Sabbat History

Behold, HISTORY!

History
The Sabbat was created sometime in the 15th century as a reaction to the Covention of Thorns. They were originally Anarchs who were deemed too heinous to live by Camarilla Justicars, and were hunted down. Abandoned by the Movement, the Sabbat reorganized with the intention of continuing their war against their hated enemy.

The Sabbat were created by the Lasombra and Tzimisce, as they sunk the most into the war and were responsible for the most horrific acts committed against the Camarilla, respectively. The Tzimisce were based out of Eastern Europe, specifically around Hungary and Wallachia. The Lasombra maintained an iron grip on Spain and northern Africa. The Jyhad had begun.

The New World
The Jyhad started slowly at first as the Sabbat grew in number. A few Justicars ventured into Sabbat territory to pick off marks, the Sabbat retailiated by killing Justicars. Justicars expanded their scope to encompass not only the offending kindred, but their childer as well. In response, the childer grew to hate the Camarilla even more. The cycle went on until 1493 when the New World was discovered. Spain being the first to arrive in America meant the Lasombra were some of the first European kindred to arrive on its shores. Once there the Lasombra quickly spread, with the Sabbat in tow. Bolstered now by various other Clans and Bloodlines, the Sabbat flooded across both Americas spreading like a plague up and down the coast.

Camarilla indecisiveness nearly cost them this virgin new land. European elders were complacent and deliberate. No one elder could agree on how best to approach the New World. It wasn't until Britain began to take territory in North America that the Camarilla acted. But by then it was too late. Spain owned nearly all of the Americas, and the Lasombra were spread across the two continents.

The Eternal Struggle
The Sabbat flourished amid the backdrop of conflict and insurrection of the New World. North and South American kindred fought the European kindred with surprising zeal. The New World was aflame with supernatural conflict. The Sabbat, Camarilla, and the native kindred all fought one another in a three-way conflict over the Americas. It was here in the New World that the Sabbat and Camarilla began the conflict that would last well into the modern nights.

Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War served as a perfect backdrop for the Camarilla to invade North America in force. While there was always some form of Camarilla presence in the Americas, specifically the Thirteen Colonies, the conflict between the two opposing Sects was mostly brushfire in nature. Every now and then a Camarilla retinue would come across a Sabbat pack and the two would slaughter one another. However when the Thirteen Colonies overthrew their British overlords, British Camarilla were worried about their overseas interests. As a result, the British Camarilla intervened in force. While most of the other European Towers would not intervene except on an individual basis, the Torys felt they were more than enough to match the US Sabbat.

Civil War
The Revolutionary War would go on to be known as one of the bloodiest War's to ever occur. While America succeeded in overthrowing the British, the Sabbat were not so lucky. The end result was the near annihilation of the Sabbat Sect and subsequent civil war within the organization. A majority of the Sabbat leadership met their Final Death during the Revolutionary War which left the otherwise unorganized Sect even less organized. Sabbat territories were in ruin and the Camarilla had claimed a large portion of the eastern seaboard. The civil war made things even less favorable for the Sect as they were pushed further and further west-ward fighting both themselves and the Camarilla. This went on for over 30 years as the Camarilla went from sporadic groupings to organized Princedoms controlling nearly half the cities in the newly budding United States.

In the past the Lasombra and the Tzimisce considered themselves both rightful rulers of the Sabbat, and both blamed meddling by the other as the cause of the defeat during the War. However, after the Revolutionary War the Lasombra and Tzimisce leadership was devastated. Despite the massive amount of Lasombra still alive, no one faction could rise up to the top and lead. It was in this moment that the Covenants took control. The idea of a central Sabbat authority was argued by many to be the antithesis to the Sabbat. The old ways weren't going to work anymore, and a New Sabbat would be formed in its stead.

Covenant Law
Eventually the civil war came to a close with the signing of the Covenant Law. While Lasombra and Tzimisce both mistrusted one another, they had realized a fundamental truth: the Old Clan hierarchy was to be blamed. A single Regnant in charge of the entire Sect, with the Covenants having no real authority was obviously the reason for failure; or so some argued.

The leading elders of the various Covenants convened in New York, the last remaining Sabbat city on the East Coast. In 1803, the Covenant Law was signed into authority decentralizing the Sect and placing the power firmly in the hands of Covenant leaders. The Sect was split directly in two: those who supported the Old Guard (as they would later be called), and those who considered themselves True Sabbat.

Code of Milan
A year later the ranking Cardinals and Archbishops would meet with the Regnant in Milan to discuss the secession of the American Sabbat. The True Sabbat were denounced but left relatively undisturbed by the aging European Sabbat. These elders considered themselves to be guards of the Sabbat ideals, and thus were unceremoniously named the Old Guards.

The Code of Milan was signed by every elder in convention. It decreed that all Sabbat who step foot on European soil from Spain to Russia were subject to the bylaws of the Old Guard. Failure to adhere to this restriction meant Final Death.

Second Civil War
The American Sabbat were split down the middle. Many still swore fealty to the Regnant and maintained constant communication with their European allies. While not strictly forbidden it did cause suspicion and tension to rise. This eventually boiled over, triggering brushfire conflict all along the eastern seaboard. Those few Sabbat holdings remaining after the Camarilla victory in the Revolutionary War were now torn in half by the Code of Milan and the Covenant Law.

The brushfire events quickly spiraled out of control into a full on civil war. Sabbat warred with themselves yet again as Loyalists backed by the Old Guard attempted to overthrow the American Sabbat who supported the Covenant Law. The war lasted over half a century. But while the Sabbat killed one another, the Camarilla took the opportunity to seize more territory. The Camarilla nearly stretched from coast-to-coast, fulfilling a sort of vampiric Manifest Destiny.

The turning point in the conflict was when elder leadership of the Old Guard Loyalists were ambushed while in Atlanta to receive support from Europe. The Loyalists nearly collapsed after the loss of their main supporters. Without any ties to America, the European Sabbat essentially turned their backs on America to reinforce their holdings in Europe. The Loyalists were snuffed out one Pack at a time, as the True Sabbat reigned supreme.

Modern Nights
With their newfound unity the Sabbat went on the offensive. American cities all along the Canadian and Mexican border were hard pressed. The remaining few Sabbat holdouts in USA begin to plan and structure their new offenses. Cities begin to flip over-night. Atlanta and D.C fall to the Sabbat, but New York and Houston fall to the Camarilla. A total war seems to be coming with America as the battlefield.