The Nightfall Society
A Recent History of Albion under Nightfall
Turn of the Millenium
Up until the events of supposed “Gehenna/Apocalypse” shortly before the turn of the millennium, the UK was a stable Camarilla territory with a small number of fringe Anarch territories, whilst a prosperous Werewolf nation stood against the threat of the Spirals to the north.
When Justicar Xavier walked out of the Grand Conclave and took Clan Gangrel out of the Camarilla, Baron Nocturne of the Southern Wilds withdrew his domain, covering Cornwall and Devon, from the sect, though he is said to still regard Mithras as his Prince. Simultaneously, the Viziers of the Banu Haqim suffered a schism over matters of faith, and all manner of other events occured around the world as the ancients begane to awaken.
In the midst of this chaos, the Garou Nation first recognised the beginning of the Age of Apocalypse with the Sixth Sign of the Prophecy of the Phoenix, and then suffered a blow as the Stargazers, feeling abandoned by the other tribes following the destruction of their most sacred caern, seceded from the nation.
2004
Whilst the Camarilla was reeling from recent events, the Nosferatu SchreckNET was penetrated by the NSA, leading to government bodies around the world working to build up their supernatural-hunting specialist forces.
2005
As the Anarchs began to increase their aggressiveness against the Camarilla, the Storm Eater arose, bringing with it a Gnostic Plague that began to destroy Gaian Caerns across the world, eventually culminating in the loss of the High King as he forced the Storm Eater back into an Umbral Realm, taking it on single-handed to protect his people.
2006
What became known as the Sterilisation of London began, as SO13 started actively hunting kindred within the city, using information gleaned from SchreckNET.
Taking advantage of this, an old Tzimisce named Tomas Ruthven led an assault against the Domain of Chester, taking the cities of Manchester and Liverpool over the course of a year. Whilst Prince Daffyd ap Bindusarra of Wales managed to eventually take back Chester itself and has held it since, the Sabbat had successfully built their first foothold on our shores, forging the Diocese of the North.
2008
The Prime Chantry of the Tremere was destroyed by a joint international taskforce, leading to the clan schism as four main houses formed:
- House Tremere, under ex-Justicar Karl Schrecht, dedicated to the old ways, firm members of the Camarilla
- House Carna, led by the ex-Prince and ex-Regent Carna, focused on paganism and chaos-magic, with a dislike of the Pyramid but remaining within the Camarilla
- House Goratrix, led by the ancient Tremere Goratrix, consisting of the few surviving antitribue and more recent renegades, who can be found in any of the sects
- House Ipsissimus, of which little is known, but who have a tendency to work within the Anarch Movement
Not long after this, the clan founder Augustus Giovanni was kidnapped by parties unknown. The clan, now headless, found themselves beset by infighting and struggling more against the established sects.
Whilst the Kindred reeled from these events, the survivors of the Garou Nation found themselves approached by the Gurahl, who brought with the hope in the form of the Shard Caerns. What was to become known as The Reconstruction began, the first new caern of Albion being raised in the Peak District.
2011
With support from Clan Tremere, the Gangrel rejoined the Camarilla, bringing back one of the strongest of their martial arms, though a large number of the clan decided to remain Anarch or Independent, wary of the previous disagreements returning.
As the Giovanni struggled to retain territories, they forged a new agreement with the Followers of Set, breaking The Promise of old to form the Independent Alliance. Prince Francois of Canterbury declared independence and revealed himself as a Lasombra Antitribute, whilst an old Follower of Set by the name of Eleanor arrived on the south coast, forcing her way into Brighton & Hove and claiming the domain, either pushing out or converting the Anarchs that had previously resided there.
In an unprecedented event, Lucinde of Clan Ventrue was elected as Justicar for Unlife for her clan.
2012
At the Conclave of Prague, Justicar Theo Bell assassinated Inner Circle member Hardestadt, leading to the departure of the Brujah from the Camarilla. Some remain, mainly elders, but most have joined the Anarch Movement, following their champion's example.
2013
Elder Tegyrius of the schismatic Banu Haqim and Elder Victoria Ash of the Toreador were married at the Vermillion Wedding, uniting the Ashirra, a confederacy of African and Middle-Eastern Kindred, with the Camarilla.
More locally, Queen Ann of London died at the hands of SO13, an event which saw the end of the Sanitisation of London as well as causing the awakening of Mithras.
Whilst the nation reeled from the loss of its most prominent prince, the Sabbat began a crusade south from the existing Sabbat territory to assault Birmingham. Whilst it took the Sabbat two years to finally claim the city and destroy the previously existing domain, a previously little-known Sabbat pack led by a Henry Howard Holmes of clan Malkavian gained prominance after taking down both the prince and the group of Myrmidons sent to protect her, and Holmes claimed the Archbishopric of Birmingham.
2015
Having built up several Caerns in the south of Albion, Silver Tara supported a strong push north, founding three new shard caerns as a barrier across the nation in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire Moors, and the Lake District.
2018
As the Anarchs were formally declared an enemy sect, the bloodlines of Cappadocius united with the Giovanni and the Nagaraja to form Clan Hecate, the Clan of Death, following the believed death of Augustus Giovanni.
Meanwhile, as the Camarilla once more held the election of their Justicars, Kindred society was rocked by two decisions - to remove Karsh as Imperator and replace him with Mithras, and to only appoint five Justicars at this time.
2019
The Lasombra of the Camarilla sought out acceptance with the Camarilla and were granted it, but at a price - for every member of the clan brought into the sect, either by embrace or recruitment from beyond the sect, a member of the clan from another sect must be destroyed through ritual sacrifice. Many Sabbat and Independent Lasombra met their end in rapid succession as the numbers within the Camarilla swelled, including Prince Francois of Canterbury, who was rapidly replaced by Prince Ervin of Clan Hecate.
In response to the attacks upon their own clanmates, the Sabbat decided to push further from Birmingham, beginning a crusade against the domains of Nottingham and Oxford.
2021
Prince Albert Clarke of Berkshire put down an anarch uprising within his city, and has called for kindred to resettle the area after the loss of many in the ensuing conflict.
Coventry fell to the Sabbat crusade, forcing the contraction of Nottingham's borders. Archbishop Holmes of Birmingham has called for Sabbat packs to settle there and claim it for the sect. Meanwhile, after the assassination of Prince Marcus, the third Oxford prince since the crusade began two years before, the ex-Josian Archon and known ally of the Imperator, Raaniya al-Saeed of the Banu Haqim, claimed praxis of the city, bringing with her a martial force that has blunted the Sabbat's blade in recent months.
Alpha Fionn of Silver Tara called for young Garou, both packs and individuals, to join an expedition by an experienced pack to reclaim the Nation's old territories on the South Coast and build a new Shard Caern within the New Forest.
The Current State of Play
Britain, whilst still mainly of the Camarilla, now has far more to contend with. The Sabbat continue to drive their crusades through the nation, claiming ever more territory and destroying ancient elders, whilst the Independent Alliance play a more subtle game of manipulation and control from their domains in the south. The independence of the Southern Wilds is a constant annoyance, and the Anarch domains have gained much strength in recent years as their towns and cities have risen in significance in the mortal realm.