War. War never changes.
Seventeen years ago, the city was an altogether different beast than the streets we occupy today. In 2003, during the heyday of vampiric activity, one could find a new clan around every corner. War was not just common, but rampant: each new group rising and falling as they fought each other for status, glory, and power. The term powerhouse was not yet in common use, but if it had been, then the ones at our doorsteps today are a pale imitation of those towering behemoths who came before.
One such entity was the Capadocious Clan, led by the charismatic, machiavellian Capadocious and his generals. An imposing clan in its prime, they disbanded in May 2003. Capadocious, then- Prince and self-declared ruler of the city, disbanded the clan in a claim that he could rule better without allegiance to any clan.
An interesting point here is that while few outside of the Capadocious Clan (CC for short) took his self-proclaimed title seriously, the influence surrounding Capadocious proved to propel him into the infamous leader many remember him to be. As the strongest standing clan at the time, there were very few debates about the authenticity of his claims.
Throughout the sordid history of our city, there have been many discussions about what power is. Is it a trick, a shadow on the wall? Does it reside only where men believe it to? Capadocious found out the hard way that power is power. Without the support of his clan, dissent against his reign spread throughout the city. The city, it seemed, did not wish to be ruled. The houses of his clan had also spread to the winds, most notable amongst them Lucius and the Ferrymen. A former house of CC, the Ferrymen had struck out on their own as a clan.
Few tyrants in history have ever been content to step down gracefully as their time comes to an end and so it remained the same with Capadocious, who in July 2003 formed a new clan: The Dynasty.
Welcome Capadocians, I am proud to be among you all once again. Please put your information in the database. I will be removing
people that don't have all their information there. We will run a tight ship here to try to cut down on spies. Everyone here will eventually be placed into a clan. There are no free agents in this Dynasty. Everyone here will be required to contribute to the whole. I know that we will have a great time here forcing our will on those that refuse to realize that the Capadocians rule this city and it is to do with as we see fit.
At its founding, the city found itself split. Many were drawn to the man. Those who had left CC were now eager to return to the Dynasty and what they saw as the glory days of their lives, even if it had been just months prior. Capadocious's charisma had always been a fascinating aspect of his persona and few will ever deny that. Of interest to us is that, throughout his history, he seemed to never succeed on his own. By relying on those in his circle he knew to be more intelligent, cunning, and strategic, he was propelled to success.
In Ravenblack City, and in the world in general, the masses are attracted to cults of personality. The public is magnetized to celebrities; news of their lives spreads through papers and the streets, the talk of the town. Yet we often forget those who build them up, who maintain the air of celebrity around such an individual. Power may be power; yet it still resides where men believe it to.
Today is a glorious day. I am so happy, there is going to be excitement on the streets of Ravenblack again. I have dreamt of this day ever since the Capadocious Clan dissolved. I am here to serve the great Emperor Capadocious, My wondrous Lord Lucius and the rest of the Capadocians. By Lucius' Lamp and the Lady's words shall I find strength and wisdom.
Tsarina
YA Corrupter
Navigatus for The Ferrymen
House of Lucius
Capadocian Dynasty
Ah yes .. after a wait that seemed an eternity even to one as old as I am, it would seem I am home again. Back within the walls of my beloved friends and with those I consider my family! It is indeed so very good to see that Capadocious is once again pulling the greatest of the vampires within the city together. Looking around, I see the mighty Lucius has returned and with him come the legendary Ferrymen. Looking further, I see some of my old friends from the former Draconian Corps are arriving...and oh yes, some of my fellow Church of Blood members, and then there are others coming in.
EvilBill pops the cork on a keg of blood and begins to pour glasses for all who enter. Taking a glass himself, he raises it high in the air and proposes a toast! To the new Dynasty! May the Emporer and Empress rule with absolute power and the members bring nothing but honor to them. To our old friends and family, for their bravery and ability to put aside the problems we may have had in the past to build a strong new future!
EvilBill chases down the goblet of blood and pours himself another. I'll be here for keg duty, all that thirst need only approach and your glass will be filled until you thirst no more.
EvilBill
Capadocian Dynasty
Church of Blood
Angel of Death
Childer of Vampire B
Entering this great place, Liski feels rather awed and frightened. Scanning the room there are many faces she knows only by reputation but is wary just the same. Spying a familiar face she considers staying close to EvilBill, but sees how many surround and talk with him, decides to let him be. Looking around once more a proud figure is easily noticed among the crowd. Standing more assured, she walks over to the man and catches his eye momentarily before bowing to one knee and lowering her gaze to the floor.
"Merrily met, My Lord Capadocious. It has been a long time since I have seen you and I have grown in strength and knowledge since our time apart. I hope that I have become worthy of this place and these people. I am a Capadocian eternally, and I pray that you find me worthy."
Liski
And on and on the reactions continued, with former members of CC rejoicing at the formation of a new clan beneath Capadocious's rule. Clans across the city flocked to meet him, including the newly formed Ellende, founded by Dirktou (who readers may remember from another Chronicles of War, detailing the foundations of torpor), as well as seeing the return of Lucius and the Ferrymen to the fold.
Meanwhile, naysayers across the city decried the act; those same political opponents who had attempted to discredit Capadocious on his own now also painted this move as the grab for power that it likely was.
Nomos burned you with Holy Water!
Nomos says "On a side note it saddens me to see you join this clan. Clans like caps are only for the truly weak."
Nomos says "I'm afraid that this is going to hurt a bit more then what you did to me. Well you know what they say the bigger they are the harder they fall. Oh ya consider this my rejection of your generous offer and tell cap I won't be swayed by force or power"
Dirktou
Seemingly undaunted, The Dynasty moved forward with their plans. There were two important developments at this time: the introduction of Neutrality and the now-infamous slogan of The Dynasty, a campaign of conquest that consumed all in its path titled simply: Join or Die. Capadocious declared war not just on the city itself and all those who inhabited it, but also on any who would take the new Power.
The effects of Join or Die were felt immediately. Capadocious and his Inner Circle offered a reward of 20,000 coin for the zeroing of any vampire who refused them (approximately the equivalent of 200,000 coin today). These were hard-earned zeroings; the primary weapons of the day were still Scrolls of Turning and Holy Waters had just been introduced. Members of the clan in those days were expected to have only two vials of Holy Water on them at any given time; one to ensure they were capable of defending themselves and another to strike out at any enemy of the Dynasty they happened to pass in the streets.
One such group to be swept aside in the initial opening salvo was The Empire. Originally formed by creperum and Andronicus, they had previously been struck down by the Church of Blood (a house within Capadocious Clan), resulting in their disbandment. As Join or Die swept through the streets, creperum refounded The Empire, bringing her old allies into the fold in an effort to mount a resistance.
As the Ferrymen returned to the Dynasty though, their numbers swelled beyond reason and the Empire stood little chance. Just a month after their reformation, the Empire was dealt a blow they would not recover from and many of their members would find themselves within Capadocian halls shortly after.
Elsewhere, as Capadocious continued to deal with political attacks on his person, a poll was held: if he should not be Prince, he asked the city, then who would you have? A stunningly clever public relations move, he offered to relinquish his title should the people deem it so. Records of who ran against him have been lost to the years, but the result was the same regardless: the poll had declared Capadocious victor in a landslide victory, ensuring his tight grip on the title.
And though there was never any tangible evidence of the fact, whispers through the streets asked if the poll had been rigged from the start. Following so closely on the end of the Clone Wars, some wondered if the Capadocians had filled the ballot with the votes of thralls.
This is not to say all was going well for Capadocious: despite his growing power, confusion and paranoia seeped into the clan. Many inside cried out at the lack of organization, with Capadocious often going AWOL for long periods, and communication from leadership to the rest of the clan was often more distant than it should have been.
I've heard Creperum has been attacked by some of us (gargamel, copperbottom, DragonPhoenix, DarkSaga,..) and I'm asking you to wait before attacking again that the Cap Dynasty will be complete and organised.I know she deserves it, and making a war against the Empire (the fake one) is fine, but I don't see the wisdom of it right now. It's hard playing a stupid person and it's foolish to attack so soon. We didn't even announce that we were back! So, please, hold your fire until we get settled. Thanks.
Lucius
Legendary Lord of the Ferrymen
Whose name was writ in water
Capadocian Dynasty
This was ordered by Cap.
Dirktou
I have not seen any notification of this in our Inner Circle's group. Dirktou, can you see my point? No public announcement has been made. I barely know who is in charge of who... Cap is gone and Heim is sleeping. Just hold it, please.
Lucius
No announcement was made because it was supposed to be secret and off the boards. The orders descended from IMs only to avoid spies.
DarkSaga
Machiavellan
And that's why we have the Inner Cercle... Oh well. Heimdag is Second, it's up to him.
Lucius
Lucius, the Innercircle had not yet been formed when the Emperor handed down the special attack orders. This topic should not have been brought up in a public forum, but that is now a moot point since the target is now aware of us and has retaliated a couple of times.
Further inquiries should be directed to the Innercircle.
~~~~~~~
The Vampire Elder Cunnilingus1
King of Clan Machiavelli of the Capadocian Dynasty
Forgive me for sounding brash or uncivil, if indeed I sound so as I say this, but us Capadocians need a broad update on what's happening. The young are confused over what's happening; the fledgelings are frightened at this lack of communication with our superiors; we haven't seen much of our leaders, clan or guild... indeed, we haven't seen or heard from our supposed 'leader' who took us over, either, which only makes me suspicious. Perhaps they only succeeded by causing this confusion that has divided us so. I think we need orders from Lord Capadocious. I don't like this feeling that we're standing around trying to figure out what's going on. I'm not saying either that we shouldn't try to solve this, merely that, well, what are the rest of us going to do while our leaders and guilds learn and fix this problem? Who is still in charge of which guilds, and who do we go to with our queries and concerns? Does Lord Capadocious or his seconds-in-command want us to stick together as one large family, or does he want us to unite within our guilds, take orders from our leaders while he sorts out the larger picture? And which boards are still safe to use? I'm sure many feel as if our home in RavenBlack city has been compromised, but we have to remember that we have our young 'newbie-childer' who may not know or understand what's going on in our family; what do we tell them. I don't mean any disrespect, and apologize if anyone assumes that I am questioning authority or anything else. I am far too young to understand this as well, and only want to ask what everyone else around me is thinking. Us young childer need our reassurances as readily as we need blood.
Hail the Capadocians, under the reign of ONLY Lord Capadocious.
~Persephony
Silhouette Thief, Sector 3
A consequence of Join or Die was, as one might expect, the arrival of spies within the halls. Though his Inner Circle and many others within the clan warned Capadocious of this, he had grown blinded by the prospect of power. As is the case with many tyrants, he believed himself invulnerable. And why should he not? With sycophants kneeling before him on a daily basis and promising their eternal loyalty with thespian vows, he had forgotten that he was still just a man. And loyalty, he would soon discover, was a fickle beast. The lesson he had yet to learn was that the masses were only loyal to an extent, their praise shifting like the tide in favor of the new and the bold.
Or perhaps he did understand these facts and, faced with the realization that the sun was setting over his legacy, these were the final, desperate throes of his attempt to remain standing.
Why is Vaelen in our database here, but yet he was one of the vamps participating in that assault on Capadocious????
DarkSaga
Queen's Guard
Machiavellan
<Capadocian Dynasty>
Emperor & Emperess, fellow brothers and sisters;
I would like to apologize for being among you under the guise of Lupercalia. I have been a very very busy Vampiress as of late and until I finished with the tasks I needed to complete, I could not come here as myself. I hope that you all can forgive me for this deception. Truly my heart held only good intentions with this, and I just wanted to protect those that were already in these walls.
Know that my loyalty is, has always been will always be with my Emperor & Emperess. I will honor them, honor all of, and do my best to uphold the high dignity, and honor of what it is to be known as a Capadocian. My heart is overjoyed with happiness that I am where I have wanted to be for so long.
Countess
Cerridwen der Bauer
Quellar d'Vlos
Clan Ellende
As mentioned earlier, Join or Die was not the only campaign waged by the Dynasty at this time. With the arrival of Neutrality, the city again found itself in a war of ideas. Finding the power to be a disgrace to their kind, Capadocious inducted Mooncalf into the clan and ordered him to deal with any who dared to obtain this power.
Firstly, whenever you see a Wimpire from now on, you are required to bite, steal and/or leave an insulting message for them every time! Go out of your way to hurt these pink cowards. Another way to hurt them is to find and destroy their friends. I will be making a special unit within my group to hunt Wimpires and follow them and annoy them wherever they go. They, and I, will also hurt their friends and allies to get to them, and maybe get them to relinquish their neutrality power and join the Dynasty in the long run.
You might not be able to hurt these Wimpires very much, but you should find one, follow him, insult him, bite him, rob him at EVERY chance, and make damn sure that you post your personal victories against these freaks on RBB just to show the world what happens if you hide behind Ravenblack.
It's all about scaring people, my friends, and we are good at that, after all.
~Mooncalf
To say Mooncalf's introduction to the Halls was not met well would be an understatement. The vampire who had cheated the powers and guilds themselves and introduced Surprise to the city, many still viewed him as a con artist, a cheat, and a coward. How ironic then, that he would be placed in charge of the hunting of other perceived cowards. Discussions centered around this time often note Mooncalf's presence to be the catalyst for the fall of the Dynasty.
A combination of the allowance of the city's most hated vampire into their home, a seemingly meaningless and unwinnable war against Neutrality, a countless number of spies within their ranks, and the city continuing to push back against the Join or Die campaign all contributed to growing feelings of dissatisfaction within the Dynasty. Feeling ignored by their glorious leader, who had once relied upon his advisors much more than he seemed to now, conspiracy rooted itself into the halls as his generals began to whisper dissent.
While Capadocious continued to believe in their absolute devotion and fealty, they had grown tired of his refusal to heed them and his belief in himself as a god. On the morning of September 1, 2003, the Dynasty's three most prized leaders, Vampire B, Lucius and Dirktou, would exit the halls and take their people with them, all but signaling the end of an era. Despite this, Capadocious's former subjects would never forget their roots and, even upon their betrayal, would offer nothing but respect.
O great Capadocious, shining beacon in the grayness, I weep for thee. I weep for my King, now cursed to live in a crying body, an empty shell without Capadocious. Your transformation has been felt from the very instant when the doors of the Capadocian Hall opened for the second time.
Your Lords have realized that the Capadocious they knew has been gone and sadly may be forever. King Capadocious was an evil genius, Prince Capadocious is half good, nothing but a shadow of himself.
The skies are darker than ever now. The long sad themes drive me hard. And what of us, what of your most loyal servants and friends? What hope is there? It is in our heart and minds, in the fealty we show to the memory of the true Capadocious. Look about you, my fellow Prince, look about you at the great City of RavenBlack, at its storehouses of learning and wonder. Look well about you at what was once nothing, so long ago, a formless wasteland, before your arousal. It is our true light within that you have tapped, a great reservoir of vivifying hope, of loyalty, honor and glory, where we shall find pride and transcendence for our wandering selves.
But that shall be without you, my dead King and living Emperor. Though I leave you now, hear me swear to you, as you go through the city, do not forget your children because they will never forget their Father. This is the end of your rule and the beginning of a new Shadow Court. Farewell Capadocious...
Lucius
Lord of the Ferrymen
Chancellor of the Dreaming
The Shadow Court
And even those Capadocious had so vehemently defended against the wishes of his generals would find themselves making their exit.
Indeed, I WAS asked to join the Shadow Court before the Dynasty was disbannded. Vampire B and Lucious tried convincing me for a number of hours to join The Shadow Court as a leader after realising I was loyal to the cause of the Dynasty, but not Capadocious.
But what it came down to was this: I am not evil. While the Dynasty was a shade of grey evil, I would be part of it to forefill my own
gains ... but now ... I cannot join a cause that represents true evil, because that has never been what my character has stood for.
Capadocious, my plans were always to get my revenge on you. Ever since the day you attacked the Travellers, took Battilion away from us, and then after that destroyed me and left me dead at Gloom and 33rd. Youve stolen many of my friends to your cause, youve stolen my second clan, clan Ellende, and you have always been the object of my plotting.
I joined the Dynasty to get at you, Capadocious. I joined thinking I could rise in the ranks, earn your trust, gain members for my clan, money, power, status, and then I could stick a knife in your back in gloryfying revenge. I would have incited a mutiny just like the one that has just taken place ... I would have taken the clan out from your grasp and then I would have zeroed you to teach you a final lesson: NOBODY messes with MOONCALF!
But the pleasure of inciting a mutiny within your precious Dynasty has been taken from me. Still, I watch with glee as you lose everything you ever loved ... and then I will come for you ... and you will be destroyed just as I was that day. I will still have my revenge.
What does my future hold now? I go off into the hills on my own once again, taking my small clan, Clan Mooncalf with me. The rest of you do not concern me ... I am even allied for the moment with some of those in the new Shadow Court ... but Capadocious is mine, so the rest of you stay out of it. You have been warned.
~The Vampire Mooncalf
ps. I will show myself out thank you.
Yet not all left. There were those, few as they were, who believed so deeply in their cause that they would rather sink with their Captain than swim to safety. One such individual was none other than Cerridwen, childe of Dirktou. The very same Dirktou as above, who had just stormed from the clan. Now named Princess of the Capadocians, Cerridwen's true purpose had initially been infiltration.
Knowing he would be blinded by his own ego and (as so many men before and after him) the beauty of an alluring woman, Cerridwen, a member of the Ferrymen, would report to both Dirktou and Lucius on the continued goings-on of the Dynasty. Over time, however, Cerridwen had become a true believer. When the Ferrymen left, Cerridwen would forgo her loyalties to them and remain a member of the Dynasty.
Dirktou responded violently to this perceived betrayal by his childe. As the Halls of Severance had just finished construction, Dirktou was one of the first to utilize them as he declared war against Cerridwen, severing her and striking out violently against her. The engagement would be brief, ending with Dirktou's zeroing and subsequent leaving of the city.
Despite this, Cerridwen would eventually strike out on her own to form the Towers of Blood. Unfortunately, attempts to distance herself from Capadocious would prove futile.
The end would come, as it so often does, cloaked in the night and without warning. A mass array of clans, the likes of which had never been seen before and would never be seen since, marched side by side. Led by AQelDroma and the Halls of Hereot, every clan in the city and a number of clanless vampires assembled beneath a single banner for one glorious purpose:
The zeroing of Capadocious.
In late August 2003, the despotic autocrat would awaken to a proverbial shift not just within his own halls but throughout the city. In a simultaneous strike, the Shadow Court - formed from the former leaders of the Dynasty - would engage the Towers of Blood, zeroing princess Cerridwen in a fell swoop.
This night marked the end of the Dynasty. Such a unifying show of force against him was not a blow Capadocious would ever recover from. As is ever the case in history, empires and dynasties crumble with the tides of change. Never content with the power he had acquired, Capadocious overreached and outplayed his hand. Immortality may be eternal but power, it seems, is fleeting. Rome was not built in a day, but it did burn in one.
There are few constants in this city of ours; echoes of the past may linger, the impacts of men and women who were more than such remaining with us in the shadows, but they too may one day fade. All any of us can hope for is to touch the sky, however briefly, and leave something greater than ourselves behind.
And though power and loyalties may shift, there is at least one universal truth of the city that has never changed:
My feet are tired from a long night's work. I am going to take a seat and enjoy my glass of blood. You may join me, if you wish.
Elder Chapelablaze
Magister of the Inland
The Ferrymen
Capadocian Dynasty
Yes, of course I will. I suppose I could rub your feet for a short while if you wanted. Wouldn't want them to be sore later...
Legendary Count Krace
Tracker for The Ferrymen
House of Lucius
Amici Noctis
Gets down on one knee.
Liski, will you consent to be my companion? You'll have to stop thinking of me as a brother of course but I'm sure we can work around that. I ask again, Will you allow me the honor of being your companion?
jimmymac
turning her head back around she stops startled, smiling.
I thought you'd never ask love. Of course you'll have to find a way to get EvilBill and Reach's permission, but yes I would love to have you by my side. My love. kisses him deeply
Liski
Hunin of Valhalla
Y'all are some thirsty motherfuckers.
[Thank you to Annabelle, AdaMaS, ophelia, Seyda, and ladypeacek for their contributions.]
[OOC Disclaimer: Many minor typos plagued the provided quotes and were fixed for the purposes of this piece. No information has been changed and the only other change has been to italiacize roleplay versus spoken dialogue.]
