Under the Dark Moon
A tale of vampiric frivolty.

Created by: Scribbled Lore
Inspired by: Vampire: the Masquerade
Literacy Rating: Beginner friendly.
Rating: PG-13

Introduction / Rules / Posting Format / Characters

In the World of Darkness, the Elysium stands as the one bastion of peaceful relations between the various clans of the Camarilla. Within the hallowed walls of the Elysium there cannot be bloodshed nor can any piece of culture be destroyed, one must mind their manners and all must maintain the ever present Masquerade.

In the city of L'enfer, the Elysium resides in the territory of Clan Toreador in a theater of their choosing. A new Prince has recently come to the throne and Clan Toreador has, in honor of the new Prince, declared a night of celebration at the Elysium. So come! Fledglings and ancillae come mingle with your Elders and enjoy a night of revelry!

OOC and Recruitment Thread

Introduction / Rules / Posting Format / Characters

1. Obey the Menewshan TOS
2. Respect the mod(s) and other players.
3. Request permission before killing a player's character.
4. Remember to keep OOC to a minimum and use brackets.

Introduction / Rules / Posting Format / Characters

All posts should be in third person in any style of font you choose with dialogue in dark red.

Example:

With a smile she turned to the other Kindred present and said to them, "So this is how the night begins. How exciting!"

Introduction / Rules / Posting Format / Characters

Player Characters

Pink Roses:
Selene
Clan: Toreador
Ancillae; designer

Selene has skin and hair as pale as the moon goddess for which she is named.
Her hair is a pale blonde (and occasionally white if moonlight is involved) and she has green eyes.

P Kun:
Jonas
Clan: (True) Brujah
Elder

Jonas is roughly 6 foor tall and built like a brick house. His eyes are dark blue and he has shoulder length light brown hair. He walks with a confidence like most modern brujah without the aggression. His movements are very fluid and graceful as if he has had lifetimes to perfect the art of walking alone.

Black Dahlia:
Harley Weaver
Clan: Malkavian
Elder

Harley is about 6'2", give or take. Ze is pale skinned with vibrant, very alert blue eyes.
Hir hair is espresso colored (not quite black) with streaks of golden blonde and bright copper.
Ze wears hir hair in a layered bob, making distinguishing a gender impossible for anyone who doesn't know Harley personally.

Harley has a lean, athletic build, a bit smaller than average bone structure, and smooth, even features.
Ze would fit many conventional definitions of pretty or attractive, although not all.

Rizzkat
Alice Girard
Clan: Ventrue
Elder

Petite, blonde hair, blue eyes. 5'2" and 90 lbs.

Purple Orchid:
Jack Thorn
Mortal
Jack is at five feet and ten inches tall.
He has pale skin, dark red hair, and gray eyes.

Non-Player Characters

Elizabeth
Clan: Toreador
Elder; vocalist

In her day, Elizabeth was considered a ravishing beauty with a voice not unlike a muse.
With waist length hair as black as the night she hunts in and eyes as blue as the daytime sky she'll never see again,
Elizabeth does strike a cutting figure.

Tobias Acutus
Clan: Ventrue
Elder; Prince

Tobias, like many of his clan mates, is tall, dark, and handsome.
If there is a person he couldn't persuade with his winning smile, he hasn't yet met them.
He keeps up appearances when at public gatherings as Prince, but, in his down time,
he prefers to lose the tie and loosen the collar.
His reserved attire greatly belies his toned physique.

Spare x1

Spare x2

The soft murmur of whispered conversation rose and fell in the theater; there was a pause as one act left the stage and another walked out onto it. A woman in her early forties by the look of it without anything in hand took her place in center stage within the spotlight. The orchestra began to play a soft and slow melody that gradually picked up pace and the woman began to sing in a beautiful soprano.

I'm over it
You see I'm falling in the vast abyss
Clouded by memories of the past
At last I see

At first there wasn't a sound from the audience but as they began to recognize the song by ones and twos and threes eventually there came the chuckles. Sometimes outright laughter or a grimace. There were those in the audience who wore only looks of confusion and those of contempt. A few took a peek at the Prince to see what his reaction would be but he sat there a statuesque picture of serenity.

I hear it fading, I can't speak it
Or else you will dig my grave
You feel them finding, always whining
Take my hand now be alive

A hush fell over the crowd as they began to really listen to the words that the woman sang. A few of them turned their attention away from the stage to look at one another in confusion and disbelief. Surely now that she had had her jest the singer would stop! But not once did the woman on stage falter. As the audience became more and more uncomfortable the singer became remarkably more confident.

I'm over it
Why can't we be together, embrace it?
Sleeping so long, taking off the mask
At last I see

The Prince fought the urge to shift uncomfortably in his seat; he knew that the others, especially the council, were waiting to see how he'd react to this madness. Sure, Elizabeth had been upset for the past several .. years but that was no excuse for acting like a fool at this event. Especially since he had just became the Prince and didn't want to deal with her temper tantrums.

My fear is fading, I can't speak it
Or else you will dig my grave
You feel them finding, always whining
Take my hand now be alive

At last the song came to an end and as the last notes of music drifted away into the silence of the theater, the Prince rose to stand. He began to clap slowly determined to treat this performance as a great lark and a story for the fledglings to share and wonder at. The council members were the next to stand and slowly the audience rose to clap with their Prince.

“Brava.”

With a look of stoicism, Alice rose from her seat and began to clap as well. She made sure to stand lower then the prince and council members.

The warmth of the spotlight on her felt wonderful and the fact that these fools were so gladly applauding her beautiful, momentous performance brought blood red tears to her eyes. If only they knew..! Maybe in this moment, with the audience cheering for her and the Prince acknowledging her less than subtle move against his power, she regretted what was to come later this evening. Only in this fleeting moment.

Elizabeth could see as she left the stage that several of the older Kindred, including the Prince, had excused themselves from the audience. It was fine with her although those performances that came after hers would undoubtedly find themselves slighted in the way of politics. Well, that wasn't her concern. She'd gotten her point across.

Back stage, Elizabeth met the stares of the Kindred who both thought they knew what she had done and those who congratulated her on her daring. The latter were mostly fledglings and the younger ancillae; the former older ancillae and younger elders. This city was so very different from her last one! How dare these fledglings and ancillae presume to speak to her in such an informal manner?

It wouldn't matter soon. Soon they would find themselves in a whole new world of.. wonder.

Tobias' heels clicked sharply on the marble floors as he paced the front lobby idly, a steady trickle of elders streaming in his wake. As those less familiar with him appeared, he forced his agitation to the back of his mind and became, once again, a picture of tranquility. He moved himself into a prominent position in the room as he heard the next act coming to a crescendo. The whispers of "great offense" and "treason" were not lost on him; without having to hear it, he knew well what would be thought of this... display. A great farce, indeed.

Furrowing his brow quite unintentionally, Tobias compared what he wanted to do and what he actually could do. They were decidedly incompatible. With Elizabeth's statements growing more and more brash, he could only imagine how much longer she would remain civil. He fidgeted with the cell phone in his pocket. How long until he had to make that phone call?

Alice sat back down and still stoic watched the next performance. She wondered who the Ventrue in this city were and who she needed to talk to to gain recognition. She was deep in thought and missed most of the performances after that most interesting one. She never let the stoicism fall from her face.

Jack stood in the lobby of a theater in L'enfer that used to be an opera house. Grand chandeliers hung overhead and the moldings were exquisitely well kept. He'd done a few based on similar designs in his room above his door at home. What he'd made didn't compare to what was in the grand old theater.

Which reminded him of why he was there in the first place. He'd been working on a few pieces the last year, and when his former art teacher saw them posted on his Facebook, he'd convinced Jack to show them to someone that he'd known as a student at college. The red haired young man shook his head as he straightened a couple of his painting on their easels.

The whole thing had snowballed into an exposition of his "local" art at this fancy gala for the arts( music, dance, and literature were all also being performed or displayed). He wasn't the only "artist" there either, but he seemed to be the least interested in social networking. He was staying near his three sculptures and half dozen paintings to avoid the awkward social situation as much to protect his artwork.

He wished he'd been able to tell all of the people involved no. He would rather have been back at his dorm getting clay or paint all over his math homework. His gray gaze returned to the book he'd been reading and he turned a page.

The arts gala which was meant to disguise the gathering at the Elysium had begun and was in full swing when a bubblegum pink hummer style limo pulled up outside. Along the side in large,purple, gaudy rhinestone-style gems spelled out Harley in cursive writing.


The driver, dressed in somber gray clothes, opened a middle door. From within the ostentatious vehicle stepped a tall, smiling individual. Ze wore a white and red ruffled silk shirt, black buttoned breeches, with like colored knickers underneath. Ze had hir favorite red shoes on. A broad smile part hir pale face. Ze patted the solemn driver on the arm as one might a large dog, and walked away chuckling.

Hir dark pinkish cape flapped almost theatrically as ze entered the former opera house. It was brightly lit and light glittered in every direction from the numerous chandeliers adorning the ceiling. The air practically tingled with tension and the aura of the other vampires present made hir giggle inside. The others of hir kind could be such fun when they got together like this.


Harley delighted in the click clack of hir red shoes on the floor as ze walked to the middle of the lobby and began to look around excitedly at all the mortals mingling about; hir pet girl had disappeared under very suspicious circumstances not long ago. Ze was certain that another Kindred was to blame.

A feeling Harley didn't like flashed through hir body and for a moment hir vision was so blurred with red that ze couldn't see or move for a moment, perhaps more. Time wasn't something ze usually gave much attention. As quickly as it had come, the rage (which is what Harley felt if ze spent any length of time pondering the loss of hir more recent pet; ze doesn't remember any fits of rage or anger that ze has ever had, and thus has no understanding of the concept except from others) passed.

A new, even broader grin split Harley's face as ze caught sight of some particularly interesting art displays.

Selene was walking between the social chaos in the lobby making note of any artist that piqued her interest. After the initial performance on the stage, from a member of Selene's own clan by the look of her, she'd rapidly lost interest in the sickening sycophantical displays which followed directly after. She clicked her tongue, mostly to herself. A certain level of boldness was to be expected from any Toreador worth her(or his) looks, of course.

Of course, the Prince was a Ventrue and among other things, they were stuffy old things. She grinned wolfishly to herself for a moment at the thought of the very awkward position that the singer may have created.

Her thoughts about the tangled plots of the Toreador and the Ventrue were interrupted by a murmur that audibly rippled across the entire lobby. She raised her emerald gaze from her fingernails to see a very familiar face.

She'd have been on hir shoulder in a second, but since there were mortals about she walked instead. It took a couple moments to get to hir. Ze seemed startled at first and then grinned devilishly at Selene.

"Harley, darling!" she exclaimed and kissed both hir cheeks in greeting.

"Selene!" ze answered squeezing her hands. Hir cheeks had a brief pink to them; the closest hir undead body could come to flushing. Harley adored the Toreador. She made hir lovely and exciting clothes quite often.

The mischief that Harley often created for hir amusement was a wonderful distraction from the austere atmosphere that often pervaded all Kindred gatherings. She mused that perhaps Harley would ruffle the Prince's feather this very night.

"Harley, you look gorgeous, as always my love. If no one knew better they'd almost mistake you for one of us," she said chuckling. No other creature she knew, mortal or Kindred, could make the outlandish outfits Harley loved seem fashionable.

"Why thank you, Selene dearest. You're just a peachy thing, you know," ze said trailing off smiling and getting a distant look in hir eyes. The blonde vampire frowned for a brief second.

That was the only thing she disliked about Harley; ze had a tendency to go into small, inexplicable trances. This one, like all others she had seen, passed within the span of a single minute. Hir blue eyes blinked several times before noticing Selene again.

"Wherever did you wander off to, my poppet?" ze said sweetly. Harley had no idea it had happened. To hir, apparently, Selene had come and gone.

"Nowhere important, Harley. I see you're without a pet tonight. Do you see anything you like, darling?" she said knowing that hir last pet had gone missing.

An absolutely feral look flashed in hir eyes and was gone again.

"Not as of yet, Designer Selene. To that end, I must part your charming company and continue to browse the displays," ze said almost mechanically.

Ze was walking away before Selene could respond. She scoffed under her breath and muttered, "Malkavians! Hmph!" before returning her attention to the social and political undercurrents at hand.

NPC – Andrea of Clan Ventrue; speaking to Alice Girard in the auditorium.

A tall, dark and handsome man in what appeared to be a very expensive suit casually sat down next to Alice in between performances. He flashed her what was supposed to be a charming smile and what was really just a chance to show off his fangs. ”Hello there, I haven't seen you here before. I'm Andrea.” He extended his hand to her in order to shake her hand. ”Of Clan Ventrue.”

NPC – Frederick of Clan Ventrue; speaking to the Prince Tobias in the lobby.

Frederick came to a standstill before the new Prince of the city. He didn't particularly care for the new Prince or his Sire but he had to owe it to the boy that he'd done a good job of becoming the Prince and so far of maintaining his hold on power. But this.. this situation with Elizabeth would be his first real test; would Tobias be able to hold on to the reigns of power or would they switch hands once again?

If for no other reason than that the boy was of his clan, Frederick sincerely hoped that Tobias would be able to keep his grip on the reigns.

”Prince Tobias.” Frederick made a small bow. ”What will you do?” Straight and to the point, as always.

The other elders fanned out beside and behind him murmured while they awaited the Prince's reply.

"Greetings Andrea, I am Alice Girard of clan Ventrue. It is a great pleasure to meet you." She gave a timid but beautiful smile and a barely noticeable nod of her head.

NPC – Andrea of Clan Ventrue; speaking to Alice Girard in the auditorium.

He makes a note of her timid nature and offers her a reassuring smile in response to her own smile; for a moment he says nothing as the two of them share a moment in watching the current performance. “Am I assuming correctly when I guess that you haven't met the Prince yet, Miss Alice?” His question was not entirely out of the blue but it was sudden.

“If indeed you have not, may I have the honor of introducing you to him?”

"You assume correctly. I would be very grateful if you could introduce me the prince. I don't want to over step my bounds so I was hoping someone as nice as you would find me." More confident now, Alice gave him a genuine gorgeous smile and put her charms to work by leaning into him. Alice wanted it to appear to the humans as though they were friends or lovers. She hoped she wasn't over doing it, so she made sure to stay stiff next to him.

At Frederick's inquiry, Tobias snapped out of his reverie. He presented a stone facade, but he was a storm inside. He pursed his lips, his brow furrowing only slightly. This is all he would give them. He raised his eyes to meet Frederick's gaze, and that of the other onlookers.

"I would have it known throughout the city that I, the Prince, find Vocalist Elizabeth of Clan Toreador to be in bad taste and to have acted rashly." He was satisfied with the response as the full gravity of his words struck his small audience. One of the Harpies, an older appearing woman, cackled gleefully as the others looked on with satisfaction written on their faces.

He turned to look at a most beautiful woman who was frowning and posed Frederick's question to her. "What will Clan Toreador do?"

Still he had a phone call to make later this evening.

NPC – Andrea of Clan Ventrue; speaking to Alice Girard in the auditorium.

"My dear, I was hoping that you'd say that." His smile was predatory but there was no malice in it. "May I..?" Andrea stood and offered his hand to Alice to assist her in getting up.

NPC - Victoria of Clan Toreador; speaking to Tobias Acutus, Prince of the City of L'enfer, in the lobby.

She was furious! How could Elizabeth put her into this position? She should had heeded the warnings from the Clan in Elizabeth's previous city but, alas, she had not. Victoria had simply figured that they were prejudiced against Elizabeth's skills as a vocalist since that younger woman had come to the stage - the one that James had found.

She had no choice; if the Prince had removed his backing from Elizabeth and so forcefully then Clan Toreador had no choice but to follow his lead and save face by doing the same.

"Clan Toreador acknowledges the Prince's decision and hereby refuses to back any artistic endeavors by Vocalist Elizabeth of Clan Toreador."

Victoria thought the Harpy present was going to meet her Final Death from joy and glee alone.

"Why yes Andrea, you may." She put her tiny hand in his and gave a devilish smile in return.

NPC – Andrea of Clan Ventrue; speaking to Alice Girard in the auditorium.

He deftly assisted Alice to her feet and with great courtesy lead her away from their seats and towards the double doors towards the back of the room. A mortal employee of the theater was quick to open the double doors for them and from there Alice found herself being lead out into the lobby of the theater. A small group of elder Kindred formed a half circle before a man that looked as though he hailed from the same background as Andrea; tall, dark and handsome as well, this stranger's features were more clearly defined and gave him an air of classical beauty that Andrea did not possess.

As the impromptu meeting broke up and the elder Kindred began to walk away, filtering back into the crowd of the lobby, Andrea made his way forward with Alice in tow. Some of the elder Kindred nodded to him or bowed their heads to him as they passed by.

"Ah, Tobias, my boy, come and greet this marvel I found lurking in the auditorium!" Andrea called out to his progeny and transferred Alice's hand from his to the prince's.

With a quick flash of surprise Alice shook the hand of the Prince and looked down. She wasn't expecting to be thrust into it quite this way. She gather herself quickly and put her best friendly face on. She waited for the prince to speak first.

Tobias nodded stiffly to Andrea as he approached, deferring to him the respect due an elder while maintaining the distance afforded by his position. He took a step forward and clasped Alice's hand. It was the old way, he noted, but not so much as to appear alien. He inclined his head to her, the closest thing to a bow anyone there would see. Despite the stiff mannerisms that hinted at his stern adherence to structure, his face shifted instantly from the blank stoicism he wore to mask his thoughts into a warm smile. Fine creases, laugh lines, appeared next to his eyes, and it became evident to all present how he had been trusted with running the city. "My name is Tobias Acutus," he said. "As I'm sure my sire was kind enough to inform you, I have recently inherited the position of Prince of the city." He decided that the details of said inheritance weren't important--she would surely hear the rumors soon enough for they were indeed numerous. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Jack checked his cell phone for the time. He still had to be here for another two hours at least. When he looked up, he paused. A strangely dressed person was looking at his sculpture of a miniature female gargoyle perched atop a gnarled, dead tree.

It was one of three sculptures he'd done that were nearly as tall as himself. It had taken hours to do just the tree, and all of the gargoyle's pieces had been made one at a time. He replaced his bookmark quickly and walked over to greet the person and protect his artwork from harm.

"Hello," he said aloud. His hands automatically moved when he spoke; he'd never managed to break the habit of signing completely.

The colorfully dressed person extended a pale hand with long nails; all painted different colors. Jack's heart nearly stopped.

"Please," he said faltering for a moment sine he hadn't determined a gender, "don't touch my artwork, ".

The stranger's blue eyes widened briefly and they stood upright again. Jack held back a shiver as the bright eyes darted up and down. The person smiled broadly, which lessened his discomfort.

"My apologies, gorgeous. How rude of me, where are my manners?"ze said politely. He felt as if ze was exaggerating a bit excessively, but otherwise sincere.

Ze extended hir hand to Jack, who took it to be polite and avoid the awkward situation that would ensue if he didn't. Much to his mortification, the stranger gently pressed Jack's hand to hir lips.

"My name is Harley Weaver, darling. You must tell me all about this piece. It's positively tormented," ze said gleefully.


That isn't what it's about at all, Jack thought. Everyone always assumed he must have some kind of problem because he was a decent artist. He just liked to paint and sculpt. He sighed internally.

In the friendliest voice he could manage, he said, " Nice to meet you, Harley. My name is Jack Thorn. I was born and and live here in L'enfer. I'd love to talk about this piece with you,".

Ze grinned at Jack like the Cheshire cat; if the cat had been a tiger maybe. Ze looked right into Jack's storm gray eyes. For a brief moment, the red haired young man felt a distinct sense of alarm. Something seemed very wrong, only he couldn't place what it was exactly.

He didn't have long to dwell on it, a shrill cackle rose above the various pockets of chatter. Harley turned in the direction from which it had come and seemed to freeze for a moment. Ze tilted hir head to the side curiously and then returned hir attention to Jack.

"Oh, Jack, lamb chop, I need to go say hello to someone. I promise to return just as soon as I have. Be a good boy and wait for me to come back, won't you" ze said grabbing both of Jack's hands and squeezing them almost too hard.

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but Harley had already whirled around and began walking away. Jack shut his mouth and swallowed. He still felt a bit unnerved by the encounter.

What a strange person, he thought trying to return to his book.