Alternate New Orleans I

This is the first part of a New Orleans's by Night homage. All told, it consists of 15 chapters. Please check back often for the next chapter.

Chapter One: History

New Orleans has one of the most colorful histories of any city in the United States. It has changed national hands several times, birthed "the only truly American art form": Jazz, and has long had a reputation for greed and vice. The history below describes the roles Camarilla kindred have taken in the growth of the city.

Colonial Era

The first vampire, Alejandro Ruiz-Castillano, arrived in New Orleans of French Louisiana in 1727, fleeing enemies in Spain. Alejandro had been allied with the Sabbat, but no longer wanted anything to do with the Sect. The Sabbat sent some Assamites to New Orleans after Alejandro, but he was able to fake his own death, evading pursuit. Thereafter, Alejandro struggled to keep his existence a secret.

Alejandro spent the next 50 years or so fighting against the natives, and keeping the colony alive. At the same time, he didn't want the city to become too organized and efficient. The city's reputation for loose morals and criminal activities enabled Alejandro to feed in the small town without too much difficulty. Alejandro weathered the transfer to Spain in 1766 well. Initially, he feared it was a move by his European enemies, but apparently, he had been forgotten.

No other vampires came to New Orleans until 1781, when Maria and Annabelle, two powerful Toreadors, passed through the city on their way to the United States. With Maria's powerful Auspex, they found Alejandro easily, much to his chagrin. Still, he had been without vampiric society for more than half a century and was starved for company. He "allowed" them to stay as his guest.
Maria and Annabelle organized the first opera in the city, and Alejandro was content. It was not to last, however. In 1784, Maria became attracted to a talented free Mulatto pianist, Accou. Alejandro was fearful and jealous. He thought that if Maria embraced Accou, the careful secrecy he had worked to maintain would collapse. To prevent this, he had several street toughs rough up Accou, breaking his hands. This served only to press Maria on, and she asked Annabelle to embrace Accou at once.

Alejandro was furious and insisted all of them leave immediately. Rather than risk a confrontation in the tiny frontier town, the Toreadors left. Soon after, Accou parted ways with his white mentors, unable to maintain the same society as them. He made his way to the free black communities of Cuba but nursed his hatred of Alejandro, and a desire to return to his home.

In New Orleans, there was another reaction to the vampire's activities. Father Antonio de Sedella, hearing rumors of dark secrets in the city, arrived from Spain in 1788. He spoke to the Spanish governor Miro about establishing the Inquisition. Miro's response was to have him deported. Sedella was not discouraged, and returned in 1790, this time as a "simple priest". He made himself popular with the common people, while secretly trying to root out the Alejandro. Neither of them was able to do much against the other; Alejandro was too powerful, and Sedella was too much in the public eye. Sedella established a secret society, the Order of Saint George, as an outpost of the Inquisition that would continue his fight after his death.

American Rule up to the Civil War

When Louisiana was sold to the United Stated in 1803, Alejandro realized he could no longer evade interaction with other vampires. He sent communications to the Camarilla forces in the process of overrunning the nation and helped eliminate fleeing Sabbat. He gave tentative invitations to anyone willing to acknowledge him as Prince. With the influx of Americans, the mortal population of the city grew at a phenomenal rate, and the first vampires arrive in the 1820s.

The areas outside of the city were not safe. There were many nomadic Sabbat packs, who were mysteriously able to avoid the Lupines of the wilderness. The most powerful of these packs was led by John A. Murrell. Murrell was engaged in an elaborate plot to incite a black uprising in the 1830s, to destroy Camarilla vampires and extend the Sabbat territory from Mexico to Louisiana. The uprising failed, and many of his followers were killed, but Murrell escaped.


Because of the Sabbat, the Camarilla vampires stuck close to the city. To help control the new vampires, Alejandro embraced Francesca Thierry, his first progeny. Generally, he was high handed in his dealings with other vampires but controlled too many mortal institutions for any serious opposition to develop. In other words, he was a typical prince.

In 1855, Accou secretly returned to New Orleans. He began to develop support amongst the other vampires in the city. With the help of the Brujah Annie, Accou built up his contacts in amongst the local black community. Accou's greatest efforts were directed at Alejandro's get, Francesca. Accou felt that if he could get this Ventrue to turn against her sire, he would have won the battle before the war had begun.

Alejandro's actions during the American Civil War set the stage. Rather than take sides in the war between the north and south, Alejandro allowed New Orleans to be captured early in the war. In this way, he could sit things out, neutral, and then deal with whoever won the war. This angered vampires on both sides of the conflict, and any support Alejandro had, fell away.

The Revolution and Reconstruction

Alejandro remained prince through the war, but in 1870 his opponents made their move. The government of Louisiana was in disarray due to reconstruction, and the newly freed blacks of the state gained sudden influence. This enabled Annie and Accou to undermine Alejandro's mortal support. Francesca, who could see which way the wind was blowing, agreed to stay out of the fight. With his power structure in shambles, Alejandro was easier to find, and his haven was burnt to the ground in 1871.

All that remained was for Accou to deal with his erstwhile allies. Annie's biggest source of power in the black community was the infamous Voudou Queen, Marie Laveau, who had been Annie's ghoul since 1837. Accou secretly encouraged a Tremere from Atlanta, who found Marie's power too much to pass up. This Tremere, Bristol, embraced Marie in 1889, and the Brujah made ready for war.
Just when things seemed about to go too far, Accou stepped in to mediate. Accou got Marie and Bristol to agree to leave the Voudou and black communities alone, and Annie called off her war. It was already too late for the Brujah, though. The Voudou community split into dozens of small groups without Marie's leadership. Reconstruction was already ending, and along with with it all black influence in politics. Accou was ready to pick up new pawns, but Annie was not. The Brujah's influence waned, while Accou was officially acknowledged Prince. Still, his treatment of Annie during this period was so charming that it wasn't until decades later that she suspected he had a hand in her fall.

Under Accou and the Toreador, New Orleans became a city of Art and Beauty of all kinds. Opera and Jazz flourished side by side, and New Orleans became famous for its parties and wild affairs, especially Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, Accou had only wanted to oust Alejandro and had little flair for ruling himself. Slowly control of the city slipped from his undead hands.

The Jazz Age

The early part of the 20th century saw the birth of what many call "the only true American art form": Jazz. This new form of music emerged first in New Orleans, and many later kindred wondered why in a city of Toreadors, none of the great Jazz musicians were embraced. The simple fact of the matter is that they missed their chance. The Toreador Katherine had a major influence over the artistic opinions of the city. As an opera Diva, she saw little of value in the new art form.

A few of the Toreador thought otherwise but were hesitant to risk Katherine's scorn. In addition, the Brujah Annie made it clear she was unhappy with the Toreador messing with "her people". By the 1930s, the early greats of Jazz had moved north to cities like Chicago and New York. Since then, the Toreador have worked to make up for their mistake, encouraging Jazz in New Orleans wherever they can. Only Katherine remains staunch in her opposition to it.

The Slayings

During the 19th century, Sedella's Inquisitors had been watching vampiric society from afar. They were aware of the power of their enemy and did not want to attack until they were certain they could destroy all the vampires in the city. At last, they found a champion. The brilliant Nathaniel Bordruff, a minister of the Church of Christ, was perhaps the greatest vampire hunter they had ever trained. The Inquisition felt that with his leadership, they could at last wipe the vampiric scourge from New Orleans.

Nearly every clan lost one kin. Accou was enraged at Bordruff's activities but was unable to track him. The Order of St. George was unknown to the kindred of the city after the death of Alejandro. Marie Laveau saw an opportunity in the killings. She chafed at the cold Hermetic rule of her sire, Bristol, and plotted his demise. Marie left evidence leading to Bristol's haven for Bordruff to find and weakened the protective wards there. Once Bordruff slew her sire, Marie calmly went to Accou for "justice".

It was the Nosferatu elder Virginia who finally caught Bordruff. With Marie's help, she lured Bordruff out into the Bayou, away from his allies. Virginia suspected foul play on the part of both Marie and Accou, however, and made plans of her own. Rather than killing Bordruff, she embraced him.
Accou agreed that Bordruff was neutralized, and saw poetic justice in Virginia's act. Besides, he could not act directly against the hero that had saved the vampire community from a threat that he had done little to stop. Marie fumed, but did nothing, afraid of what Virginia may have discovered. Accou drove Bordruff from the city. Bordruff continued hunting elsewhere for a time, but eventually gave it up and drifted to Chicago.

Huey Long and the "New Prince"

After the vampire slayings, Accou's popularity was at low ebb. Many of the older vampires were growing hostile. Furthermore, there were political changes that bode ill for Accou's Democratic political machine. A populist governor swept the state and began to look like he might sweep the nation. Huey Long appealed to the common man, not only making promises to improve their lives, but keeping those promises as well. Accou's old politicians were limited to the city of New Orleans and were losing ground there as well.

Accou couldn't tell who, if anyone, was backing Long, but it took all of Accou's time to simply hold onto power. Accou began to question whether or not he even wanted the Princedom. He no longer had time to devote to his arts and entertainment. Clearly, there were others after the Princedom, and Accou didn't want to share Alejandro's fate. After all, new princes could rarely afford to leave an old prince alive.

Suddenly, Accou's situation altered radically. In 1934, Accou began saying he was not actually the Prince but was rather the Lieutenant of the true Prince. Yet the new prince was unwilling to present himself, and Accou was left to enact his policies. The Malkavians loved it, and the other city elders hesitated. Most of them thought it was a ridiculous ploy on the part of Accou, but they decided to watch and wait, just in case. Accou could devote his time to artistic pursuits, and the city drifted, leaderless.

The situation persisted for a decade. Long was assassinated, and his movement floundered. The Masquerade began to stretch, and Anarchs flowed into the city, interested in its "lawless" state. The Camarilla hounded Accou, but he would only say he had to obey the dictates of the true prince. By the time the elders decided to act, the city was too unstable for any of them to take direct action. None of them were sure which way the Anarchs would turn, and none could stage a coup without breaking the Masquerade.

The strangest part of the affair is that while things seemed chaotic, nothing truly disastrous would happen. A neonate would overstep her bounds by creating a large brood, and then the neonate and all her progeny would vanish. A vampire skirting close to the edge of the Masquerade would undergo mysterious attacks until he desisted or was slain. No one was certain who was carrying out these policies, but the elders were convinced it was Accou.

The truth was stranger still. Initially, the entire "true Prince" story was indeed a ploy on the part of Accou to gain time. Unknown to Accou, however, Alejandro had risen from a long torpor in 1928, and was behind many of Accou's recent problems. Alejandro saw through Accou's ploy immediately but decided to take advantage of it. In 1938, he caught Accou unaware and battered down his mental defenses. From that time forward, Alejandro was dominating Accou and was the true power behind the prince.

The Anarch War

Neither Accou or Alejandro were motivated to alleviate the city's chaos, for fear that another elder would then stage a coup. Thus, the city continued on its strange course. Many vampires embraced after the 40's didn't know better, and assumed Accou's story of being the prince's Lieutenant was true. The elders from before that time believed it was all a game, but feared it was too dangerous to call his bluff.

In many areas, vampires could do as they pleased, but there were limits. No one could create more than one progeny without attracting the attention of others. No one could kill other kindred without retaliation. A group of Ancillae vampires called the Krewe of Janus chose to make it their job to protect the Masquerade. The kindred of the city learned these tacit rules, sometimes the hard way. Accou and Alejandro enforced these laws, usually through pawns and double blinds.

The city worked, but the situation was intolerable to the Inner Circle of the Camarilla. After numerous missives to the "prince" of the city were simply ignored, the Camarilla sent the Gangrel Justicar Alexis to New Orleans in 1960 to restore order. Alexis quickly alienated all the local vampires with his high handedness. At the same time, Anarchs from the California Free States were flowing east to spread their movement, and New Orleans was one of their targets. The local vampires played the Anarchs and the Justicar against one another, and quickly there was war in the streets. Alexis was too occupied with Anarchs to pursue the prince.

The Anarchs and Alexis were dead-locked for several years. The city elders worked behind the scenes to make certain no side would gain the advantage and protected their own holdings. Finally, Alexis withdrew in disgust, for there were more important things for him to deal with elsewhere. After he left, the elder stepped in, dropped their support of and subduing the battered Anarchs, and things returned to "normal".

Recent Events

After the defeat of Alexis, the Camarilla let New Orleans be. The elders of the city play a dangerous game. The city's lack of direction makes for fractious politics. The elders work quietly with schemes within schemes. Younger vampires are only peripherally aware of these struggles and are often used as pawns. They believe New Orleans is a city of great freedom, and the "prince" will only act against the direst of crimes.

This carefree attitude gained the city a reputation as a vampire city even amongst mortals. To deal with this situation, the elders agreed to a wild scheme by the Malkavian elder, Claire. She dominated a local author to write a series of stories about Vampires, set in New Orleans. The books became successful and had the same effect for New Orleans as the book Dracula had for Vlad Tepes. New Orleans kept its vampire mystique, but mortals attributed it to the books, and didn't take it seriously.

Since the Anarch Wars, it seems that there has been a higher presence of Setites in the city than there has been in the past. Before, a Snake would appear periodically, to be ruthlessly wiped out by the elders. Lately, the Setites are appearing in greater numbers, and some of the younger vampires are engaged in active warfare with the Snakes.

The local Gangrel have always been somewhat environmentally conscious. Of late, some of them have become appalled at the level of pollution in Louisiana. Elder vampire actions against Lupines have been largely successful, and there is little Garou presence here to counter the worst corporations. Things have gotten so bad that the area north of New Orleans is called Cancer Alley. A few of the Gangrel have begun to fill in the void with direct action against polluters. The things they are encountering are rather strange.

In 1985, Raymond Wallace, a young ghoul, managed to kill Francesca, the Ventrue clan head. With the help of the Anarchs, Wallace escaped. This threw the Ventrue clan into disarray. The Anarch gang called the Lost Angels helped Raymond, escape, and the Ventrue retaliated by killing their leader. Since then, the Ventrue have bickered amongst themselves for leadership of the clan, while the Angels regrouped and nursed their grudge.

To make matters more complex, Accou has become strong enough to resist Alejandro's mental control. Accou has slowly been building up his own position, pretending to still be under Alejandro's power. Alejandro noticed Accou's actions, but not before it had gone too far for him to block. Neither Accou or Alejandro are certain they could beat the other, so both pretend nothing has changed. If truth be told, the two have been fighting so long that neither would know what to do if their foe perished. Thus, for now, they maintain their facades and continue their slow and dangerous dance of deceit.

Ever since Francesca's fall, the Ventrue have been bickering over who would be their new leader. That has recently come to an end. Rebecca, the younger of the two candidates, had a ghoul go rogue on her, and threaten the Masquerade. With her loss of face, there was no alternative but to have Slane, the other candidate, step in as clan head. Not everyone is pleased with the situation, however, and further scheming is likely.

Timeline

1718

de Bienville founds New Orleans as part of French Louisianna

1727

Alejandro comes to the city, faking his death to escape Spanish enemies.

1766

Louisiana becomes a Spanish territory. Alejandro has the first Spanish governor Ulloa driven out, but allows future governors to stay.

1781

Maria and Annabelle arrive from Vera Cruz, Mexico.

1784

Annabelle embraces Accou. All three leave at the insistence of Alejandro.

1788

Antonio de Sedella arrives following the rumors of vampires, and attempts to establish the Inquisition. Alejandro has him driven out.

1790

Sedella quietly returns, and builds his organization.

1803

Napoleon sells Louisiana to the US.

1820's

Other Camarilla vampires begin to arrive in the growing city, first Annie Christmas (1825), then Virginia (1833). Alejandro embraces Francesca in 1837 to help him rule the city.

1834

The Sabbat vampire John Murrell organizes a slave revolt to take Louisiana, but fails and is forced to flee.

1855

Accou returns, and plots to oust Alejandro.

1867

All the vampires of the city turn on Alejandro. His haven is burned, and he is believed dead.

1870's

Accou, Annie, Virginia, Francesca remain in New Orleans after Alejandro's fall. Soon after, Jesse and Bristol arrive, and Marguerite is embraced by Accou.

1881

The Tremere Bristol embraces Marie Laveau. Annie embraced Pinch in response, and a Brujah/Tremere war is only averted by Accou's mediation. From this point on, Accou is acknowledged Prince.

Turn of the century

The Malkavian elder Claire soon arrives, and over the next three decades, ten or so new vampires are embraced (bringing the bloated vampiric population of New Orleans to nearly twenty). Of these fledgelings, only half survive Nathaniel Bordruff's slaughter

1920's

Nathaniel Bordruff, an inquisitor of Sedella's secret organization kills 5 vampires, throwing the city into turmoil. His victims include the Tremere elder Bristol, as well as a number neonates embraced since the 1880's.

1926

Nathaniel is captured and embraced by the Nosferatu elder Virginia. He is forced to flee. These following vampires survive: Annie and Pinch, Jesse and Reverend Mitchell, Virginia, Claire and Harlequin, Francesca and Slane, and the Toreador Accou, Marguerite, Katherine and Bran.

1928

Alejandro rises from Torpor and begins to secretly harass Accou.

1934

Accou begins his game of claiming to be the "true" prince's Lieutenant.

1938

Alejandro dominates Accou, turning the lie into truth.

1950's

West Coast Anarchs begin to drift into the city, attracted to the Chaos.

1960

The Gangrel Justicar Alexis arrives to "restore order". The city elders do nothing to help, while the Anarchs actively fight against him.

1967

Alexis leaves in disgust. The elders clean up the battered Anarchs, and things return to "normal".

1985

A young ghoul slays Francesca, the Ventrue clan head. The Lost Angels help him escape from the city, and the Ventrue kill their leader in retaliation. The Ventrue fall to bickering, and the Anarchs lick their wounds.

1995

The Ventrue chose a new clan head: Slane.