Gabrovo Grad

Gabrovo Province x Southern Court

Climate

The city has a continental climate, owing to its position close to the Balkan Mountains and distance from the Black Sea. Gabrovo has hot summers and cold, snowy winters – which is good for the popular sky resorts in the nearby Uzana area. This part of Bulgaria has all four seasons, although spring is brief and falls mainly in April. The average high daily temperature in summer is about 27 C (81 F) and in winter about 4 C (39 F).

History

Legend: In order to differentiate between mortal affairs and those of the damned, the following updates in recent events will be from this point on, in one of two forms. In the case of mortal affairs, newspaper articles in normal black text. Immortal affairs will be seen from the point of view of the Weeping Angel who has a more than Birdseye view of supernatural events in Gabrovo Grad - the angel's dialogue will be in red script.

2009: During the course of the summer, the city experienced a period of social unrest and political upheaval. Apparently, communist forces had been gathering within the city's infrastructure for two decades and for reasons known only to the most highly placed conspirators, they launched a preemptive bid for control of Gabrovo Grad. A few loyal police and courageous freedom fighters battled the Red forces guerrilla style until reinforcements from the capital arrived.

The arrival of the military and federal police changed the equation and the communists were routed in days. But the process of rooting out communist cells, local sympathizers and disarming local militia men took the remainder of the summer.

That autumn was filled with tremendous changes throughout local and provincial government. The capital appointed a military governor and began a series of hearings to determine what had happened. What was found stunned even the most paranoid, a complex chain of communist cells led by a political mastermind, funded by the Red Underground and trained by an elite group of Soviet paramilitaries. The planned takeover failed because of a few highly placed whistle-blowers who leaked the plan just days before it would have toppled not only the provincial, but the national government as well.

The evidence was overwhelming and led to a lengthy series of trials, most of the politicians involved were jailed as traitors, a few unwitting fools were exonerated, but lost their government appointments and were barred from re-election. Though the majority of the local police force were exonerated of communist conspiracy, they were found guilty on charges of corruption and incompetence, resulting in their termination from law enforcement. The local and provincial government was almost a complete loss, leading to the installation of a whole new crop of civil servants drawn from less important positions or brought in from the public sector.

Gabrovo Grad has recovered slowly over the course of the last three years. The hard feelings of those who had fought on one side or the other haven't completely faded and the capital left behind a small group of highly trained and loyal agents to ensure that there would be no further civil unrest.

2010: Unfortunately, the failed communist coup opened the door to a different kind of corruption and the arrival of the Bulgarian Mafia which quickly and quietly insinuated itself into Gabrovo Grad. Despite the best attempts of the shiny new police department, more than one branch of organized crime began to take root.

The first of these was a fairly benign mafioso and former footballer named Todor Nikolev. Todor and his wife Rayana Lukianov-Nikolev took the city's social scene by storm, throwing lavish parties and rubbing shoulders with the old families and the new administration. The Nikolev's were an instant hit and brought with them a carefree lifestyle that the city hadn't seen in decades. Sadly, with in a year, the old mafioso passed away in his sleep and funeral was a grand affair that drew attendance from far and wide.

2011: While the city moved towards reintegration and a new growth, Rayana Lukianov-Nikolev remarried her dead husband's youthful protege Benesj Cherno. The birth of Cherno Industries revitalized the city's industrial sector, created thousands of job and poured millions of Euros into Gabrovo Grad's coffers, allowing the city government to quickly rebuild that which the communist coup had destroyed.

It also brought with it underworld competition, in the form of a disparate group of criminals fleeing the Mafia Wars in the capital. An attack came one evening in late autumn, when several groups of well armed men in black SUVs stormed the then offices of Cherno Industries located in the Volos Building in downtown Gabrovo Grad. The building went dark and passersby heard distant gunfire and muffled explosions. The attack on Cherno Industries was only part of the struggle, as there were several assassinations, including that of a city councilman, his family and a senior police officer, among others. An investigation into the matter was held, but police could find no evidence with which to incriminate the head of Cherno Industries and the entire fiasco was buried to save the newly burgeoning tourist industry from additional negative press.

2012: The next year saw record growth and prosperity for the city and a variety of new businesses that found Gabrovo Grad ideal for development. Unfortunately, along with a surplus of new jobs and the growth of tourism, the city also become host to a surprising number of transients.

2013: New money brought growth in population, both from the prosperity of local families and the arrival of new families seeking employment. The availability of suitable housing and homelessness reared its ugly head and the city began planning for new growth, but failed to see that transients brought with them their own set of problems. The worst of which were social predators: beggars, thieves, addicts, rapists and murderers.

The disappearances must have been going on for several months before the police began to investigate. The difficulty lay in the nature of the victim. How does one begin to investigate the disappearances of homeless people? Despite the reticence of the transient population to talk to law enforcement, the number of possible disappearances was staggering. Unfortunately, the disappearances did not confine themselves to the homeless or transient laborers, but began to happen to tourists and locals as well.

Over the course of the next two years, the investigators worked long hours at crime scenes, canvased neighborhoods for witnesses, created local watch groups and praying for that one clue that would lead them to the killer or killers. But, ironically, praying may have been the most effective means of confronting this new threat to Gabrovo Grad's prosperity.

2015: The winter came in like a lamb, but ravaged the city like a lion. The weather turned suddenly and coincided with a gun-battle in the near downtown in late December. By the new year, the city was buried beneath meters of snow and ice, with no end in sight. While the strange arctic weather brutalized the city and killed thousands, it also provided the police with their first clues into the disappearances.

2016: Many would later question which was worse, the dangerously cold weather or the murderer lurking in the shadows. The capital was quick to respond to this quasi-natural disaster in providing financial and material support to help victims and reopen the city to the rest of the province.

It was a long and brutal winter that saw numerous deaths from the cold, collapsing buildings and in the worst cases, starvation and dehydration. According to the authorities, the worst was over by February, but the arctic weather didn't abate and families began to move away towards the end of February. Then, at the beginning of March, both the disappearances and the cold came to a sudden end.

The spring brought with it warm weather and the capture of a demented group of transients responsible for the disappearances. The number of disappearances had been over estimated, the evidence was incontrovertible and the crazed family of cannibals institutionalized in an new maximum security facility west of Gabrovo Grad.

That spring, the whole mess was swept under the rug with the arrival of the first tourists, the population breathed a collective sigh of relief and the city police congratulated themselves on successfully closing the first big case of their careers - not that any of them would forget the crazed transients and the grisly remains of their victims.

The mad family had formed after the budget cuts of 2008 had closed the institutions confining them and they had escaped to carry out a lengthy spree of murders throughout Bulgaria. Most of the missing tourists turned out to have moved on to other destinations and though a few locals did fall prey to the cannibal family, most had just left town for different destinations. In fact, psychiatric counselors brought into to deal with the grief of those who lost loved ones to the cold, explained away most of the mystery as mass hysteria brought on by natural disaster.

But, despite the end of the cold and the disappearances - a few people have noticed that there is something wrong with their city. While everything makes sense in a rather bizarre way, there are those who aren't completely convinced that everything has returned to normal - but, the vast majority of the city is happy to return to a routine that hold nothing new but travelers from faraway lands with too much money to spend.

In March 2016, the city was destroyed by a VX gas strike perpetrated by a rogue branch of the Serbian air force. Gabrovo and the surrounding countryside were devastated. It will be decades before the poison completely breaks down, and the soil will again be capable of supporting life. The land has been purchased for cents on the euro by a multinational corporation with a long-term plan to cleanse and rebuild the city.

2016 - 2022 -- The Gabrovo Military Quarantine
For the last six years the province of Gabrovo has been under military jurisdiction. A skeletal garrison of a thousand men have patrolled the former province in order to protect would be adventurers from the dangers of potential chemical exposure and a variety of other hazards presented by an abandoned city.

September -- 2022

January -- 2023
The January Revolution kicks off in Sofia on the 7th of that month; it is generally believed that the Bolsheviks are responsible.

Location

The city of Gabrovo was located just north of the geographic center of Bulgaria, which is the small ski resort of Uzana in the Starina Planina mountain range; it is 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) from Uzana to Gabrovo City.

Population

• -- Town (16,943) - Early Census of 2023
• -- City () - Dated census
• -- Metro Area () - Dated census

Historic Population: Up until the 1980s, the population of Gabrovo Grad reflected slow but steady population growth. However, sometime in the late 1980s, the city and province of Gabrovo began a slow but steady decline due to the emigration of young people towards the largest Bulgarian cities or towards western Europe in search of jobs.

In 2009 that population decline came to an abrupt halt due to an influx in jobs and wealth poured into the city by private industry. In fact, over the following six years, the city's population swelled to over 70,000.

Unfortunately, in March of 2016 the city and sizable portion of the province of Gabrovo was decimated by the worst act of terrorism in Bulgarian history. Radical Serbian militants unleashed Cold War era VX gas strike against the city of Gabrovo Grad, killing its entire population. Prevailing northerly winds killed thousands more as the gas was blown over small towns and local homesteads.

The majority of Gabrovo Province was completely evacuated to ensure the survival of the remaining inhabitants. For the last six years the province has remained a military quarantine zone and the population effectively zero.

In late 2016, the Bulgarian Government authorized those private corporations that had acquired legal possession of the lands and property of the quarantine zone permission to begin resettlement. As of early 2023, the province has a population of almost 16 thousand clustered around the old city of Gabrovo Grad.

Brothels (2)

• -- Streusel Haase -- A German owned house of prostitution.

Businesses of Note

Descoteaux Industries

• -- Gérard Merle -- Local Vice-President in charge of Operations
• -- Danièle Roche -- Head of Operations in Gabrovo
• -- Prudence Germain -- Chief Architect
• -- Florent Sarkozi -- Chief Engineer

Castles

Varvara Kale

Architectural Style of the Fortress

The concept behind Varvara Kale is the fusion of 19th century castle romanticism and that of Byzantine Revival architecture to produce a hauntingly uniquely Eastern European style. Varvara is a concentric castle, meaning that entry requires going around the exterior and interior defense more than once - a defensive tactic. The fortification is a pentagon from the aerial viewpoint with five major outer towers and a motte - or artificially constructed earthenware hill in the center.

The castle's keep sits atop the motte like vulture upon its dead prey, the two highest towers are the Enceinte Tower - the final defensive fallback point in the lord's keep and Weeping Angel Tower which is attached to the separately enclosed chapel. Both are located within the bailey - an overall living area and the location of the barracks, castle workshops, servants residences as well as external buildings associated with the keep - like the chapel and library. The entirety of the keep and bailey are contained inside a strong Curtain Wall which separates the bailey and keep from the outer courtyard. The curtain wall, like the outer battlements is arranged in a pentagon with five strong and fixed defensive towers. The five battlement towers are the: Southern tower, the South-Western tower, the North-Western tower, the South-Eastern tower and the North-Eastern tower.

The outer courtyard is actually quite spacious and has room for multiple gardens, a hedge maze, several small arbors, an orchard, tennis courts, an Olympic swimming pool, a polo field and an archery field / firing range. The outer courtyard lies at the normal height of the hill upon which the castle is built, while the motte is about 30 meters higher (100 feet) in elevation. The grounds of the outer courtyard grounds consist of 29 hectares (29,076 square meters) or about 72 acres (95,394 square feet) of space.

The outer defenses consist of a parallel wall with a water filled moat between them. The distance between the two outer walls is about 15 meters (50 feet) with fifty feet of water between them. The inner wall is several meters higher than the outer wall and has small battlement towers periodically along it and it is of course crenelated. There is a emplaced out bridge and an inner draw bridge.

After the castle was completed, the open field just outside the outer northern wall was converted into a graveyard, publicly to honor those poor souls who died in the construction of the castle. The cemetery was build rather artificially, with false ruins of the nineteen century in mind, but in reality it has used to a rather extensive degree - which is obvious to those who take the time to investigate.

As part of the purchase agreement that made the castle's creation possible, the City of Gabrovo required that the owners extensively replant the Gradishte Forest and the new plantings completely surround the castle for a few kilometers. In time, those trees will grow to full size, fed by the castle's excess water supply and the leeching fields that dispose of castle waste.

History of the Castle

The castle was conceptualized by the fiendish necromancer Benesj Cherno during the autumn of 2009. Though it would take a year for the concept to be fully formed, the land was purchased in 2010. The first steps in clearing the land adjacent to the forest was begin by the autumn of 2010 and was ritually blessed / cursed during the Grand Eclipse of the 2010 winter solstice.

Though it would take five years and untold fortune to create, the castle was completed by the autumn of 2015. The construction of the fortress would ultimately employ over a thousand construction workers, require the movement of hundreds of tons of earth, and the transportation of over a hundred thousand tons of red granite from a quarry north of Gabrovo Grad.

Over that five years, the castle grounds and the project itself consumed a number of workers, their lives cut short in accidents from the mundane to the macabre. The first to die was migrant worker from Serbia who fell asleep at the work site and froze to death during the early winter of 2010.

The following spring a dozen Greek laborers were connecting a water tunnel when a Turkish bulldozer operator closed off the mouth of their tunnel with ten tons of earth, by the time they were missed and the tunnel reopened they has asphyxiated. The Turkish driver was shot to death afterwards by the brother of one of the Greek laborers, he in turn, shot himself rather than face imprisonment.

In total, the number of deaths was just over a hundred in five years, the last to die was the chief architect Mihail Goranov, who took his life shortly after the castle was completed in the autumn of 2015. Mihail had been a graduate student in architecture, who was heavily influenced by 19th century architectural revivalism and relished the chance to create something that would rival 'Neuschwanstein Castle'. The project consumed him mind, body and soul for five years, it is said by those who knew him, that by the end of the project, that he was obsessed with the castle. The completion of the project, left him depressed and suicidal - on the night of September 22nd, 2015 he threw himself off the southern guard tower and was impaled on the wrought iron gates of the castle. His body was found the following morning and though an inquest was held, foul play was ruled out as a cause of death.

Of course, as with all such construction projects the castle became associated with a curse and the tragedies associated with poor judgement or incompetence, were attributed to dark manifestations and black magic. Cherno Industries offered increased compensation for those who felt that the project was hazardous - regardless of the reason. Though there were rumors of hush money and kickbacks to civil authorities, nothing was ever proven and few these accusations saw the light of day. The corporation adequately compensated the relatives of those killed or injured in the construction of the castle. From the local perspective the place was cursed and the curse was responsible for all ill events thereafter; the irony is that the construction process brought a significant source of revenue and jobs to the depressed economy of Gabrovo and created countless jobs by association.

A ceremonial inauguration of the fortresses completion was held on the winter solstice of that year and a whose who list of Gabrovo province invitees came to the opening of the castle. It was a gala event with several hundred guests and employed hundreds of domestic servants. It was judged a grand event and success by all who attended, though dark rumors would circulate for months afterward, of a number of guests seeing the ghost of Mihail Goranov wondering the castle grounds.

Location of the Castle

The location of Varvara Kale is the summit of Gradishte Hill on the north-eastern flank of Gradishte Forest. The hilltop upon which the castle is to be built, perches 400 meters (a little over 1300 feet) above the City of Gabrovo and the surrounding forest. The castle lies 3.3 kilometers (a little over 2 miles) to the east of the center of Gabrovo Grad as the crow flies.

Cemeteries

• -- Central Mladost Cemetery
• -- Crypt of the Stone
• -- Southern Mladost Cemetery

City Government

• -- Katerina Ivov -- Mayor

Town Council

• -- Haralambi Furnadjiev -- Camp 1 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Simeon Minkov -- Camp 2
• -- Krasimira Grigorov -- Camp 3 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Branimira Todorov -- Camp 4
• -- Krastyo Ognyanov -- Camp 5 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Zara Mihaylov -- Camp 6
• -- Bozhidar Mihov -- Camp 7 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Zahari Yankov -- Camp 8
• -- Kamen Naumov -- Camp 9 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Boyko Isaev -- Camp 10
• -- Bogdana Kaloyanchev -- Camp 11 -- * (Scarlet Fever Outbreaks)
• -- Spas Velichkov -- Camp 12

Churches

• -- St.Paul's Roman Catholic Church
• -- Greek Orthodox Church
• -- Bulgarian Orthodox Church
• -- Russian Orthodox Church
• -- Temple of Laban -- LDS
• -- Church of Mordecai -- Pentecostal
• -- Temple Obadiah -- Synagogue
• -- Muslim Mosque

Factories

• -- Letechnop Industrial Battery Factory -- An abandoned high-tech factory for processing batteries (DeSoto's new haven).

Maps

[[]]

Mortals of Repute

• -- Dr. Iliya Velichkov -- Bulgarian Army surgeon in his late 20s.
• -- Zahari Chavdarov -- A young male glazier , 20 years old who now works for Morgan.

Parks

• -- Gradishte Forest Park

Ruins

• -- Gradishte -- The ruins of an old Roman fortress.

Probudeniya (The Awakened Species)

Demons of Gabrovo

Metathiax

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Sobriquet: The Emerald Architect of Plagues
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Nespokoen Mŭrtŭv (Wraiths)

History: According to the Black Folio of Benesj there were surprisingly few wraiths in the city as of 2012. The city was home to a dozen or so drones who have haunted it for well over a century, their haunts, probable identities and the histories of their hauntings are recorded in detail.

The folio speaks of only two truly awakened wraiths in the city of Gabrovo Grad. Both are likely gaunts, in other words, wraiths that have survived for centuries after their own deaths - wraithly elders.

The first of these ancient ghosts is the White Cooper, a famous cooper of the Sixteenth Century; his work and wealth was renowned throughout the province until his family fell afoul of Turkish hajduks (bandits) during an Easter celebration. According to local lore, the resulting massacre killed his entire family and forced him to craft barrels in which to bury his dead family members. Ultimately, the grief drove him mad and he killed himself. Of course, the story doesn't end there, as shortly thereafter he was seen to stalk the streets around his home and shop, and according to a few rare testimonials the Easter Massacre would played itself out in grisly fashion on the otherwise festive occasion. The actual identity of the White Cooper isn't certain, but he is likely one Paskal Buchvarov, a cooper (one who makes barrels and like items) who died in 1555 and was buried in one of the small cemeteries that surround Gabrovo Grad. His shop was likely a remnant of the old medieval town of Gabrovo and like much of those ruins was probably moved in toto, by the communist anthropologist to create the Etara Open Air Architectural - Ethnographic Museum.

The other true wraith in Gabrovo Grad, is The Hanged Man, who began to appear to locals in the early Seventeenth Century. This ghost prefers to appear to lone individuals at lonely crossroads, in graveyards and at the sites of murders or suicides. Who the hanged man is remains in question, local lore suggests that he was a hajduk (bandit) hanged for his crimes by Ottoman soldiers. According to local legend, seeing the Hanged Man is an ill omen and brings with it the worst sort of tragedies and predictably, invariably leads to the victim's demise.

A third, supposed haunting began during January of 2011 and has remained an infrequent, but terrifying event. This new haunting takes the form of a scratching and muffled screams heard from basement floors and walls, in the sewers and in wine cellars throughout Gabrovo Grad. So far, the event has been explained away by a variety of mundane means, from rats to minor seismic events. The truth behind these as yet rare hauntings is in fact the immured victim of Benesj Cherno's sanctum that was consecrated on the winter solstice of 2010. By the power of the Grand Eclipse and the dark rites that create the Immured Sanctum, a true wraith was created. Obviously an enfante and possibly a specter, the sacrificial victim suffers on as those enchantments created on the winter solstice of that year have become permanent and quite powerful. How this new haunting will play out is an experiment of necromantic significance and will doubtless prove fruitful for future endeavors of a similar kind.

In December of 2015, the Old Clan Tzimisce necromancer Blagoy Zhivkov was killed by the Lasombra mercenary Bruce Edward Zieger during the Tremere invasion of Gabrovo Grad. Blagoy however being a skilled necromancer had placed necromantic curse upon himself to ensure his survival after the death of the flesh. For the last six years he has struggled with his new status as a wraith and has learned all he can about the world of the Restless. He still uses the castle as his haunt and is at odds with the Stygian forces that have taken possession of Gabrovo Grad.

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The White Cooper

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The Hanged Man

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The Sacrificial Victim

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Master Boris

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Blagoy Zhivkov

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Behavior: The barber-surgeon is by turns taciturn or given to a dark humor. He seems equally happy reading the works of ancient surgeons in silence or carving the flesh of the wounded amid a battle. In both cases he is a cold, hard man who never gives in to doubt or fear, for he knows there is nothing he cannot accomplish if he turns his mind to the task. He tends to have little need of company or conversation, for he can often be found talking or laughing to himself. When he does have need of other people he can be so direct as to be curt and his laconic manner makes him few friends, but he finds no lack of employment for his keen eye and steady hands.

History:Blagoy was born in the Bulgarian city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) in the later years of the reign of the King Peter I. He was born the son of a low ranking soldier and a peasant woman. His father Zhivko took pains to have his son educated by priests and to indenture Blagoy to a barber-surgeon attached to the castle at Philippopolis. The boy had an excellent mind, but a bad temper and his education with the priests was cut short in the hopes that the local surgeon could teach the boy with less difficulty.

Master Boris was not only a barber-surgeon, he was also a sorcerer of the darker variety, a necromancer. Had Blagoy's father known or guessed, he would never have turned the boy over to a death-witch, but the matter was settled when the Kievan Prince Sviatoslav invaded the Bulgarian Empire. In early 970, the Rus army crossed the Balkan Mountains and stormed the city, of those who failed to flee, twenty-thousand were impaled.

Master Boris remained as the castle's barber-surgeon and young Blagoy was greatly affected when his master took him to see the forest of corpses. Boris had remained because he understood that something of this sort would occur, that while common people, merchants and nobles might be massacred, a barber-surgeon and his apprentice were too valuable to the Kievan army. In return for small favors, the Kievan forces provided the necromancer all the bodies he needed for his experiments and studies. Master Boris took Blagoy to see the forest of corpses as a lesson to the boy on the importance of remaining useful, thereafter the boy's temper cooled considerably and he became an ideal apprentice to the necromancer.

Blagoy never saw his father or mother again, perhaps they were part of the forest of dead or perhaps they fled the city in advance of the Kievan Rus. Master Boris was not a cruel master and in time Blagoy came to love the older man and his necromancy. Master Boris taught Blagoy everything he knew about both barber-surgery and necromancy.

When Master Boris' health began to fail, he carried out, one more experiment, he tried to bind his spirit into his dying body according to an ancient Greek ritual he had purchased from a Byzantine book seller. The idea was that the ritual would allow Master Boris’ spirit to animate his dead body and thus allow him to pass through death to continue his studies. Blagoy as his apprentice was honor-bound to aid him in this difficult ritual and like the forest of corpses, it would haunt him the rest of his life.

The ritual was begun with the fall of dark on the winter solstice in the year of the lord 985. Boris had Blagoy tie his naked old body to a large grave-stone and instructed the young man in the necessity of torturing him to death. In the beginning, Boris made not a sound as Blagoy made the necessary cuts, but sometime after midnight the old man broke and began screaming with each stroke of the blade. After each outburst he seemed to feel shame at his own human weakness and begged Blagoy to continue the ritual. Blagoy summoned every bit of his discipline and nerve to finish the ritual before the rising of the sun, when the ritual would automatically fail. Despite all his efforts, Master Boris wasn't strong enough to survive the ritual and died shortly before dawn.

That morning, Blagoy walked out into the dawn light and dry vomited. He had just brutally murdered his friend and mentor in the worst imaginable way. Then he went to his bed and wept himself to sleep. He was awakened hours later by the soft, dry rasping of his former master's voice. The room was empty, he searched it and the rest of the tower-sanctum, but found no one. Later, with the fall of night, the voice returned to tell Blagoy that he wasn't mad, that the ritual had succeeded, just not the way Boris had imagined. The master spoke of having become a disembodied spirit, a ghost that could walk among men and through walls with equal ease. The voice was kind, it soothed Blagoy's burning guilt over an imagined wrong. Quite the opposite, his dead master thanked him for all his efforts and revealed that they could continue to study together for many more years.

Despite this, the master warned that Blagoy must dispose of his corpse and all evidence of the ‘ritual', lest Blagoy be punished for a perceived murder. Understanding penetrated Blagoy’s exhausted mind and with the help of his master’s voice, he sorted all the important texts and necessary ingredients out, packing them for a long journey. But before he could leave, his master made of him one last request, that he destroy the old man’s body and the tower-sanctum with fire, and take the bones with him where ever he might go. Blagoy agreed and burned everything as asked; when the fire finally died down, he retrieved his dead master’s bones and placed them in an ornate brass box that he packed on his master’s old horse and rode away into the night.

Fifteen years has passed since that long ago night and Blagoy Zhivkov is now both, a master barber-surgeon and a master necromancer. His skills have far surpassed his old master and despite the urgings of Boris' spirit he has yet to select an apprentice of his own. He is now a resident of the city of Alba Iulia and serves the Hungarian army as his master did the Bulgarians. Since the Hungarian king took control of the city, a strange group of magicians has moved into the city and to his surprise they have invited him to joint their order, the House of Tremere.

Initially, Blagoy had reservations about the validity of this unusual offer, for he was neither a hermetic wizard, nor a Christian, which many of these mages proclaimed themselves to be. Yet, when he asked the spirit of Boris to prophesy on the matter, Boris revealed that if he did join this order, he could find immortality without the need of the ‘Rite of Tortuous Death’. It was this final point that decided him, for though he is ever glad to have his master with him even now, he had long ago made up his mind against the ritual as a means for him to survive beyond death.

So on one fine, cold March morning, he rode away from from Alba Iulia with a small group of hermetic acolytes and their masters for the ruins of an ancient Roman fort to the north. There to begin his first test of initiation, an ancient rite of the long dead religion of a forgotten sun-god. His first step on the road to physical immortality and supposedly a test of his metal. The House of Tremere is in for a surprise if they think that the rites of Mithras are any test compared to the ‘Rite of Tortuous Death'. Both Blagoy and the spirit of his old master had to laugh at that, while the hermetic mages stared at him for his strange outburst, which only make them both laugh all the harder.

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Blagoy Zhivkov

The Stygian Forces

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The VX Gas Victims

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Vampiri (11)

Morgan Hanover Erlich

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Sobriquet: The Fiendish Voivode of Gabrovo

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• -- Morgan Hanover Erlich
• -- Fiendish Plans

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Michman Pavel Lazarov

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Sobriquet: He just goes by Pavel or "The Old Man."

Appearance: An older man, with a very rugged look; he is very physically fit, with many years of hardship behind him. Pavel has numerous scars all over his body.

Behavior: In his saner moments, Pavel knows that the Baron is an American expatriate, only recently returned to the Old World, and could easily be decades or centuries his elder. However, he is becoming increasingly convinced that he is somehow Milan's father. Though he doesn't remember bedding some Bulgarian princess (it must have been a hell of a night, because she was surely beautiful!), he certainly had more than his share of dalliances, rapes, and whores all over the world.

This odd idea manifests in his earnest need to keep the Baron safe, and help the Baron grow into his role as a world leader. He is always ready to offer fatherly advice, both with military matters, and with romantic ones. He tries to remember that there is a difference.

History: Michman, in the Bulgarian armed services, is equivalent to a master chief - petty officer. Pavel Lazarov was born December 1st of 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was the son of a famous prostitute and never knew who his father was (yes he is a bastard and laughs as hard as anyone about it now).

He grew up in one of the city's more notorious brothels fighting with his older brothers and the other bastards for whatever scraps of food, clothing or toys that were available. Perhaps it was the fact that he was the runt of the litter that made him so mean or perhaps growing up being spit on had something to do with it, he no longer remembers, but growing up he was a little hellion. His history of violence led him into trouble with the soviet authorities who gave him a choice of jail or the army. The latter choice suited the recruiter best after having watched the boy fight, and after being beaten into shape, Pavel fit right into the Soviet Army of Bulgaria.

Pavel first war was Afghanistan, in which he cut his teeth and the throats of more than a few rag-head holy warriors and their women. After three tours of burning villages, winter fighting and suicidal Muslim guerrillas he was discharged with no skills other than drinking, fucking and killing. The last paid well if you hired yourself out to the right people and didn't ask too many questions.

Tours in Africa, South and Central America and parts of Asia gave him a lot of physical and mental scars. He fought in a lot of battles, killed more people than he can now remember, gambled away a fortune, fucked too many whores and nearly drank himself to death several times.

One day he looked into a dirty, cracked mirror in some no name village in Central America and realized he was too old for dirty wars anymore. He packed his few belongings and returned to Bulgaria. He returned in time to see the Wall fall along with communism. He found a nice (cheap) flop house to sleep off the booze during the day and a nice corner bar to while away the last few years of his life. In his better moments, he was even content with his fate.

That was until he became involved with a vampire. Now he is a soldier again and the booze doesn't hold the lure it used to. For the first time in his long life, he has a cause. He isn't just counting off the nights until he dies. Maybe the world still has something of interest to show him, he just might have a few battles left in him and maybe, just maybe if he distinguishes himself in the Baron's service he can earn himself a promotion to full immortal...

Recent Events: The Old Man was head of Marious's body guard. Through a deal with one of Morgan's other ghouls he was embraced at the point of death. It is unknown what his future is.

• -- Michman Pavel Lazarov -- Grandson of the Voivode (missing)

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Les Orphelins

Background

Formed at the end of World War I, Les Orphelins ("The Orphans") has always been linked to Montreal's most violent elements. The pack-mates have adopted the style of a biker gang and are responsible for a major turf war between the mortal Hell's Angels and Rock Machine gangs. Car bombings and restaurant shootings are becoming more and more common in Montreal.

The original pack members were orphans who, once Embraced by their common sire Louis le Monstre, desired to cause as much destruction as possible. The pack has never had trouble absorbing new members, choosing them from among the poor and hopeless who look for a way to fight back. Of the pack's original members, only Pierre Bellemare remains.

Below the surface, Les Orphelins are the premiere example of the rot that has crept into the Sabbat of Montreal. A tool of the infernalist Bellemare, the pack's brutality and seemingly predictable behavior serve as a cover for Pierre's efforts to corrupt.

Lair

Les Orphelins maintain a lair in an abandoned oil refinery in East Montreal. The mass of rusted pipes, twisted buildings and towering tanks is surrounded by high fences topped with razor wire. Several tanker trucks remain in working order in the refinery garage, ready for "special occasions." The pack often holds hunts on its lair grounds, trapping mortals in the metal maze and welcoming fellow Sabbat to join the merry chase.

Rites and Practices

Rite of Charybdis: Les Orphelins practice most of the standard Sabbat rites, but take their greatest joy in violent games. They have also developed the unique multipurpose Rite of Charybdis (also called the "Whirlpool"). It involves two or more vampires biting into each other's wrists and drinking each other's blood. As each drinks, blood flows from one to the other and back again, forging a powerful Vinculum. The rite can also serve as a Monomancy Rite - in which each vampire tries to consume the other's blood faster than his opponent - or as a way to test mortal candidates. Humans who try to keep up with a feeding vampire prove their strength and undergo the Creation Rites. The Whirlpool is also a very effective way to spread the diseases that taint Pierre Bellemare's blood.

Membership

Pierre Bellemare

File:Pierre.jpg

Sobriquet: Ductus

Appearance: Pierre dresses in black leather and rides a Harley. His massive arms and bald head are covered with tattoos, and his eyes hide behind dark glasses. His right hand has a pistol tattoo along the palm and index finger, which he points at opponents before killing them, whispering, "Bang. You're dead."

Background: To most, Pierre Bellemare is a successful Sabbat warrior. He is lethal in combat and tough as nails, but primarily a simple-minded ruffian. In reality, he uses this image to hide his manipulative ways, goading his opponents into acting as he wishes and initiating subtle plots and strategies. All is done in service to his master, the demon Metathiax.

When mortal, Pierre survived an outburst of smallpox in 1922, after wishing with all his heart that his family be taken by the disease instead of him. Metathiax was happy to oblige. After his Embrace, Pierre heard the voice of the demon while slumbering in his grave. He was offered strength and power if he would spread chaos in the city in service of the Decani lord. Pierre accepted without hesitation.

Bellemare has spent the years since his creation building a reputation for violence. All his rivals and enemies meet dark fates -- as did Louis, his sire, who fell into a Camarilla trap during a raid in 1939. Pierre also helped foster the weakness of various archbishops, ensuring that their exposures would cause damage to the Sabbat. All the while he has subtly encouraged attacks on churches, distrust of the Shepherds and a growing lust for violence.

During the trial of Sangris, Pierre came under suspicion for having survived the Setite poisoning, but was eventually granted an ad cautlam, a document proving his "innocence." Since then, he has created cults of corruption in the city and has seduced the Malkavian antitribu Midget to his side. Using Midget, Bellemare has entered discussions with the Tremere of Quebec City, hoping to bring them into conflict with the Shepherds. Such a war would weaken Montreal's one faction that has enough power and expertise to harm Metathiax (were the Shepherds of Caine to ever uncover the truth of the demon).

After losing the opportunity to raise his generation to Sebastien Goulet during a war party in Ottawa, Pierre has decided to attack the Queens of Mercy. He has found excuses to engage two of Goulet's childer in Monomancy duels. The Queens' destruction would undermine the Shepherds and aid the cause of Ezekiel, Pierre's chosen candidate to reign over chaos.

Personality: Pierre always seem to jump to conclusions and call for violence at every turn. He goads others into acting; making them do what he wants by urging them to do the opposite.

Current Events:

• -- Pierre Bellemare

Cairo the Lost Knight

File:Cairo - the lost knight.jpg

Sobriquet: Bitch - Cairo - or Slave, they all mean the same thing.

Appearance: Pierre replaced Elisa's lithe form and long black hair with a stocky Riot-Girl frame and shocking red hair. Cairo dresses to complement her lord, wearing black leather and dozens of body piercings.

Background: Knight Inquisitor Elisa Karini arrived in Montreal in the aftermath of Sangris' trial to search out any hidden accomplices. While Krieg, Elisa's Nosferatu antitribu partner, simply appeared in the city as a nomad, she infiltrated the circus of the Tzimisce Zarnovich, assuming the alias of "Sonya, Mistress of Illusions." A follower of the Path of Cathari, Elisa also took advantage of her visit to learn from the Widows.

As the months past, Elisa entered the dark world of the Widows and her duties as an inquisitor took second place to her quest for enlightenment as a Cathar. Unfortunately, Pierre Bellemare was ready to take advantage of Elisa's distraction.

Pierre uncovered Krieg's true identity in 1993. After 13 nights of torture, the Nosferatu antitribu surrendered the name of his partner. Pierre then lured Elisa to the ramshackle tenement building in Old Montreal that hid Metathiax's Blood Circle. Her inquisitor's instincts re-surfaced too late, and she was overwhelmed by a swarm of diseased rats. Not content to kill his victim, Pierre drew on the power of the Decani to rot Elisa's body and re-formed it. The demon's power also chained her soul and will, turning her into Cairo, the perfect slave.

Pierre never realized that Cairo was a skilled Thaumaturgist. She has spent the years since her imprisonment loosening the chains around her soul. The pack's weekly Vaulderie strengthens Cairo's bondage, but for the last three months she has worked herself relatively free for a few nights a week.

Not yet strong enough to actively challenge her tormentor, Cairo is trying her best to subtly expose Pierre's infernalism and stop his corruption from spreading. She is desperate to get to Ezekiel and warn him, but her efforts have inexplicably thwarted by Santiago DeSoto.

Personality: Following Pierre's orders, she is a tough-as-nails Sabbat. As long as Pierre demands it, she tears into whomever antagonizes him or your pack. Below the surface, she longs to free herself and continue to learn the ways of the Cathar Widows.

Current Events:

• -- Cairo the Lost Knight

Sister Evelyn

File:Sister Evelyn.jpg

Sobriquet: Pack Priest

Appearance:

Background:

Personality:

Current Events:

• -- Sister Evelyn

Davorka Vukoja

File:Davorka Vukoja1.jpg

Sobriquet:

Appearance:

Background:

Personality:

Current Events:

• -- Davorka Vukoja

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Marie-Anje Gagnon

File:Marie-Ange Gagnon.jpg

Sobriquet:

Appearance:

Background:

Personality:

Current Events:

• -- Marie-Anje Gagnon

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Midget

Sobriquet:

Appearance:

Background:

Personality:

Current Events:

• -- Midget

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Muse (deceased)

Sobriquet:

Appearance:

Background:

Personality:

Current Events:

• -- Muse

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The Navigator's Pack

Background

The Navigators travel the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway in a floating lair-ship and are well known for their skill at raiding Camarilla strongholds. The pack was formed in Portugal in the 1620s and moved the New World in the 1720s. Its members served as pirates on the Brazilian coast and traveled across the Americas, finally making Montreal their winter home when a Portuguese community settled there after World War II.

The Navigators were led by Santiago DeSoto, a powerful Sabbat warrior. The pack moved to Montreal to gain the support of the Shepherds of Caine. DeSoto became a "friend" of the Shepherds and they encouraged him to join the Sabbat's in house Inquisition. The Navigators were thereafter left in the care of DeSoto's childe, Miguel Santo Domingo. The trial of Archbishop Sangris brought DeSoto back to Montreal, but it cost him his soul. The Serpent stole DeSoto's form and now wakes as "DeSoto" each night. For his part, Miguel seeks unity in the sect and suspects his "sire" of some dark secret. The Navigators oppose conspiracies in the Sabbat, including those of the Inquisition. They currently support Archbishop Smith, mostly out of distrust of the Black Hand and the Inquisition.

Lair

The Navigators maintain a floating lair on a rusted cargo vessel called the Lisbon. The ship is thought to be derelict, but the pack quarters are well maintained. The Lisbon is crewed by two horribly deformed ghouls, and it drops anchor during the daylight.

Rites and Practices

Burial At Sea: The pack practices a unique variation of the Creation Rites called "Burial at Sea." It entails binding candidates with heavy chains and dropping them into the water instead of burying them in fresh graves. The initiate must break free and return to the surface if they intend to survive and join the pack. The Navigators still hold a grudge against Elias the Whale from the early 1970s, when would be members were dropped off the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal and consumed by the Wretched.

Membership

Sangris the Serpent -- In the guise of Santiago DeSoto

File:Santiago DeSoto.jpg

Appearance: The body of DeSoto has long salt-and-pepper hair and a chiseled face. Santiago's dark-brown eyes complement his tan face, and a goatee hides his full lips. Sangris dresses DeSoto's body in finely tailored black clothes that hide the scars left by the duped Decani; unfortunately, DeSoto's form suffers from leprosy.

Behavior: Sangris as DeSoto, puts up a front of control and calm. Beneath the surface Sangris longs to return to power in order to save the city and take his rightful place as Archbishop. It would be so easy....

History: DeSoto's retirement from the Inquisition into seclusion surprised many and lent credibility to Miguel's suspicions that his sire was more than he appeared. Little did Miguel know how right he really was, for the person he called "DeSoto" was the resting place for the soul of Sangris, the former archbishop of Montreal and convicted infernalist.

When he was Embraced in Haiti, Sangris was a member of the Cult of Legba, which rejected the worship of Set. In the years before they joined the Sabbat, "Serpents of the Light" like him were desperate for aid against the Setites. Sangris found help in the Decani Bothothel. The demon plague-lord had ridden the wave of smallpox that exterminated the natives of Hispanola, and held dominion over a temple in the hinterland of the island. In the temple, Sangris met a priestess of disease named "Cedilia of the Tongue," who taught him the ways of the Decani. Sangris made a deal with the fiend Bothothel. He would spread a new form of corruption in exchange for power. He proposed to turn souls to Bothothel through the "plague" of ambition, an infection that no other Decani claimed as its own. Sangris knew full well that the last soul he would serve up would be his own, unless he found a way to escape the pact. He found a way in Montreal.

If Sangris' soul came due in Montreal, the prison of Metathiax, the demon would contest Bothothel's claim. When word came from Montreal of the Sabbat's losing struggle against the Setite Jerar, Sangris -- now a sect member -- flew north. Still a servant of ambition, he rose to power as archbishop of Montreal. He also corrupted several vampires and Embraced a childe named Ezekiel whose ambition he hoped to fan to world-shattering proportions. All the while, he prepared his escape from infernal bondage.

When Inquisitor DeSoto uncovered his infernalism, Sangris wove a complex Thaumaturgical rite into his very flesh. As his destruction approached, Bothothel and Metathiax both salivated in anticipation of consuming his soul. When DeSoto prepared to execute Sangris with fire, the Serpent's rite was activated and the inquisitor's soul streamed out with the flames. In turn, Sangris' soul slipped into DeSoto's body, and Sangris watched as his executioner was consumed and sent to the Decani.

DeSoto's memories still echo in Sangris' new form. He hears whispers of DeSoto's ambition and conviction as a dedicated inquisitor. Sangris suppresses thoughts of seizing power, though, knowing that any bid for more infernal might would damn him. "DeSoto" has therefore retired from the Inquisition and lives in seclusion in a Westmount mansion. As DeSoto, he only occasionally partakes in the Vaulderie with the Navigators.

As the years pass, temptation grows. Sangris senses that the city will be consumed unless it finds strong leadership. He spends many nights sitting in his lair, staring at a black tome of Dark Thaumaturgy, trying to fight the urge to open it and rule again. The city's growing chaos and the return of his childe have only made matters worse. Sangris planted the seeds of evil in Ezekiel at an early age, but now tries to protect his childe. Ezekiel rejects all attention from his sire's executioner, and Pierre Bellemare has happily made Ezekiel an ally. The best Sangris can do is to keep Cairo away from Ezekiel, but he does not know that by doing so he does more harm than good.

Recent Events:

Santiago DeSoto's Statistics

Celeste Lamontagne -- Pack Priest

Appearance: Celeste has a feral beauty. She is tall, muscular and constantly ready to burst into action. Celeste bears the marks of multiple frenzies (including pointed ears and eyes that reflect light).

Behavior: Celeste is comfortable and free with her experience. Some members of the Sabbat think she is weak, but Celeste is more than happy to prove them wrong.

History:

Recent Events: Celeste is the only active member of the Navigators left, as she was in the Protean mist form as the Camarilla invaded the Underground City.

Celeste Lamontagne's Statistics

Erinyi

Appearance: Erinyi makes no attempt to hide her Gargoyle nature. Standing on her toes like a canine, she is over seven feet tall, which includes her eight-inch-long horns. Her gray wings stretch and sway as she walks.

Behavior: Erinyi is quick to anger. When that happens, it is all she can do to suppress the urge to rip Malkavians and other annoying pests apart. Erinyi finds release in battle and or music, but those pleasures pale in comparison to the love that lies in her dead heart.

History: University student Margaret Moy fled to Detroit to escape her abusive father when a Sabbat Gargoyle, looking for fodder for a war party, grabbed her off the streets. He abandoned her when she emerged from the ground in an uncontrollable rage. She made her way back to Montreal and Ezekiel discovered her. He guided her through the Creation Rites, welcomed her into 24:17, and named her "Erinyi" -- a variation of "Fury."

Erinyi's days in 25:17 were bittersweet. She loved Ezekiel, whom she considered her savior, and felt camaraderie for the others. But her rage tore her apart. She joined the Path of Cathari in search of relief, but became lost in the abandon of the Albigensians. Finally, her longing for Ezekiel became an obsession, and she attacked Soldat after her drew attention to her feelings.

Ezekiel asked Reza Fatir to guide Erinyi on the structured Path of Honorable Accord. Reza accepted, aware of the sacrifice that Ezekiel made by initiating a change in Erinyi that his own Path deemed a weakness. Erinyi gained some control over her life as a result.

She met Celeste after seeing her perform at Angel's Fall. Finding that her hostility was soothed by music, Erinyi joined Wyldchylde. Reza and Ezekiel realized that the Gargoyle was among her new friends. When she approached her patrons with the prospect of traveling with the Navigators in 1996, they agreed. Miguel Santo Domingo remains uncomfortable with Erinyi's ties to Ezekiel, but respects Celeste's refusal to condemn the Gargoyle for her loyalty.

Recent Events: During the 2022 Summer Invasion of Montreal by the Camarilla, Erinyi went into frenzy after seeing her friend and ductus beheaded by Karsh the Warlord. It is of little surprise that her frenzied attack did little in the way of damage to the Warlord, but his counterstrike has likely entorpored or killed her. Currently no one knows the status of Erinyi.

Erinyi's Statistics

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Deceased Vampires

Victor Angelova (deceased - late December 2022 - killed by Morgan Erlich with Lure of Flames)

Sobriquet: Vic the Needle

Appearance: Once, Victor resembled his nickname. Since becoming a ghoul, Vic has packed on over 100 pounds, and is approaching 300. His love of anything red – from vitae to vino to marinara – shows on his once pristine Italian suits. He is a good judge of character, at least where lowlifes are concerned, but ignores the flaws in his own character.

Behavior: A classic mob figure with a bad case of hollywood-itis. A third generation immigrant from Eastern Europe, he speaks English or Bulgarian with a phony Italian accent.

History: He was recently embraced in a struggle vs the Tremere. It is unknown what his Tzimisce master will do.

Location: Crypt of the Stone

Recent Events:

• -- Victor Angelova

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Websites

Maps: http://www.bulmaps.bg/index.php?l=eng

Websites: www.wikipedia.org (from there, you can find a variety of sites)
Aprilov National High School: http://www.nag-school.org/
Bars & Clubs in Bulgaria: http://disco.bg/en/index_en.php
Bulgarian Ministry of Culture: http://mc.government.bg/index.php?l=2
Bulgarian Realestate: http://www.bghouses.com/
Chardafon's Monument in Gabrovo City: http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/image/28822963
Gabrovo Site: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Gabrovo
Gabrovo Town: http://www.seebg.net/Gabrovo/indexA.html
Galleries - Etara Gabrovo: http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/etara
Nest Agency Ltd: http://www.nest-agency.com/mp_Gabrovo.htm
Visit Bulgaria: http://www.visitbulgaria.net/en/gabrovo/gabrovo.html
Wikitravel - Gabrovo City: http://wikitravel.org/en/Gabrovo

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City Statistics

Economy: Illegal salvage.

Calendar

Friday - March 4th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad - Count Cezar Sandu dies & the cold weather ends.
Saturday - March 5th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad
Sunday - March 6th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad
Monday - March 7th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad
Tuesday - March 8th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad
Wednesday - March 9th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad
Thursday - March 9th, 2016 - Gabrovo Grad