The Ravenblack Grimoire

Virgo contacted me a week ago for an interview about The Temple of Lies. I told her then that I don’t do interviews. Never could abide them and do not see the need in them especially since I have my own paper to spout on in and had, when I was ready, planned to write about this myself.

The Temple of Lies is topical for sure. You’d have to be deaf and stupid not to see der Tote regurgitating his measly mouthed truisms in bastardised Lucius styles and wonder what this new Temple incarnation is going to take.

Ars Gratis artis right? Or whatever was the last catch phrase Lucius coined in the dying embers of the original Temple.

There are vampires in this city you want to hug, because they're huggable sorts. Those who impress you with their honour and their integrity. There are vampires who you don't know but observe from afar and envy in your ignorance and flagrant hero worship.

I think this is one of those moments.

I've already gone on about Awards ceremonies, that's not what this is about. But I was rather amused that I managed to win yet another award for being nothing more than who I am. You can call my opinion inflated, egocentric self flagellating bids for attention but it hasn't done me a damned bit of harm.

It is interesting I think to see the different newspapers that have popped up in the last few years. They’re pale creatures with gaudy trappings, that flap around touting a desire to be bastions of free flowing ideas. When in reality there is very little ideal logy in evidence.

It’s also interesting to note that very little investigative articles are written.

They don’t express opinion or give view point. They’re more like, social rags where the masses go to see and be seen, but in a newspaper with words and quips rather than physical presence.

It seems to me that the city has changed. We are challenged not by physical intimidation but by a more visceral form of emotional warfare. Where we used to banter and parry in antiquated meetings houses they are now run in anonymous fashion on forums where you’ve erased any requirement to meet toe to toe with those you oppose.

What’s ‘news’ and what isn’t? Do the vampires of this fair city only consider items newsworthy if Holy Waters are involved? We’ve had a small rash of ‘news’ items come around lately, yet none really went reported in detail, if at all.

Sartori. Smited by Lord Ravenblack himself. I’ve seen the obituaries. ~yawns~ How does his wife feel? How do his childer and close friends feel? Will he be back? Is he in contact from the other realm with those who might channel his voice to us? Is he too embarrassed to come back?

Damari creates a faux Shadow Court. This didn’t seem to go over well with ex-SCers, but she also brought to light that Amaranthe is keyholder to the Church of Blood. Why hasn’t she rebuilt? Does she plan on trying to resurrect the old Church? Will Moirai ever learn to shut his mouth and quit being a poser? One publication took a stab at an ‘interview’, but well, it falls short when its only one figurehead speaking and no bru ha ha from the ‘other side’.

The Grimoire has just had a little clean up with its subscription issues. This is no big deal to those who have an up to date subscription but it is a big deal to those anonymous vampires who attempt to sneak in and leave dodgy pornography advertisements in our establishment in the hopes we’ll accidentally let one slip through our rigorous security.

I for one, am sick of wading through the nonsense so I’ve essentially shut out all Anonymous Vampires from viewing the paper. What does the Grimoire want with Anonymity anyway? Nothing is the answer to that one.

The Grimoire has always prided itself on being a newspaper than any vampire can read and partake of irrespective of whether it has a subscription or not. But as in all things, this has to change to meet managerial concerns and as such all will just need to flash their subscription before being able to read our superior, if sporadic news.

Upon the streets of Ravenblack bathed in flickering lamp light the discarded body of a lone vampire litters a gutter of this fair city.

No, I’m not talking about the D’dary and the Scions. I’m not talking about Heorot and Inner Circle. I’m not even talking about RoR and their Lord Mushi carcass.

It would seem in the deepest part of the night, in a hall where the first rule of fight club seems to be ‘Shut your Gob about what happens in fight club” Yggdrasil has crawled, run, leapt and bound from their secretively kept halls to wage their own personal war against a bloodline.

We at the Grimoire do try hard to bring stories of quality to the city's avid readers. Not all of the articles written ever see the light of day. Some remain buried in our vaults until such a time as we can pull them out and poke fun at them or their authors. This following piece is an interview ophelia gave to part-time contributor Matt Black on the occasion of Yggdrasil's first birthday. While ophelia demonstrates ably how to give an interview without giving anything away, Matt Black ties himself in knots and is forced to leave empty handed. Enjoy!

So King Lestat is no more, censured by the gods themselves for his tainted actions. All around the city there is wailing and the gnashing of teeth. "He was a great man", we are told. "He was unjustly treated" goes the cry. Well, King Lestat was not the first great man to walk the streets of this dark city.

In the beginning a great man was measured by his tyranny, and among the early tyrants Capadocious stood head and shoulders above the rest. Like him or loathe him, if your lips were not pressed firmly against his boot leather, you would spend your days screaming for death. Those who did not follow his creed were hunted almost to extinction. The city holds no fear of King Lestat, yet we are told that King Lestat was a great man.

That doncey, Father of the Path of Enlightenment, and his clan are looking to make a name for themselves in the city. Apparently, after a year and change, doncey is beginning to feel like he warrants a bit more respect then he’s getting from the city at large. This may explain the posturing of himself and his clan members up to Damari Jones on one of the lesser publications this past week. After a small back and forth between the two sides, it is rumored that Lather had the consent from doncey to throw a shot at Damari, but she was unable to be reached in shadows. That was probably a blessing in disguise for the PoE, considering that Damari is a member of The Republic and has been for some time. Apparently, nitenurse St. John, Consul of The Republic, intervened publically after doncey threatened Damari and after a bit of back and forth between the two leaders, doncey tucked tail and ran.

It seems that the highly volatile debate about whether or not Ents are immortal has finally been laid to rest. It is without a doubt a controversial topic that has plagued this city’s consciousness for longer than I can remember and I for one am glad we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief at its conclusion.

The Ents have made themselves a household name in this city by sheer dint of will and a rather nonsensical poetic turn of phrase espousing themselves to all an sundry in a method that can only be described as spam like in its repetition. Love or hate the tree people they now have a permanent place in the woodsy more nature loving corner of this city.

In a made up city that's shrouded in perpetual darkness, whose foundation was built on ephemeral dreams, broken hearts, lies and deceit, it is sometimes hard to recognise the good that we often fail to see. It is easier to cast a look of disdain, pass on a discouraging word and do hurtful things to others than it is to be sincere or even offer a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear.

Jesse Jackson once said, "The only justification we have to look down on someone is because we are about to pick him up."

I often hear others voice out that they do not understand why people do the things they do and say the things they say. I think that the way to understand others is to be understanding. I was intrigued to learn that the derivative of the verb "to understand" is literally, "to observe standing beneath." There is a great wisdom in this. To understand something, you must truly know it fully, from the bottom up.

I didn’t think I’d need an update on this story. Obviously this story is so self gratifying that I was going to choose the better part of valor and forgo further commentary. So much for that valor. I actually do believe the chocolate run network has every right to run their shows as they see fit.

I had consciously chosen to take my time deciding whether I should go back to the network considering their singular dislike of my original thought.

Except. It seems, due to recent events the chocolates had decided to ban me again. This time they took away my decoder until the 25th of February 2008 and I have to tell you, this time I managed to get a three month eviction for saying absolutely nothing at all. Not a single peep has been heard from me on the VNN for about one month now. So why exactly have I been banned this time? Apparently I’m so horribly invasive that I am ban-able for the ‘potential’ I have to disrupt their network.

What is censorship? It’s hard to nail down when censorship is appropriate and when censorship is merely a political tool to wield with glee. What I find hilarious is those that say they believe in such freedom and then lambaste a person for partaking of it.

Now that’s not to say a person shouldn’t use natural caution when speaking in public. I do believe that it is necessary to watch what you say and to whom, within reason.

Do we all have to agree on any given subject? No, I don’t believe that is necessary at all. I do however believe that when opinions differ it is healthy to have open forum discussion about such and then move onto other subject matter.

So many centuries have passed since I had the pleasure to meet so i did him (also known as *sidh*). I was merely a new vampire in the Clan of the Archangel when she became a student in our school and began training with me.

She learned fast and her warmth enveloped everyone she touched, later moving to SIE (The Sanctuary of Immortal Enlightenment) with me, helping me to build the very school that continues to stand and remains highly active to this day, now under the watchful eye of twylyte De Cross.

Good times of great triumph and bad times of twisted words and deceit are some of the many paths that we have toiled down together. Yet in the end she has remained strong and true and loyal to me. The Sire of her choice. She rose to power in her next chosen clan and then finally found her niche in the Republic of Ravenblack.

I've been sitting here for days trying to find just the right things to say, and over complicating it to some degree..

You see, I wanted to tell you all about one particular vampire, and in doing so I wanted to bring to you all a bit of her history. Were I to have carried on fully in this endeavor, I would tell you about a wide eyed child with solemn brown eyes born into a time and city where things were difficult at best for the less fortunate.

The tale would continue into the time in which she had to grow up far too fast and take on the responsibilities of an adult, forsaking a true childhood. I would tell you of her love of music and the joy it brought to her. I would tell of her job in a diner where she worked her way from dishwasher to waitress and that between work and night classes there was little time for frivolity, but she carried on with no complaint. I could tell you of the night she was turned by a mysterious stranger that had always been kind to her when he ventured into the diner and the subsequent years she'd spent with him learning the ways of her new world.

It was a rocky union at best from the start. The Ferrymen struggled internally to keep up with the demands of what the Alliance represented, what the Alliance required as a cohesive working group. To be honest. They just didn't have what it took.

They tried. You can give them that. They tried, but in the end, they failed. Is this rhetoric or a continuation of this paper's seemingly nihilistic ass kissing of more Unholy Alliance propaganda? It's up to you which you choose to believe.

The Ferrymen are an old and established clan. They will survive even this and they will do so with the aplomb and honour that they have continuously shown this city over the many years they've been an institution within these dark streets.

What gives a government authority? Consensus by the people within its borders? No. The right for everyone to participate in its operation? No. Then what gives a government authority? Its monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. A hundred years ago, a human finally figured out what everyone great political leader knew. To rule, you need no consensus, just the force to enforce your rule. This is how the political order evolved. Humans do not do things because it is morally wrong, they do not do them because a higher authority will punish… and even kill them, if they do. This is course of political evolution.

kaio999 was booted from his former clans Sanctuary of Immortal Enlightenment, from now on referred to as SIE and the Enforcers of Enlightenment, aka EoE, when it was discovered early last week that he had started his own clan. This is an act that is well known to be punishable by death when in the SIE.

For many months kaio999 has struggled to survive his stay in SIE, Hesu having taken him under her wing constantly fighting with her leaders who felt he was an obnoxious and loud mouthed braggart, who was hungry for power, but never showed much fortitude or desire to work for it, beyond running around the city and screaming from the top of his lungs.

Yes... once again the dead has risen. From the depths of the great beyond. Even those that have spent centuries ridiculing those that have done the same, seem to just not be able to stay dead.

What happens to the dead that have returned? Are they allowed to just start at the same place of which they left us? Do they deserve the same rights, priveleges, and loyalties, once they have decided to leave us for the great beyond?

Why is it even a possibility? Should not Dead and Buried mean just that? Yes... perhaps Lucius was raised from the dead, but it was after his soul had spent a great deal of time in this city within the confines of the Shining Host and once Shining Host was zeroed by those that were truly enemies of Lucius, it made perfect sense in the miraculous scheme of things in RavenBlackCity to raise the one they truly hated, since they killed Shining Host for the simple connection.

The Ravenblack Grimoire has been combating increasing numbers of spammers of late. From this point on, anyone who registers using a name with more than three consonants for each vowel operating out of a crack den in Russia that I can watch dance naked on a webcam if I pay $20 will be automatically deleted. DizZy and serduchkaverka, you have made the cut. Just.

Lucius has been seen trawling the city in what has been reported as an apparently so far successful mission to eradicate the city from what he refers to as his "wife's brats". As reported earlier, his beloved wife Damari, was recently booted from the Ferrymen on the tails of what has been heard as a messy and rather inconsiderate event involving Amaranthe, one of Damaris childer.

Damari's eminent self inflicted demise caused the profound and infamous Lucius to go on a rampage (as indicated in earlier news) and seek out those that he felt were the root of the problem. This situation has been an entirely family matter, until Lucius of course, not exactly known as being the cautious type, ended up scrolling Pandrora from her house, in an attempt to get the cowering childer that were hiding there.. out. This prompted a responding scroll from Pandrora as well as a Holy Water from the once notorious EvilBill. Lucius was so focused on attacking the kids, he was completely unmoved or affected bu the HW, failing to even mention it until he was informed of his blood loss.

This evening I returned to the city, from a my journey to the the latter half of this hemisphere. While away, I found myself quite busy and enrapt in the realities of the new places in which I hung my head each night. The exotic sights and smells of civilizations unique and far away, stirred my senses and filled my soul with things complete and whole again.

My journey continues, so alas, I shall continue to be rather silent here for a while longer. But since I have had a moment to land, back upon the ground that is RavenBlackCity... I have made sure to scavenge the halls for information far and wide.

The war is winding down and indeed the House of Heorot and their rebel rousing warriors have basically annihilated the Alliance of Fire. There is no doubt that the House of Heorot aka HoH is a lean, mean fighting machine... organized and masterfully managed by their leader, Queen AQelDroma, who has shown herself to be the TRUE queen of the city.

HoH, having slaughtered almost every last one of the Alliance of Fire aka AoF, originally had declared that the key target of the war was solely What The, and implied that it was her death that would be the culmination of this long and tedious war. Playing the card, that all of the Alliance of Fire protected her, as she hid in shadows...

History comes back around in cycles: much like an Empty Spiral, the events of the past come around again and again, demonstrating whether one has learned or regressed based on how one copes with the reoccurrence. The war waged by the Heorotian alliance--consisting of the House of Heorot; Clan Capadocious; the Church of Blood; and Demons, Outlaws, and Angels--against the Alliance of Fire--which includes The Inner Circle, Yggdrasil, the Empty Spiral, Virtus Sodalitus, and The Empire--a month ago proves that Yggdrasil and the Empty Spiral, clans comprising some of the city's most seasoned warriors, have erred once again, while the House of Heorot and its allies have in fact achieved what they set out to accomplish, portraying What The--a leader I among many considered in very high esteem--as a mistress manipulator steeped in cowardice.

Well, is the war raging on? I see jerseydevil has once again bit the dust... but really, where is the "BIG BANG".

I know that after ALL of this bloodshed, death, coin usage and weapon usage there MUST be some great crescendo on the horizon. Or is this just it? The very few warriors left on the AoF side are hanging on against a contingent that now hugely outweigh them in BPs and numbers, but still the zeros come slowly. One here, one there. Almost like dribs and drabs. Let us end it already...

So now what happens? Where is the great victory? Or did the Unholy Alliance sweep that under the proverbial rug by killing What The themselves? We ALL know What The had her due coming with SIE... it was always just a matter of time. She had her share of enemies in the Unholy Alliance, time had just come and the mission was completed. Yet, the HoH side claims it is not the end of the war. So what IS the end of the war? No one is going to "renounce" What The, I mean of course they are not. What for? They are all almost dead and they fought honestly and bravely, who would be as simple as to believe that in order to save a small number of a remaining few, they would tarnish the name of all of the zeroed warriors and surrender to such defeat? Even if they DO think What The is a yahoo, do you believe they are going to admit it to YOU? Or publicly anywhere, for that matter? The idea is just preposterous. But then again... where is the ticker tape parade? Is anyone really rejoicing?

Well the city has decided and Jimmher comes in with a whopping 19%

Archangel is close behind at 13%

Lucius and Capadocious have tied for a less impressive 7%

A toast to the biggest Dickhead in town... well hes gone now... but ya never know

Jimmher "congratulations post mortum"