Week of Nightmares

Well childe, it all started in July of 1999. That is when our society changed forever. Mortals reported a massive earthquake striking Bangladesh which shut down the entire city. Sure, there were rumors, some of them even true, about Mages testing out new Magics, Werewolves summoning ancient and powerful spirits, but the word on the lips of every Kindred was Antedeluvian. A being of untold age had awakened. To what end, we do not know, but we could see its effects. It hurt the children of Ravnos the worst. Their Beasts became preternaturally sharp and they hunted one another, in a state of somewhat lucid dreaming, allowing their power over illusions to make their dreams a reality. It nearly broke the Masquerade in its entirety. We will come back to that point later.

The week following the destruction of Bangladesh, which would from then on be called the Week of Nightmares, a crimson comet, later called the Red Star, sped towards earth. At first it was visible only to supernatural senses. Members of the Sword of Caine saw this as one of the signs from the Book of Nod that Gehenna was upon us and Caine would rise. They declared open war upon the Tower, and War Parties took DC and Atlanta, celebrating in bloody glory. The Tower, of course, could not let such acts stand, so what had been a waiting game turned into active warfare.

During the warfare, the former Gangrel Justicar, Xavier de Calais, discovered another ancient being slumbering beneath the streets of New York City. Believing it to be related to the Antedeluvians, Xavier brought his findings before the Inner Circle, who ignored his warnings. Xavier left the tower and took his clan with him.

Also during this time, the active persecution against caitiff was renewed. More and more of them started to surface after the appearance of the Red Star. As the Tower believed they were a threat to the already fragile Masquerade, most who were not claimed were summarily executed.

Most don’t know exactly what, and you will have to speak to someone more read in than I am to find out, but something changed in the war with the Sabbat. They started fighting each other rather than the Tower. The Elders of Clan Tremere used this opportunity to cast a ritual which mystically incinerated any Tremere that had ever partaken of any Sabbat Ritual.

What we do know is that at this time the only way the greatly crippled Sabbat survived was by inducting two new groups into their ranks, warriors of the long-forgotten clan Salubri, and archaic Necromancers calling themselves the Harbingers of Skulls.

Outside of the Sword and the Tower, interesting things were happening among the Independents as well. The True Brujah made themselves known as a power and joined with the Followers of Set and the Giovanni. This rocked both the Camarilla and clan Brujah as the Alliance gained some of the best strategists in the Kindred world.

Inside the sacred mountain of clan Assamite, a Methuselah sorcerer awoke after two millennia, took over the clan’s leadership and, with assistance of his bloodline, shattered the curse laid upon the clan by the Tremere that prevented diablerie. Because of this, any Assamite of the Sword who had seen the mountain before cut ties and left the sect, leaving only the youngest and most inexperienced of assassins within the Sword. The Methuselah demanded that the clan return to their ancient ways of worshiping Haquim and give up mortal faith which tore the clan apart again. Those who still wished to practice Islam called upon centuries worth of boons to be allowed into the Tower. Thus, the Viziers became a Tower Clan.

Examine if you will what transpired. The Week of Nightmares nearly broke the Masquerade. It wasn’t helped with the all-out war of the Sabbat upon the Camarilla. Understand that while I paraphrase, this war went on for over a decade. Someone was bound to take notice, and notice was taken by the things that hunt our kind. The worst were the Mortal Hunters. There are just more of them then there are of us. And if it got too bad, they could overwhelm us. As the Sabbat weakened, the Camarilla used this piece to bring the Sword to the bargaining table. In 2012, The Camarilla and the Sabbat met in Chicago and agreed to a cease fire provided everyone agreed to uphold the Masquerade to keep all of our kind safe from Mortal Hunters. These Blood Accords would be good for a number of years before it would have to be re-upped again. It prevents any open hostilities between the Tower and the Sword. This is not to say they cannot fight proxy wars, cold wars, or other types of warfare that are indirect. Recognized members of the two factions cannot meet on the field of battle. Note that the Independent Alliance and the Anarchs were left out of this contract. What isn’t said is often more important than what is.