are being monitored closely to prevent future incidents. There does not appear to be any known leadership structure at this time.

·       The Fortean Front This group is dedicated to extra-terrestrial activity and research and is not inclined to violence or practiced in combat. They maintain a perfectly cordial relationship with the Red Council, and maintain that vampirism is just the manifestation of an alien ability distributed to Earthlings by visitors of a far-off Vampiric planet. The official response of the Red Council to such a theory, as was given by Council member Professor Melhilm Herzog, was:

“Nah, probably not, but who knows? ¯\\_ (ツ) \_/¯ You do you.”

The Red Council is happy to assist the Fortean Front with anything that is not too weird, boring, embarrassing or labor intensive. In return, the Fortean Front is happy to share all their research on things that turned out to *not* be aliens after all, should it help the Council.

## **What Taffy learned in the Red Council meetings:**

-The Sterling Clan was attempting to recruit members. It seems that several attempts at turning others were unsuccessful. This may be a weakness endemic to that clan.

-The Ghoul (dead), the Empusa (dead), the Melusine (dead) and the Werewolf (dead) were Sterling Clan subordinates, believed to be under total subjugation.

-The Hala has reportedly returned to Bulgaria. Hunter Nana Hazard of P.I.E.S. intends to return to the area where she and Hugo Paxton initially came into contact with it.

-The Jorogumo matches a description of a creature captured by P.I.E.S. that was reported by a warden to have died in custody over a year ago.

-There is a rumor that the progenitor of the Sterling Clan is still alive.

-There are rumors circulating among some vampire communities that the slayings of the Sterling Clan were unjustified. There is not much substance to them and it seems to be a maneuver to weaken the Red Council’s position, and not an actual concern of Council members. Knowledge of the source would be useful.

-The vampire Glad Martinescu, who had clashed with members of the Sterling Clan, disappeared last spring. The involvement of the BVH is suspected.

-The Hunter Veronica Paxton (nee Sterling) of P.I.E.S. and her team are currently researching the movements of the Sterling Clan in the months prior to the attack.

-Civilian Hector Paxton has been thoroughly briefed by Gerhardt VonWaldstein. He was offered refuge, but expressed his intention to instead travel with the hunter Nana Hazard. Gerhardt advises that he is physically competent and shrewd, and so won’t be a liability. There was no reason to detain him further.

-Debbie, the Eater, has been uncooperative and shows a deep disdain towards the Red Council. She will be transferred to P.I.E.S. for humane interrogation.

-Deniece and Denephew Jones are to remain in Red Council custody until their involvement in the incident is determined. They will face questioning once their more severe injuries have been treated, then they will be returned to P.I.E.S..

-A Red Council member named Vorigan had received information that several vampires, thought to have been killed, were being kept in a dungeon for the use of Eaters. He was working to get the details, but was killed before he was able to share them with the council.