Fire and Faith
The eighteenth century has come and gone leaving the Kindred of Europe in a state of secluded disorder. Elders of the Invictus ruthlessly breed Neonates to go in to the Danse Macabre as little more then their playthings while the judgmental clergy of the Lancea et Sanctum violently suppresses any that question their homogeny.

In France pamphlets penned by the mysterious Emanuel Baptiste Carth encouraging Vampires to rise up against the status quo and threaten the pillars of the established Covenants. The rebellious words in Carths pamphlets spread across Europe making the rounds to the isolated and ancient cults that have survived among the Kindred long after fading out of mortal life. These cults have been hunted to near extinction by the Lancea et Sanctum reduces to secluded enclaves but a new century presents new opportunities.

As if by divine providence Ancient vampires are awakening from Torpor across Europe adding to the turmoil. Some now rule over the cults calling for collective actions against those who might end the old ways the most violent bastion being located in Ireland and Scotland while the Invictus has dispatched its most deadly servant to end the growing revolution. Europe is set to catch fire in a conflagration of revenge and religion.

Prologue
Murder, one simple death was all that was needed to light the kindling that had enveloped the city of Dublin but the story began well before that. For the Vampires of Ireland there is no more important city then Dublin for it is the beating heart of commerce and travel between the island and the rest of the world. The Invictus has ruled the city for generations walling themselves off from the world beyond their city but the spread of Carths pamphlets now jeopardizes the rule of the First Estate. Prince Delaney appeals for help and finds the Lancea et Sanctum all to willing to come to her aid.

An Inquisitor by the name of Griffin has promised to rid the Prince of her problems so long as he had a free hand in doing so. With a simple yes the Inquisition was given neat limitless power and ruthlessly drove out any associated with Carths thinkings but the Inquisition has true aims which was to snuff out the ancient practices of the Vampires in Dublin’s rural areas.

Ruthlessly Inquisitor Griffin brought final death to all those he deemed heretics, a well liked vampire by the name of Keegan appealed to the Prince to end the Inquisition but she refused and Keegan was put to death by the Inquisition, the murder as many refer to it as was the spark on top of the powder keg.

Blood of Gods
Magna Mater – the long dead Spirit of Ancient Rome
Vilis Aquilae – the Eagle of cruel ambitions, patron of the Saturi Family (Ivory Claws) and Marisi Family (Iron Masters)
Lupus Diaboli – the Wolf of blind power, patron of the Saturi Family (Ivory Claws) and Marisi Family (Iron Masters)
The Inferus – the secret alliance between the Iron Masters and Ivory Claws bent on keeping the people of New York City in a state of war while trying to restore Magna Mater
Seal of Veddartha – an ancient relic crafted by the legendary Ventrue to bring his rule in to the Shadow, the Seal was broken after his defeat, half was used to craft the crown of the Invictus and the other was made in to the Icon of Veddartha
Icon of Veddartha – a relic forged of the hungry and ruthless ambition has traveled from the most cruel and tyrannical of souls and has come to have its own ego
Directorate – the ruling Forsaken of the cities Protectorate primarily but not exclusively members of the Iron Masters, to qualify to be a member one must have acquired enough Renown to count as Rank 3 and be invited in be an established member

Since the earliest days of the industrial revolution the Forsaken of New York have been lead by the affluent Paxton family, a wolf-blooded Family with a tendency to have their Uratha join the Iron Masters. Some time around the Great Depression the Pure launched an attack on New York City lead by Ivory Claws specifically those of the Bronson line. For nearly a decade the two fought a ruthless battle in the city streets with neither emerging triumphant. The conflict only abated when the activity of the Beshilu could no longer be ignored. Both Pure and Forsaken began to hunt the legions of the Rat host and by the time the hunt was through neither of the three sides had the strength to attack the other bringing the Pure and the Forsaken to a state of Cold War.

For five decades now the Cold War has endured with the Iron Masters leading the Forsaken and mustering their resources and the Ivory Claws keeping their Pure Kin in check as they await the right time to strike. All the while both sides still strive to keep the Beshilu population in check for their numbers seem limitless.

Both sides have heard recently of a treasure trove of mystical artifacts and trinkets making their way in to the streets and with them various troubles. For the People these things are of little concern to them or the Shadow yet a series of bizarre murders have brought concern, the Storm Lords say something is feeding off of the deaths, a theory the Iron Masters care little for on the cusp of another battle with the Pure looming on the horizon.

Finite Horizon
The Great Work is the promise for all of the Created to find their way to Humanity, a cherished thing that few will achieve before the Divine Fire within them burns out. Yet it has been done countless times the world over leaving the former Created to lead out the lives of their choice, to finally set roots of their own without the concern of igniting a Firestorm.

New York City is the birthplace to many of the Created as the Divine Fire has always had a strong connection to this place for as long as history knows, the seething sea of people makes the city a promise land for the Created from abroad. One throng of the Created completed the Great Work with the guidance of a voice non other of the Created have heard, the god like entity known as the Exarch Ruin.

Despite the ominous name the voice of Ruin has not only seen to the Throngs ascension to humanity but their success as mere mortals as well. The five remained members of the Throng have gone on to become the bored of directors of the increasingly powerful Circinus Research Group. Though the organization is like many statistics analysis companies it’s true purpose is to create a road through which other Created might find their humanity.

Prologue

The hope offered by Circinus Research Group has always been a lie, the bored of directors wish to emulate the voice they worship and end the Great Work and rule over the Created like Tyrants. A legion of Alchemist serve beneath them, while those Created that prove useful to them are refined in to the monstrous Centimani and set to capture the slumbering Pandorans in the city.

Many of the cities Created have gone in to hiding as being captured means being turned in to the playthings of Alchemist or twisted in to something far worse. Despite this the promise of the city still calls to the Created, the closeness to the Divine Fire eases the journey but the city now is little more then a trap.

The Ringmaster a bizarre being of Pyros itself called a Quashmalliam seems to oppose the company at every turn yet it has not always proven to be a friend of the Created, saving them on some occasions while damning them in others.

Tyrants and Power
New York City sits atop a font of forgotten power dating back at least to the era of the Time Before, the Awakened have been ignorant of this power since the world was broken yet mystery has always called them back.

This story is true, a being known as the Architect kept its Sanctum here and it was within this Sanctum that the Architect worked the phenomenal power to erect the Celestial Ladder.

This story is true, burning with ambition the Exarchs also kept Sanctums here and studied the intricate spell work of the Architect to further their plans.

This story is true, the Exarchs wished to tame creation and first tried to do so by asserting themselves over the Divine Fire, even their own power could not control it and so they crafted a Machine that would in time spread across Creation, this Machine would later be known as the God Machine

This story is true, in preparation of their Ascension the Exarchs betrayed at least two of their peers, one was sacrificed to empower their reality defying God Machine and another was sacrificed to the Lower Depths to keep those hellish realms from consuming the world the Exarchs wished to control.

Prologue

Months ago the Guardians of the Veil uncovered a conspiracy by a Cabal lost to their own Hubris attempting to summon a being known as the Warden (the Exarch sacrificed to the Lower Depths) in to this world. Perhaps they thought they could control the entity, their motivations remain a mystery as the summoning was stoped by the Guardians and the ensuing Backlash consumed all members of the Cabal.

The ritual failed but was not entirely without effect for so prolific was the magic at work that the very fabric of the Lie was weakened resulting in doorways to the forgotten Sanctums from the Time Before. Each Sanctum discovered to this date is bound to a single Arcana leading some to theorize that these places were once the palaces of the Exarchs before their Ascension.

Rumors of artifacts, power, knowledge and untold secrets abound as the Cabals of New York hunt for any clue as to where the next palace might be found. The Mages of New York may have a head start but their peers from other cities are just as eager to uncover the truths that await all the while the Seers of the Throne see it as their duty to claim the palaces in the name of their tyrannical masters.