Joshua Whalen" <nicodemus>
Date: Fri Oct 8, 1999 10:12 am
Subject: Friday morning

Season opener - Remember my idea for a three-way gang war as a C-plot
for this episode? Well, Todd's comment about how it'd be more intelligent for
the bad guys to get together, rather than fight each other, got me thinking.
What if the different sides tried, for once, to get together in the name of
fighting the gargoyles?

Of course, the attempt wouldn't work, and the three sides would most
likely try to backstab each other... (Oddly enough, I'd expect Dracon to be the
only one to come in good faith and honor his part in any agreement. It's the
Yakuza who'd most likely betray everyone.)

Persian Clan - Actually, since this clan idea was recieved somewhat
favorably, I'll elaborate on what I thought it was like:

Essentially, it's descended from a clan originally based in Assyria.
(Assyrian sculpture often portrays 'cherubs', winged beasts with the heads of
men.) Like their human counterparts, this clan was very violent and warlike,
aiding the Assyrians in their conquest. With the fall of the Assyrian Empire,
though, they were forced into hiding, and slowly migrated eastward over the
centuries. Their current location, an abandoned town around a dragon cave, is
somewhere in northeast Iran.

Due to the hiding and running over the centuries (and thier origins),
they're still a very agressive, warlike clan (think a clan where just about
all the members have the mentality of Atalanta), with something of a siege
mentality thrown in. Their 'rites of passage' are brutal, and typically result
in the deaths of those who can't 'cut it'. On the other hand, they're quite
egalitarian, and if a person can pull their own weight in the clan,
then they have a voice in governance.

Much like the Avalon Clan does for the fay, this clan serves as
something of an 'honor guard' to a dragon. The fact that the dragon has much the
same 'siege mentality' and bitterness as the gargoyles doesn't help their
disposition. Currently, the clan is quite large, with somewhere between 50 and 75
members (it's this large due to the isolated nature of their haven, and the
patronage of the dragon; it would be larger, but the clan's rites and the
demanding nature of the terrian do a good job of culling the old and relatively infirm).
Most are warriors, but they also have a handful of 'black wizards' among them,
specializing in way of causing death and destruction among enemy
ranks.

They have a humanoid look, in fact somewhat more human than the
Manhattan Clan (they typically have light earth tones, and much less prominent
browridges; some, in fact have no browridges at all), though with feathered wings
rather than bat-like. A couple of them can even pass themselves off as
human, with significant effort (i.e., they cape their wings, wear voluminous
robes, and make sure to keep out of bright light or get to close to humans). Some few
have Egyptian characteristics (a few survivors of that clan made their way
north and joined the Persian's ancestors), while some others have 'draconic'
features (possibly due to interbreeding with the dragon, possibly not).

As far as the major issues: they're rather isolationist, but they
could be convinced to join the council; while they're not anti-human, they are
wary of them (they'd probably be disappointed with Goliath, rather than
disgusted or appalled); and they'd probably favor proportional representation in
future Council meetings (due to the large size of their clan, they'd be able
to help dominate any future meetings).

One last thing to note: they'd probably not like the Avalon Clan
much. The two clans serve creatures that were on opposite sides of the same
conflict, and the clans have diametrically opposed belief systems (one is 'peacenik',
while the other is 'Klingon').

I'll be back later.

Nicodemus