History of the Cedar Grove Vampires

With This Ring, You'll Be Dead: The Tragic Tale of Victor Karavan and Constantina Alarie.
Victor Karavan was a vampire of the old world. He had seen wars come and go, he had seen empires rise and fall. As the young United States had been formed he emigrated to the new world under the guise of a young nobleman there to buy land and make a small dukedom for himself. The beautiful landscape of New York intrigued him, pleased him, and he built a castle in Cedar Grove and was content. The farmers and tradesmen that worked his land were well cared for and in return they paid him a tithe each year for his protection and his benefit.
He probably would have continued being simply content with his life, if he hadn't ventured out on a Christmas Eve. He had smelled the woman before he saw her. A young girl barely into her womanhood- the hunter instinct was strong as he picked up her scent. He found her on the bridge. Tear reddened eyes, only in the thinnest of clothing, she stood upon the railway line, staring into the water- the intent clear by her stance.

The hunt went wrong. Perhaps it was the crumbling stone of the bridge, perhaps it was the ice and the snow beneath his feet, perhaps it was that the woman turned quite suddenly to look at him with surprise as he approached, but for whatever reason, he plummeted down into the frozen water, and was... annoyed. What was shocking was what happened in the next few seconds. Not three feet away the thin ice broke and the water was filled with the pearls of air. Victor felt the woman's hands grasp him, pulling him to shore. That was how he met Constantina.
He would have been amused as she pulled him to shore and up onto the white crusted snowbank. Entertained, as she tried to return breath to his lungs, and press a beat to his heart. It was only as he felt this young mortal's secret- the soft second heartbeat deep within her that he was given pause, especially since the first- much larger heart- was slowing. She had... saved him. He was intrigued- after all what rabbit went to such ends to save a fox?
His amusement lingered as he brought her home. It hadn't taken considerable effort; however, finding out why the woman was on the trestle bridge had been on the edge of taking her own life. He was not shocked or dismissive when she finally revealed that the child within her was illegitimate. Cast away by her family, the girl had seen only one solution to her plight- that was until she saw a man slip and fall into the river.
She was a diversion, he told himself- perhaps a pet. He told himself she would be a meal, once she got her strength, once she'd had the child. The years passed and the excuses melted away as Victor's life became warmed by Constantina's companionship. Illness and weakness plagued her. The heart wounded by the icy river on Christmas Eve never became strong enough for him to change her- though he longed to do it. Eventually, he placed a ring on her finger and called her his own. She was a precious rose that would eventually fade, he knew, but his for a time. What Constantina lacked in strength and life her daughter Mora sparkled. Victor became her patron, her mentor, and when Constanina finally slipped away from him into eternal slumber, his ward.

She knew, of course, about him, as did her mother. What he ate- how he hunted, but never her. Prey became volunteers, respect and protection flourished and only life was allowed in Cedar Grove. For Mora's soft patting of her heart was Victor's sanctuary now- that heartbeat that had made him save Constantina was the most precious thing in the world, and he would not see it silenced.
He raised Mora, educated her, brought her into society. With that society, came eyes and an awareness of Victor's long lasting youth. Soon it would be time to leave and start anew, but Victor could not bring himself to consider it. Year after year he put off his departure, until he remained a recluse in his home- sad, no longer content, and longing.
Mora Alarie on the eve of her twenty first birthday approached Victor to be turned as she had since she was sixteen. Again, it was the only gift she asked for, but this time she would accept nothing other and threatened to find another Sire if he would not relent. She knew the witches were rising, she knew that Victor no longer had his heart in this world- not without her mother. She reasoned there was no other better to be his heir. When she would not turn aside her birthday wish- he did as she asked and made her his daughter in more than name.
But... as that precious heart stopped beating, Victor no longer could stand the night. Known now as the White Lady- the immortality of her father forever locking in place the beauty of her mother- Victor once again felt the ice and water of the Hudson around him. He longed for those warm arms to save him, hold him. On Mora's finger he placed his signet ring, gave her the keys to Haverstraw, and the lands and responsibilities that it entailed.
He waited until the snow fell. Christmas Eve he walked the paths back to the bridge and stood upon it. He watched the night sky gather to sapphire, and azure after that, until the sliver of the sun broke over the silver ribbon of the river. His last thoughts were of pale blonde hair, cheeks made pink by the cold, and eyes too blue to ever be those of a mortal. She turned to him... and smiled. He was saved once again even as he turned to ash in the light of the sun.
The Rise of Mora Karavan
It was a cold Christmas when Victor Karavan walked through the doors of Cedar Grove. Mora waited for his return, but when the son rose she felt the death of her Sire. She wasn't the only one. The next two decades became a war to assert herself as the heir to her father's empire.
Her first battle came with the sister's of Victor- Natasha, Ivana, and Sasha and his brother Vladimir each took their turn trying to obtain their brother's vast fortune and land holdings for themselves. Mora held them off, but it came at great cost to the land and her fortune.
Somewhat crippled Mora found herself facing the Terrytown Coven which had expanded with the power vacuum across the river. The three points area, rich with all the major elements of nature in which even first nation shamans channeled long before the wolves or vampires came, was too much a temptation for them not to try.
Mora went to the wolves with the offer of a treat and an agreement to protect their lands, before the witches expanded too much control into the heart of the valley. Natural enemies became allies. It would be three years before the witch wars officially began and they would add a third ally to their agreement before the first battle occurred.
The Ice Queen Cometh
Mora Karavan did not begin the ice industry. That is attributed to the Tudor brothers in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. The Tudors fell to Mora's radar when she was introduced to hand churned ice cream in 1815. There were few delights that touched her since her changing, but the taste of the treat was able to rekindle her childhood and while it provided no nourishment- she saw a future.
It was then she approached the now Gregory Home with the idea for the Ice Palace. Within months the Verglas Ice Company was born. Using the beautifully crystalline ice of the three point lakes, a vampire labor force, Immune to cold and Ice Knees plaguing the more eastern companies, soon Mora's company became the dominant source of ice throughout the United States.
In 1847 Verglas Ice shipped 52,000 tons of ice to cities across the US via water ways and railroad. The Civil War came and while most southern interests were cut off, Mora moved her empire to move ice across the oceans to the English colonies in India and Indonesia. This only served to expand the ice empire and by the time they reached the other side of the war Mora had amassed an empire that rivaled her father.
The Court of the Vampires:
The first act of the Lady of Cedar Grove was to speak with the local Native Peoples. While the Patroonship had been placed in her name, she heard each of the tenants in turn. She had known most of the elders from her childhood and upbringing, but never as the Lady of the Hall. Some of the requests and demands were out of her willingness or ability to grant, but those that she could she completed. Setting up the bargain with those who live in her lands and she solidified it by pushing the witches out of her lands and back across the Hudson for the first time.
The first attack from Natasha was not a frontal assault- rather one done internally. Natasha Karavan arrived shortly after her brother's demise to console her niece, to train her, to guide her. Mora was almost taken in and had it not been for the warnings of the tenants, she would have been fooled. Her advisor of the time Dooley had suggested that she contact the business partners of Victor. Vampires from other branches of the country and across the ocean to support her against Natasha's attempts to undermine her business contracts. They responded with ruthless zeal in ousting Natasha from the Hudson River Valley.
The second attack was two prong. Ivana and Sasha, less trained in the ways of mortals attempted to take the land by force. By this time Mora had cemented her relationship with the other Vampire Lords and they supported her and her tenants in fending off the usurpers from the old world.
The third attack was harsher more dangerous. Vladimir far stronger than his three sisters and backed with the now rebounding Natasha attacked Mora financially and physically. Old vampires- ones who reached back into the depth of time encroached upon the land and Mora found herself losing ground. It was then she went to the wolves of Bonnie Ben. It was the beginning of the alliance and the wolves natural ability to fight her father's ancestral line was a turning point for her. In return, Mora agreed to provide the wolves with not only security against the undead, but also financial support and the promise of shipping for their goods.
The Pale Lady: How a Young Woman Became the Ice Queen of the Hudson

The beginnings of the ice industry in the Hudson River Valley did not begin with Mora Karavan, but upon realizing the potential revenue for her farmers during the winter months, Mora Karavan financed an industry based upon the lakes that existed on her land and the combined land of the alliance. Due to the vampiric resistance to the cold, her family was able to work the ice without the ill effects that plagued mortals.

The castle on the bank of the Hudson was Mora's idea. She called it the ice castle. It was built so the ice could be harvested on the banks of the river and easily loaded on barges. During the winter the castle would be filled with ice. Through the spring and summer months the ice would be moved to the interior of the building, and perishables produced by the farmers would be stored around the central core, remaining fresh longer.
As the ice empire grew, Mora added the lighthouse in the middle of the river to help the sailors navigate the treacherous sandbars and rocks that lined the river.

Over the years Mora has improved upon her father's estate, employing workers from Rockland and the Palisades in order to boost the economy. The estate is under a constant state of construction with craftsmen hired under strict orders that all hired hands must come from the land and the surrounding village.
Next Article: The Word of the Pale Lady