Clan de Beljeferon, A History

RavenBlack City has been around for a great long time, longer than many of its current inhabitants are aware.  The City started out but a small, dusty patch with few permanent inhabitants.   The vampyre community used it as a convenient crossroads to lure fresh victims to and then quietly dispose of the... remains.  It had something of a bad reputation, to state it gently.  In fact, there was an angry, torch-wielding mob on it’s way to the town with intent to take matters into their own hands when our benefactor, Lord Raven Black, took responsibility for the town and laid the plans to bring Law and Order (of a sort) to the residents and thus protect both them and the neighboring communities.    Upon the rough foundations of the crossroads town Raven Black City arose.
 

In those early days, a handful of even-then powerful Vampyre Lords made the new City their home.  These Lords set up castles and keeps within the City and began to draw followers to their causes.  There were deeply Evil Lords and some reasonably Good ones.  There was but one True Neutral Lord -Lord Beljeferon de Centari. 

When the then Count beheld the City he noted that already lines were being drawn and war was fomenting - the City would be a bleak and war-torn wreckage, or worst yet, in the claws of an egomaniacal overlord.  Lord Beljeferon vowed to form a Neutral Haven in the City for all peaceful vampyres to find sanctuary within.  To this end, Centari Keep was raised within the City and Clan de Beljeferon formed in those very early days of the City.  Within a short time, the City was indeed torn by vast, bloody wars.  There were never any victors; just many loses on all sides.  Clan de Beljeferon never participated in these Clan Wars (though often was Count Beljeferon himself targeted out of fear and loathing of the various warlords.)  Yet never did Lord Beljeferon falter and never did Clan de Beljeferon fall under any direct attack, only it’s Liege.  When the smoke settled no clear victor stood, yet still strong was Clan de Beljeferon and its Lord, now Duke Beljeferon. 

Duke Beljeferon continued to draw followers to the cause of neutrality and peaceful relations within the City.  The Duke took control of the floundering High Council and worked hard to make it into a glorious, truly neutral forum for all the great leaders of the City to come together peacefully and discuss the path the City should take into the future.  At the same time, Clan de Beljeferon grew and became strong and well organized.   These were golden times for both the Duke and the Clan.

Alas, into every fairy tale an evil presence must enter.  Indeed this was the case with Clan de Beljeferon also.  Two black-hearted Witches entered the Keep and insinuated themselves into the good graces of the much beleaguered Duke.  They soothed him with sugar coated words and promises of loyalty and fidelity.   They insinuated themselves into the fabric of the Clan and began carefully poisoning the healthy heart of the strong Family.  Always is the witch a two-faced temptress.  Thusly did the Evil Witches enchant Duke Beljeferon and earn his misplaced trust.  Events in the other holdings of the Duke became difficult and demanded more and more of his precious time and energy.  As the Duke was forced to deal more and more with these pressing and urgent matters, he was frequently called away from the Keep.  Blinded by the insidious enchantment he did not see until too late the true nature of the Witches.  It took the combined voices of many of his loyal subjects raised together to disrupt the vile enchantment. 

Once the veil was removed from the Duke’s eyes, he quickly moved to redress the grievous harm that had been done to his beloved Family in his absence.  The Evil Witched had befouled the Great Hall of Centari Keep and forever made it an unclean and unhealthy place.  They had run off all the clear thinking subjects and surrounded themselves with sycophants and other witches.  There was no saving the Great Hall.  The Duke had no choice but to seal it forever and use his Powers to sink it deep into the earth, safe away from the good vampyres of RavenBlack City.  He converted the Acolyte’s Hall into the New Great Hall and rose up the Towers of Centari Keep once more to the face of the moon for all peaceful and loyal vampyres to reside within.

Clan de Beljeferon and Centari Keep still stand and are yet strong and resolute.  The Duke has been raised to the exulted rank of Grand Duke now, and the Clan is honored to be in the capable hands of  Tanaiste  Countess Latristesse,  Earl Mordecai, Baroness Cypher, Viscount Grage, The Honorable Viscountess Hailey Crim, Lady harlequin, Count Ashlan, and Duchess Alabaster.