The Carthian Movement

The Carthian Movement
The Carthian covenant (or movement) is comprised mostly of neonates and ancillae bound together by one overriding concern: Fear. Whether it is fear of their elders, or of the rapid advance of technology, Carthians believe that, in order to survive in the new age of the twenty-first century, they must adapt and change the way things have always been done among the Kindred. This makes them a danger to elder kindred who rule by enforcing the idea that age is power, that the established order is not to be questioned. Carthians domains are run quite differently from the domains controlled by other Covenants. They have adopted of many aspects of mortal government, such as Democracy, and the newer social innovations of mortal society. The Carthian ideal espouses every member having a voice, and everyone contributing to the betterment of all. The popular catch phrase among the covenant is: "Whatever it takes." Carthians tend to cleave more closely to their mortal pasts than other vampires. This tendency, along with their willingness to work together against the oppression of the elders gives them a unique advantage and allows them to interact more effectively in mortal society which can provide them vast networks of mortal contacts and allies. Carthians tend to move about more freely than other Kindred, often traveling to other cities, near and far, just to pick up on new ideas, trends or innovations. This makes the various Carthian groups much better connected than the more insular covenants which tend to remain static and ensconced within a single domain or city. And this gives the Carthians power as well. If another covenant moves against the Carthians of a given domain, they know (or soon discover to their chagrin) that other Carthians will soon arrive from other domains to support their brethren. The Invictus, Sanctified or Dracul within any domain know that they cannot count on such support from outside, indeed they might find other leaders of their own covenants supporting the Carthians as a way of expanding their own power from without. Being a very young covenant the Carthian movement doesn't have nearly as many rituals and protocols as the First Estate or Sanctified. They do have "the Chain," a short ritual, usually initiated by the "Prefect" (the head of the Carthians in an area) at the start or end of any gathering, in which all present rise and hold hands for a moment to show that together they are strong, and the chain must not be broken. Carthian coteries are also formed in interesting ways, one of the most common being when, during a meeting of neonates, some will see a need for something to be done (i.e. we need to take action against the Bishop because of his threat to our interests on sixth street) and they then seek out like-minded individuals willing to join to take action together. This method of leadership and coterie forming makes for short lived coteries Such randomness and social adaptability is another reason elders justly fear and thus keep their eye on the movement. Of course there are usually more neonates than the elders have resources to watch.