Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Tag: <span>Inspiration Block</span>

Tag: Inspiration Block

Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Arbaaz Mir

Sanguen: Hunter (India)

 

Arbaaz Mir was born in Kashmir in northwestern India during the early 19th century to a Muslim family. His home region was conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire in 1819, leading to the death of numerous Muslims in Kashmir, including some of Arbaaz’s kin.  This led Arbaaz to grow up with a resentment towards Singh, considering him a cold-blooded killer.

His revenge led him to go after Singh only to be thwarted by the Assassins. He was taken from India and handed over to Dastan and Altaïr. Both saw potential in him, but also his anger.  They worked to train him, and in time they watched him grow into a steady Assassin.

Dastan escorted him back to India, hearing rumors about his old enemy, the Hassassin. When they arrived he discovered that Templars were using the British Government to influence the Maharaja so they could control the land and wealth.

Arbaaz had to face his own emotions when he came face to face with Singh.

He realized they were trying to poison the Maharaja, and knocked the tea out of his hand, instead of watching him die – but it was already too late.  The Templar escaped but Arbaaz stayed with the Singh, and told him he forgave him.

Ranjit smiled and died peacefully.

Arbaaz barely had time to react when the Templar returned.  He defected the blow, but ended up with a mortal wound before he gave the killing blow.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Celephas

Sanguen: Member

 

Celephas was born in Syracuse and settled in Athens in the Paraeus section that catered to Artisans and Market was located.

His skills were in building shields and weapons. The quality was so good, that at one point he had 120 slaves working on a variety of workshops, building/crafting high quality shields, each unique to the artist they were.

It was Perseus who noticed his workmanship and went to see some of his work. The skill used was one that Perseus felt shouldn’t be diminished. He talked with him, becoming friends. He pointed out that Celephas’ son though would be famous in history, he himself shouldn’t be forgotten.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan2

Sylum Inspiration: Alexander

Sanguen: Clan Leader

 

Alexander as a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders.

Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

Seeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea”, he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander’s surviving generals and heirs.

Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander’s settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.

After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning. Hephaestion’s death devastated Alexander, and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning. Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly thereafter.

For more information contact the Vampire Council Library

Alexander had developed a fever and succumbed to his bed unable to even talk.

When he laid in bed he was visited by emissaries from Egypt, Ardeth Bey and Rick. It was Ardeth that told him he had too much to live for, and Turned him.

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Character Introduction / Sylum Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Nicolaus Meridius

Sylum: Clan Leader

 

Born Nicolaus Valerius Meridius in 399 AD, Rome, Italy, youngest son of Vitus Crescentius Meridius, he was the younger brother to Artorius Flavius Meridius.

He followed in his brother’s footsteps and entered the Army, where his dedication and strategic mind moved him quickly up the ranks. At the age of eighteen he bought a Persian slave, Sofya, from the market and made her his wife. His father had at first forbid the match, but Sofya’s sweet nature and charming smile won him over. Julia, wife to his brother Artorius, took her in and taught her how to be a proper Roman wife. On their wedding night she became with child, much to the delight to the Meridius household since Julia had not yet been able to conceive.

Meridia was the first born daughter of Nicolaus Valerius Meridius and she was the apple of her father’s eye. She had her mother’s olive skin and eyes that would pierce your very soul. She had the household wrapped around her little finger and knew it.

Nico had gone to visit his father, leaving Sofya and Meridia at their villa in the city of Rome. As Nico and Artorius made the way back to Nico’s home, they heard shouts and saw smoke billowing into the sky. Fear clutching their hearts, they ran the rest of the way only to find the building engulfed in flames. Nico and Artorius moved to the back of the house, but the fire was hot and the smoke thick, but through it he could make out his wife’s body lying on the floor, and he could hear Meridia’s screams. It took all his brother’s strength to keep him from running into the burning home. He collapsed to his knees when his child’s cries stopped, and his own scream echoed through the surrounding buildings as the roof of the villa collapsed.

No one knew who had attacked his young wife. Rumors spread that people were angered that Nico had taken a Persian slave as a wife. Others said it was retribution for perceived past injustices.

Nico left Rome and returned to the Army with his brother, throwing himself into his career, hoping to forget the screams of his little girl, but it wasn’t long before tragedy struck the Meridius family again. Artorius was killed in battle, and upon hearing of his oldest son’s death, their father’s heart gave out and he followed his son and grandchild to Elysium.

Nico found himself Patriarch of the family Meridii, and he took Julia as his wife to maintain her ties with the Meridius line. They had a good, strong marriage. She gave him four children: Elena, Antonio, Gloria, and Theodosis. He lost Julia in childbirth with Theo, her loss a further devastation to him, for she had become a good wife and faithful friend. It was the companionship of his lover Razi, a former Gladiator, and his handful of children that made life joyous.

Two years later devastation hit the Meridius family once again. His military Second in Command, Marcus, consumed by anger and jealousy of Nico’s position and power, rode straight into the villa with troops. Razi fought by his Master’s side, only to be cut down along with the family tutor, Cyrus. Marcus slit Antonio and Gloria’s throats in front of Nico. As the soldiers Nico had once commanded beat him to the ground, he was forced to listen to Elena’s screams as she was beaten and raped. A young soldier, who was himself betrothed to Elena, died trying to save her. Their blood mingled as they laid dead at Nico’s feet.

Nico was stripped and crucified, with the bodies of his family laid out at his feet, and in one final act of defiance, Marcus stole Theo from his family to raise him as his own son.

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Character Introduction / Serenity Clan3

Sylum Inspiration: Ben Wade

Serenity: Lead Hunter

Ben doesn’t talk much about his childhood. He was nine years old when he was left behind on a dock in Plymouth England, by his mother. Ben realizing he’s been abandoned sneaks onto the next boat heading to the New World. He stays hidden for three months, only having the family bible to read.

When he arrives in New York, he sets out to find his mother, only to get swept up by officers and sent to an Orphanage. He plays the game and stay’s out of trouble.

Reading about new opportunity in California, he sets out with other seeking a new life. He found some gold during the ‘Gold Rush’ enough to sustain himself.

Ben moved around the frontiers area, riding just above the law. It’s not until he finds himself in Boulder, Colorado. He found himself a saloon, settled in for a game of cards, flashed some gold around.

His only memory of that night is the green eyed girl.

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Character Introduction / Vampire Council0

Sylum Inspiration: Perseus

Vampire Council: Hunter

 

There is a lot of myth and legend surrounding Perseus’ life.

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, who by her very name, was the archetype of all the Danaans. Danaë was the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter’s son with Zeus. In order to keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a bronze chamber, open to the sky, in the courtyard of his palace:   This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion, Eurystheus, etc. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Soon after, their child was born; Perseus—”Perseus Eurymedon, for his mother gave him this name as well” (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica IV).

Fearful for his future, but unwilling to provoke the wrath of the gods by killing the offspring of Zeus and his daughter, Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest. Danaë’s fearful prayer, made while afloat in the darkness, has been expressed by the poet Simonides of Ceos. Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Serifos, where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys (“fishing net”), who raised the boy to manhood. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes (“he who receives/welcomes many”), the king of the island.

More on the Myth see the

Some of the myth is true, his mother was Danaë; his father though is unknown.  Her husband Acrisius threw mother and son into the sea, and they were found by Dictys, and only Perseus survived.  He was raised to be a fisherman, content with life, until the war between two kingdoms destroyed his home, killing his family.

He made his way to Aethiopia, where he fell in love with Andromeda.  The king offered his daughter’s hand if he was to slay the rival king, and bring back the queen’s head.  The journey faced many challenges, but when he returned he discovered that Andromeda had married another.  Legend has it he tossed the queen’s head at the family’s feet, turning them to stone.<

The truth is he pretty much destroyed the city on his way out.

He set out to take up his father’s craft when he met Methos, who offered him another opportunity.

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Character Introduction / Vampire Council0

Sylum Inspiration: Edward Morgan Blake

Vampire Council: Spy. Network

 

Born in New York, 1923AD.

Raised by an alcoholic father and a strict Catholic mother, Edward was a restless and violent young man with anger issues who was listed in his High School Year Book as being ‘most likely to end up in prison’.

Joining the army after graduation saved him from such a fate and he served in Korea with considerable distinction as a highly skilled sniper with more than twenty-one confirmed kills, showing such aptitude for intelligence gathering that he was labelled by his commander as an ‘incredibly sneaky sonofabitch’ and quickly recruited into the CIA in 1953.

His activities between 1953 and his reported death at the US Embassy in Moscow on May 19, 1964 are the stuff of conjecture, rumor and innuendo with almost nothing confirmed by any sources whatsoever.

He is ‘buried’ in New York

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Character Introduction / Vampire Council1

Sylum Inspiration: Kirill

Vampire Council: Hunter

 

Kirill grew up under Mongolian control, though he rarely saw or felt the oppression. His parents worked hard, owned land and made sure he would have a better life. When he would ask about his family heritage, as his coloring was darker than most, they assured him he came from a long line of good Prussians.

Not one for farming, Kirill set out for the coast, where he ended up meeting Marco Ramius. He thought him an old man who knew nothing but fishing. In time he learned Marco was more than what he seemed.

Neither man was shocked when he requested to be Turned.

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Character Introduction / Vampire Council1

Sylum Inspiration: Christopher Johns

Vampire Council: Spy Network

 

Christopher was the middle son of merchant. He got lucky when he became the Steward of one of King Arthur’s Knights, Andre Marek.

When King Arthur sent his Knights on a quest to find the Holy Grail, he took care of Marek and made sure he had everything he needed.

It was while they were in France when everything went wrong. When Marek’s horse went lame, they sent the rest of the group ahead, assuring them they will catch up.

They came upon a small town with a manor up on the hill. Marek set out to see if they could find a place to stay, until they acquired another horse, except for the fact he couldn’t understand the lady of the house.

It was Christopher who was able to get them a place in the barn. Over time, he watched as Marek fell for the Lady of the House, then stayed to defend her and her lands. Christopher stayed by his side, and when his Knight was Turned, he requested the same.

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Character Introduction / Vampire Council1

Sylum Inspiration: Quintus Fabius Tacitus

Vampire Council: Hunter

 

Quintis was the firstborn son of the Tacitus family. He was a disappointment to his family when he stayed in the Army instead of leaving to become a politician.

His reason for staying had to do with his friendship with Maximus Decimus Meridius, who he later betrayed by following Commodus’ orders and accepting the position as General of Pretorian Guard – bringing honor to his family name.

When he was ordered to have Maximus executed, he sent his worst men, hoping his friend could escape. He was thrilled, shocked, and horrified when he saw Maximus at the Colosseum fighting as a gladiator.

He kept to himself and waited for the moment he could redeem his personal honor. As Commodus fought with Maximus on the arena floor, Quintus kept his men from giving the Emperor a weapon, letting Maximus finish the job.

As they carried Maximus’ body out of the Colosseum, guilt ate at him for all the things he had done. He silently vowed to make it right.

It was then he discovered Maximus had been Turned and was a Vampire. Odysseus later sat down with Maximus and Quintus, telling them about the world of Vampires. They also promised to come back in one year and a day to take matters in their own hands if the two Mates didn’t figure things out for themselves. A year and a day later Odysseus Turned Quintus at both men’s request. They took the newly Mated pair back to the Council where Imenand had to do some quick explaining, and then set them up as Hunters.

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Border Clan / Character Introduction1

Sylum Inspiration: Brisco County Jr.

Border: Hunter

 

Brisco works as a Political Science teacher at Charles Xavier’s School in order to be close to his Mate.  While still works occasionally for Scurlock as a Hunter for Border Clan.

Brisco County Jr. is the son of the famed US Marshal, Brisco County, Sr.  Growing up, all he wanted to do was follow in his father’s footsteps.  After he was shot and almost killed on a mission his father sent him on, his family decided to send him to Harvard.

At Harvard, Brisco earned his law degree, but realized that being a lawyer wasn’t what he wanted to do.  While traveling back to his home, he learned that his father had been killed by the Blythe Gang.

He vowed to carry out his father’s last job and bring in John Blythe, so he teamed up with two of his father’s US Marshal friends, James Hickok and Noah Dixon.

During a standoff with Blythe, Brisco was injured and subsequently Turned.

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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.

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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.

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Character Introduction / Oceania Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Thomas Magnum

Oceania: Hunter

 

Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV was born 1944. Both his father and grandfather were naval officers.

He was born in Detroit, but raised in the region of Tidewater, Virginia. In high school, his football team won a Virginia State football championship. Some members of his family, including his mother and her second husband, still reside there.

Magnum attended the United States Naval Academy then served ten or more years as an officer in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant before resigning from the service in disillusionment in 1979.

Magnum was a Vietnam War veteran and a former POW who believed his wife Michelle died in bombing during the final pull-out from Saigon. He served in both the SEALs and Naval Intelligence during his Navy years, and as such maintained many contacts in both communities.

After he retired he moved to Hawaii where he became a Private Investigator. He ended up working for Robin Nest as security personnel, in exchange of room and board, and use of his Ferrari. His boss was Higgins, who he suspected of being Nest, but could never prove it.

When he was shot defending Higgins, he found out at least some of Higgins’ secrets and accepted being Turned.

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Camelot Clan / Character Introduction0

Sylum Inspiration: Jerry Shepard

Camelot: Member

 

Jerry grew up in a small community in Oregon.  He lived with his grandmother until he was a teenager, when she died.  After that, he wandered between places, trying to figure what to do with his life.

He was taken in by Henry, who raised sled dogs.  Jerry ended up being a natural with them, almost as if he understood them.

So he found himself working as a dog trainer and guide in Antartctica.  He was one of the top guides, with a fun sense of humor, and though some of his colleagues never paid him much attention as he was just the ‘dog’ guy, others relied on his information about the weather, the land and the animals.

He was requested to take a scientist named McClaren to Mount Melbourne, to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury.  Shepard agreed, ignoring his own intuition, which kept telling him it was too late in the season (January) to complete such a treacherous route.  Worried about the snowmobiles breaking through the thinning ice or falling into a crevasse, Shepard told Harrison and McClaren that the only way to get to Mount Melbourne was by dog sled.

Shepard and McClaren made it to Mount Melbourne, but were immediately called back to base camp due to an approaching heavy storm.  McClaren begged for more time, and Shepard reluctantly granted him half a day.  McClaren found what he was looking for and the two headed back to the sled.

On the way back to base, things went wrong and McClaren was injured.  It was only Jerry’s intuition and the work of his dogs that got them to safety.  They were immediately evacuated, along with all other personnel, due to the worsening storm that was expected to intensify.  With too much weight in the plane to carry both people and dogs, the human team medically evacuated Shepard and McClaren with a plan to return later for the dogs.  The dogs were temporarily left behind, but the storm proved far worse than expected.  Because of the harsh weather conditions and a shortage of supplies at McMurdo Station, it soon became apparent that no rescue would be attempted for the dogs until the next spring.

Jerry was determined to get back to his dogs.  So determined in fact, that he kept striving for funds to mount a rescue expedition, but no one would help him, until finally he met Ernest Shackleton, who agreed to fund the project only if he could travel with him.  He had to convince Jerry of his experience in Antarctic exploration, but it was complicated trying to tell him without revealing his true nature.

With Shackleton’s influence however, an expedition was mounted and they were able to make their way back to the base.  While traveling, Jerry misstepped and fell down a small ravine, but by the time Ernest reached to him, hypothermia had set in, and even worse his leg was broken.  Such things would normally spell the end for anyone trapped on the ice with such an injury.  Nevertheless, Shackleton told him the truth about his actual identity, as well as Vampires and Mates, not wanting the young man to be mislead about what being Turned would mean.  Jerry agreed to being Turned with a promise to figure it all out when they get home, as long as they could help the dogs.

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