Ryan was sitting at the table of a small cafe in Fremantle, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate - one of his vices that he still enjoyed partaking in on occasion, despite the effort it took to drink it. He had an arrangement with the owners, and so was sitting in his own, private room along with James, one of his closest allies in the Carthians and Judith's current Seneschal.
James' position meant he was almost always in the Invictus headquarters, organising things for Judith so that they would all go the way she planned it. He was there with Ryan, ready to help report to a group of ragtag misfits - two vampires, a werewolf and even a rather cunning human. James was not so keen on holding onto his humanity, despite his much more recent death, and so had a glass of blood. At his foot was a medium sized dog.
After most of the business was taken care of - reporting the facts about the underground headquarters, its security, and all the rest of it - Ryan decided to give a history lesson. He cleared his throat, ready to tell the tale. He was speaking into a new iPhone.
"I think you would all agree it is important to know your enemies. Well, I think I can help you with that; I've had the, shall we say, fortune to have been there when Judith took control of Perth. I'm not messing around with you here; all of this is true, and it's not a story I have told in full for a very long time. But you could be some valuable new allies for us, considering all the damage you have done. Especially because our goals are the same, after all: we want to see a President, not a Prince."
He paused to take a sip of his hot chocolate.
"Now, you must first understand that life was very different in the 1950's - yes, that's when Judith got into power. She has been Prince for 60 years - no mean feat, and I will admit she deserves it.
You have probably observed that modern vampires seem to all live in a big commune together. That wasn't the way it was back then.
In the 50s, I was still living in a mansion in the hills; the one I had 'died' in ten years before, the one that my enigmatic will had declared must remain unoccupied until fifty years after my death. They thought I was an eccentric famous person, you see; but the money I had set aside to pay all the government fees was more then enough, and so it was.
My home has been torn down since then, of course, but it was very nice, let me assure you. Large, with all the windows boarded up tight and, for extra security, a bed with a lid, like a coffin. I kept an entourage of men to feed on, and the local people all kept away, convinced the place was haunted.
This was the way most vampires lived - we each had a Haven, over which we were lord. Town meetings
The Carthians numbered very few back then - there were only two of us, and we would meet in secret, dreaming of the revolution that we knew would not come for a long time. Outwardly, we were Invictus; there was no point in creating a division between us and the other marginalised covenant.
Perth was ruled by the Sanctum. Kaamil was the Archbishop - that's what they call their Princes; I would blame them for it, but we Carthians prefer President, so who are we to judge."
Ryan chuckles to himself, but continues.
"There were about thirty Sanctum members, and about ten Invictus, including me and my comerade. Additionally, there were maybe thirty unaligned Nosferatu.
The nature of Nosferatu is much like that of rats - and I mean no disrespect to either creature; they swarm, creating more of themselves, and enjoy living in labyrinthine sewer tunnels. The Nosferatu spent much of their time digging new tunnels, creating a sewer of sorts below the museum. They lacked ambition, too; they were content to live in their catacombs, hiding from the world, though I do not doubt that they could have seized power if only they were smart enough.
The Sanctum was always having members flocked to them; many neonates would go there, enjoying the familiarity of the church services and the promise of salvation for even we damned. Empty promises, I'm sure - the kind the Sanctum is always offering. The Sanctum did not need to resort to fear and blackmail to keep members back then. Even a few of the Nosferatu joined them - something that is almost unheard of for those sewer-dwellers."
Ryan thought about the next place his tale would turn to, trying to formulate the narrative in his mind, not wanting to miss any detail that this band of a few misfits might benefit from.
So, you can see that we had a nice, stable existence back in those days. The Nosferatu and Sanctum mostly ignored each other, save for the precious few Nosferatu who joined them; I speak specifically of Michela, who is now Cardinal. Yes; she, too, that foolish beast who tries so hard to live as a human, she once delighted in digging her own sewer tunnels.
Then, one day, I was taking a bath at home when I heard a knock on the door. I ignored it, but they continued, making a great deal of noise and ruining the relaxing atmosphere.
I had one of my ghouls go to send the person away, or, if they would not leave, to take them so that I may have a snack."
He smiled a wicked smile at the thought, and continued speaking into the phone.
"Yes, so no sooner had I sent the ghoul to the door when I heard the footsteps of a running person going up my stairs.
I immediately had my ghouls extinguish the candles that I had put at a safe distance - what is a relaxing bath without candle light, after all? But you can never be too careful, and even the humble candle can be a deadly weapon to a vampire.
Standing in the doorway was a lively little waif of a girl with blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Dawn is her name; I don't know if you have met her, but she is still around. She was, and still is, a member of the Invictus. She is also Gabe's sister, and it is easy to see the resemblance - though I had not met Gabe yet.
Dawn was a friend; we were both of the Daeva clan, which gave us something in common.
But, remember, I just just been surprised by Dawn's intrusion on my private time. I sat up in the bath. She looked at me mildly, excitement written all over her face.
'Ryan! You won't believe the news - Gabe is here.'
'Gabe? Your brother? I thought he was living in Melbourne?'
'He was, but one of his allies decided that she could push into Perth with no trouble - he has come with a group that want to wage war on the Sanctum so that they can put forward their Prince!'
This got my attention - a new Prince? Dawn's brother? Perhaps they could be convinced to come to the Carthian side one day - Dawn was always more progressive than I thought was appropriate for a member of the Invictus.
'Do you really think they have the resources for it?'
Dawn's expression betrayed her uncertainty.
'I don't know. I'm not sure how strong the others are. Gabe is powerful, though, and I am sure their leader could hold her own against Kaamil in a fight.'
I hesitated.
'How many are there?'
'Well, they are all very powerful - maybe a little less so than Michela or Maria, but still powerful.' She started, but I had to interrupt. I have never been one for bullshit and hyperbole, and this response reeked of both.
'How many?'
She frowned. 'Six or seven.'
'That's not so bad. We could work with that. Maria is an Invictus, after all, so she will almost certainly side with Gabe's crew.' I paused. 'Gabe's crew are Invictus, are they not?'
Dawn nodded. 'Of course.'
'Well, then; I suppose we are going to go to war.' I said, itching at the chance to push the Sanctum out of our lives.
~~~~
Ryan paused for a few minutes, looking at James and taking another sip of his hot chocolate.
"I shan't go into any detail about what followed from that day.
Judith and her entourage had arrived in Perth, and they had designs on bringing Invictus to prominence. She brought with her some rather powerful vampires, such as Fiona, Gabe and Walter, and with the Nosferatu remaining neutral the two sides were almost evenly matched.
The battle continued for five years, and during that time Judith called herself the Prince concurrently with Kaamil calling himself the Archbishop. They both declared that they were in charge of Perth, when in reality they just lead their covenants.
Eventually, it became clear that the Invictus were victorious; the Sanctum were reduced now to less than half a dozen members. Worse, still, Faruq had left them for the Invictus - I didn't know why at the time, but now, of course, it's clear that he did it for love.
Kaamil realised that his position was hopeless. I remember that a weekly meeting was called so both sides of the conflict could formalise their agreement. They selected the museum's function room as the site of the official announcement.
All the vampires in Perth - save, of course, for the Nosferatu - attended. I sat at a table with Dawn, Faruq and Gabe and my fellow Carthian. We had tall glasses of blood and were almost cheering in glee as we watched Kaamil, sitting on a long table with Judith, Fiona, and Walter. It was easy to tell that he did not want to be there at all.
'What a stubborn old bastard.' Dawn muttered, following my gaze. 'Sorry Faruq.' She added quickly, looking at Kaamil's brother. Faruq, for his part, just shrugged, still staring at Gabe.
I laughed, and said, 'I know what you mean. Any Prince with half a heart would not act the way Kaamil did. How many Sanctified are left?'
'Four or five.' My fellow Carthian spoke up. 'It is foolish, even for the Sanctum. He should have rescinded years ago, when it became obvious that he had no hope of winning.'
Dawn looked about to say something, but a hush fell over the room as Judith got up to the podium to speak, Fiona standing right beside her.
When you see Judith - if you see Judith, that is - you will notice, first of all, that she is tall. It is undeniable from looking at her that she is one of the Kindred; she looks eerie, with her skin almost white and her hair, eyes, and even lips a haunting black. You can see ruthlessness in those eyes, in those strong features of hers.
She was wearing a long, dark green dress with black gloves that ran up to her elbows. Her companion, Fiona - who you've seen, was wearing a revealing dark shirt and a short skirt that went to just above her knee. Fiona was holding a gun, protecting her Prince.
Judith spoke, her voice projecting to fill the entire room.
'Vampires, I am pleased to be before you here today. I wish only to say that I am committed to ensuring that the Masquerade continues. I have no rules on who you may feed, beyond the obvious: no feeding on supernatural creatures, and that no trace must be left of you. Enjoy the blood.'
We all clapped respectfully, as Judith and Fiona sat back down. Kaamil got up, carrying several sheets of paper. Dawn groaned.
Kaamil cleared his throat noisily, and spoke like a scared schoolboy who had been asked to be first to present his assignment to the class.
'My fellow Kindred. I have had the - the fortune of getting to meet each and every one of you during my time as Archbishop, and I am pleased to have had that opportunity. Today I step down from my position, and I do so with a smile on my face and with joy in my heart, for I know the Lord has a plan for me that involves Judith, our lovely new prince.
'Rest assured that I will remain the Bishop - the spiritual leader of the Lancea Sanctum. We are a strong covenant with blessed ideals, and so, too is the Invictus. Working together we can bring Kindred society together, and become stronger as a people.
'I ask that everyone reflect on those who had to die so that this evening could come to pass; those of you who have lost a friend, a childe, a sire, remember that they did not die in vain but in glory, as those who were Sanctified were doing the Lord's work. Those who were not... well, I'm sure the Lord will forgive them.
'I now ask that we all take a moment to pray, to be grateful for what God has given us, the opportunities, the rewards, and even the hardships, that we may all be here today to share in his blessing.'
Kaamil paused for a few minutes, muttering a prayer; most of us talked quietly amongst ourselves as he did so. I looked over at Judith's table and saw her and hers talking amongst themselves, as well. Nobody but Kaamil and Michela seemed to care about his bullshit speech and prayer.
Kaamil was in a desperate situation, and it's clear why he and Michela were reduced to siring new childer, and, worse still, using blackmail to get new members.
But I have spoken enough about Kaamil; you know him well enough by now. He is somewhat pathetic; I hope he will do everybody a favour and go into torpor for a century or two, and wake up when nobody remembers what an insufferable fool he was.
I want to talk about what happened to the Nosferatu.
~~~
If they had had their way, the Nosferatu would have ignored the change in Princehood just as they ignored every other major event that had ever occurred amongst the Kindred in Perth.
However, Judith needed them. She needed a haven, and she had a very clear idea about what it would be. She wanted security and obscurity - she did not want to live in an abandoned house, or to pose as a human, like many of us did. She wanted something permanent, and she had her eyes on those Nosferatu tunnels.
She sent one of her people down into the labyrinth to broker the deal. To this day, nobody is sure what the terms were. Of course, we all knew that blood had to be involved, and probably some sort of freedom to continue to live as they did. Or maybe Judith just threatened to kill them if they did not comply. Perhaps she had all the Nosferatu blood-bonded to her vampires, to do their bidding.
In any case, the Nosferatu began digging around the clock, with the help of dayjuice. Dayjuice is, of course, a special blood-based drink that allows a vampire to stay awake whilst the sun is up. The Nosferatu tunnels being underground meant that they had no reason not to take advantage of this commodity and dig 24 hours a day.
And dig they did. If you walked near the museum, you could hear the ground beneath you being moved around. Under the cover of darkness truckloads of earth were carted out.
We all knew that the Nosferatu were digging an underground area that all the vampires in Perth - every last one of us - could live in, together. We could keep a group herd, and all have the protection of the Sheriff and Hounds. We were all looking forward to it - we liked the idea. As a Carthian, I was impressed by the foresight of this plan, and the unity that a common living area would give to us.
But I was going to be disappointed.
After about a year of non-stop digging, the base was finally finished.
The Nosferatu finally had a day that they could sleep through, a day that they didn't partake in any of that cursed dayjuice.
Judith sent a few dozen human ghouls down that day - she said it was to inspect the work and to paint, and put in furniture and carpets. This was a lie. She sent them down not with paint, but with flamethrowers. In less than an hour, those hard-working Nosferatu who had spent so many long days and nights digging for her, all of them were burned to ash.
There were very few survivors, save for the ones who had left their Nosferatu colleagues behind long before - such as Michela, the Sheriff, who had become more loyal to the Sanctum than the unaligned Nosferatu. Misguided woman still passes herself off as human - and as the Police Commissioner, no less!
But I digress.
I received word that we were all welcome to move our Havens into the new quarters; we would each be given a room or rooms appropriate to our status.
I remember walking down those stairs for the first time. The first thing that struck me was the smell, a smell I haven't experienced before or since. The half-drying paint fumes mixed in with the pungent ash, the unmistakable smell of a vampire that had burned.
I felt my shoes on the soft, fire-retardant carpet; it must have been expensive. I dialled the combination of the padlock on the door - in those days, you see, we didn't have keypads yet, but the padlock was sturdy. I opened the door, and with the rush of those smells - those awful smells, all the more potent now - I thought I could hear them groaning in half-felt pain. I shivered involuntarily for the first and only time since my death, the images of burning vampire bodies choking my mind.
All that paint and plush, fire-retardant carpet reminds my body what it feels like to need to vomit. Sure, those digusting creatures didn't have much - anything - in the way of a respectable culture, but it was a culture nonetheless, and now there is no trace of it.
That's why we Carthians don't like to make our Havens down there - we mourn the nosferatu who were lost.
None of us ever expected to be mourning nosferatu.
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