From SuspireWiki
Background
Velvet stood in the shadows just beyond the glaring lights of the stage. She could see the sweat drip down the musician’s faces as they moved fingers over guitar strings that set the blaring rock music amplified a hundred times out over the crowd. Her head was pleasantly swimming with cocaine from the pre-show party and she waited with anticipation for the post-show party.
Velvet was born Rachel Evans in a small suburb of Los Angeles in 1968 after the “Summer of Love” changed her mother’s life forever. Pregnant at 19 with no idea of the father, Susan Evans was forced to move back in with her parents just outside of LA where she gave birth to a darling little red-headed girl who made her strongly suspect that the father was no other than the cute ginger boy she fucked once in the back of a VW van. The pregnancy didn’t change Susan into any more of a responsible adult and as soon as the baby was delivered she abandoned it and was never heard of again. Rachel was raised by her grand-parents who made up for their “failure” with her mother by being unusually strict on Rachel. Her clothing was picked out for her; every thing that would befit a “proper young lady”. She wasn’t allowed to wear make-up or date boys. She couldn’t watch television or go to movies. Even the radio she had to turn off after 9.
As Rachel got older, she began to rebel more and more against these unfair strictures. She’d curse and scream at her grand-parents, berating them for their failure as a way to lash out. In return she’d be gagged and locked in her room. She’d sneak out to meet school friends and be tied to her bed in punishment. Every action taken would have a more severe reaction, which would lead to an even more severe action taken until the situation was out of control. There’d be no stepping back, no fixing things. Rachel slipped out one night after prying the nails out of her bedroom window and went to a friend’s house. Her friends had, over the years, become more and more wild. After a night of drugs, sex and rock and roll the guitar player of one of LA’s many garage bands suggested Rachel just come with them.
Velvet couldn’t hear any thing above the thrum of the bass. She was effectively deaf for several hours passing a concert, not that she cared. It was worth it after all. Maybe if she hadn’t been deaf she would have heard him sneaking up on her. Maybe if she hadn’t been blinded by stage lights, she would have seen his face when he pulled the black bag over her head. Maybe if every one back stage hadn’t been high, someone would have moved to save her. As it was, few even noticed when Velvet was carted bodily away from backstage and hustled into one of the many non-descript vans in the parking lot.
“At least he’s hot.” The thought swam in her head when her eyes finally adjusted to the lack of black hood. She then became aware of the odd, almost satanic (to her mind) trappings of the church. There was no doubt, after all, she was in a church. A man started speaking, it took a moment for her mind to adjust but she realized he started listing her sins. All of her sins. God, she had a lot of sins. He droned on and on it seemed, until Velvet started squirming uncomfortably. It was that uncomfortable feeling, so reminiscent of her grandparents early lectures that strengthened her spine and caused yet another unfortunate turn in her life.
He asked her if she repented her sins. She told him to fuck off. The cocaine still pulsing through her body with every heart beat only fueled her belligerence. He started talking again but she wasn’t really paying attention. Something about damned to hell, never see the light of heaven, make earth a living purgatory. It sounded exactly like one of her grandparents’ fucking sermons. She spit in his face. The next time Velvet woke up, not only had the cocaine stopped pulsing, but so had her heart. There’s a sort of unnatural silence to waking up dead. People don’t realize all the little noises their body makes, those reassuring, normal noises. Waking up dead is frightening. Velvet was afraid, but she has no reason to be. She was the Archbishop’s childe and no one would dare touch her.
Velvet gloried in her new found embrace. She could do any thing. She was one of God’s monsters. She was fear and sin personified. At first she rained down vengeance on the falsely righteous, like her grandparents. She’d stalk them and drink from them and glory in their weaknesses. She’d make them fear. Eventually Velvet learned that all mortals are sinful in the eyes of God and in picking just one group to torment, she was doing God a disservice. So she learned to hunt on all mortals.
Velvet learned a lot in her early years as Kindred. She learned of society and it’s rules. She learned of the Testament and the Catechism. She learned how to spread the word and how to spread her influence. But the most important thing Velvet learned was that she was destined for greater things. From her early years, Velvet was told stories of the City of Sin. Las Vegas and how mortals go there with no fear of God, because God’s holy monsters were not allowed. As time passed, Velvet decided this should not be so. There should be no city free from God’s wrath. There should be no Sin City where the only darkness is the inferior darkness wrought by men on men.
Spoiled as she was, the childe of the unquestioned Archbishop, it never occurred to Velvet that she would not be granted what she asked for. So when she asked for Las Vegas, there was no doubt to her that she would get Las Vegas. It took years of badgering and convincing, but eventually Velvet convinced her sire that it would be doing God himself a disservice if they did not take the other city. In order to please his childe, his only childe who he made of his own soul, in his own image, to the glory of God, the Archbishop started making inquiries. He discovered that in recent years the one-strong Invictus had weakened. That worse, the Crone had grown strong and even more than that, there were rumors of worst things running rampant. Velvet pointed out to her sire that this was clearly a sign from God that it was time to move forward. To appease his demanding childe, the Archbishop sent forth a legate to assess. This wasn’t good enough for Velvet though. She wanted it to be hers. Her city, from start to finish. Ever heedless of her own safety, she left the side of her indulgent Sire and traveled south to Las Vegas.