Editing Independent Alliance (section)

==History==

The Week of Nightmares was the catalyzing event behind the formation of the IA. When the massive earthquake of 1999 shook Bangladesh, both the Giovanni and the Setites paid close attention as the Ravnos Clan flew into fugue-like rages and was subsequently reduced to all but a footnote in Cainite lore. As the Red Star became more prominent in the night sky and the Sabbat began its crusades, the Followers and Giovanni came to believe the attack targeted the Ravnos Antediluvian and the pain and suffering of the Ravnos founder caused waves of dementia to sweep through the Clan of Deceivers. For the Setites, this revelation spurred an ancient quest to find their founder. For the Giovanni, the realization that the loss of their Founder could bring about their own demise gripped them with terror.

While the Sabbat’s massive offensive against the Anarch Movement and the Camarilla continued, the Giovanni sought to better secure their founder. As militant packs seized Camarilla cities and held bloody festivos to celebrate, Augustus Giovanni secured himself in Venice. From the safety of his stronghold, Augustus Giovanni set his Clansmen to the task of seizing the holdings of the Sects who were too busy

fighting for their unlives. As the Sword of Caine and the Ivory Tower tore at each other, the streets ran red with vitae; the Anarch Movement managed to avoid entering the fray as a whole, likely as a course of their decentralized nature. As the war raged between the major Sects, signs of Gehenna and Cainite lines thought long dead claimed allegiance on one side or the other. For their part, the Setites aligned with a lineage of Brujah claiming different origins from their Camarilla and Anarch counterparts as they sought their founder (Pg 33). The war between the Ivory Tower and the Sword of Caine attracted the attention of mortal Hunters and the realization of a new “Inquisition” took hold. In the chaos and loss, the Followers of Set and the Giovanni continued to profit.

===A House of Cards===

In 2008, an attack devastated the palatial Giovanni compound in Venice. Of the nearly two-hundred vampires and ghouls protecting Augustus, none survived to tell the tale and the Clan’s Founder was gone. The brutal attack destroyed the wraiths bound to serve Augustus, their incorporeal forms torn apart as if cut by a thousand blades. A massive investigation was conducted by the Giovanni, but thus far the Necromancers have only been able to discern their founder still survives in physical form; he has not been destroyed or diablerized. His whereabouts, and the identity of his attackers, are still unknown. As the tides of the war began to shift, the Giovanni found themselves targeted by the Sword of Caine. Struggling to recover from the abduction of their Founder, the Necromancers began to suffer heavy losses in the confrontations. Believing that the Sabbat and their new cohorts, known as the Harbingers of Skulls, were responsible for the abduction of Augustus, the Giovanni needed allies in order to survive. The Necromancer’s hands were tied by the Promise: a treaty with the Camarilla that afforded them no protection and little benefit, especially in the face of the onslaught from the Sabbat.

With but one way to advance their cause, in 2011 Clan Giovanni sent a private declaration to the Camarilla Inner Circle stating its intention to break the Promise. The Necromancers claimed their Clan needed to fully engage with vampire society in order to survive after the repeated Sabbat attacks on the clan’s holdings. When the message reached the Camarilla, the tide had already turned in its favor over the Sabbat. These successes caused many Elders of the Ivory Tower to see the Giovanni’s declaration as impudence and a challenge to the Camarilla’s power.

Although most Kindred were outraged by the Giovanni’s statement, a small faction among the Ventrue, led by Purissimma Geiss, argued in favor of an alliance with the Necromancers. However, the Tremere and Brujah found common ground on this matter and sternly rejected any such overtures. Clan Tremere did not want another Clan with sorcerous power to swell the ranks of the Camarilla and threaten its monopoly and the Brujah had recently lost several of its own interests to the Giovanni and were in no mood to support the Ventrue or their allies. As a result, the Camarilla made no efforts to aid the Necromancers in their time of need and instead threatened a second war with the Giovanni if they were to break the promise. As news of the Giovanni’s desire to break the Promise spread, Giovanni were thrown out of Camarilla domains, refused entry to their courts, and openly slighted.

===An Alliance Borne of Necessity===

During this same time, the Followers of Set found themselves besieged by the Sabbat and mortal hunters who saw the cults of the Serpents as threats to morality. With the Camarilla’s increased victories, the Sword of Caine swung at other, less well protected Clans. Like the Giovanni, the Followers of Set became a prime target as no other Clan would come to their aid. The alliance with the True Brujah only extended to academic interests and the relationship between the bloodline and the Followers deteriorated as quickly as it was forged. Clan Giovanni and the Followers of Set were alone and besieged by enemies.

When news reached the Giovanni of the similar plight of the Setites, the Necromancers sent emissaries to the temples of the Serpents. Already weakened by the attacks from the Sabbat, the Setites accepted the Giovanni’s overtures and the two Clans began a series of political negotiations. Caught between the Sabbat’s desire to slaughter Antediluvians, and the Camarilla’s refusal to publicly admit that such creatures influence the world, common bonds brought the Clans together; both clans claim independence from the Sect war, revere their Founders, cleave to Paths outside of humanity, and profit from the hypocrisy of the various Sects that look down on them.

But the Camarilla was not willing to let the Necromancers go quietly into the night. The Camarilla demanded the Giovanni return to the Promise’s restrictions and just before the two could erupt into warfare, the Followers of Set, using an untold number of centuries-old boons from dozens of highly ranked members of the Camarilla, paid the Giovanni’s debt and effectively saw the Promise broken. In exchange for their assistance, the Giovanni provided the Followers of Set access to their centuries of accumulated knowledge in Necromancy and mutual aid against the Sabbat and the mortal Hunters.

The partnership between the Setites and the Giovanni continued to grow. Together, Setite and Giovanni leaders united against the Camarilla, prevented incursions from the Sabbat and forged the beginnings of what would become a worldwide Alliance. In 2011, the relationship between the two Clans was formally solidified when their leaders met to execute “The Treaty of Alliance”.
 The elders of Clans Giovanni and Setite, for themselves and their childer, gathered together out of mutual accord, do swear and affirm the following treaty of alliance:

 I. Territory - All territory owned by either, outside of the lands of Egypt and Venice, shall be considered shared resources, to house and shelter us each within the other, as the local populace so please.

 II. Emissary - In all territories, each Clan shall have an Emissary to the other. These emissaries shall bear witness to significant business deals, offer advice and counsel, solve disputes, and give testimony back to their Clans.

 III. Punishment - No Setite shall deliver Final Death to a member of the Giovanni, nor shall a Giovanni deliver Final Death to a Child of Set, without permission from the Emissary of the accused.

 IV. Protection - Each shall go to the aid of the other, in business or in combat, to defend or aggress, to the mutual benefit of both our Clans. Both Clans shall, to their utmost, protect the Alliance and its territories from mortal awareness and incursion.

 V. Independence - Neither shall bow knee, nor join in whole nor in part, nor ally with, nor take positions wihin, the Sects of the Camarilla or the Sabbat. Personal alliances, boons, and individual agreements notwithstanding, none shall affect the part or the whole. No member of the Alliance shall render aid to a Giovanni or Child of Set who holds status in these Sects.

 VI. Religion - There shall be no law made within these territories that shall discriminate or limit the free exercise of all forms of worship, sacrifice, or the determination of a soul.

 VII. Accord - Finally, both parties agree to use every exertion to enforce peace and friendship between their Clans.

 So done for the Followers of SET, by our eternal hands, marks and seals, in the name of SET the Guardian, SET the Jackal, and SET the Creator.

 So done for all our Coscas, by the bond of Omertà, in honor of Capo Crimini Augustus Jovian Giovanni.

 Ratified in Las Vegas, in the desert of Mojave, this ninth day of May, 2010.
The announcement of the new IA was met with cold silence from the Camarilla. Many Elders believe these two notorious Clans are far too untrustworthy to keep to such an agreement. They anticipate the severing of the Alliance will leave both groups bitter rivals and provide future opportunities in the Jyhad.

Whatever the future may hold, the arrangement has changed many things for both Clans. No longer bound by the Promise, the Giovanni freely trade and interact with members of the Camarilla and the Anarch Movement; though many Elders, including Justicars and various Princes, still hold grudges against them for breaking the Promise. Nonetheless, the two Clans have exploited their budding association and pooled their influence in the underworld by seizing control of criminal networks, mafia families and drug cartels. Consequently, they established safe houses and meeting places across the globe that are hidden from mortal hunters. As many Elysia were no longer safe, these Giovanni/Setite meeting locations became vampiric gathering points for Camarilla, Anarchs, and other independent Clans, allowing the Alliance to show its strengths.

===Other Clans===

In modern nights it has become more common for Kindred who are not Mesu Bedshet or Giovanni to join the Independent Alliance. In such cases, these members of the IA must be 'adopted' by one or the other IA clan for purposes of status jurisdiction. (Note: this is not the same thing as [[House Rules|Clan Adoption]].) These members of the IA are called ''Akuya'' if adopted by the Setites and ''Associates'' if adopted by the Giovanni.