12:15 AM, November 30th 2002 – The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden (Elysium
New York City…..The City that Never Sleeps
A young waiter, fresh out of high school, made his final rounds. A young girl, who had come to New York to become an actress, washed her last load of dishes. And the chef, a man with considerable talent, prepared his last dish for the night.
All of these people had one thing in common. They didn’t where blissfully ignorant of the immense danger they where in. They had no idea that the private dinning room, now with the curtains pulled shut, housed a collection of the most dangerous predators the planet had ever seen.
Vampires…The Kindred of Caine*
It had been less than a year since the bloody war that raged through the city, even then hidden from the mortal world. Immortal turned against immortal in a bloody struggle of sectarian beliefs. In the end, the fiendish vampires called the Sabbat where destroyed or banished from the city. In their place, a new power came to be. The Camarilla.
In reality, the Big Apple just exchanged one worm for another.
Now, the kindred, gather in the sanctity of Elysium** to hear what their Prince would tell them.
The room was dimly lit, better to hide the pale skin of the undead, and the curtains where pulled to separate the kindred from the kine***. The bar was closing soon. As was customary, Elysium was held at the last day of the month. Every kindred was invited to hear what the Prince had to say, though most never showed.
Soon the doors would lock and only the kindred would remain. The Club was open to the kindred somehow due to strings pulled by the vampire known as Valentine. Valentine himself sat lounging on a black leather sofa in the southeastern corner of the room. He was dressed in a fine red silk shirt, and black slacks. His hair and goet-tee immaculately manicured.
The room was filled with several tables, and a podium sat in the north end of the room. All around the room dwelled the undead. Among those whose names you knew where Hellene Panhard and the always arrogant Mazz. The stood off in a corner, talking amongst themselves as the harpies**** often do. Hellene wore a dark blue evening dress, while Mazz wore a simple, yet elegant, white sued shirt with black slacks and a black sued vest.
Another kindred sat in a dark corner, with only enough light on him to see that he was there. His face hidden, you suspect he was one of the hideously deformed nosferatu or maybe a gangrel. He was quiet and none bothered him.
Your sires where there as well. After a few hours of lecturing about how to handle yourself in Elysium, they finally saw fit to let you attend. Of utmost importance, was politeness. In the mortal world, manners and respect were always welcome. In the world of the kindred they where a matter of survival. Setting another kindred into a frenzy was considered very bad form and shaming to both vampires involved, assuming they both survived.
Nathaniel, the sire of Jemal, and the guardian of Sabrina sat at one of the tables with his childe and ward. His hands where steepled and he simply sat quietly, awaiting the arrival of the Prince. He was dressed in a black dress shirt with black pants and a black overcoat. It seemed he might go hunting before the night was done. Before he was seated, he exchanged a few words with Valentine, but no one was close enough to overhear.
Morgan Thepclay, always alluring at social gatherings, sat at another table not far away. She wore a silver sequin dress with an open back. Here long curly hair was all done up atop her head. Occasionally she reached out to pat her childe on the hand to assure him that everything would be fine tonight.
Carrick Ashton was just arriving with Vychtorya on his arm. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with black slacks and a dark red sued overcoat. He strode in, graceful and confident, with his lady at his side.
Nikolai entered directly behind the couple. As he did so, he caught the attention of his new associate, Qadir Al’Asmai, the sheriff of New York who nodded and stepped aside to give room for Nikolai to stand beside him if he wished. Qadir guarding the door, he watched over the others like an alpha wolf looking over his pack. He wore a long black coat that Nikolai knew most likely covered a shotgun loaded with dragon’s breath shells. This was Qadir’s favored means of dispensing justice. Beneath the coat he wore a black dress shirt and kakis. Over the shirt he wore a silk gold and black vest.
Just behind the podium, and another set of curtains, the mortal band called the Kindred Knights prepared to play for the night. It seemed Valentine had also taken it upon himself to procure entertainment for the night. He had discovered the band at one of the local clubs and immediately took a liking to their music. Once he heard the name of the band, he knew this was what he wanted. The irony was too much to ignore.
The band had been paid twice what they made for their last gig, and was told to show up at midnight and play an assortment of songs for a banquet he was throwing. The money was enough to overlook the oddity of a banquet at midnight and to bare playing music a bit lighter than they where used to.
* Vampires
** A safe place for vampires to gather. Violence, feeding, and the use of any discipline is outlawed.
*** Mortals
**** The social elite of the Camarilla.
4,8,4,10, = 2 successes]
