Post by HST Seth on Oct 12, 2014 7:31:36 GMT
Loyalists
Were Vampires not born of rebellion?
Did Caine not cast off the yoke of God when he murdered Abel, and forever alter his own destiny?
Is it not his legacy that we follow?
These are the questions that Loyalists claim for their namesake. Vampires have grown stagnant and complacent in their power, so say the Loyalists, and it is the Sabbat that must shepherd their people through the valley of darkness.
Or at least that's what the idealists claim. Unfortunately the faction is too often judged by the most short-sighted of it's members. Many a young Cainite has balked at the notion of respecting some self-impressed elder merely based on hear-say, and claimed allegiance to the Loyalists as justification. Also unfortunate is that these revolutionary minds compose the vast majority of the Loyalist's number.
To their credit, most loyalists are born of a drive to end the factional-rivalries that plague the Sabbat; some even say that the battle against the Antediluvians can be won if the sect is united in loyalty to it's dark father. The passion of it's preachers and frustration with the petty fragmentative games of the Elders has brought an ever growing number of blurry eyed youngsters to the cause.
The Loyalists' single biggest obstacle is their own lack of organization. A faction born of rebellion, they demonstrate a trademark contempt for authority rarely matched elsewhere in the sect and are all too happy to take a stand even when unnecessary. They unwittingly maintain an image of the immature fledgeling, self-entitled to accolades and prestige without the years of work many veterans have invested in the sect.
For better or for worse, where there's the old, there's a Loyalist ready to fight for the new.
History
Many Loyalists will claim that they have existed since the Council of Thorns in the hearts of every Cainite who holds true to the value of freedom and individuality. The more down-to-earth members say that the movement is a modern day manifestation of a sentiment that was certainly expressed since that fateful meeting and has been echoed by many a visionary since, but has only recently congealed into a more openly spoken political stance.
Loyalist philosophy, in so much as it has ever been concentrated into a focused ideology, started gaining momentum in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. Several neonates of the time took inspiration from the humans who rose up to change the societal norms that had brought so much restriction and oppression. Multitudes of fledglings across the country seized on that momentum; and from the chaos emerged the Loyalist movement.
Vietnam, The Gulf War, The War On Terror, the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Every time there has been revolution the Loyalists have seen a surge in support. In the half-century since it’s inception the faction has experienced an almost telling rise in membership. Many an Elder, in these final nights, looks with caution on the their Kingdoms when the Loyalists are in town.
Organization and Positions
Loyalists lack the cohesion necessary to maintain any true semblance of organization. Some have tried to impose titles and stations of Merit only to find the next pack rejecting them outright. Such is the plight of a faction so single-minded about personal freedom and individuality. Rarely, too, does the movement see members interested in the responsibility of maintaining any formal positions of leadership. Those that do who embrace Loyalist thought are sometimes called Instigators or Upstarts, depending on effectiveness; far too often, however, these same pillars are undermined by their own followers. A faction so constantly in a state of flux simply rarely has use for such foundations as status.
Thus the Loyalists operate on an almost Darwinian system of prestige. If a Cainite can prove their worth, speak truth to power, and encourage others to embrace their freedom then word will likely spread whether they want it to or not.
“But I know The Game and you’ll forget my name,
And I won’t be here in another year,
If I don’t stay on the chart.”
“The Entertainer” by Billy Joel
Prominent Members
Crash Ripley - Ductus of the Trouble Makers
Clan: Brujah
Generation: 11th
Faction Position/Prestige: Loyalist Instigator
Crash Ripley was one of the original Loyalists. Never one to follow orders or bend knee without cause, she has fought the rampant inequalities and subjugation of younglings that she feels undermines the grand mission of the Sabbat. Stationed on the East Coast, and frequently active in New York when possible, she is always happy to stoke the fires of change when given an opportunity. Her charisma and passion has brought countless young vampires to the Loyalist way of thinking. Many a Bishop breathes a sigh of relief as she continues her nomadic pilgrimage across the country, and out of their domain.
Heck
Clan: Gangrel Antitribu
Generation: 9th
Faction Position/Prestige: Loyalist
Heck has always been the lone-wolf type. He goes where he wants, fights who he hates, and says what he damn well means; fuck any elders who think they can tell him otherwise. It’s probably why his sire found him interesting enough to embrace, but too frustrating to teach. Heck has been a thorn in the side of Bishop Maurice of Harrisburg, constantly badmouthing the power mad Elder Lasombra’s decrees for the domain and picking fights for even the most negligible of slights; many of the city’s Cainites wonder how much longer it will be before the Bishop’s patience runs out...
Julio Vargas
Clan: Lasombra
Generation: 10th
Faction Position/Prestige: Loyalist Upstart
Julio Vargas was never content to follow; Julio Vargas was also never strong enough to force his way to the top. So when he heard about a movement of Neonates standing up to their elders, Julio Vargas saw an opportunity. He has surrounded himself with like-minded lackeys and plays them to his tune. His power-grabbing, short-sighted antics have gotten him kicked out of three cities so far, but this has done little to hobble his stride; after all, time is one thing an immortal will never run short of.