The Second Revolt

The Second Revolt

Class tension grew in France. The commoners hated the Ancien Régime, and when word spread of the American Revolution, they soon followed the example of their New World cousins. The French Revolution began in July of 1789, touched off by the storming of the Bastille prison. With the downfall of the aristocracy and mortal power structures, the Camarilla that had become so entrenched within them suffered significant damage to its influence in France.

The Anarchs saw their chance. Inspired by a weakened Camarilla, they aided the revolutionaries by directing them toward aristocratic Camarilla pawns, who promptly met Madame Guillotine. Furthermore, the Anarchs used their influence across Europe to spread supportive propaganda among the kine in the hope of exporting mortal revolution to other countries. Hope of success proved false, however. The mortals’ replacement system of government grew to be just as corrupt as the aristocracy, allowing the Camarilla’s influence to grow again. Some Kindred even made the transition from pre-Revolution aristocracy to post-Revolution aristocracy, as embodied by Prince Francois Villon. However, Kindred across Europe saw that moment of weakness and did not forget.

In the years that followed, both the Camarilla and the Sabbat expanded to America and systematically claimed territory on the East Coast. Anarchs — both individually and collectively — put up minimal resistance. They had no desire to begin an open conflict when the world had suddenly become so much larger. Many Anarchs headed west toward land as yet unclaimed while others moved to Canada, where pioneering mortals were establishing truly independent settlements. On the east Canadian coast, Anarchs established or seized control of numerous port domains, allowing the Anarch migration from Europe to continue without having to pass through American Camarilla territories Significant numbers of Anarchs also moved south, toward Central and South America. They hoped that the warring sects would focus their attention solely on North America, and give the Anarchs time to set up more secure territories here. Ironically, it was their exodus that drew the interests of the Camarilla, and in turn the Sabbat, leading the Jyhad to foul South America.

The Anarchs who remained in the United States found the other sects expanding in the east and eventually pushing further and further westward. Forging ahead into a Lupine-infested wilderness untouched by European civilization was a daunting and terrifying prospect. While their desire for autonomy drove them onward, the Anarch pioneers still needed blood. The extensive mortal herd they depended on did not yet exist in the unsettled West.

ANARCHS UNBOUND Several Anarchs took it upon themselves to expedite pioneer expansion. They exploited a growing belief in Manifest Destiny and rode in the wake of the Gold Rush.

The boomtowns of the Old West became hunting grounds integral to wider Anarch territories. When these Anarchs ruthlessly pushed further westward at the cost of the indigenous population, it bred resentment amongst their more moral brethren. The Anarchs’ freedom depended on the subjugation of these people to mercilessly expand western civilization in order to feed the growing Kindred population. However, it didn’t stop these concerned Anarchs from feeding from the same herd, too.

Capitalizing on the newly obtained wealth of the kine under their control, some Anarchs even bankrolled the railroads to further stimulate migration from the east.

Ironically, it was this very same infrastructure that the Camarilla used to expand into the west, displacing the Anarchs once again.

Eventually, the Anarchs reached the Pacific Ocean and the Camarilla followed them. Only a handful of Anarchs tried to cross the great expanse of the Pacific. All promptly returned and discouraged any attempt to head to the Far East. While they didn’t speak in much detail of what they found there, they made it clear that the East was a land that was already claimed by “others” and that Kindred were not welcome there.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Anarchs had pushed as far west as they physically could. The expansion of settlement by Europeans that they themselves had contributed to in order to escape the Camarilla led to their being segregated into isolated domains. Thus, Anarchs on the West Coast finally came to rest in what would eventually become known as Los Angeles.

The Second Revolt (1900-1990) The 20th Century was a time of remarkable transition for the Anarchs. The sun finally showed signs of setting on the British Empire. America grew from Britain’s truculent cousin into the most powerful nation in the world.

Monarchy and aristocracy ceased to have any meaning save in the most backwater corners of the planet, even as unrestrained capitalism bred an entirely new form of ruler — the “self-made millionaire” — which granted most of the benefits of aristocracy to anyone with the wit and resources to claim them. But even as capitalism swept the globe, it also gave birth to its own worst enemies as Marxist revolutions toppled governments and provoked