Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Category: <span>Character Introduction</span>

Sylum Inspiration: Clarissa Barton

Sylum: Member

 

Clara was the youngest child of Stephen Barton, veteran of the Indian Wars in Ohio and Michigan and a selectman in Oxford, Massachusetts; and his wife, Sarah. Her siblings were Dorothy, Sally, Stephen and David.

Barton always had a passion for being a nurse. She took care of her dog when he hurt his leg. But the best example was her brother, David Barton. When Clara was 11, David was fixing the barn roof and fell off. The doctor said that he would die in time. But young Clara was determined to save him, and nursed him back to health.

Clara Barton became a school teacher in 1838 teaching in the area for a dozen years in schools at Oxford, N. Oxford, Charlton, and West Millbury. In 1850, Barton decided to further her education by pursuing writing and languages at the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York. Following these studies, Barton opened a free school in New Jersey. The attendance under her leadership grew to 603, but instead of hiring Barton to head the school, the board hired a man. Frustrated, in 1855 she moved to Washington D.C. and began work as a clerk in the US Patent Office; this was the first time a woman had received a substantial clerkship in the federal government and at a salary equal to a man’s salary. Subsequently, under political opposition to women working in government offices, her position was reduced to that of copyist, and in 1856, under the administration of James Buchanan, eliminated entirely. After the election of Abraham Lincoln, having lived with relatives and friends in Massachusetts for three years, she returned to work at the patent office in the autumn of 1861, now as temporary copyist, in the hope she could pioneer to make way for more women in government service. She was probably the first woman to hold a government job.

In 1864 she was appointed by Union General Benjamin Butler as the “lady in charge” of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James. Among her more harrowing experiences was an incident in which a bullet tore through the sleeve of her dress without striking her and killed a man to whom she was tending. She is known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.”

After the war, she ran the Office of Missing Soldiers, at 437 Seventh Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. in the Gallery Place neighborhood.

Barton then achieved widespread recognition by delivering lectures around the country about her war experiences. She met Susan B. Anthony and began a long association with the woman’s suffrage movement. She also became acquainted with Frederick Douglass and became an activist for black civil rights. In 1869, during her trip to Geneva, Switzerland, Barton was introduced to the Red Cross and Henry Dunant’s book A Memory of Solferino, which called for the formation of national societies to provide relief voluntarily on a neutral basis.

At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870, she assisted the grand duchess of Baden in the preparation of military hospitals, and gave the Red Cross society much aid during the war. At the joint request of the German authorities and the Strasbourg Comité de Secours, she superintended the supplying of work to the poor of Strasbourg in 1871, after the Siege of Paris, and in 1871 had charge of the public distribution of supplies to the destitute people of Paris. At the close of the war she was decorated with the golden cross of Baden and the iron cross of Germany.

When she returned back to the US, she sought out her friend that she had met during the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg Rupert Giles and asked to be Turned. So she could continue her work in medicine and the Red Cross.

Sylum Inspiration: Lara Croft

Sylum: Council Member

 

Lara Croft was the only daughter of Lord Richard and Lady Lucy Croft.  Her mother died when Lara was very young, leaving her to be raised by her father.  Much to society’s dismay, Richard took his daughter on his explorations, raising her to be educated and able to handle herself.

Lara traveled all around the world, exploring new places, learning new languages and cultures.  Under pressure from friends and colleagues, Lord Croft enrolled Lara in private school so she could learn to be a Lady.  When she was ten, Lord Croft disappeared from one of his expeditions, leaving her to be raised by James Hillary, her father’s butler.

As expected, Lara finished school and took her position as Lady Croft.

She then used her family’s money to find out what happened to her father.  In her investigations she came across notes and names leading her to the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) where she met James Bond.  He helped her with her investigation, while starting an affair with her.  It didn’t take her long to figure out something was different about Bond, and when she demanded he tell her the truth (while she had him tied to the bed and held a knife to his private parts) he found he had no real choice but to explain everything about Vampires.

She demanded every ounce of information available, then requested politely to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Elizabeth Swann

Sanctuary: Member

 

Born in London, England, Elizabeth led a fairly sheltered life of privilege throughout her childhood.  Since the death of her mother, Governor Swann had raised his daughter on his own.  Much to her father’s dismay, pirates had always fascinated Elizabeth, mainly on the HMS Dauntless’ voyage from England to the British colony at Port Royal on the vibrant and prosperous island of Jamaica. When the Dauntless crew rescued young Will Turner, a mysterious shipwreck survivor from a pirate attack, she recognized the “pirate medallion” he wore. Little did she know what adventures would stem from this fateful encounter.

Eight years later, Elizabeth’s cozy world was turned upside down after Captain Jack Sparrow rescued her from drowning: lured by the medallion, cursed pirates kidnapped Elizabeth. She was brought aboard the Black Pearl, a captive of Hector Barbossa, and was taken to Isla de Muerta. Days after Will Turner joined forces with Jack Sparrow, the cursed pirates were defeated with the assistance of Elizabeth’s betrothed, Commodore James Norrington. In return for his help, Elizabeth aided Jack Sparrow in escaping from the gallows, and then left Norrington for Will Turner, her path chosen.

Except Will didn’t choose her.

He left with Captain Jack Sparrow, leaving her behind, humiliated. Norrington resigned his post, refusing to be the second fiddle to Elizabeth’s attention. Over the next year she convinced herself that Will only need to be saved, and tricked him into coming back to Port Royal for their wedding.

Only to have them both arrested by Cutler Beckett.

When Will was released to find Sparrow, she followed to save him from the influence of Sparrow, leading to her betraying the Pirate Captain to Davy Jones and the Kraken.

It was then, she realized the mistake she made.

Determined to set it right, she helped lead Will and his friends to the End of the World to find Jack. She watched in shocked dismay at the real relationship between Jack and Will. Still in shock, she was handed over to Sao Feng, who thought she was Calypso returned.

Attacked by the Dutchman, the Captain was killed and ship destroyed – Elizabeth was named Captain, just in time to be captured by Davy Jones. It was here she was reunited with Norrington. He helped her and the crew escape and when she turned back to call to him, she saw Davy Jones kill him.

Elizabeth realized she had been deceiving herself the whole time.  Her heart had always belonged to Norrington, and it was her rebellious spirit that called out to Will.

During the battle with Davy Jones, Sparrow gave his consent and married Elizabeth and Norrington. She was pretty sure it was mainly to get her away from Will.

Only to have her life up-heaved when Davy Jones gave the command of the Dutchman to Norrington and spilled her blood on the deck to tie them for eternity.

She at least got her wedding night, and when Norrington showed up ten years later he was introduced to his son.

In time she moved to South Carolina to raise her son, and watched as he grew, got married and had kids of her own. When the time came she moved to England for a while to be introduced to an ancestor in Guin, Camelot’s Queen.

She’s traveled and had many adventures, over the decades, and recently took up acting in the recent years.  When she discovered a descendant had gotten into trouble, she asked Charlie to go pick the young Claire up and bring her to Sanctuary.

Only for them to disappear.

She knew Will and Sparrow were looking for her, and their lost Clan Member, when it hit her that it was the Locker. When she showed up to inform them, the Dutchman was in harbor. Happy to see her husband, she was dismayed to learn he had no idea how to get into the locker.

Davy Jones arrived to take over the Dutchman, leaving her and Norrington behind.

Finally being together, after all this time they knew what had to be done, so they approached Jack and Stephen to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Seth Gecko

Sanctuary: Hunter

 

Seth and Richie Gecko, though not as famous outlaws as Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde, had their fair share of infamous criminal glor.  They wreaked havoc across the western landscape of the US.

When Richie broke Seth out of jail, killing innocent people in the process, it was then Seth knew he had to get his brother out of the country.  He needed a place to stash Richie, and keep an eye on him – Seth had always known there was something wrong with his brother.

They traveled down to Mexico, stopping at an out of the way bar, only to end up in the middle of a Rogue hangout. Seth found himself fighting back to back with a cowboy and an English prick – later to be identified as Brisco Country Jr. and William Pratt.

In the middle of the battle he was dragged away from the main group.

When he woke up he was dead.

Sylum Inspiration: Tia Dalma

Sanctuary: Member

 

Tia was the youngest girl of the Calhoun family. She was always special, and saw the world differently. Able to handle the ocean in single words and thoughts.

She was captured by slavers when she was barely sixteen. Ended up being sold to Frederick Cobb, who took what he wanted from her, in the end even her life.

Sylum Inspiration: Butch Cassidy

Sanctuary: Hunter

Robert Leroy Parker was born April 13, 1866, in Beaver, Utah, the first of 13 children born to British immigrants Maximillian Parker and Ann Campbell Gillies. The Parker and Gillies families had converted in England and Scotland to the Mormon faith and immigrated to Utah. Maximilian Parker was 12 when his family arrived in Salt Lake in 1856; Ann Gillies arrived with her family in 1859, aged 14. The two were married in July 1865.

Robert Leroy Parker, named for his paternal grandfather, was the first of the 13 children of Maximillian and Ann Parker. He grew up on their ranch near Circleville, Utah,215 miles south of Salt Lake City. He left home during his early teens. While working at a dairy farm, he formed a close relationship with his mentor, a cowboy and cattle rustler who called himself Mike Cassidy (an alias for John Tolliver “J. T.” McClammy). Parker subsequently worked at several ranches, in addition to a brief stint as a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, when he acquired the nickname “Butch”, to which he soon appended the surname Cassidy in honor of his old friend.

He associated with a circle of criminals, most notably his closest friend Elzy Lay, Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Harry Tracy, Will “News” Carver, Laura Bullion, and George Curry, who became the nucleus of the Wild Bunch.

On August 13, 1896, Cassidy, Lay, Harvey Logan and Bob Meeks robbed the bank at Montpelier, Idaho, escaping with approximately $7,000. Shortly thereafter he[clarification needed] recruited Harry Longabaugh, alias “The Sundance Kid”, a native of Pennsylvania, into the Wild Bunch.

In early 1897, Cassidy was joined at Robbers Roost by Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay, and Lay’s girlfriend Maude Davis. The four hid there until early April, when Lay and Cassidy sent the women home so that they could plan their next robbery. On April 21, 1897, in the mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, Cassidy and Lay ambushed a small group of men carrying the payroll of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company, stealing a sack containing $7,000 in gold, with which they fled to the Robbers Roost.

On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed a Union Pacific Overland Flyer near Wilcox, Wyoming, a robbery that became famous and which resulted in a massive man hunt. Many notable lawmen of the day took part in the hunt for the robbers, but they were not found.

During a shootout with lawmen following that robbery, both Kid Curry and George Curry shot and killed Sheriff Joe Hazen. Tom Horn, a killer for hire employed by the Pinkerton Agency, obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck about the Hazen shooting, and Horn passed this information to Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo. The gang escaped into the Hole-In-The-Wall. Siringo was assigned the task of capturing the outlaw gang. He became friends with Elfie Landusky, who was using the last name Curry after allegedly becoming pregnant by Kid Curry’s brother, Lonny. Through her, Siringo intended to locate the gang.

On July 11, 1899, Lay and others were involved in a Colorado and Southern Railroad train robbery near Folsom, New Mexico, which Cassidy may have planned and personally directed. A shootout ensued with local law enforcement in which Lay killed Sheriff Edward Farr and Henry Love; Lay was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at New Mexico State Penitentiary.

The Wild Bunch would separate following a robbery and flee in different directions, reuniting at a predetermined location, such as the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout, Robbers Roost, or Madame Fannie Porter’s brothel, in San Antonio, Texas.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library

It was 1902 when Butch and Sundance ended up robbing a bank that happened to have Will and Sparrow inside. It went wrong from the moment they stepped into the building. In the end Sundance and Butch escaped with the two Vampires’ help, and ended up Turned.

No one was surprised they were Mates.

Sylum Inspiration: Jacob Peter Quill

Medjai: Member

 

Jacob grew up in a small village in Wales.  He had never known his father, and was told that he had died before he was born.  His mother had a good job as a housekeeper at a local Inn, and was always able to buy shoes and clothes for him as he grew out of them in record time.

He also received a good education, and accepted into University where he studied History with intent to become a teacher.

When his mom became ill he returned home, to take care of her taking a small teaching job at the local boys school.   After she died, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself, and then the War to end all Wars started.

He signed up instantly and found himself fighting on the front lines.  His world changed, when Steve Trevor and a ragtag group of misfits came through the trenches.  When Diana stepped out into No Man’s Land he didn’t hesitate to follow.

It would be a year later he would find Steve and Diana again, and more importantly find his father.  It was odd to meet someone who looked just like him.

He was told about the world of Vampires, and he knew this was his destiny.

Sylum Inspiration: Joshua Faraday

Camelot: Member

 

Joshua was raised in the Wild West.  His father was a Union Soldier, and had installed in him the values of being a good man.  He learned to ride, shoot and herd cattle since he was a wee child.

He watched as the Wilderness closed.

Towns began to flourish as Ranches began to decrease.  He sold the family ranch, took the money and decided to travel.

A year later he found himself in London, where he was befriend by a real English Lord who was fascinated with Cowboys.  He took him to ‘David’s House’ where his life changed drastically.

Coming down the steps was the cutest boy he’d seen, who promptly tripped and landed in his arms.

The rest they say was history.

Sylum Inspiration: Patrick McKenna

Camelot: Member

 

Patrick was born in 1966AD, in Armagh, Northern Ireland to Mary Ann McKenna, a former Nun.  His biological father is unknown.

She raised him to be a devout Catholic, attending Mass every day of his life, and teaching him that God loved him, and He had a destiny waiting for him.

When he was six years old, he lost his mother in a UVF bombing at Armagh Cathedral – a protest against the visit by a Titular Archbishop on an Apostolic Mission from the Vatican, who had come to Ireland to try and broker peace.  The boy’s survival saw him labelled as ‘The Little Miracle of Saint Patrick’.

The Archbishop took Patrick back with him to Italy, formally adopting him, stating that he would raise the boy in God’s Church.

Patrick had the Vatican as his playground and school yard.  He remembered most fondly the Vatican Police officer who usually caught him running from the Nuns and dragged him back to his studies.

As he got older, he found himself talking with that same officer for hours, looking to him for wisdom and companionship.

Though he didn’t have to, when he was 18 he demanded that he follow through with his National Service to the Italian Military.  Though he never learned to use a gun, he excelled at flying helicopters.  Patrick never told the Vatican Police Officer, that he knew it was him who had made sure Patrick was safe during those two years.

When he returned, he dedicated his life to the Church, going through Seminary and becoming a Priest.  When his ‘father’ became Pope, he took the position as Camerlengo – much to the dismay of many older men in the Church who had sought the position for themselves.

He was proud to see his friend go on to become Inspector General of Vatican Police.

When his father suddenly died, he was devastated.

The night of Conclave 2006AD, everything changed.

Sylum Inspiration: Thracius Fulvius Severus

Camelot: Scientist

 

Thracius was the second son of a Senator. He did not have the patience for politics, and no head for the military life.

He was educated instead, in the art of medicine. His bedside manner left much desired, but his results were well appreciated.

Severus did not take to fools, and never had a problem saying as such, getting himself in to trouble on many occasions.

It was a Senator who introduced him to Imenand, following an enquiry about the doctor’s manner. Imenand, however, spoke up on behalf of the doctor, and took him in to have him work at the Council.

Within moments, Severus demanded to know what was really going on, berating Imenand that he was not to be treated as a common fool, whereupon he took the knowledge of Vampire existence in his stride, and continued to advance his skills as a doctor of medicine, learning everything he could from the Vampires, and how they healed themselves from the mere ingestion of blood.

Imenand eventually approached him about being Turned, and Severus just rolled his eyes, wondering why it had taken so long for anyone to ask.

Sylum Inspiration: Azazel

Oceania: Hunter

 

The tales around who Azazel is and where he comes from is legendary.

Some say he was a fallen angel from heaven.  Others say he was part of the Neyaphem, and was at war with the Cheyarafim, who banished his people to another dimension.  Only Azazel escaped due to his teleporting capabilities.

When asked how old he really is, and where he comes from he only smiles.

There are legends through history that talk about the ‘red devil’ or a demon who just appears in front of you seeking your soul.

But the first time recorded history of Azazel is in the Caribbean, and Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sylum Inspiration: Roland Deschain

Oceania: Hunter

 

Roland was born into slavery, on a plantation in South Carolina.  When the war broke out between the states, his father took the advantage and fled with him and his mother.  He found himself out west, moving from town to town.  His mother had taught him how to read, and his father taught him how to survive.

He learned quickly to use a gun, became known for his natural skills.

And when a posse came for him, he ran.

Roland ended up in Australia, if you ask him how, he really couldn’t tell you.  He used his skills to help those he could, and in time found himself protecting the aborigines and those who were being pushed out of their lands by wealthy men with power.

He kept to his father’s code:

I do not aim with my hand;
He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.


I do not shoot with my hand;
He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.


I do not kill with my gun;
He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.

It was Jake who finally caught up with him, along with Dundee and Quigley.  They sat him down to explain about Vampires.  He was intrigued by the way they lived their lives, and protection they gave.

So he agreed to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Mason Weaver

Oceania: Member

 

Mason Anne Weaver was named after her grandfather. And since her first roll call most people think she’s going to be a boy. Now she mostly uses that to her advantage. She grew-up in the suburbs of Chicago during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her fascination with photography began in her teens when she borrowed her father’s old Leica III camera. She began taking photos of the her neighborhood, kids riding bicycles, local pets and the animals at the zoo, the “L” train, and the city. She entered several of her photos in local contest and even managed to win a few.

In 1963, her future prospects, according to her mother, were to find a husband or go to college to find a husband. She opted for college but omitted the plans to find a husband. She decided that her hobby was a good start for a degree in either photography or journalism and pursued it along with a degree English. She began working for the college paper and in her senior year earned a spot to travel to New York City to hear Martin Luther King speak at Riverside Church.

After listening to the “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech Mason began taking photos at Civil Rights gatherings; as well as the protests in D.C. A few of her photos appeared in newspapers and magazines.

By 1970 she found herself in Vietnam as an investigative photojournalist or, as some would call her depending on what was on the other side of her lens, an “anti-war” photographer. She believes (and still does) that pictures speak for themselves and she always tries to stay out of the politics of it all.

She was embedded with the MAC V-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group). And, by the end of the war in 1973 Mason had one of her photos on the cover of Time magazine.

Her last excursion before leaving Vietnam was to take one more trip into the jungle following a former SAS Captain who was reportedly looking for a down helicopter and its pilot. The little adventure was more harrowing than being embedded with the MAC V-SOG. After all, she had been right, there was something very suspicious about the story of the downed craft and the pilot. There were chases, gunfire, vampires, dying, and James.

By the end only four people walked out of the jungle. No one talks about it.

Sylum Inspiration: Thomas Magnum

Oceania: Hunter

 

Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV was born 1944. Both his father and grandfather were naval officers.

He was born in Detroit, but raised in the region of Tidewater, Virginia. In high school, his football team won a Virginia State football championship. Some members of his family, including his mother and her second husband, still reside there.

Magnum attended the United States Naval Academy then served ten or more years as an officer in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant before resigning from the service in disillusionment in 1979.

Magnum was a Vietnam War veteran and a former POW who believed his wife Michelle died in bombing during the final pull-out from Saigon. He served in both the SEALs and Naval Intelligence during his Navy years, and as such maintained many contacts in both communities.

After he retired he moved to Hawaii where he became a Private Investigator. He ended up working for Robin Nest as security personnel, in exchange of room and board, and use of his Ferrari. His boss was Higgins, who he suspected of being Nest, but could never prove it.

When he was shot defending Higgins, he found out at least some of Higgins’ secrets and accepted being Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Lyca

Vampire Council: Member

 

Dilios Note: What we do know is they started life as wolves – well what Humans would call wolves, I’m not sure what the term for them was where they came from. They were protectors of ‘The Diplomat’ and first experiments of the ‘Wraith Cure’ from The Doctor. When the Wraith attacked Atlantis, they escaped through the Stargate along with Viduus to Earth.

The first time they lived as Human was the beginning of Ancient Rome. Rumors have it that it was Lyca, the she-wolf, that raised Remus and Romulus.

Sometime in AD, Lyca gave birth to three boys. This is when they state, they were fully Human, with the wolf heritage under the skins.

Dilios Note: The werewolf legend is likely to have come from them. Though they don’t have to turn at the full moon, it does bring more animal instincts out.