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

Category: Character Introduction

Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Cynisca

Sanguen: Member

Cynisca was born in the ancient Greek city of Sparta and was the daughter of the Eurypontid king of Sparta, Archidamus II, and Eupoleia. She was also the sister of the later king of Sparta, Agesilaus II. She is said to have been a tomboy, an expert equestrian and very wealthy, the perfect qualifications for a successful trainer. She was exceedingly ambitious to succeed at the Olympic Games and the first woman to breed horses and win an Olympic victory, according to Pausanias.

Her name means ‘female puppy’ in Ancient Greek. She was named after her grandfather Zeuxidamus, who was called Cyniscos. It is possible that this name related to a specific kind of dog in Sparta, the female bloodhounds which were famous for their ability to find their quarries by their scent.

(Dilios Note: You call her a bitch, she’ll rip you to shreds – just sayin’)

While most women in the ancient Greek world were kept in seclusion and forbidden to learn any kind of skills in sports, riding or hunting, Spartan women by contrast were brought up from girlhood to excel at these things so as to produce strong children, by going through early training similar to that of their brothers.

The ancient Olympic Games were almost entirely male-only and women were forbidden even to set foot in the main stadium at Olympia, where running events and combat sports were held. Women were allowed to enter only the equestrian events, not by running but by owning and training the horses. Cynisca employed men and entered her team at the Olympics, where it won in the four-horse chariot racing twice, in 396 BC and again in 392 BC.

There have been some speculations over the motives of Agesilaus in directing his sister to join the equestrian competitions. One explanation is that he wanted to rekindle the warlike spirit in the Spartan society, which had given ground for the sake of a win in the Olympic Games. Another possible reason is that Agesilaus wanted to display Cynisca’s abilities, or promote women generally.

According to Xenophon, she was encouraged to breed horses and compete in the Games, by her brother Agesilaus II, in an attempt to discredit the sport. He viewed success in chariot racing as a victory without merit, which was only a mark of wealth and lavish outlay due to the involvement of the horses’ owner, while in the other events the decisive factor was a man’s bravery and virtue. By having a woman win, he hoped to show the sport to be unmanly, but Cynisca’s victories did not stop wealthy Spartans engaging in the sport.

However, Cynisca was honored by having a bronze statue of a chariot and horses, a charioteer and a statue of herself in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, by the side of the statue of Troilus, made by Apelles, and an inscription written declaring that she was the only female to win the wreath in the chariot events at the Olympic Games. The first person in the inscription indicates that Cynisca was willing to push herself forward and Xenophon says that this inscription was Agesilaus’ idea. In addition to this, a hero-shrine of Cynisca was erected in Sparta at Plane-tree Grove, where religious ceremonies were held. Only Spartan kings were graced in this way and Cynisca was the first woman to receive this honor.

For More Information contact Vampire Council Library

Gorgo admired her for her work and dedication to the horses. She approached Cynisca after her first Olympics, wanting to see if she would want to be Turned. While meeting with her, one of the horse spooked, and Cynisca risked her life to stop the horse from injuring himself and others, but was injured in the process. Gorgo came to her side and offered another option.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Aryabhata

Sanguen: Member

Aryabhata was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the Aryabhatiya (499 CE, when he was 23 years old) and the Arya-siddhanta.

Aryabhata mentions in the Aryabhatiya that it was composed 3,600 years into the Kali Yuga, when he was 23 years old. This corresponds to 499 CE, and implies that he was born in 476.

Aryabhata provides no information about his place of birth. The only information comes from Bhaskara I, who describes Aryabhata as asmakiya, “one belonging to the asmaka country.” During the Buddha’s time, a branch of the Asmaka people settled in the region between the Narmada and Godavari rivers in central India; Aryabhata is believed to have been born there.

It is fairly certain that, at some point, he went to Kusumapura for advanced studies and lived there for some time. Both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, as well as Bhaskara I (CE 629), identify Kusumapura as Paaliputra, modern Patna. A verse mentions that Aryabhata was the head of an institution (kulapa) at Kusumapura, and, because the university of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time and had an astronomical observatory, it is speculated that Aryabhata might have been the head of the Nalanda university as well. Aryabhata is also reputed to have set up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar

For More Information Contact Vampire Council Library

Archimedes had traveled with Marsani in areas of India, and when he had heard of Aryabhata, he went to speak to the young man, impressed with his ideas. He sat down to talk with him on many things, finally giving him the option he was given.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum INspiraiton: Gorgo

Sanguen: Council Member

Note: You might notice a change in how the bios look on the wiki.  We haven’t quite figured out what exactly happened, but when they updated wordpress, the tabs got screwed up and stopped working.  So we changed themes … will it worked slightly.  Tabs now only work on Pages, not Post.  Considering all our bios used tabs this is a problem.

The plugin we used for tabs hasn’t been updated in over a year, and come to find out webpage no longer exsists – so yeah we had to come up with something new.  None of the other programs worked the way we needed so we decided to showcase the bio differently.

As there are over a 1000 characters this is a slow process.  When we do Sylum Inspirations – the bios will get updated.  Meantime we’re first working through bios that already have new images – starting with Border and working our way forward.  When we uploaded a new image, we’ll update the bio.  The info is still there just doesn’t look as clean, as the new updates.

Gorgo was the daughter and the only known child of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta (r. 520–490 BC) during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. She was the wife of King Leonidas I, Cleomenes’ half-brother, who fought and died in the Battle of Thermopylae. Gorgo is noted as one of the few female historical figures actually named by Herodotus, and was known for her political judgement and wisdom. She is notable for being the daughter of a King of Sparta, the wife of another king of Sparta, and the mother of a third king of Sparta.

Her father Cleomenes was the eldest-born son of the previous Agiad king, Anaxandridas II, and succeeded his father at his death; however, he had three paternal half-brothers, of whom the second, Dorieus, would cause him some trouble. The other two half-brothers were Leonidas I and Cleombrotus. All four were sons of Anaxandridas II, one of the dual kings of Sparta of the Agiad house.

According to one version, Gorgo’s grandfather Anaxandridas II was long married without children, and was advised to remarry (i.e. take a second wife) which he did. His second wife gave birth to the future Cleomenes I who was thus his eldest son; however, his first wife subsequently became pregnant, and eventually gave birth to three sons, including Leonidas I. This version is however not supported by other sources, which imply that Cleomenes was either born by the king’s first marriage or by a non-marital alliance. In either case, there appears to have been some tension between the eldest son and his half-brothers, resolved only by the former’s death (or murder) and the accession of Leonidas I (at once his half-brother and his son-in-law).

Gorgo’s mother is unknown, but she was certainly Spartan since she was Leonidas’ Queen. Little about Gorgo’s childhood is known, although she was probably raised like other Spartan girls of noble family, well fed, encouraged in daily physical exercise, and educated, including literacy and numeracy. She would have learned to ride and drive chariots and have taken part in Sparta’s many festivals, dancing and singing in chorus.

According to Herodotus’s Histories, at about the age of eight to nine years old, she advised her father Cleomenes not to trust Aristagoras of Miletus, a foreign diplomat trying to induce Cleomenes to support an Ionian revolt against Persians. “Father, you had better have this man go away, or the stranger will corrupt you.” Cleomenes followed her advice. Scholars have suggested, however, that Herodotus intentionally reduced Gorgo’s age at the time of this incident to make her father look particularly foolish. More likely, Herodotus underestimated her age simply because in other Greek cities girls were married at age 12 or 13 and so rarely in their father’s household as teenagers or adults. It is more probable, that Gorgo was closer to 18 or 19 at the time of this incident.
Presumably, after Cleomenes’s death, his only surviving child Gorgo became his sole heiress. She was apparently already married by 490 (in her early teens) to her half-uncle Leonidas I.  Leonidas and Gorgo would have at least one child, a son, Pleistarchus, co-King of Sparta from 480 BC to his death in 459 BC/458 BC.

Arguably, Gorgo’s most significant role occurred prior to the Persian invasion of 480 BC. According to Herodotus’s Histories, Demaratus, then in exile at the Persian court, sent a warning to Sparta about Xerxes’s pending invasion. In order to prevent the message from being intercepted by the Persians or their vassal states, the message was written on a wooden tablet and then covered with wax. “The Spartans”, presumably the ephors, Gerousia or the kings, did not know what to do with the seemingly blank wax-tablet, until Queen Gorgo advised them to clear the wax off the tablet. She is described by David Kahn in his book The Codebreakers as one of the first female cryptanalysts whose name has been recorded.

There are also indications that Gorgo travelled outside of Sparta, specifically to Athens. Virtually all of Leonidas’ reign was dominated by his efforts to form a coalition of Greek states willing to resist the impending Persian invasion. This entailed close coordination with the other main opponent of Persia, Athens. It is likely, therefore, that Leonidas travelled to Athens more than once. That Gorgo accompanied can be inferred from two quotes attributed to her by Plutarch. First, he records that “a stranger in a finely embroidered robe” made advances to Gorgo earning the rebuke that “he couldn’t even play a female role”. While a stranger might have been in Sparta, it is not very likely that he would risk making advances to a Spartan Queen in the midst of her highly armed and notoriously proud subjects. More to the point, however, Gorgo could only make a reference to the theater (playing a female role), if she had experienced it. Sparta is not believed to have had theater at this time, whereas it was already very popular in Athens. Even more explicit is the fact that Gorgo’s most famous quip about only Spartan women giving birth to men was, according to Plutarch, made in answer to “a woman from Attica”. Since women from Attica were not supposed to leave the women’s quarters of their own homes, it is inconceivable that a woman from Attica would have travelled to Sparta. Spartan women, on the other hand, drove chariots and travelled around Lacedaemon on their own, making it perfectly plausible that Gorgo travelled with her husband (and his bodyguard) on one or more of his trips to other Greek cities.

According to Plutarch, before the Battle of Thermopylae, knowing that her husband’s death in battle was inevitable, she asked him what to do. Leonidas replied “marry a good man who will treat you well, bear him children, and live a good life”.

For More Information Contact Vampire Council Library

When Dilios returned to tell the story of what happened, he ended up ostracized from Sparta. Later he returned, finding Gorgo to tell her the story of her husband. She asked what was different about him, he told him the gods had given him a gift to continue the story of Sparta.

She requested the same gift.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Aristotle

Sanguen: Advisor

Note: You might notice a change in how the bios look on the wiki.  We haven’t quite figured out what exactly happened, but when they updated wordpress, the tabs got screwed up and stopped working.  So we changed themes … will it worked slightly.  Tabs now only work on Pages, not Post.  Considering all our bios used tabs this is a problem.

The plugin we used for tabs hasn’t been updated in over a year, and come to find out webpage no longer exsists – so yeah we had to come up with something new.  None of the other programs worked the way we needed so we decided to showcase the bio differently.

As there are over a 1000 characters this is a slow process.  When we do Sylum Inspirations – the bios will get updated.  Meantime we’re first working through bios that already have new images – starting with Border and working our way forward.  When we uploaded a new image, we’ll update the bio.  The info is still there just doesn’t look as clean, as the new updates.

Aristotle, whose name means “the best purpose”, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice, about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki. His father Nicomachus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Although there is little information on Aristotle’s childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy.

At about the age of eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Plato’s Academy. He remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. The traditional story about his departure records that he was disappointed with the Academy’s direction after control passed to Plato’s nephew Speusippus, although it is possible that he feared anti-Macedonian sentiments and left before Plato had died.

Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor. There, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermias’s adoptive daughter or niece. She bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias’ death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC.

Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings: Ptolemy and Cassander. Aristotle encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest and his attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous example, he counsels Alexander to be “a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants”.

By 335 BC, Artistotle had returned to Athens, establishing his own school there known as the Lyceum. Aristotle conducted courses at the school for the next twelve years. While in Athens, his wife Pythias died and Aristotle became involved with Herpyllis of Stagira, who bore him a son whom he named after his father, Nicomachus. According to the Suda, he also had an eromenos, Palaephatus of Abydus.

This period in Athens, between 335 and 323 BC, is when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. He wrote many dialogues of which only fragments have survived. Those works that have survived are in treatise form and were not, for the most part, intended for widespread publication; they are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students. His most important treatises include Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul) and Poetics.

Aristotle not only studied almost every subject possible at the time, but made significant contributions to most of them. In physical science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology. In philosophy, he wrote on aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, economics, psychology, rhetoric and theology. He also studied education, foreign customs, literature and poetry. His combined works constitute a virtual encyclopedia of Greek knowledge.

Near the end of his life, Alexander and Aristotle became estranged over Alexander’s relationship with Persia and Persians. A widespread tradition in antiquity suspected Aristotle of playing a role in Alexander’s death, but there is little evidence.

Following Alexander’s death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens was rekindled. In 322 BC, Eurymedon the Hierophant denounced Aristotle for not holding the gods in honor, prompting him to flee to his mother’s family estate in Chalcis, explaining: “I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy” – a reference to Athens’s prior trial and execution of Socrates.

For More Information contact the Vampire Council Library

Aristotle was ready to leave this earth, when he was visited by an old friend. When he saw Alexander he first thought he had already gone to the afterlife. It took a few moments for Alexander to convince him he wasn’t insane or dead. When he was told about Vampires, Aristotle knew this is what his life had led up to.

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Character Introduction / Sylum Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: William Tecumseh Sherman

Sylum: Member

 

Born Tecumseh Sherman, his father named him after the famed Shawnee Warrior. Tecumseh was one of eleven children. Following the sudden death of his father, his mother was unable to take care of all the children, and sent him to live with Thomas Ewing. Thomas’ wife Maria, a devoted Catholic, wouldn’t allow Tecumseh into her household until he was properly baptized and was renamed William.

At age 16 he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the beginning of a long career in the military. In 1850 he married Eleanor Ewing, the daughter of Thomas and Marie, and they had eight children, all raised by their mother’s strict Catholic tendencies. In 1853 he left the military after pressure from his wife’s family, and moved to San Francisco to become a banker. The stress of banking and the climate finally led to Sherman leaving and taking up banking in Kansas. By 1859 he had taken the position as Superintendent of Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he resigned his commission and moved North.

He first saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as the Battle of Mananas). His wounds and the defeat by the Confederacy led him to question himself and the war. After spending time to recover, he was assigned to General Hiram Ulysses Grant. The two struck up a strong friendship which changed the course of the War.

When Grant broke his leg entering into New Orleans, they were taken in by Sylum Manor. When the Manor was attacked by Raiders, Sherman was mortally wounded. Jack Aubrey, knowing the importance this man had on the war and on Grant, asked if he wanted to be turned. Sherman consented.

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Character Introduction / Sylum Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Peter Mitchell

Sylum: Member

Peter Mitchell grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot. Take after his father Duke Mitchell, who served with the VF-51 squadron aboard the USS Oriskany (CV-34) during the Vietnam War, and was killed in action when his Phantom was shot down.

Peter graduated high school in the top ten of the class, then promptly signed up for the US Navy.

He moved up the ranks, got into flight school, and can still remember the first moment he lifted off the deck of an Aircraft Carrier. He will be the first to tell you he was a cocky son of a bitch and arrogant on the fact he really was that good.

Though despite his attitude, he’s recommended for the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School, known as “Top Gun”, at NAS Miramar. He ends up going with his friend Goose, now his top crew.

It’s during training he meets Timothy Quinn, who is a civilian hired to train at Top Gun. Speed though impressed with Maverick’s skills, thinks hes a moron and calls him on it daily.

Near the end of the program, Maverick and Iceman both chase Jester. Under intense pressure from Maverick, Iceman breaks off. Maverick’s F-14 flies through the jet wash of Iceman’s aircraft and suffers a flameout of both engines, entering a flat spin from which he cannot recover, forcing both Maverick and Goose to eject. Goose ejects but his parachute fails to open.

Although the board of inquiry clears Maverick of responsibility, he feels guilty for Goose’s death, losing his aggressiveness when flying. Speed slaps him when Maverick considers leaving the Navy.

It was Speed who finally told him his responsibility was now taking care of Goose’s wife and child. That he was a born pilot and stop mopping around. He had known his father, flew brilliantly in Vietnam, died a hero.

Three days later Maverick showed up asking how Speed knew his father. Once the whole story of Vampires got out, Maverick wanted it. He wanted to be able to watch over his ‘family’ make sure Goose’s kid grows up, lives a long life.

 

 

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Character Introduction / Sylum Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Templeton Peck

Sylum: Member

Left on the doorstep of Sacred Heart Orphanage in Los Angeles at the age of three, he didn’t even remember his true name. He took the name Templeton Peck because it sounded important and respectful. He learned from an early age that he had a beautiful smile and used it to get what he needed and wanted. There were very few people in the world he respected; the one man he looked to as a father figure was Father O’Malley at the Orphanage.

Father O’Malley pushed for Templeton to enter collage afraid he would be drafted into the War. Templeton enrolled at USC for the fall. During that summer, he worked his craft to earn enough to buy a ring for his high school sweetheart. When he showed up at her parents’ home to pick her up, he was informed that she had left, leaving him only a letter.

He joined the Army the next day.

His test results had the Army putting him in Officer Candidate School (OCS). The skills he showed during training led to his recruitment into Special Forces. It wasn’t long before he was shipped over to Vietnam holding the rank of Lieutenant, where he was recruited into a SOG Unit. After a failed mission, his unit was dismantled and he was placed under the command of Major Hannibal King. He became fast friends with the small unit, especially their pilot Humphrey Marrion Murdock.

On a routine mission they were ambushed and captured by the Vietcong and sent to a POW Camp. For reasons Templeton couldn’t explain, he was singled out of the unit to be interrogated. Each day it got worse and harder for him to hold on. After another grueling session he was thrown back into the cell. He knew he wasn’t going to live to see the morning. All he wanted was to say goodbye to Murdock and tell him he was sorry for leaving him again.

When Hannibal gave him another option, Templeton Peck took it and never looked back.

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Character Introduction / Sylum Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Jack Bauer

Sylum: Hunter

Jack was born in Santa Monica, CA, the oldest son of Phillip Bauer. Little is known of his mother – Jack rarely speaks of her.  Phillip intended for Jack to follow in his footsteps as head of his company BJX Technologies, but Jack chose a career in the military instead.

He joined the US Army, working his way up to the elite unit, Delta Force. While in the Army, Jack received several commendations for performance under fire. He left the Army with the rank of Captain, and made a career of working for various federal and state/local government agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, and a stint as case officer in the clandestine service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  He is now Lead Field Agent/Field Ops Director for the CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit).

He has demonstrated a high proficiency with firearms, explosives, electronic devices, resistance to torture (Dilios Note: After being kidnapped by Chinese agents, and tortured for almost two years, it is revealed he didn’t speak a single word for the whole time). He is fluent in German and has demonstrated ability to speak Spanish , Russian, Arabic, and Serbian.  He’s also shown to fly planes and helicopters.

His wife, Terri, was killed by a terrorist, J ack blames himself for her death. His daughter, Kim, worked with him at CTU, while dating Bauer’s partner Chase.

After a day from hell, Kim dumped Chase and disappeared.

Jack was left picking up the pieces.

Jack was Turned Without Consent and to this day doesn’t know who Turned him. The only one who does is Richard Riddick. Jack was taken to Nicolaus Valerius Meridius soon after Turning and swore loyalty to Sylum Clan, training as a Hunter. He had also visited Josiah Scurlock at The Border Clan learning about his history and family.

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Character Introduction / Shogun Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Nakano Takeko

Shogun: Hunter

 

Nakano, born in Edo, was the daughter of Nakano Heinai, an Aizu official. She was thoroughly trained in the martial and literary arts, and was adopted by her teacher Akaoka Daisuke. After working with her adoptive father as a martial arts instructor during the 1860s, Nakano entered Aizu for the first time in 1868.

During the Battle of Aizu, she fought with a naginata and was the leader of an ad hoc corps of female combatants who fought in the battle independently, as the senior Aizu retainers did not allow them to fight as an official part of the domain’s army. This unit was later retroactively called the Women’s Army (娘子隊 Jōshitai).

While leading a charge against Imperial Japanese Army troops of the Ōgaki Domain  she was fatally shot in the chest. Rather than let the enemy capture her head as a trophy, she asked her sister, Yūko, to cut it off and have it buried. It was taken to Hōkai Temple and buried under a pine tree.

For More Information contact the Vampire Council Library

She had caught the attention of Katsumoto, and he had sent Lady Blossom to find more about the woman warrior.  Through their meeting, Nakano learned about Vampires. She became intrigued and soon sought out Blossom to discuss being Turned.

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Character Introduction / Shogun Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Niccolò Polo

Shogun: Member

Leaving Niccolò’s infant son Marco behind, Niccolò and Maffeo left Venice for Constantinople, where they resided for several years. The two brothers lived in the Venetian quarter of Constantinople, where they enjoyed diplomatic immunity, political chances and tax relief because of their country’s role in establishing the Latin Empire in the Fourth Crusade of 1204. However, the family judged the political situation of the city precarious, so they decided to transfer their business northeast to Soldaia, a city in Crimea, and left Constantinople in 1259 or 1260. Their decision proved wise. Constantinople was recaptured in 1261 by Michael Palaeologus, the ruler of the Empire of Nicaea, who promptly burned and razed the Venetian quarter and reestablished the Byzantine Empire. Captured Venetian citizens were blinded, while many of those who managed to escape perished aboard overloaded refugee ships fleeing to other Venetian colonies in the Aegean Sea.

While in Constantinople the two brothers were invited to Masyaf to hear the stories of Altaïr and Darim.

When Masyaf was attacked by Mongols and Altaïr ended up Turning Niccolò and then helped the explorers escape by using the Apple to fend off the attackers. He gave Niccolò some of his books and sent them to Lealta.

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Character Introduction / Shogun Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Lady Blossom

Shogun: Spy Liaison

Lady Blossom was trained from an early age to work as a courtesan. Her skill set got her into the high ranking levels of Kublai Khan’s ‘pleasure house’. She became one of his favorite courtesans.

It was there she learned information, made connections, and worked through the system to make sure she was protected along with a few girls she took under he wing. When she discovered a spy within the house she used her position to approach Kublai personally. He rewarded her loyalty with her freedom, she chose to stay with the house to protect her ‘girls’.

It was through this she met Sifu, Hundred Eyes. She knew something was different about him from the beginning, and just because he was blind didn’t mean she couldn’t seduce him. He chuckled as she took her own pleasure from him, then demanded answers.

Never a man to truly lie, he told her the truth. He was a Vampire, who was there to watch Khan. He had the added benefit of watching over the young Polo.

She continued her alliance with Sifu, and when the time came requested to be Turned. Pointing out he needed her. She had an inside to Khan, he countered with the fact so did he as did Marco. She also had an in with the Queen, and knew which girls could be useful to get information from other sources, he countered with the fact no one notices the blind man sitting near by.

She finally pulled a knife and demanded. Sifu laughed as he fought with her. At the end he had her pinned to the floor. ‘Now that is why I’ll Turn you’

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Character Introduction / Shogun Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Nathan Algren

Shogun: Co-Leader

Nathan doesn’t talk much about his life before Japan. He fought in the Civil War, was a decorated officer, that saw too many of his men killed.  After the war, he drank to stop the memories and barely held onto his rank and pension.

He was sent to Japan to help train the soldiers into an Imperial Army. Except they were kids and not even close to being ready to face battle. When they sent them anyway he rode in afterwards trying to save those he could.

He ended up taken by Takamori, the Shogun warrior holding back the Emperors advances. He hated the man instantly, yet felt a pull to him that made him want to do anything he asked. Takamori detoxed him, trained him, and then sent him to battle.

Nathan watched in horror as they were slaughted now under true military soldiers. He carried Takamori’s sword to the young emperor and told his story. All of it. Including what war does to a man. Showed him the honor of Takamori’s heritage.

He returned to the village only to discover Takamori was actually Katsumoto, a Vampire and his Mate.

He was Turned and Claimed that night.

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Character Introduction / Ghost and Darkness2

Sylum Inspiration: T’Challa

Ghost/Darkness: Member

Note: I actually prepped this post back in July/August (prepping for the move).  Little did I know how eerie of a timing this was going to be.  Rest in Peace Chadwick Boseman – you’re an inspiration to us all #wakandaforever

The Black Panther is the ceremonial title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of the advanced African nation of Wakanda. In addition to ruling the country, he is also chief of its various tribes (collectively referred to as the Wakandas). The Panther habit is a symbol of office (head of state) and is used even during diplomatic missions. The Panther is a hereditary title, but one must still earn it.

In the distant past, a meteorite made of the vibration-absorbing mineral vibranium crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed. Reasoning that outsiders would exploit Wakanda for this valuable resource, the ruler, King T’Chaka, like his father and other Panthers before him, concealed his country from the outside world. T’Chaka’s first wife N’Yami died while in labor with T’Challa, and his second wife Ramonda was taken prisoner by Anton Pretorius during a visit to her homeland of South Africa, so for most of his childhood T’Challa was raised by his father alone.

The Wakanda’s had always known about the Ghost/Darkness Clan, and the two kept each other hidden, but where there for each other if needed.

T’Chaka was murdered by the adventurer Ulysses Klaw in an attempt to seize the vibranium. With his people still in danger, a young T’Challa transformed for the first time, giving away the secret that many had not known, and killed Klaw.

That the Black Panther was an actual Panther.

His uncle took over the throne until T’Challa was old enough to be a true leader.  T’Challa did everything he could to study his people’s history and culture.  He also took time to spend with Ghost/Darkness to learn more of the outside worlds.

He claimed back his throne, and became a good King to his people.  A few years afterwards, while traveling between Wakanda and Ghost/Darkness home base, he was ambushed by poachers.  He took a shot to the hip, but was able to escape them.

He thought himself ready to die, only to have Owen Grady smiling down at him – asking if the ‘kitty wanted to live’

He loved and hated him for that.

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Character Introduction / Ghost and Darkness1

Sylum Inspiration: Bessie Coleman

Ghost/Darkness: Member

Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, the tenth of thirteen children to sharecroppers George Coleman, who was mostly Cherokee and part African-American, and Susan, who was African-American. When Coleman was two years old, her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas, where she lived until age 23. Coleman began attending school in Waxahachie at the age of six. She had to walk four miles each day to her segregated, one-room school, where she loved to read and established herself as an outstanding math student. She completed all eight grades in that school. Every year, Coleman’s routine of school, chores, and church was interrupted by the cotton harvest. In 1901, George Coleman left his family. He returned to Oklahoma, or Indian Territory, as it was then called, to find better opportunities; but Susan and her family did not go along. At the age of 12, Bessie was accepted into the Missionary Baptist Church School on scholarship. When she turned eighteen, she took her savings and enrolled in the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now called Langston University) in Langston, Oklahoma. She completed one term before her money ran out and she returned home.

n 1916 at the age of 23, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she lived with her brothers. In Chicago, she worked as a manicurist at the White Sox Barber Shop. There she heard stories from pilots returning home from World War I about flying during the war. She took a second job at a chili parlor to procure money faster to become a pilot. American flight schools admitted neither women nor blacks. Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender, encouraged her to study abroad. Coleman received financial backing from banker Jesse Binga and the Defender.

With the age of commercial flight still a decade or more in the future, Coleman quickly realized that in order to make a living as a civilian aviator she would have to become a “barnstorming” stunt flier, and perform for paying audiences. But to succeed in this highly competitive arena, she would need advanced lessons and a more extensive repertoire. Returning to Chicago, Coleman could not find anyone willing to teach her, so in February 1922, she sailed again for Europe. She spent the next two months in France completing an advanced course in aviation, then left for the Netherlands to meet with Anthony Fokker, one of the world’s most distinguished aircraft designers. She also traveled to Germany, where she visited the Fokker Corporation and received additional training from one of the company’s chief pilots. She then returned to the United States to launch her career in exhibition flying.

“Queen Bess,” as she was known, was a highly popular draw for the next five years. Invited to important events and often interviewed by newspapers, she was admired by both blacks and whites. She primarily flew Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes and other aircraft which had been army surplus aircraft left over from the war. She made her first appearance in an American airshow on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I. Held at Curtiss Field on Long Island near New York City and sponsored by her friend Abbott and the Chicago Defender newspaper, the show billed Coleman as “the world’s greatest woman flier”[12] and featured aerial displays by eight other American ace pilots, and a jump by black parachutist Hubert Julian. Six weeks later she returned to Chicago to deliver a stunning demonstration of daredevil maneuvers—including figure eights, loops, and near-ground dips to a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Checkerboard Airdrome (now the grounds of Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, Illinois, Loyola Hospital, Maywood, and nearby Cook County Forest Preserve).

But the thrill of stunt flying and the admiration of cheering crowds were only part of Coleman’s dream. Coleman never lost sight of her childhood vow to one day “amount to something.” As a professional aviatrix, Coleman would often be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style she brought to her exhibition flying. However, she also quickly gained a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot who would stop at nothing to complete a difficult stunt. In Los Angeles she broke a leg and three ribs when her plane stalled and crashed on February 22, 1923.

In the 1920s, in Orlando, Florida on a speaking tour, she met the Rev. Hezakiah Hill and his wife Viola, community activists who invited her to stay with them at the parsonage of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Washington Street in the neighborhood of Parramore. A local street was renamed “Bessie Coleman” Street in her honor in 2013. The couple, who treated her as a daughter, persuaded her to stay and Coleman opened a beauty shop in Orlando to earn extra money to buy her own plane.

Through her media contacts, she was offered a role in a feature-length film titled Shadow and Sunshine, to be financed by the African American Seminole Film Producing Company. She gladly accepted, hoping the publicity would help to advance her career and provide her with some of the money she needed to establish her own flying school. But upon learning that the first scene in the movie required her to appear in tattered clothes, with a walking stick and a pack on her back, she refused to proceed. “Clearly … [Bessie’s] walking off the movie set was a statement of principle. Opportunist though she was about her career, she was never an opportunist about race. She had no intention of perpetuating the derogatory image most whites had of most blacks” wrote Doris Rich.

Coleman would not live long enough to establish a school for young black aviators but her pioneering achievements served as an inspiration for a generation of African-American men and women. “Because of Bessie Coleman,” wrote Lieutenant William J. Powell in Black Wings (1934), dedicated to Coleman, “we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream.” Powell served in a segregated unit during World War I, and tirelessly promoted the cause of black aviation through his book, his journals, and the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, which he founded in 1929.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library.

It was during her time as a pilot she met Steve Trevor.  He liked her instantly, she reminded him of his own Mate … kicking ass and taking names.  He liked her idea of a school, but knew it wouldn’t be easy for her – yet knew she had already surpassed so many obstacles.

He told her about Vampires and gave her the opportunity.

She didn’t hesitate to take it.

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Character Introduction / Ghost and Darkness1

Sylum Inspiration: Owen Grady

Ghost/Darkness: Scientist

Owen Grady grew up in London, raised by his mother and grandfather. He heard stories of his father, who had left the family for Africa. He entered into the British Military like his father and grandfather, but after seeing only a portion of battles he knew it wasn’t his place.

After his mother died, soon followed by his grandfather, he set out to Africa to find his father. He wasn’t impressed.

Though he understood why he stayed in Africa. He fell in love with the land, the animals, the people. It didn’t take long for him to figure out about Vampires, especially as he had seen and heard rumors when he had visited the West Country about Arthur and his Knights.

He wasn’t expecting to be Turned, but when one of the Clayton’s lions lashed out, he was in the wrong place. Muldoon didn’t give him much of a choice.

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