Bran le Relle du Cannes

Bran le Relle du Cannes
Masquerade Character
Pronouns:	They/Any
Clan:	Child of Dissonance
Sect:	The Camarilla
City:	Pittsburgh, PA
Player:	Christian

Bran le Relle du Cannes is an active pretender elder in the City of Providence. Though not well established among the kindred, they were acquainted with a small number of Pittsburg's elite prior to moving there. Some believe du Cannes to be an individual of ill repute due to their past origins among the Sabbat and participation a number of questionable pseudo Camarilla groups in Texas. They are not known to have sired any kindred.

Life

As their name implies, du Cannes was born very poor in Cannes, France in the mid 17th century. This was during an inflection point in history of Cannes as kindred fought in the shadows to establish themselves just over a century after the church had been supplanted as the dominant local power. Details of du Cannes personal experiences in this time are scarce, and they will state they do not remember much about the time if asked, but the historical record indicates du Cannes was embraced with a large number of others in a place already struggling to support a growing kindred population.

Early Death

A currently unidentified member of the Daughters of Cacophony embraced du Cannes some time in 1689 to fight for the Sabbat. Sabbat Daughters in this region and time tended to sire "Choirs" of vampires without the typical respect and preparation an embrace deserves and they were known to mistreat and undervalue their progeny. A group of neonates including du Cannes rebelled and fled to the New World of North America.

This splinter faction would be regarded as traitors by the Sabbat and outlaws by the Camarilla. As a result they participated in the colonization of some locations around the Gulf of Mexico, deliberately avoiding any area where one sect had meaningful presence. du Cannes landed on the Coast of Texas in the fledgling French colony of Fort Saint Louis, near Matagorda Bay. Spain saw this colony as a threat and it was soon destroyed in part because the still untamed former Sabbat members of the colony fed greedily and rendered the mortals unable to mount a resistance.

Pseudo Camarilla

After the collapse of Fort Saint Louis, du Cannes dispersed throughout the gulf region with the others, as their noticeably French countenance became as much as a reason to conceal themselves as the Masquerade. In order to prevent collapsing other mortal communities and to ingratiate themselves with the Camarilla, the splinter faction began attempting to form their own court, inviting other unaffiliated kindred to participate while continuing to avoid attention from the major sects.

A number of issues would contribute to the repeated failure of the Texas Courts, primarily identified to be its thin territorial control, lack of clear leadership or power stratification leading to infighting, and Sabbat influences from within and without. More than 20 courts were known to have been formed, some concurrently and without fully formed councils, with du Cannes holding minor titles in some of them but never rising to a notable position.

Aside from repeated collapses, the Texas Courts are also known for continuing certain Sabbat activities including demon worship, abuse of mortals, and numerous Masquerade breaches. du Cannes does not deny involvement in these activities.

Modern Times

du Cannes can frequently be heard decrying their lack of involvement in the Industrial Revolution. While their contemporaries were investing in new industries and building grand sums of wealth, du Cannes found every business venture to be too late to be competitive or otherwise a dead end. They would continued to live in relative poverty and obscurity until the invention of the computer. They closely followed the development of the technology and participated in the early development and deployment of it through involvement with institutions such as Texas Instruments and NASA, though, as with their involvement in the Texas Courts, they are only known to have been an unnotable participant in larger accomplishments. As their age became a concern, du Cannes left the private sector to train mortals in computer science, moving between educational establishments as needed and living comfortably.

Using their knowledge of computers, du Cannes assisted a number of kindred with establishing or stealing electronic identities as forged paper became a less effective means of moving through mortal society. In exchange for these favors, du Cannes was able to untangle themselves from the Texas Courts and flee the region.

du Cannes currently teaches night classes at the University of Pittsburgh and is Chief Technical Officer at Bifrost.

Connections with the Kindred of Pittsburgh

(ties welcome)

Edith McGinnis - as the current owner of Bifrost, McGinnis made du Cannes Chief Technical Officer. Outside of business, they are regularly seen publicly together and share an interest in dignified traditional court.

Spectre - after a short period of stalking, du Cannes provided support to Spectre prior to their disappearance. du Cannes is publicly offering a blood boon to whomever leads them to Spectre

Fred Henderson - du Cannes and Henderson are known to have had some interaction in Las Vegas, NV during the 1960s. du Cannes was attending a conference and stayed to provide unspecified services.

Mother Karina - Mother Karina endorsed the entry of du Cannes to Pittsburgh by clearing their name of certain Sabbat activities. In exchange, du Cannes supplies job training services to Mother Karina's homeless shelters.

Simplified Timeline

• 1654 - Born
• 1689 - Died
• 1689-1695 - Poorly documented Sabbat activities
• 1695-2022 - Texas Courts
• 2023 - Joined the City of Providence court

Rumors

• Questions exist regarding the extent of du Cannes involvement in the Sabbat to the current day
• Tends to latch on to one or two individuals of admirable skill
• Shares information too readily
• Forgot how to speak French

Quotes

(quotes welcome)