Sylum Clan

Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Sylum Clan
Sylum Charities1

Sylum Charity: Khumbu Climbing School

As mentioned in the Qumolangama – this is the Khumbu Climbing School. 

***

High in the Himalayas of Nepal near the beaten track to Everest, there is a humble pastoral village called Phortse that is perched among the clouds. You may not see it if you trek up the precipitous path more traveled, past Tangboche Monastery and beneath the breathtaking pyramid of Ama Dablam. But look to your left, across the gaping gorge of the Dud Kosi river and you will see a terraced knoll dotted with stone structures. It is there in the shadow of the holy peak, Khumbila, above a quiet birch forest that the Khumbu Climbing Center found a home.

The Khumbu Climbing Center (KCC) was launched in 2003 and over the past fifteen years has become a successful vocational program for indigenous people. Each winter for two weeks, technical climbing skills are taught along with English language, mountain safety, rescue, and wilderness first aid. Dr. Luanne Freer, who oversees the Everest base camp ER, attests that KCC skills and knowledge are saving lives at the roof of the world. Nearly one thousand Nepali men and women have now attended KCC since its inception.

In the beginning, our instructors were qualified western climbers and guides who had experience in the Himalaya. Most of the teachers are now Nepali but we continue to have a small Western team travel to KCC each season. They often include National Park rescue rangers and professional guides who generously offer their time and expertise. They pay their own way or get sponsorship to give of themselves to the Sherpa community. We at KCC are deeply indebted.

For More Information: Khumbu Climbing Center

 #
Character Introduction / Vampire Council1

Sylum Inspiration: Storm

Vampire Council: Member

Storm hasn’t talked much about her life before she met Charles. Her family is from Africa, where Charles had found her, and she left them behind to come with him to the United States.

He helped her with her Mutant powers, and in turn she teaches at his school to help other children. She was exposed to the Vampire world when Charles introduced his ‘son’ Nicolaus to them and the fact they were there to help stand against Magneto.

It took her some time to figure out why Brisco County Jr, one of the Vampire Hunters, was staying at the school. She found him sweet, and when he told her about Mates and Vampires she sat down with Charles.

After many discussion and assurances she wouldn’t loose her Mutation, she agreed to be Turned.

 # #
Character Introduction / Oceania Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Thomas Jefferson

Oceania: Legal Advisor

 

Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). He was an ardent proponent of democracy and embraced the principles of republicanism and the rights of the individual with worldwide influence. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia, and then served as a wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781). In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France and later the first United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) serving under President George Washington. In opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s Federalism, Jefferson and his close friend, James Madison, organized the Democratic-Republican Party, and later resigned from Washington’s cabinet. Elected Vice President in 1796 in the administration of John Adams, Jefferson opposed Adams, and with Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which attempted to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Elected president in what Jefferson called the “Revolution of 1800”, he oversaw acquisition of the vast Louisiana Territory from France (1803), and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), and later three others, to explore the new west. Jefferson doubled the size of the United States during his presidency. His second term was beset with troubles at home, such as the failed treason trial of his former Vice President Aaron Burr. When Britain threatened American shipping challenging U.S. neutrality during its war with Napoleon, he tried economic warfare with his embargo laws, which only impeded American foreign trade. In 1803, President Jefferson initiated a process of Indian tribal removal to the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River, having opened lands for eventual American settlers. In 1807 Jefferson drafted and signed into law a bill that banned slave importation into the United States.

A leader in the Enlightenment, Jefferson was a polymath in the arts, sciences, and politics. Considered an important architect in the classical tradition, he designed his home Monticello and other notable buildings. Jefferson was keenly interested in science, invention, architecture, religion, and philosophy; he was an active member and eventual president of the American Philosophical Society. He was conversant in French, Greek, Italian, and Latin, read Spanish, and studied other languages and linguistics, interests which led him to found the University of Virginia after his presidency. Although not a notable orator, Jefferson was a skilled writer and corresponded with many influential people in America and Europe throughout his adult life.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library

During his time in the White House, Thomas Jefferson became good friends with Henry Sturges. The two would talk philosophy, history, politics for hours. When he discovered his friend was a Vampire, and was the one that helped Washington during the Revolutionary War, he requested to be Turned.

 # #