Escuela Primaria:

Just as American pop culture often glosses over the very existence of the Midwestern states, the region is often seen by anarchs as little more than a daunting barrier to the migration from the placid, stultified East to the dynamic, exciting West. Many of the princes who claim domain in Midwestern cities actively encourage traveling anarchs to pass through the region as quickly as possible. Anarchs who stay in a city for any length of time tend to attract other anarchs, either because the original anarch helps expedite travel or because he offers a relatively safe pit stop on the journey west. More than a few times, what started out as a casual stopover point has evolved into a hotbed of anarch intrigue and plotting. The Midwestern princes learned the hard way that anarchs are best sent packing as soon as possible. Like tenacious weeds, anarchs are often extraordinarily difficult to displace once they’ve set root in a city.

A further factor that works against anarchs in the Midwest is that many members of the Camarilla establishment there were once traveling anarchs themselves. Like their modern counterparts, they, too, fled from the established centers of vampire culture in search of a chance to make a better unlife.

Unlike most anarchs of the modern nights, these Kindred pioneers struggled against Lupines, battled the elements and fought among themselves to build what they have tonight. These princes who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps are extraordinarily protective of their holdings, especially when faced with neonates who have ambition and daring that they are quite familiar with. Rather than view the migrating anarchs as comrades or Kindred spirits, they view them as parasitic whelps who are just waiting to swoop in and claim the fruits of their elders’ labor. This irony isn’t lost on the elders of the Midwest, but that doesn’t lead them to treat wandering anarchs any differently.

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The anarch movement that does exist in the Midwest tends to represent a very broad spectrum of anarch political and social thought. Many of these anarch cells started out on the East Coast but lost their fervor for travel westward as the full risks and hardships of the journey became more evident with each passing mile. These anarchs tend to find a city along the way where the elders aren’t quite so oppressive and the opportunities just a little more within reach, enough that the continued risk of the journey doesn’t outweigh the relative comforts and opportunities evident at the anarch’s current stopover point. Anarchs who lose their way on the westward journey tend to quietly integrate themselves into the local Camarilla structure, at least for a time. Some find a place where they can settle on a permanent basis, since the problems and barriers they encoun- tered in the East simply not present in their new homes. Others eventually grow bored or frustrated with the city and once again hit the road, often not before arousing the ire of the prince and any other established Camarilla Kindred.

Whether merely temporary residents or perma- nent settlers, these anarchs rarely present a tangible threat to the establishment. However, these anarchs have managed in some cases to either force out a prince in favor of a more palatable elder or build a powerful coalition of anarchs capable of exerting pressure on the prince equal to the city’s most pres- tigious Camarilla members. In turn, these veritable anarch havens tend to attract still more anarchs, leading to the vicious cycle that prompts Midwestern elders to uproot nascent anarch communities before they have a chance to grow large enough to be a serious political and social headache.

Despite the elders’ generally resentment and fear of uprooted anarchs, the Midwestern states can claim more elder anarchs than any other region in North

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America other than the Anarch Free State. Many of the Kindred who rank in the tiers of power and influence just below the dominant cabal are often anarchs who long ago made the westward journey in search of a better future. Finding the frontier a dangerous and unpredictable place, many of them chose to settle in areas where vampires had already established havens. These Kindred reasoned that strength in numbers would help all parties survive against the dangers of the frontier and the threat of Sabbat attacks that hovered over every Kindred in colonial America. Sometimes, these impromptu alliances worked out for all parties. The established vampire found himself with eager allies who were willing to pitch in and make the frontier a viable environment for all parties. The elder vampire often assumed the station of prince or a rough equivalent thereof, while vampires who arrived later filled out the other levels of the power structure and often were ranked socially according to how early they had arrived on the frontier. Of course, given how fractious and competitive Kindred are among them- selves, such neatly evolved arrangements often failed to materialize. Instead, the Kindred typically fell to fighting amongst themselves, striving against one another for domain over a section of the American frontier. Eventually, one side would win out, leav- ing the other to either toe the new regime’s line or content themselves with struggling against the newly established prince. These losers of the early power struggles are tonight’s Midwestern anarch elders, grizzled veterans of the fight for power redistribu- tion who, over time and with cunning and patience, have managed to build a comfortable existence. An anarch elder may seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, what kind of elder would want to destroy the social system that provides his security and prosperity? Often, it is the sort of vampire who lost out on his bid to become the most powerful vampire in a region and still harbors the ambition to topple the prince and build the equitable and fair Kindred society that he first dreamed of one or two centuries ago.

Many of these conflicts followed the same general evolutionary path from open conflict to the simmer- ing tension between prince and anarch. However, if the initial conflict between established vampire and newcomer didn’t end in a decisive victory, both sides dug in for a long, protracted struggle. The first step both sides usually took was to either Embrace sympathetic locals or recruit traveling anarchs and other Kindred, with some combination of these two strategies typically employed to build the fighting entourages. Often, the struggle at this point would

become just another squabble or rivalry woven into the fabric of the Camarilla. However, in more isolated areas or in rare situations were both sides turned exclusively to Embraced locals for support, a long-running and often deeply rooted feud devel- oped. Lacking the proper context in which to place their Kindred heritage, newly Embraced Kindred were fed all sorts of propaganda that turned them into rabid supporters of their sires. These neonates knew nothing more about the world than that their sire and his allies were the good guys, while the rival gang was irredeemably vile. As the conflict dragged on, these fantasies become accepted history and fact as they were passed down to each successive genera- tion of Kindred. Sometimes, the original sire would meet his Final Death, leaving behind a large brood of vampires ready to carry on a crusade in his name. To this night, in isolated towns and wild regions of the United States, these feuds still drag on. While the majority of these combatants have long since been contacted by and exposed to the Camarilla, some still fight on in stasis or inertia. Run-ins with Sabbat vampires and rampaging Lupines have left them extremely suspicious of strangers, making them dangerous to all Kindred, Camarilla, Sabbat or independent.

Even after exposure to the truth of their con- dition, many feuds still continue to rage. After decades of fighting and surviving on their own, these vampires have little use for outside influence and don’t particularly care to take orders from some upstart prince. Although not often self-identified as anarchs, these independent vampire families look after their own, have a healthy distaste for outsiders and are often accomplished, experienced fighters. While they are not liable to form an al- liance to topple a local prince, they present an often-insurmountable barrier to complete domi- nance by either Camarilla or Sabbat in a region. They are anarchs by dint of rejection of intruding social structures.

Finally, some anarch groups naturally evolve from a prince’s antagonistic or heavy-handed poli- cies toward a city’s neonates. Just as they do the world over, the young vampires of a city may decide that enough is enough and revolution is the only answer. These anarchs often are a bit more radical and active than their East Coast brethren. While Midwest neonates have an easier road to the An- arch Free State, the Midwestern elders have a much more antagonistic attitude toward anarchs than their eastern counterparts. Anarch struggles that originate in the Midwest are often quite personal affairs, with anarchs struggling not only against the

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rules and dictates of the Camarilla but waging a war fueled by personal hatred and distrust of the prince. A vampire who wants freedom might be content to migrate west and make his haven where conditions are to his liking. A vampire who wants a particular prince uprooted and cast from power is more likely to stick around and cause trouble. In the Midwest, the struggle is often carried by grudges, thus leading to a decidedly lower rate of migration among the anarchs there.

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The steady trickle of anarchs from the East has always been a thorn in the side of the Midwestern princes, but the recent Cathayan invasion in San Francisco caught them by surprise. While many anarchs fled to Seattle to help organize the anarch counterattack, many of those not quite so dedicated to the anarch cause chose to retreat eastward, back toward the supposed safety of the American interior. Many princes in cities from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh have seen a sudden influx of wayward anarchs, some of whom are simply passing through while others are looking for a new place to build a haven. The often xenophobic and reactionary princes, especially those in smaller cities that cannot cope with the sudden appearance of two or three new Kindred,

have responded to these newcomers with their customary threats and intimidation. Unlike the typical anarch neonate, though, these newcomers are often battle-hardened veterans of the Anarch Free State, ready, willing and able to respond to threats with carefully orchestrated violence. Thus far, an outright rebellion has yet to flare up, but already in a few places the anarch newcomers have responded to their hosts’ belligerent attitudes by quietly putting out the call for reinforcements and laying the groundwork for another uprising. These embryonic anarch gangs often simply transplant the styles, weapons and tactics they favored in LA or San Francisco to the less-liberal Midwest. Often, these Kindred find plentiful mortal vassals among the locals who are eager to learn all about life in the “real” big city. Drugs, arms dealing and other activities once associated with big cities on either coast are now commonplace in areas where gangs were once thought to be only a big city problem.

This new breed of anarch gang, assumed free from the once steadying influence of the anarch leader Jeremy MacNeil, now often run rampant in the night, taking what they please and paying little heed to the Traditions that would encumber them. In some areas, these anarchs are mistaken for invading

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Sabbat, further ratcheting up the tension between the establishment and the West Coast migrants. Many anarch neonates never new unlife beyond the boundaries of the Anarch Free State. To these vampires, the Camarilla is an aging dinosaur that can be brought low through warfare rather than di- plomacy or negotiation. Furthermore, many of these vampires spent their mortal lives in a city such as San Francisco, San Jose or Los Angeles, leaving them with a snobbish disregard for Midwestern mortals, Kindred and culture in general. They see the Mid- west as an easily conquered tract of malls and prefab housing developments that should quickly fold in the face of their inherent superiority. If a great city such as LA could fall to the anarchs, a two-bit burg in Kansas or Wyoming should prove little trouble, to this school of thought.

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Most anarchs rise and fall with the group they decide to associate with in the Midwest. While gang membership in the West and one’s social circle in the East can play a big part in determining an an- arch’s status in the modern nights, a vampire’s social connections in the Midwest can spell the difference between survival and Final Death. Midwestern cities tend to cover a lot of area while lacking the population to support a sizable number of Kindred. Thus, few vampires are capable of claiming their own domains or hunting ground without some assistance from other Kindred.

The Nickerson Clan

Founded 150 years ago, this tightly knit band of Kindred believes that they are all descended from their original sire, a transient anarch from Atlanta named Harris Nickerson. Nickerson moved to Kansas in the decade before the American Civil War, when conflicts between Northern and South- ern settlers were at a fever pitch within the state. Nickerson used the violent backdrop of the times as a cover to move against the few Kindred who made their havens in the state at the time. While a relatively young vampire, he Embraced the mean- est, toughest fighters he could find into his “clan,” telling them that it was their God-given mission to cleanse Kansas of all Kindred. Nickerson’s plan worked well until he and his followers collided with Ambrose Clifton, another anarch neonate who decided that the only good Camarilla vampire in Kansas was a destroyed one. Soon enough, though, the two anarchs fell into a bitter disagreement over who had first pick of feeding grounds in the region. Since then, the two camps have waged a steady, if rather quiet, war against each other. Nickerson

claims Topeka as his haven, while Clifton has marked Lawrence as his domain. Both ignore the Camarilla yet observe the Masquerade, more out of a sense of self-preservation than anything else. Neither is willing to accept outsiders who are unwilling to either move along with due speed or strike an alliance with one side or the other. Not that their fury has stopped the Camarilla from thriving in Kansas…

The Anarch Railroad

Dubbed the Freedom Train by some anarchs, this network of Camarilla vampires sympathetic to the anarch cause helps ferry Kindred between the east and west coasts. The railroad provides trans- portation and safe houses to anarchs on the move, and often employs mortal and Kindred agents who arrange safe transport and scout out travel routes for anarchs.

At least, that’s what the Anarch Railroad’s supposed to do. The entire organization is actually infested with Camarilla spies who work to document and track anarch movements across the continent. Thus far, the Camarilla has been careful to avoid arousing suspicion. While the majority of anarchs find safe passage through the railroad, their movements are carefully logged and any suspicious congregations of anarchs, especially large groups heading to cities experiencing anarch troubles, is either delayed or intercepted. The railroad is far from being a complete Camarilla tool, but enough spies have gained key positions to make the network serve the anarchs only nominally more than it does the Camarilla. The entire railroad situation highlights one of the anarchs’ biggest weaknesses: Lacking a central au- thority, any large-scale operation is driven largely by motivated volunteers. A would-be agent need only pitch in and display a sympathetic front in order to gain a key position in the operation.