On the
Causes of the Anarch Revolt
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The Generation Gap
Cainite society was extremely hierarchical, ruled by immortal elders who almost invariably considered their childer mere extensions of their own will and power, rather than individuals in their own right. In mortal society, where time and age eventually brought the younger generation into power, one had only to wait and outlive one's elders. In Cainite society, however, such a thing never occurred. For a new-Embraced Cainite who might well have been a mortal of some prestige and rank, to be treated as a mere minion was bad enough. But after a century or more of such treatment, the situation could become intolerable. The Tzimisce were undoubtedly the worst offenders in this, using both bloodbonds and callous and calculated cruelty to enforce their will upon their descendants, particularly during their long and bloody war with the Tremere. But other clans also had a habit of keeping their childer under close control – the Toreador, Ventrue and Lasombra had strong traditions of "family" which produced Elders who generally considered their descendants as much a possession of Domain as the kine, and sometimes used them recklessly in their struggles for dominance. Even the Brujah, despite their philosophy of equality, were often only willing to extend that equality to others of their own generation or higher – childer were not yet ready (and might well never be) for such privileges. The situation was acerbated by other factors, which started coming to a head in the early 14th century, as both human and Cainite populations soared, and; as conflicts between Cainites became more and more heated, they fought not only with mortal armies, but with their progeny as well.
The Black Death
The Black Death (14th century) that raged through the crowded and dirty cities of late medieval Europe had a devastating effect on the economy, politics, and psyche, of both mortals and Kindred. Suddenly the mortals who had been so plentiful were dying by the thousands; and while Cainites were not directly affected by the plague, the scarcity of vessels put desperation into every cold, unbeating heart. Old rivalries sprang up anew, as Cainites competed for territory and healthy populaces (when they could be found), and blamed the plague itself on everything and everyone they had ever had cause to distrust or fear. Thus Cainites too fell victim to the plague, albeit in a much less direct fashion. Those forced out of their old Domains became rogues, preying upon travelers and peasants, following mercenary companies, or attempting to displace other Cainites who still held sway over Domains with a healthy population – often bringing the dreaded disease with them. Nosferatu, in particular, were considered plague carriers (and the accusation was not far wrong, given the "pets" the dreaded Lepers tended to prefer) and were often destroyed without hesitation wherever they were found; and even the usually scholarly Cappadocians were regarded with fear and suspicion. Those Cainites who retained their holdings became far harsher and more stringent in patrolling their borders, and rarely welcomed any newcomers beyond the traditional "visiting" period of a year and a day – if they honored the tradition of hospitality at all.
Mortal Wars and Mercenaries
The 14th and 15th centuries were wracked by wars, which were now being fought (particularly in Italy) almost exclusively by paid mercenaries. Indeed, the use of mercenaries encouraged wars – because it was almost impossible to control so many armed men with nothing to do and no regular incomes outside of pillage unless there was a war to send them to. Mercenaries were also notorious for changing sides in a conflict when presented with a better offer than their present employer, and since they were in the business of war for the money, were far less interested in winning than in staying alive to collect ransoms and booty, and fight another day.
Cainites naturally also made use of these companies, both as employers and masters – the career of a mercenary officer, with certain elementary and obvious precautions, was ideal for a young, ambitious Cainite of a martial bent, and offered no dearth of feeding opportunities (particularly with regards to prisoners too poor or injured to be worth the trouble of ransom). The cover of war also became a cover for the use of another deadly force – Assamites – when the conflict between two cities became a conflict between competing Cainite lords as well. The Assamites were, in fact, such a effective weapon that one of the first things the Camarilla did upon gaining the means to do so, was to seek a means by which the clan of assassins could be neutralized forever.
The Inquisition
The Inquisition actually was far less of a factor in the actual Revolt than the Camarilla Elders would like to have their childer think; most of the worst excesses of the Inquisition were, in fact, a reaction to the formation of the Camarilla, rather than a factor in its organization. The Inquisition began as a disciplinary arm of the Church to root out and convert or destroy heretics, those whose view of the faith led them away from what the Church considered proper Christian doctrine – and, more importantly, led them to deny the temporal and theological authority of the organized Church, particularly in the person of its sometimes less-than-deserving leader, the Pope. The fact that the Lasombra had long had influence over the Papacy and the Church, and that some of the heretical movements the Inquisition was sent to investigate were being subtly supported by Brujah or Toreador anarchs seeking to weaken the overwhelming monopoly the Church had on the minds of the European populace was a minor consideration. It took very little manipulation by the Lasombra factions (usually only the report of such a heretical movement gaining strength and costing the Church revenue) to have the church authorities take action.
The Reformation
The Protestant Reformation took even the Brujah somewhat by surprise. Most Cainites tended to see the Church as a secular power, manipulated by the shadowy hands of the Lasombra, certainly corrupt, but not really that much more so than the local count or prince's court. What they had forgotten about was the sheer power of faith, particularly in the hands of a strong-willed, charismatic and intellectually gifted priest like Martin Luther. And in the Reformation, whether driven by a man of faith or by a King's burning desire to divorce a barren wife, the Ventrue, and Brujah saw a means to break the Magisters' monopoly on the Church once and for all.
The Inquisition became the primary weapon of the Lasombra retribution, and their greatest miscalculation – by sending the power of the Church against other Cainites, they broke one of the oldest Traditions among vampires – they betrayed their own kind. No other action could have united so many of the otherwise fractious vampire clans against them. Had the Lasombra moved merely against one clan, or acted in a more united front (impossible to conceive, given their history), they might well have prevailed. But such an alliance as the Camarilla was unprecedented in Cainite history, and the Lasombra did not realize the value of such an alliance until it was too late. Even in directing the Inquisition itself, the Lasombra were not acting particularly in concert; they merely abetted their mortal henchmen to seek out not only rebellious mortals, but the immortals who were encouraging such treason from the Church's flock as well. A truth not often told by Camarilla historians is that the Lasombra were just as quick to use the Inquisition against each other as against their enemies in other clans, and that there were even some few Lasombra in the original Camarilla.
The Tradition of Domain
The Camarilla itself, however, also violated the most ancient Traditions of Caine – when they sought to impose their interpretation of the Traditions, the rulership of their Inner Council (and more importantly, the Justicars), and their doctrine of the Masquerade upon all Cainites, even those not originally party to the Convention of Thorns. This was a major violation of one of the oldest Traditions known to Cainites: the sovereignty of Domain, the interference of one Elder in the affairs of another. This affront was more than some Cainites could forgive – or afford to overlook – particularly the Tzimisce, whose freedom from their elders' control had been too hard-won to give it up to foreigners, and whose soul-connection to their homelands was almost a religion anyway. And the proud Lasombra, who had long considered themselves the true aristocracy of vampires, would never, in a thousand years, allow any mere Brujah or Ventrue to tell them how to run their own affairs.
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