The Clan is Dead ‘ Long Live the Clan !
It seems we vampires are creatures of fashion. Not only in the clothes we choose, but in our passing fashions for ‘new’ ideas. The one which has been growing in dominance over the last few months has been the idea of ‘the family’.
For as long as the city has stood, some vampires have considered their bloodlines to be important. Indeed, one of the earliest formed clans, the Clan de Beljeferon, was (if I remember correctly) originally limited only to descendants of the progenitor, although it soon expanded to include those who wished to be closely associated with that line.
When the Halls of Binding and Severing were constructed, the idea of bloodlines received a real boost. People could now choose their sires and childer. Indeed, some dived into this particular merry-go-round with great zest, changing their family lines more often than their clothes.
To give credit where it was due, it was Heimdag af Gyllenstierna who first really developed this idea into something political. Taking vampires from all across the spectrum of evil aligned clans and independents across the city, he propounded the idea that his family could work together to defend each other irrespective of clan lines.
It was a nice idea, but of course fell foul of the fact that no clan leader in their right mind would be happy with one of their members going off to fight independent battles. Not to mention the risk that a member with a ‘higher’ allegiance could not be trusted to keep sensitive information within the clan walls.
The af Gyllenstiernas soon found themselves tested, by intervening in a dispute between the HoH/Ferry/Capadocian alliance and one of their junior family members. A hard-fought war ensured, in which the af Gyllenstierna must have hoped that clans whose members were in their family would intervene on their side. It didn’t happen, and the best the family were able to achieve was a ceasefire based on a losing draw. They have done little subsequently to defend their family members, as witnessed by the zeroing of TygerNight.
Now, a new family has come to the fore, that of the genus of road_wytch. Lessons have been learned, it seems, and the majority of family members (although not all) are predominantly from a selection of clans linked one way or another. This mix has certainly been effective in warfare, Since membership to the Enforcers of Enlightenment is open to almost all family members and if the damage inflicted on WoE is any guide. That war has certainly been more between the Wytch-brood and WoE and the assundry rag tag group of clans involved, than between WoE and the ‘other’ family which started it in the first place, the D’darys. This latter family doesn’t have the strength of the af Gyllentiernas or Roadies; a reflection perhaps on a desire to make a reputation overruling the need to do the rather more mundane groundwork first ?
There is still something to say about a family built in a month that can rival a family that took years to build. This time, for a change, the proof itself is not in what is said of the family but of what is seen of the family. You can terrorize with words, but it is entirely different when your deeds back it up consistently.
But the question I ask is; with vampires being able to choose their relations, and members of clans often binding with each other within the clan, have these extended ‘warring families’ effectively become synonymous with clans? To me, it seems they have, even though it may take a little while for a final shake-out.
Comments
ophelia
There’s ALOT of falsehood in this regaurding my family and how they feel thing and/or act and why, but because it’s an Editorial and not a news article I won’t bother correcting them. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if they are based on assumption and not information.
Having said that, aside from points above this was quite an articulate and well written article.
ophelia Lokason af Gyllenstierna NiF’s Eternally Yggdrasil
Moirai
Could you explain the title? Perhaps it’s a misprint. -Moirai