Havana Nocturne
a lonely vampire at the crossroads one night . The vampire cried tears of blood about the loneliness of her existence . Samedi spoke with her till the morning about death , life , vampires , and even a little bit about music . She whispered the secret of vampires into his ear the moment the sun came up . They both laughed as she disintegrated into ash . He sired his first childe the next night and has been fascinated with us ever since . He ’ s a loa and a vampire , just like most of us were human and vampires .
There are other stories other sires have told their childer . They cast Samedi as a fugitive , on the run from other , more powerful Kindred looking to wipe him out because of his unique abilities . He settled in the islands for many years . When the plantations and the slaves came , he kept to himself , though his abilities grew the legend of the loa . When the Kindred looking to control the wealth of the plantations arrived , Samedi took up the top hat and the legend to defend his domain . In some versions of the story , Samedi comes face to face with Augustus Giovanni , who was the Kindred that forced Samedi out of his home in the first place . These stories end with a deal struck between the Samedi and the Giovanni , but one that neither party seems happy with . Even if the story isn ’ t true , the tension between us still exists to this day .
Perhaps if you are lucky enough to meet the Baron , you can ask him yourself . The Baron is seen from time to time , rumored to have a grand haven hidden under an old plantation in Port-au-Prince . He ’ s not exclusive to the island though , making appearances as far north as New York City and as far south as Johannesburg in the same evening . The Baron insists that , as the loa of the crossroads , he can travel in ways nobody else is able to understand . Our enemies claim it ’ s a trick so other Kindred can dress up in his iconic attire and pretend to be him . If you want a visit from our founder in a poor mood , such accusations can ’ t be beat as an invitation .
Havana Nocturne
After World War II , Cuba was the next big score for organized crime . American Mafia families used their political power and financial reserves to bribe Fulgencio Batista ’ s regime . Batista gave up his country to their criminal influence . Havana soon became a vacation spot known for its luxury and decadence . Anything could be had for a price , and the tales of what the high-rollers at Mafia casinos indulged in rivalled anything out of Rome ’ s most outrageous legends . Though these nights would not last forever , the Mafia refined the lessons learned here when Bugsy Siegel was put in charge of developing a new destination fueled by humanity ’ s need for vice : Las Vegas .
Where Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano laid seeds , their puppet masters reaped the benefits . Many Ventrue and Toreador Princes took advantage of the friendly environment to indulge in their darkest desires . Many Kindred operated with only the smallest caution paid to the Masquerade . Some islands became fiefs rules openly by their Kindred masters . The natives ran scared from black cars kidnapping entire families in the night . The official word was the usual tyranny of a dictator , but there were plenty of Cubans that ended up as feasts for visiting Kindred dignitaries of both the Camarilla and the Sabbat .
It ’ s easy to think that Castro was a Brujah counter-plot to the Ventrue manipulations of the Mafia . It ’ s just as likely that he and other revolutionaries like Che Guevarra were tired of the corruption of Batista ’ s regime and decided to overthrow it on their own . Cuba fell to the Communist rebels on New Year ’ s Eve , 1958 . The first few nights of 1959 found many of the Kindred of Havana scrambling to whatever sanctuaries they could find . Revolutions are an excellent time for the Jyhad to flare up and enemies to settle scores . The Samedi provided sanctuary for many of these Kindred , collecting debts which are still being repaid to these modern nights . Those who once scoffed at our backward religion and uncultured ways begged and pleaded for us to open our crypts and hide them from the teeth of their enemies and the torches of their hunters .
Many of the Kindred who fled from Castro ’ s revolution were part of Clan Giovanni . Their connections to organized crime meant Havana quickly became a stronghold of their Clan . I even remember rumors of Crocetta Giovanni breaking two barriers at once as the first Giovanni Prince in the New World and one of the first female Giovanni Princes ever . The fleeing Giovanni who offered merely money and favors to our people were left to their Final Deaths . The ones who offered something useful survived . Our connections to the spirits sing in our blood , but the Giovanni who taught some of us their Necromancy made those Samedi even more powerful than before . While our bloodline is small enough that we need not concern ourselves with those who know necromancy and those who do not , those who do are often deferred to as leaders when more than one of us gather in a city . If they can speak to spirits directly , most figure , they can speak to the other Kindred of the city for all of us .
Many of those Giovanni fared poorly once evidence of the price they paid for safety got back to their family . Crocetta ’ s very public and very messy Final Death is still whispered about to other Kindred as an example of Giovanni brutality . The Clan hates us , claiming that we stole their secrets . Their members swear bounties on Samedi who flaunt necromancy , but many of them don ’ t discriminate between those of us who do or do not use the Discipline . By their thinking , any destroyed
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