The Dark Ages


The Keep, a huge dark and imposing fortress perched atop a treacherous mountain. As much a symbol of the power of its lord, as it is a seemingly unbreachable defence. Records do not tell of who first built the formidable construction, scrolls and parchment tell of only bloodshed and suffering.

Much of the Keep's history is still unknown even to those connected closely to it. At around 860ad the Keep was occupied by the Tremere Clan and used as a central chantry, controlling and governing the many thousands of other chantries spread throughout the realm.

At its height of power, the Keep and its lords controlled large portions of land and named its realm Totenvarek. In modern times, the realm of Totenvarek has been assimilated by 3 countries.

With the Keep in their possession, the Tremere plundered the surrounding lands, cities, towns and villages. The Mortals who lived within Totenvarek, lived in terror of the Tremere, thousands dissapeared, and the Tremere grew stronger, and their army of experiments, larger.

Finally, at about 920ad, The Tremere released their experiments upon the realm. With a view to destroying all other Kindred clans that made a haven in the realm, and enslaving the Mortal population. They nearly succeded!
The realm, soaked in Mortal blood, and the bones of Kindred scattered to the winds, the Tremere stood one step away from total domination. However, the carnage awoke something! Something that slept silently and now stirred within the depths of the earth.
Soon after, A mortal man Known as "Aldur Necridius" began to speak out against the lords of Totenvarek, he had gathered followers and supporters to his cause, and mass uprisings began. At around 990ad Aldur and his supporters gained a major victory by slaughtering the occupants of several large chantries. Aldur left only one Tremere alive to pass his message on to the Primogens. This message was "You will all die, each and every one of you.". 

Even though Aldur had gained several victories by this time, many of his people had been slain, leaving his forces reduced drastically, but this did not stop or slow him down. He began to take on the Tremere and thier creatures single handedly and his followers looked on in amazement in Aldur's aparent god-like strengths.
Many of the people of Totenvarek suspected Aldur was the same kind of creature as the Tremere, he only fought battles at night, or when the sky was heavily clouded, he never seemed to eat or drink, and his prowess and strength in battle was something never witnessed before - having the ability to shrug off or ignore wounds that could kill a mortal man.

However, his deeds to rid Totenvarek of the Tremere plague did not bring him hatred and fear, if anything, more people flocked to his cause, knowing the great Aldur would protect them.

By 1100ad, Aldur had destroyed hundreds of chantries, laboratories and Tremere havens, Mortals spoke of an "Avenging Angel" and Tremere spoke of a "Demon". By now, Aldur had developed a taste for Kindred blood. Now only the Crimson Keep remained as a Tremere Haven in the Realm, total victory was in sight.
Some time around 1120ad, the siege of the Keep began. After three weeks most of the Tremere were destroyed, the surviving Tremere were kept within their own dungeons for Aldur to feed from. From the Keep, Aldur ruled Totenvarek. Mortals worshipped him as a king, saviour and warrior, though none really knew for certain of his true nature.
By 1200ad, All the Tremere imprisoned within the Keep, had Died. Tortured to death for Aldur's pleasure, or drained of blood by Aldurs uncontrollable thirst.

Aldur, seemingly maddened by his hunger for Kindred blood, began to wage war on other Kindred clans that had settled in the realm. The next to be attacked were the Cappadocian clans. When the Cappadocians had been driven from Totenvarek, Aldur set his sights on the Tzimisce clans. Eventually he was forced to seek out clans from outside of Totenvarek, and began to organise crusades with the sole purpose of bringing as many Kindred captives back to the Keep as possible, his own realm was left unprotected. A small group of Tremere saw their chance for vengeance and hid within a laboratory inside the Crimson Keep.

By 1240ad, Aldur had returned to the Keep. He had gained much respect and fear from Princes of other realms, by offering to protect their domains in return for Kindred prisoners, or he would take them by force. He saw this as an easier way than actually hunting down the prisoners he required - only Kindred blood seemed to nourish and satisfy his thirst.

Almost too powerful to control himself, the Princes feared Aldur greatly and secretly plotted against him. With a steady supply of incoming Kindred prisoners, Aldur remained within the walls of the Keep. His reputation became widely known to other Clans, so they steered clear of any realms under Aldur's influence and protection. However, the small group of Tremere that hid within the Keep, cast magicks and enchantments upon Aldur. Aldur's Strength began to fade as time wore on, his will to feed became weakened.

Untill, Aldur fell into torpor. The Tremere took his body, and kept him barely alive while they exacted revenge upon him. With the realm unprotected, it fell back into chaos and fear.

From that time untill about 1300ad, the Keep stood empty, a dark shell that served as a reminder to all Tremere that taking such a position of power would eventually lead to downfall. The Tremere were content to remain in hidden chantries, and gradually, over time, returned to thier old ways.

One of Aldur's daughters learned of her fathers past deeds and began to seek him out. Finding the Keep empty, took possession of it and began to research its archives for what had happened to Aldur. After discovering the location of a secret room deep under the Keep, what she found almost drove her mad with rage. Vowing to avenge her father, she took up Aldurs quest and continued his fight against the Tremere. Creating a loyal force of warriors and priests, "Demortia Necridius" protects the realm of the Crimson Keep.

Seeking out and destroying Tremere that dare to make a haven, or even enter the realm, the new lords of Totenvarek pursue a just cause protecting Mortal kind from the terrors they suffered in the past - a new glimmer of hope for Mortals and Kindred alike, in a dark time of chaos and bloodshed.










The Modern Day


At around 1700 ad, the Keep finally fell to a new threat - Tzimisce invaders. However, this event was foreseen by someone of great power connected to the lords of Totenvarek. The secret kept by the priesthood and concealed in the depths of the Keeps most hidden location, was transferred to a major city in England.
The Keep had inherited property and much wealth, London seemed to be the perfect place to go.

The Priesthood of the Keep left behind a little suprise for the invaders. In the deepest catacombs of the Keep, hundreds of barrels of Gunpowder were setup, ready to explode when the fuse was lit. In preparation of the coming event, the members of the Keep created several ghouls and placed them as rulers of Totenvarek. Giving them a means to protect the realm in the future, all exept one member left for England.
With total dedication to the Keep, a single Warrior waited alone, for the Tzimisce force to enter, then lit the fuse. Fighting his way out as the fuse burned closer to the explosives, he only just made it outside as the entire Keep was blasted into rubble.With the Keep and the invaders destroyed. The lords of Totenvarek and its secret relocated to their new base in London, and the Crimson Corporation was born.

From that time onward, the Corporation still protected what it always has, and found a new place with a need for its protective services. London was rife with rogue Kindred preying on the innocent. In no time, the Corporation established a foothold within a small section of London. This gained the notice of the Camarilla, though this organisation was avoided, much to the annoyance of the Ventrue prince.

Over time the influence of the Corporation grew, and gained respect from the Camarilla, as its previous history became known to them. From that time to the present day, the Corporation rules a part of London seperate from outside influences. But the old enemies still return from time to time, still wanting revenge, or the power of the Crimson Corporations secret for themselves.

The Corporation classes itself as an independant entity, although they follow the Masquerade, they do not wish to join the Camarilla - preferring to stay away from Camarilla politics and influences, and manage thier own teritory freely and as the Corporation sees fit. This has resulted in difficulty in dealing with both Camarilla and Sabbat, often facing hostility from both, but standing by thier policy of protecting innocents as they always have.

Since the removal of the Keep as a major influence in Totenvarek, it gradually became assimilated by the surrounding countries over time. 

Even though Totenvarek no longer exists and has become a part of Austria, Hungary and the Slovak Republic, that is not to say the Ghouls who were left as custodians are gone, along with the old Keeps influences. If anything, the Keep/Corporation grew stronger, the Custodian Ghouls are now major figures in the govornments of these countries, in effect, increasing the size of the "Corporation" influence and power.










Dark Future

500 years have passed since modern times. Much has changed greatly, whilst other things remain as they always were. If it were not for three major inventions, history would have taken a much different path...

1) Cold fusion reactors were developed successfully in 2053. They are now able to run efficiently and with stability. When fitted to a spacecraft it gains hydrogen fuel by directly scooping it up from gas clouds as it passes through space.

2) Ion drives were developed around 2110 by NASA to enable space travel through the solar system at a much faster speed. Though they produce less thrust than a solid fuel rocket, they are able to propel a spacecraft at much higher speeds... over time a spacecraft can eventually gain enough speed to reach Pluto within a matter of days. Ion drives, coupled with a cold fusion reactor enabled the first manned flights to the outer reaches of the solar system.

3) Atmospheric processors became a reality once manned space travel became a viable solution to mine the solar system’s resources. Once a suitably large planet or moon was found (with enough gravity to hold an atmosphere, and with the basic elements available for a conversion), several hundred processors would be set up around the planet/moon and atmospheric conversion would begin. Though it could take many decades to make an atmosphere breathable, by 2180 several dozen colonies were already in the stages of being built in preparation for the atmosphere independently supporting life.

In the Dark Future era, much of Earth’s solar system is being mined for resources and the atmosphere of Mars has been successfully converted to an oxygen rich environment. Much of the technology available is more or less the same as it were at the end of 2000, if not, then made slightly more reliable. With the birth of planetary colonisation much of the world’s research resources were steered towards colonisation technologies and spacecraft building, leaving much technology unchanged and forgotten since early 2200.



Earth

Since space travel became a realistic option, many companies fought for research and building contracts.

The developers of cold fusion reactors (a large Japanese company named ‘Hiroshi-Ito International’), held onto the technology with an iron grip, and was the first to gain partnership in building the first fusion reactor powered spacecraft. Seizing the spacecraft market, and foreseeing its potential for off-world cargo transport and the profits it would gather, the Giovanni clan funded a lot of spacecraft building along-side Hiroshi-Ito. They quickly became inseparable partners in spacecraft production.

A rival company (and biggest threat to Hiroshi-Ito contracts), ‘Thompson Garrett Industries’ (an American-based company), began funding and development in more reliable spacecraft. A large-scale industrial war ensued... and is still being fought today.

Sometime around 2360, a war of mass destruction broke out between the Cainite clans and Garou tribes... eventually forcing many clans off-world as the Garou began to gain the upper hand. Much of mortal society was drawn into the conflict as fighting erupted on the streets of cities. It became impossible to keep the Cainite masquerade in order. Though disbelieved by many, other mortals turned upon Cainites and Garou. The world’s armed forces were put on alert and mass persecutions began. This forced many Cainites off-world, with the Giovanni raking in the cash from smuggling Cainites to other planets. Many of those who chose to stay on earth were found and killed within a short space of time. Most Garou chose to stay behind, viewing space travel as a violation and betrayal of planet Earth.

The majority of the Camarilla clans relocated to Mars and bought mining rights to one of Mars’s moons, ‘Deimos’. Here, they have made a community for themselves and avoid outsiders. Though they still have contact with the rest of the solar system and beyond, they prefer to avoid leaving Deimos. Many view the moon as a perfect haven, and guard it fiercely from outsiders.

The Sabbat, after almost being wiped out by the Garou and mortal persecutions, eventually bought a small fleet of heavy transport ships and headed out into space. It is widely suspected by the Camarilla that the Giovanni had provided the Sabbat with the required spacecraft... in return for a percentage of goods and captured mortals they managed to plunder. This suspicion has placed a price on the heads of all Giovanni - $5,000,000 to be paid out to anyone who can bring a Giovanni to Deimos for a Camarilla trial.

The Sabbat clans regularly pirate other cargo vessels, and live aboard their ships preferring to stay on the move. It is though that there is a ‘Sabbat Mother-Ship’ somewhere – a vast metal monster that dwarfs even the biggest of known cargo ships. The Sabbat leaders live aboard this Mother-Ship and direct the Sabbat pirate attacks throughout the solar system.

By 2400, the persecutions ended and were forgotten in a matter of a few years... mortals believed all Cainites and Garou had been slain. Most thought Garou and Cainites were mutations or genetic experiments carried out by the world Governments. This view seemed logical to the mortal mind and was widely accepted.



The Corporation's standing....

To avoid the destruction of the persecutions, the Corporation (CK) sold off all of its businesses, assets and properties and bought the biggest cargo Transport ship available at the time – The Crimson Nebula.

The Corporation’s ‘Secret’ escaped whilst being transported to the ship... and began to do what it was created for. A desperate search began, following the trail of destruction and slain Tremere across Earth. By the time it was determined  that the ‘Secret’ had boarded another spacecraft, no more Tremere were left alive on Earth. Soon after, a transport ship was reported missing as it neared Jupiter’s orbit. This was the last clue in the search for the Corporation’s ‘Secret’... To this day, the Corporation are still searching for it.

It is thought that the ‘Secret’ is hunting down all Tremere that had left Earth before its escape, with a view to ending the Tremere Clan once and for all. Others think it may be looking for a planet to ‘Hibernate’ inside until a later time when it has gathered enough power to end all Cainite Clans.







~ (Originally written by Demortia, re-typed by VampireRatz )~


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