[Webmaster's note: Greetings, you are viewing an archive of the EC Region Newsletter. For more up to date information, please go to: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1469 Thank you Chris Herr ] _________________________________________________________ The Times of Darkness 4-97/5-97 _________________________________________________________ From the Editor _________________________________________________________ Hi there, Since I slacked on the newsletter last month, I figured I'd do a double issue this month. We are also trying a new format this issue. We've decided to split the newsletter into three sections. The first is the Coordinator's Corner, where all the coordinators in the region can let the rest of the region know what is going on in their Chapters/domains. The second is the Storyteller's Corner, where storytellers can let the general membership know about recent rules changes and clarifications that have gone across the ST-Circle. Angel and the ARSTs will also continue to spread general wisdom.< The third section will be used for all the other cool things in the newsletter: collumns, poetry, ic stuff, humor. Here we go, _________________________________________________________ Coordinator's Corner _________________________________________________________ Ansate Cross _________________________________________________________ It's spring, that lovely time of year when flowers and term papers blossom. Even though some of us are working frantically to finish up another school year, the members of Ansate Cross haven't completely withdrawn from society. We meet regularly--attendance has been high lately--and we have participated in several service projects, including the domain's roadside clean-up. Other recent projects include the "Take Back the Night" march, held at Virginia Tech on March 27. The march is an annual event that demonstrates to end violence against women. In the coming month, we plan on working the Bake Sale at Squires Student Center on April 24. Members are also encouraged to give blood, due to a severe shortage. This month Ansate Cross will publish a newsletter of its own. The newsletter should serve the chapter, so let me know what you would like to see in it. If you have ideas for articles or possible service projects, submit them at the chapter meeting or mail them to asbury@usit.net. Also, a really good title suggestion would definitely be worth some prestige. Thanks for your help! April Asbury CC Ansate Cross #9607-025 asbury@usit.net _________________________________________________________ Storyteller's Corner _________________________________________________________ RSTeasings.... _________________________________________________________ By now, many of you will have heard of our Clan Reps and who they are. These people have been chosen to represent your clan to the Regional Storytelling Team and will be helping us to make the game more interesting for everyone! One of their goals includes documenting the locations of clan havens (places which are common knowledge among members of a specific clan for being a place to go when you need to hide or just chill...), including chantries and etc. They will also be tracking deaths and Embraces in the clan, so if your character dies or chooses a Childe, please let them know. Ken Aunchman, ARST-Kindred, will be overseeing the Clan Rep system and you should contact him if you have any questions about the clan reps or if you would like to apply for one of the as-yet unassigned positions (ken@blackeagle.com). I would ask you all to please cooperate with the clan reps by letting them now what's going on with your clan in your area. Some of this info we will be putting up on the regional ST web page (under construction), so that your ST can look up where the chantry is in the area you intend to visit, for example. Whenever you report something to your clan rep, please include the name and email address of your ST so that we can contact him/her if necessary. We are very lucky in this region to have so many people that travel to different games. This makes our region special, because it expands our game beyond the local boundaries and makes the stories we can create so much more rich. The net-play that we have here helps as well and I think you should all pat yourselves on the back for creating one of the coolest regional games in the nation! Clan Reps List: brujah - Mike K---mk7n@andrew.cmu.edu gangrel - Joshua Leake---leakejm@jmu.edu malkavian - not yet chosen nosferatu - Ken Aunchman---ken@blackeagle.com toreador - Christy Mazza---cmazza@juno.com tremere - Adam Phelps---amp+@andrew.cmu.edu ventrue - no applicants assamite - no applicants giovanni - Jason Tant---mgiovanni@juno.com ravnos - no applicants _________________________________________________________ From the ARST Kindred _________________________________________________________ I am still trying to complete my list of storyteller in the Region. I have missing information from the following domain/chapters: Greater New Jersey Dark Capitol Dark Harbor Pittsgurgh I need to get information all levels of storytellers. Please send me : name eddress if applicable phone# position chapter/domain Please preport this info to ken@blackeagle.com . If your storyteller does not have email, could the coordinator from that area send me that information? Ken Aunchman _________________________________________________________ General Stuff _________________________________________________________ Dark Capital Love Lies _________________________________________________________ by Petra Silcox Well, well now. Who is doing what with whom? Lets start with the disappearance of the Prince's childe Stacy and the foxy Toreador Primogen Roxi. Then again we haven't seen that fly boy Gangrel Bobby around either. HMM!?! Could it be a menage a trois? Talking about the Prince and his family what's up with the uptight Prince Solomon. He's got everyone calling him papa. IS there a mama around and what does she have to say about the OH so devoted Ghoul Carolyn? Oh but the real royalty is the colorful Queen Ruby and does she have the TOY of all toys to play with. Tall, handsome and in a suite. He follows her majesty around like a loyal pup - wonder what she feeds him. You all heard of the obnoxious Ventrue Prince of Harrisonburg who disappeared. They say he was taken by these unruley Brujah type. Well, have you seen some of those Brujah. I am referring to the exquisite Mistress Cleo and the all so captivating Lady Blade. Who would blame the obnoxious Ventrue Prince if he never came back. Now what is it with these Primogen and those under them. Talk about a total abuse of thier authority. Cute little Asian Gangrel Kimi went off with the new macho biker Gangrel Ice. Guess she just wanted to go off and explain the rules of this Domain to him. NOPE!!! They went to get flea collars? Okay I believe that one. They were gone long enough to get a complete flea dip and get groomed in the process. Then they go off together to play in the sewers. I thought them Gamgrel type like it in the woods. Another one I am not sure about is the not so honest Ventrue Sheriff/Primogen Saito. BUT who is controlling whom in this relationship. The lovely lady Alexandria once was a Ravnos and now is a Ventrue. I guess you just have to sleep with the right people. Then again, the not so honest Ventrue Sheriff/Primogen Saito took the little innocent cute Asian Gangrel Kimi to Paris and she isn't Ventrue yet. Didn't the lovely lady Alexandria go to Paris as well? OOH! Another menage a trois??? The grieving Ravnos Sobrina wasn't very lonely recently. She has found a way to get over the lose of her Sire and sister who met with a tragic death at the hand of the obnoxious Ventrue Prince of Harrisonburg. Some handsome visitor that she seemed very familiar with kept her all to himself the entire night. Now I don't even want to know what these Nosferatu women have over their men. Here it seems that the crazy Malkavian Primogen Jack dude is ready to follow the all to mysterious Nosferatu Primogen Tina in the sewers anytime. Then again Malkavians are crazy. But... What is up with the gorgeous Nosferatu Harpy of the Domain of NRV (yes I said gorgeous Nosferatu - they do possess MASK) and Toshi the fragile suschi chef Toreador Harpy of Harrisonburg. Are they just exchanging stories or WHAT??? For now that is all I have for your enjoyment. If you have any juicy gossip you would like me to check into send all inquiries to Love Lies via later@worldnet.att.net. Until we meet again... The Enchanting Lady Lace _________________________________________________________ Critic's Corner by Dr. Akermann Barre _________________________________________________________ Welcome, My friends. Another month has passed and once again I feel compelled to point out and report on the social nuances or irregularities I have witnessed in the region. Not long ago, I stood in the new goth club in Harrisburg, and was surprised at the turnout. As I listened to the music, I still felt expectation in the air, as if everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn't have to wait long. The arrival of the Tremere known as the MIB's was just the beginning of the Floor show. Of course, once the jurisdictional questions were answered and the concrete was being stirred to the correct consistency, people got down to the business at hand. The question I have is: If two kindred with puissance grab the same tremere and pull, does the one holding the biggest piece get to make a wish. I must say, the level of cooperation between the princes was magnificent, truly inspirational. These are truly leaders for the next millennium. I am sure the prince of Harrisonburg was there in spirit when our Prince and the gentleman from D.C. saw to the dispensation of justice. I spoke with Doctor Love not long after and asked him if he had any comment. He only stated: "It was an Unfortunate Situation". Ah, those tremere, never ones to waste words. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him if he was missing a large, winged piece of garden statuary. Hospitality. Once again, I bring up a another subject that evokes such varied responses. I was involved in a situation (unwittingly, I must say) in which a gentleman was kept waiting for an undo length of time. The hostess granted him leave to enter and wait inside her office until she could take the time to respond properly to him. I am sure she had dinner plans for him and afterwards he would not be such a nuisance. This was not to be. As I was escorting him to a quiet back room, He was accosted and dragged away. Shameful, I think you owe your hostess a meal, at the very least. I would think that those that spend their unlives under the hospitality of the Camarilla would show some same consideration for the Camarilla's other guests. To breech that hospitality is to show disrespect for the Domain of others. By the way, I thought Dr. Zero was the only one who plants things around here. Congratulations are in order. Lady Rhiannon has been given the position of Leader of the Harpy's. I know she will do justice to the position and see to it that those that deserve recognition will get it. I must be off now, important things to do, people to see. Don't worry, just go about your business. Don't mind me. Dr. Akermann Barre, at your service. _________________________________________________________ Cycles _________________________________________________________ In the twilight time between winter and spring. When a warm breeze sturs the grey, bare limbs of the slumbering tree. I find my days full of frustration. My nights spent in fear. Sunrise I'm in a rage. And my twilight's are full of tears. I wonder if the sun will ever shine. They say it can't rain all the time. But they lie, and something inside me dies. I know the wealth of by-gone-days. The knowledge and lessons within. The memories of the hardened years that are held in the minds of men. And I ask, why should I try? Am I living just to die. Is there no place for me in this world? As life's carnival whirls madly and the nocturnes sings the song of a dieing dream, my world losses shape. Apathy slips aside, pain starts to consume me, and I wonder if, perhaps, this season of mists will soothe me. Brian Lassiter, 9509-127 _________________________________________________________ Story from Roger A. _________________________________________________________ This city always looks peaceful from 31 stories above. Tiny people with tiny problems, little cars that trickle along the highway like ants in a stream... it's oddly comforting to be so distanced from so much confusion. Numbing, true, but still comforting. "Whatever possessed the city council to switch to those frigging orange lights?" Johnathan wondered aloud. "They make the city look repulsive." "They save energy, J.K.," Danielle answered, not even looking up from the paperpack in her hands. "I thought an industrialist like you would appreciate that." He smiled faintly as he caught her reflection in the glass. She was his newest retainer, brash at times and almost reckless. But she knew security, so Johnathan was more than willing to tolerate her lack of restraint, and her passion was often revitalizing to the 'old man'. She lived dangerously enough for the both of them; he appreciated this quality in his ghouls. "I appreciate the statistics, Ms. Tamaund, but I would appreciate the view even more." "How tragic," she mumbled sarcastically. He chuckled a little. She'd picked up the phrase from him, and delivered it with as much audacity as he'd ever strived to at her age. There was a hushed burst of static from her earpiece as the exterior guard performed his routine sound-off, and she stuck her thumb in the book to hold her place as she brutally dog-eared the page. "On my way." "Leaving so soon?" Johnathan said, turning from the picture window to face the dim room. "Yeah, shift change, I gotta work ground floor through tenth," she stated a little grudgingly. She stuck the book in her back pocket and reshouldered the strap of her MP-5. "Guess I'll catch you later, Mr. Specter." J.K. hesitated, wondering if he was willing to say what he'd planned to tell her. "Ms. Tamaund, before you go, you should know-" She looked up with curiosity, "-that I've decided to give you and the rest of the patrol. . . an extended leave." She blinked. "What?" He lowered his head briefly then spoke with more confidence. "I have some personal buisness to attend to, and I'd like you all to go back to your lives for a while." She looked a little hurt. This was the hardest part about the Separation of retainers, after a while their blood wants you to stay. "But this job is very important to me--" Specter cocked his head and looked curious. He never took his eyes from hers, a trick he often used to mask his feelings around mortals. But never his own kind. "I'm sorry you feel that way." He stepped forward a little, his hands folded behind his back. "It won't be permanent, of course, unless you would like it to be. But that's what I'm asking. You will all have two weeks to prepare, and then will be given twelve weeks of vacation. If money or living arrangements are a problem, let me know." He knew they wouldn't be. Despite his recent loss of finances, he still gave his retainers more than adequate wages and benefits. "Is that understood?" She looked stoic, something he'd not expected, as she suppressed her childish outrage for some time. Then she breathed deeply and turned to the door where she turned and asked abruptly. "Will that be all, Mr. Specter?" He nodded, and she closed the office door. He sighed and tugged to loosen his tie. God, he hoped they'd come back. But once his blood had ceased to leave his mark on their systems, it was impossible to tell. At least they were all too young to wither as the loss of vampiric blood took its toll, but they would weaken for some time until they were to be able to return to their old ways. Still, Cyrus was right. His words came back for a moment, 'You bond people to your service and then speak of freedom. . .' The words had haunted Specter, for his children he loved. The Kindred, of course, were another matter, but his children he loved. Perhaps these birds would return some day of their own accord. Specter turned back to the window and looked down on the creatures below, the trickling headlights and flickering neon paying their respects to the sky and all else above. To own the city is one thing, he thought, but to be part of it is another. He knew his friends, those who deserved freedom and who deserved to be chained by their blood. No Kindred is innoccent, and no one is free, and so it shall remain. _________________________________________________________
THE LIGHTS (part one) _________________________________________________________ After his First Change, Runs-Through-Lights (though of course he had no name at all at the time, being born lupus) was taught all that he could be about his tribe, the Silent Striders. His was also told about Su-Ka-Teth, the Strider hero he so closely resembled. He threw himself into his tribal culture with unusual vigor, for he had never felt like he "belonged" anywhere, and it was paradoxically reassuring for him to find that he was but one of a group of Garou who similarly didn't "belong". Out of devotion to his newfound "family" and in deference to the duty he felt from his auspicious physical appearance the young cub joined the Silent Strider Network, ferrying messages and important articles around the country for his fellow Garou. He served with distinction for a year, whereupon he had performed deeds deemed worthy by the Strider Elders to warrent his challenging to become a full member of the tribe. When he went to the one who was to set the terms of the Challenge, his Rite of Passage, he was told that he must take a small pebble to the moon and return with a moon rock of equal size. Nothing was to be allowed to stop him, and he had to travel alone. He was given two days. Taking the stone in his mouth he stepped sideways and set off into the Umbra, looking for a path that would lead him to the moon. He wandered for a day before he finally found a path that seemed right. This he followed up, up, up and away, far into the Umbral sky. When at last he neared the moon the path split, and in the fork there stood a Lune, one of Phoebe's servants, guarding of the final stretch of pathway. "Two roads I offer," intoned the Lune, "Two paths to your goal. One is long but smooth and safe, the other is short but fraught with danger. Choose your path and turn not back, for to retreat from either is to die." The young Garou thought about how much time was left. He had less than a day remaining until he had to be back with the moonstone. The longer path was clearly not dangerous, and to choose it could lead to nothing worse than failure. The shorter route offered him the extra time he so desperately needed, yet it also promised danger, perhaps even death. "What should I do?" he thought. "What is this test, anyway?" So he sat down on the path and pondered. "The Rite of Passage is a measure of who I am, of what I stand for, of what I shall later do for Gaia and the nation. The Apocalypse comes, and sooner than most would say. The time for caution has long since past! Shall I hesitate later when Gaia calls upon me to risk my life for Her? Shall I seek the easy way? Or shall I follow in the pawprints of my proud ancesters and put duty above safety, knowing that I might lose my life before it has barely begun?" He got up from the ground and faced the Lune. "I am afraid," he said, "but time is short and I cannot let myself fail. If I am to take the first step of my life in the Nation this day then I choose to walk with courage. I choose the shorter path." The Lune gave a faint smile and pointed to the rightmost path. "Go then, young Garou. Walk the path of danger. You have made me smile." As Runs-Through-Lights-to-be went off down the path the Lune pointed out he tried to tell himself that the Lune's words, the Lune's smile, had been a blessing upon him and a wish for good luck. He tried to tell himself that Lunes aren't as wild and unpredictable as he had been told, that the grin COULDN'T have been the gleeful leer of a killer. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't going to die. And he walked on ever upward. . . Continued next month. Nate Hansard Cam # 9604-121 _________________________________________________________ The Rain _________________________________________________________ left Wanting contact, On all those social occasions. Never missing a cue, Never having to breathe. Caressing all those people, Such a Mass of emotion. Moving with the crowd, do I dare, do I care? Shake your head, Shaking their hands. Time is of the essence, fashion always has its' dues. Standing before me, this tension I must ease. Looking for the spark, to light up the dark. A drink, A smoke. Nothing soothes the storm, the feelings ruch. I have no where to go, my hand reaches out. Nothing else seems to please. Dedicated to Professor Elliot -Saint de Nigra Rosa -Clan Toreador -Keeper of Elysium -Domain of the New River Valley OOC: Travis Terry. _________________________________________________________ Alive _________________________________________________________ I am vulgar, at least that's what your eyes say? How can you judge me, are you walking my way? I am alive and I need to be loved, the only way you know how. You came here on your own, Hoping to find me? You want me to love you to death, crying as you leave on your own? I am alive and I need to be loved, the only way you know how. Run, go home, for wanting to die. I am alive and I need to be loved, the only way you know how. It's to late for me, I realize all of my hope is gone. In death my solitude is shared, alone with love. -Saint de Nigra Rosa -Clan Toreador -Keeper of Elysium -Domain of the New River Valley OOC: Travis Terry _________________________________________________ THE END __________________________________________________ Please send all comments, suggestions, and submissions to me at the eddress below before the 10th of next month. __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Mike Chafee "And on top of everything deadguy@usit.net else, it just blew up!" EC-Region ARC -Chad Bernhard Publications 9512.034 ______________________________________________