Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2016 19:40:58 GMT
The Fall of Enoch (1600 CE)
Acknowledgement of hubris only comes after great loss. With the turn of the 17th century, a titanic years-long hurricane assaulted the Underworld, permanently transforming dead skies into storm clouds. Even after the storm subsided, the former oceans of the Underworld mutated into an ever-squalling Tempest. A warlord of the dead empires set his sights upon Enoch, which remained a lone, strategic bastion in the storms.
Legions of ghostly marines swarmed into Enoch through cannon-made holes in the famed walls. The city blew apart into chaos, as wraithly magics proved equal to the task of navigating the city’s hostile geometries. Worse still, said geometries were used to project pyre-heated shot against Ubar itself. Buildings constructed in a dark and distant epoch shattered to dust under green-hued cannonballs. Only a bare handful of the Eastern Hand escaped.
Reunification (1725 CE)
The reconquering of Enoch lasted three years (1723- 26), and was immensely costly for the sect. Yet it proved vital and necessary for the Black Hand, in the end. East and West met for the first time as peers and allies, their schism forgotten under duress of the holy city’s siege. In later nights, many introspective neonates would consid-er the dead’s assault to be a good thing — without that impetus, the Hand would have remained impotent until Gehenna, their work going uncompleted.
For years, the Western Hand had established temporal holdings deep within the lands of what would become Germany, and eventually der Land von Kohle und Stahl – the lands of Coal and Steel. Even in modern nights, Claudia Schoenect – Prince of Düsseldorf – manages telecommu-nications for the Sect, while Karl Weissmont – Prince of Essen – handles much of the Tal’Mahe’Ra’s economic holdings. Both are by appearances loyal, if slightly inept, members of the Camarilla, though subtle attempts to depose them inevitable fail. In those nights, however, the Ruhr Valley was a site of open praxis for the Black Hand, the source of the modern chatterling families born and bred as footsoldiers for war. With the might of East and West reunited, the Hand elected a war leader. Their choice was a woman named Anadja, her lineage lost to time, chose her title from old Ghemalish — Del’Roh, “to serve”.
Over a course of three years, the campaign to retake Enoch was a strong and startling success, proof of the feats achieved with unity. The first was merely scouting and reconnaissance actions, while the second year required the subversion and occult displacement of certain elements of ghostly society. The actual retaking of Enoch lasted only two nights — the Del’Roh did not lift martial law for many long months, hunting down roving bands of stragglers and fighting the hordes of hostile, maddened ghosts who boiled up from the depths upon which the city sat. Only when they were defeated did she call an end to the conflict and approach the Basalt Throne of Caine, the only vampire to do so and still retain sanity and unlife.
Modern Nights
After the Fifth Maelstrom, the Tal’Mahe’Ra stagnated. As the world matured, it became increasingly isolated and time-lost, a curious oddity of an era now passed. Its prized exclusivity and stringent membership requirements became its Achilles’ heel: as the Camarilla and Sabbat grew, the Tal’Mahe’Ra’s influence dwindled until the Sect stood on the brink of irrelevance.
Agents embedded in the Camarilla and Sabbat submitted constant reports of thriving Clans, growing numbers of thin-blooded vampires and the renewing cycle of intersect hostilities. Elders and seraphim ensconced in positions of power had surprisingly less influence than expected to stem the tide. Despite their alliances with outcast Kindred, disaffected mages and their thriving families of revenants, Tal’Mahe’Ra vampires remained somewhat ineffectual.
Unwilling to allow their Sect to wither and die, the seraphim gathered in conclave and evaluated the feasibil-ity of their master plan in the cold light of reality. Their conclusion was unwelcome, but simple: abolish the policies that restricted recruitment to a handful of select Clans and Bloodlines, and actively recruit all but the Tzimisce and the Followers of Set.
Acknowledgement of hubris only comes after great loss. With the turn of the 17th century, a titanic years-long hurricane assaulted the Underworld, permanently transforming dead skies into storm clouds. Even after the storm subsided, the former oceans of the Underworld mutated into an ever-squalling Tempest. A warlord of the dead empires set his sights upon Enoch, which remained a lone, strategic bastion in the storms.
Legions of ghostly marines swarmed into Enoch through cannon-made holes in the famed walls. The city blew apart into chaos, as wraithly magics proved equal to the task of navigating the city’s hostile geometries. Worse still, said geometries were used to project pyre-heated shot against Ubar itself. Buildings constructed in a dark and distant epoch shattered to dust under green-hued cannonballs. Only a bare handful of the Eastern Hand escaped.
Reunification (1725 CE)
The reconquering of Enoch lasted three years (1723- 26), and was immensely costly for the sect. Yet it proved vital and necessary for the Black Hand, in the end. East and West met for the first time as peers and allies, their schism forgotten under duress of the holy city’s siege. In later nights, many introspective neonates would consid-er the dead’s assault to be a good thing — without that impetus, the Hand would have remained impotent until Gehenna, their work going uncompleted.
For years, the Western Hand had established temporal holdings deep within the lands of what would become Germany, and eventually der Land von Kohle und Stahl – the lands of Coal and Steel. Even in modern nights, Claudia Schoenect – Prince of Düsseldorf – manages telecommu-nications for the Sect, while Karl Weissmont – Prince of Essen – handles much of the Tal’Mahe’Ra’s economic holdings. Both are by appearances loyal, if slightly inept, members of the Camarilla, though subtle attempts to depose them inevitable fail. In those nights, however, the Ruhr Valley was a site of open praxis for the Black Hand, the source of the modern chatterling families born and bred as footsoldiers for war. With the might of East and West reunited, the Hand elected a war leader. Their choice was a woman named Anadja, her lineage lost to time, chose her title from old Ghemalish — Del’Roh, “to serve”.
Over a course of three years, the campaign to retake Enoch was a strong and startling success, proof of the feats achieved with unity. The first was merely scouting and reconnaissance actions, while the second year required the subversion and occult displacement of certain elements of ghostly society. The actual retaking of Enoch lasted only two nights — the Del’Roh did not lift martial law for many long months, hunting down roving bands of stragglers and fighting the hordes of hostile, maddened ghosts who boiled up from the depths upon which the city sat. Only when they were defeated did she call an end to the conflict and approach the Basalt Throne of Caine, the only vampire to do so and still retain sanity and unlife.
Modern Nights
After the Fifth Maelstrom, the Tal’Mahe’Ra stagnated. As the world matured, it became increasingly isolated and time-lost, a curious oddity of an era now passed. Its prized exclusivity and stringent membership requirements became its Achilles’ heel: as the Camarilla and Sabbat grew, the Tal’Mahe’Ra’s influence dwindled until the Sect stood on the brink of irrelevance.
Agents embedded in the Camarilla and Sabbat submitted constant reports of thriving Clans, growing numbers of thin-blooded vampires and the renewing cycle of intersect hostilities. Elders and seraphim ensconced in positions of power had surprisingly less influence than expected to stem the tide. Despite their alliances with outcast Kindred, disaffected mages and their thriving families of revenants, Tal’Mahe’Ra vampires remained somewhat ineffectual.
Unwilling to allow their Sect to wither and die, the seraphim gathered in conclave and evaluated the feasibil-ity of their master plan in the cold light of reality. Their conclusion was unwelcome, but simple: abolish the policies that restricted recruitment to a handful of select Clans and Bloodlines, and actively recruit all but the Tzimisce and the Followers of Set.