On December 8, 1998, Grendel declared himself Prince of the Bronx. The most infamous Anarch on the eastern seaboard, if not the entire country, had sold out the very cause that he had championed for centuries. The world stood in shock -- nobody knew quite how to react.
After throwing a typically Toreador temper tantrum, Veronique (Prince of New York) realized the comedy of it all and smiled. "Of course you're welcome to carve out a domain for yourself within *my* city, Grendel. If you wish to help me keep the Bronx in line, I applaud your efforts. The Anarchs in the Bronx have given me the most trouble, and this way I know who to hold responsible for the entire borough. And with your background as an Anarch leader, your former constituents should be more than happy to follow you now that you are Prince."
Veronique's laughter could be heard throughout the city.
A number of Idealist Anarch leaders applauded the efforts. They felt that by dividing the city of New York into partitions, that would keep any one individual from having too much power. Isaac Templeton of Philadelphia and Jeremy MacNeil, leader of the Anarch Free States of California, were notable amongst these outspoken supporters.
The rest of the Anarch population reacted in drastically different manners. A number of them, notably the younger crowd, made noise that Grendel was a sell-out, a traitor to the cause. The years had finally caught up to him and he was now an elder just like all the rest. Worse, in fact. This faction was led by a Brujah named Alexis, new to town from California. After some initial antagonism, however, Alexis settled down and even began to follow Grendel's lead, attacking Veronique's havens and influences.
The night it all came down seemed like any other night. August 21, 1999. The Toreador were at an art gallery, the Anarchs were holding a rant, the Ventrue were having a board meeting. Elijah Hightower was hosting a poker game in Brooklyn later that evening. Business as usual.
Within ten minutes of each other, Elijah Hightower and Denver Hammersmith declared themself Prince. The Ventrue Hightower claimed domain over Brooklyn and Hammersmith over Long Island and Queens. Grendel, present at the event, supported them.
At the art gallery, a faction of Sabbat arrived, led by the Cardinal de la Rose. Minutes later, the Ventrue Justicar Democritus and the Tremere Justicar Abraham Payne made their appearances known. There was some debate as to why they were here, but the Sabbat Cardinal was to meet Malkavian Justicar Randolph Carter, who was not present.
A pair of elder Lasombra, Moncada and Thaddeus, had emerged from the shadows to unite for a joint cause. A great and powerful thing had been stored underneath the Lasombra haven, and the seal upon the Vault of Shadows had been ruptured. If the seal were not repaired, a being composed of the darkness behind the shadows would pour forth onto an unsuspecting world.
The ashes of Tremere elder Derek Fleming had been found, murdered, by his second, Samantha Hall. Justicar Payne was not able to immediately discern who the responsible party was, despite considerable efforts to do so.
Malkavian Justicar Randolph Carter was found at a nightclub -- the London Bridge. The Sabbat arrived at the gathering, virtually simultaneously with the rest of the city's Kindred population. A conference ensued between the three Justicars, a Giovanni arbiter and the Sabbat. The Princes were discouraged from attending.
Veronique quickly realized that she did not have the political support to maintain as Prince of the entire city. Indeed, holding onto Manhattan and Staten Island seemed very much in doubt. In what turned out to be a brilliant political move, she volunteered to step down to the city's Primogen, which she then helped to recreate, given that two of its members were suddenly Princes.
The Primogen's first change was the successful nomination of Imogen, a powerful anscillae but an anscillae nonetheless, to the position of the Prince of Manhattan and Staten Island. This position, pushed forward by Ventrue elder Wilhelm Gearhart, the Toreador Persephone (Imogen's sire) and Lasombra Angelique Montgomery, was amazingly uncontested. Then again, the true powers that be in New York City realize that the power is on the Primogen now, a body which has sway over the entire city, not just one or two boroughs.
The new Primogen consisted of Wilhelm Gearhart as Chairman, Veronique, Persephone, Monroe of Hammersmith's Tremere Chantry, and Angelique Montgomery of the Lasombra. A caveat was added that upon declaration of Derek Fleming's replacement, he or she would be added to the mix as well.
The Tremere were in too much disarray, however, to pay any attention to such little things as a deceased Chantry leader, however. Payne was in town, and elder (and new Prince) Denver Hammersmith was doting on his Justicar. The Justicar was aware of some great evil that lay dwelling in the city, and his concern was oriented around that.
The Blue Pearl of Amaranth, a legendary magical item, was found to be in the posession of a confused Gangrel named Joaquim. All attempts to take the pearl from his grasp were fruitless, however. A group of Kindred found themselves summoned to a building at a nearby university where the Toreador elder (methuselah?) Jezebel had been sleeping. She used a confused Caitiff named Tempest as her avatar. Although Tempest was young, the powers of this one were undeniable. She drove powerful Kindred into torpor with but a word.
She revealed that an ancient enemy, the same enemy that Tremere Justicar Abraham Payne feared, was awakening. Underneath the Tremere Chantry, protected by Tremere elder John Diamond -- Denver Hammersmith's sire. She needed the help of the Kindred of New York City to defeat this. Jezebel also held the final piece of the seal to the Vault of Shadows, which was returned to the Lasombra upon their promise of aid in defeating the beast.
Indeed, the Lasombra sealed the Vault of Shadows. A Follower of Set named Jules Lafit, claiming the Dark God had told him to, entered the Vault before it was resealed. His fate remains unknown.
Underneath the Connecticut Tremere Chantry, in an old chapel far away from the rest of the estate, lay John Diamond. With him were a dozen younger Tremere (Justicar Payne occupied Denver Hammersmith, keeping him away from the site. Some say this was crucial, others say it was cowardice.) Diamond's most powerful ally was a gargoyle, summoned to him through forces unknown.
Jezebel, in the guise of Tempest, led the attack against the the Tremere. She was aided by a handful of younger Toreador in addition to the elder Lasombra -- Moncada and Thaddeus, as well as the Brujah Prince Grendel.
Tempest quickly strode past the Tremere, whilst Grendel and the Lasombra fought the gargoyle to a standstill. John Diamond was summoning a creature through a circular portal of white sand, attempting to bring it to fruition. It quickly became obvious that Jezebel's goal was not just to destroy the creature, but to commit diablerie upon it. Diamond and Jezebel locked in a bitter struggle, in which Jezebel quickly gained the upper hand.
What happened next is still in debate. The gateway from which the beast was emerging slammed shut -- causing an implosion of sorts. The gate was destroyed, both sides sealed off from one another. John Diamond became comatose, and the gargoyle picked him up and flew off with him before the other Kindred could recover.
Jezebel left Tempest's body, and the young Caitiff was left bewildered, pissed off and disoriented. The remaining Kindred (several young Tremere had been killed in the battle, but none of them were of consequence) dispersed, most of them baffled by what they had just seen.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Cardinal was revealed by the Justicar Democritus to not be Sabbat at all, but an Assamite sent by the Sabbat to exterminate the beast which Jezebel had been intent on destroying. The Justicars attacked him, but were stopped by the "Cardinal's" bodyguard, who was destroyed in seconds by Randolph Carter, but the "Cardinal" had sufficient time to escape.
Randolph Carter and Democritus both campaigned long and hard against the legitimacy of "Prince" Grendel. The whole reason, he claimed, that New York was such a conflict ground was due to the Brujah. He recommended a blood hunt upon the Prince of the Bronx, but was vetoed by the combined word of Payne and Democritus. Grendel was left with his skin and domain intact, but barely. Randolph Carter is not someone Grendel wants to ever see again.
It was discovered that John Diamond had been the one to kill Derek Fleming via the posession of one of Fleming's ghouls. As it was normally Lord Denver Hammersmith's place to nominate a Regent, he nominated Samantha Hall, Fleming's second-in-command. The Justicar felt that Voltaire, a Tremere who had helped him significantly, was the best candidate for the job. Vienna finally intervened, sending Voltaire to Syracuse to become Regent there, and transferring Chelsea Gray, a more experienced Regent, into Manhattan to head up the Chantry there, as well as occupy the vacant Primogen seat. As typical with the Tremere, this made nobody happy, especially Samantha Hall.
John Diamond has not been heard of since that day, although remains of something that could have been a gargoyle were found near the University where Harcourt had been sleeping.
Denver Hammersmith, having gained control of the Chantry without John Diamond present, spent much of the year moving his Chantry from its former location in Connecticut to a new location on Long Island. Anyone returning to the former location finds a new toy company sprung up where the Chantry used to be.
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