The Gentlemen
At the Feast of Gentlemen,
They pass the skull cups ‘round again,
Drinking freshly curdled blood,
Then toss the bones into the mud;
They glut themselves on orphan boys,
And keep the girls around as toys,
To hurl them from atop the walls,
And mock their terror as they fall;
Collars white and tied with red,
Uniformed imminent dead;
The bell will toll four times and then
Begins the Feast of Gentlemen.
They pass the skull cups ‘round again,
Drinking freshly curdled blood,
Then toss the bones into the mud;
They glut themselves on orphan boys,
And keep the girls around as toys,
To hurl them from atop the walls,
And mock their terror as they fall;
Collars white and tied with red,
Uniformed imminent dead;
The bell will toll four times and then
Begins the Feast of Gentlemen.
- Nathaniel the Lamenter, Sermons of Woe
Structure
There are nine vampire lords who rule the shadowy underworld of Brigands' Landing, each of whom keeps a coven of their brood as enforcers. Together they intimidate and control many of the criminal enterprises which operate in the Landing, while preying quietly upon the poor and helpless citizens of the poorest slums. While they generally operate individually, and there are even internecine conflicts between the vampire broods, they come together once every three years to name one of their number as the supreme leader, and partake in a grisly tradition known as the Feast of Gentlemen.
At the Feast of Gentlemen, the vampires choose the one among them who will be their chairman for the next three years. The chairman's authority encompasses which broods are allowed the more valuable targets, hunting grounds, and the sociopolitical status of each vampire lord in relation to the others. Being immortal, ageless beings, the vampires are more gravely concerned about ethereal matters of reputation and clout rather than corporeal profits or territory. Theirs are long games of intrigue and deceit.
The Chairman is also the only representative of the Gentlemen who meets with Coinlord Ibn-Alhad, as his association with this gang is ostensibly secret - albeit a deliberately poorly kept one.
History
How the vampires arrived in Brigands' Landing is still being investigated under the auspices of Tybalt Rembini, but their presence was first noticed near the close of the first decade of the Whalers' War.
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