>Question Red.   
>   
>Why have you not taken direct action and eliminated S if you live in their   
>operational area?   
>   
>Or are you just waiting to die down there?   
>   
>Serious question.   
>   
>Ritter   
            <chuckle>    
Ritter,   
        We both know I couldn't take you out.   What makes you think I could kill a Nos Elder possessed by a Demon with all the powers  of a 5th Gen Brujah?  No, I'm not stupid enough to take him on   hand-to-hand, nor can I find his haven.  So I'll just wait, watch, and research, until I find some other way to remove him.  Unless you want to get off your lazy ass and take him on yourself. 
        -Red   

I seem to remember something about the mark or taint can be transmitted to a person by looking at the aura of a tainted person and seeing the eye in the pyramid open and extend its tentacles toward you.  I dont remember who mentioned this but I think I remember it accurately. I think Iruka Faust may also have some useful information to contribute. Could you let me know if you learn anything else useful about defeating it?  I would like to add any new information to my files so that in the event shit
hits the fan everybody here will run screaming in circles until they think to ask if anybody knows anything useful about how to defeat it.  the Kindred in this area seem to think that it will not affect them in any measurable way.  I generally find this amusing when confronted with it.V has not made very many inroads in this area (Ocala Florida) fortunately but I'm staying alert just in case. 

Bob Zuckerman

Once upon a time in the fall of 1997, there was a conclave of the Kindred.Whilst at that Conclave a certain seneschal of Austin, S*n*t*a*g*, (hereafter refered to as Santie) bid on and got a certain item at auction..   The I of V.

The I of V*r*js* henceforth known as the doodad is either the storage place of a demon (you can guess his name) or the repository of the soul of an ancient Brujah.  In either case it has the ability to take over the body of the posessor.  And gives the posessor the same characteristics as an ancient Brujah... For sure, it makes the posessor stronger than a Brujah ancillie.
While in itself that is no great biggie the doodad has a couple of other abilities which are nastier.

It  spreads what can only be called as a contamination.  Santie was the first one to be contaminated.  This contamination is spread by looking at the contaminated one with auspex or by possessing the I.  There are two degrees to contaminatiion.   Tainted people have an aura which is either purple edged or black edged (but not like diablerie).  Tainted people, the soul from the I can look through their eyes and hear what they hear.  In other words, people who are tainted are spies for the I.   Corrupteed people are far worse.  Corrupted people have a pyramid in their aura with an eye in the center of the pyramid.
If you are looking at a corrupted person and the eye opens.... tentacles come out and scarf your soul... replacing it with their version of your soul.Unfortunantly the first thing one who is corrupted learns is soul mask.  And what they mask is that dammed pyramid.  So if you were looking at a corrupted person and did not have a very high level of auspex,  the eye could open and
you be snared and you would not see it coming.

A corrupted person is activly working to further the aims of the doodad.  One other player in this game is a person who claims to be the sire of V*r*js*. Whose name also starts with a V .  They started off their communications with the outside world with a resounding "Greetings Worms".   We will call him V2 (for V squared).  It has been reported to me that V2 has met with Stiles. Anyway, back to the story.  Santie Claus got the doodad.  And the conclave was over.  We then had the war in San Francisco.  If you will remember certain folks were missing right after that war.  Folks like Joey Grant, Diego (malk
archon) and Christian Stiles (yeah, the justicar).  And after the conclave all sorts of the prophecies of the book of nod started coming into play.  Things like Catiff Princes, 14th and 15th gen kindred, a blood red moon etc.  It looks like this year is a prelude to Gehenna.   For those of you who need a brush up on kindred legend.... gehenna is when those of us who are further
from Caine, become the personal feeding herd of those closer to Caine.... those that survive that long.

And it looks like Austin is ground zero.  Since my domain is less than a spitting distance from Austin that gives me a very active interest in what happens in Austin.

So here's the sides.

You have Santie.  Those who are contaminated... including Joey, maybe Stiles, Sienna of Toreador.  V2.   Apparantly actively working to bring about either Gehenna or a world in which they are the rulers.

versus

The rest of us.  Those who are fighting this thing, by whatever means we have at hand.  I'm not going to mention those I know who are fighting against Santie.  I know some of them.  I don't want to know them all.

It looks to me like Panther got caught.  In the prelude.

Troy Kalesti Brujah Prince of San Marcos

>I need to know more about V* and the situation in Austin.
>Surely Princes must know something.
>Is no-one acting against this thing?

        Okay, Top, this is what I know:

        "V" is what people are using to refer to some evil thing that supposedly hears you if you say its name.  I don't know it's real name, and I don't want to.  It's apparently some really ancient evil shit that possesses you, and the more you know about it, the easier this becomes. I also know that if you have Auspex, and you see an eye or somethin' in a person's aura, look away before the eye sees you, cause it means you're next.
        This may all be an elaborate Malk prank...but it makes me nervous all the same.  I have no idea what's bein' done about it or what can be done about it.  People are naturally bein' reluctant to talk about it much.

        Hope this helps you out.  Take care, man.  And good luck.

        Mad Dog
        Brujah
        Prince of the DoP
       

     So I said names and places.  I am sure on the places, iffy on all the names.  Remember that nothing certain in this hard world....also keep in mind that some of these people have met with Final Death.  Even in this age of communication it is hard to keep up with all the news...though I would warn all the Anarchs.  It has in the past used Anarchs and Sabbat for cover to overtake a city.   An Anarch named Panther knew too much, and his whole base was slaughtered, quickly and horridly.
So this is no joke, really.

* these people were oddly enough also listed on a Setite hit list...
People: 

Mikhail Kalistori, Tremere                             Here is the problem.  Once a person is    
MItchel Hardgrove, Malkavian             infected they have this burning desire to
MIranda Lexuraot, Brujah *             spread the happiness up and down the
Jaden Gunn, Brujah *                     family bloodline.  Ergo: Jaden Gunn leads
Ian Faust, unknown *                     to more Gunn's.  Kalistori, Lexuraot, etc...
Annelise Chevalier, Ventrue             This explains why the Countess Marinescue
Stellus, Ventrue *                     hasn't been seen lately. Stellus has had to
Robert Grant, Ventrue *                     call several of his family in recently.  Hmm..
Isaiah Zarathusthra, Malkavian
Sienna, unknown
Joey Grant, Brujah
Diego, Malkavian *
Christian Stiles, Malkavian *

Obviously, I didn't go out and take a poll on the Demon's Choice prefered flavor.   The reason these people are suspected is usually two-fold.  1)  They begin acting VERY strangely, when usually it is the same old/same old.  2)  They have been in close contact with Santiago or someone known to be possessed, or spent time in a location with the Eye/Eyes. 

Locations: ( ie; don't plan a vacation here... )
Austin, Austin, Austin.  and in case you didn't hear it the first time, AUSTIN!!! the first clue came when Santiago got worse, and then Gehenna came knocking..
New Orleans - rumored to be a stronghold ( read:  temple ) here.
Charleston, SC
Columbia, SC
Gainsville, FL
Atlanta, GA-     I am sure the problems with demons have nothing to do with it, and the deaths of the Garou, and the problems with the Wyrm, nyhhh. 

Some theorize that Veroshka's sire hails from Atlanta.

College Station, TX
Salt Lake City, Utah...wait, isn't that the new hot spot for Kindred to see and be seen this year?  Oh, and lucky that
Stellus has a summer funhouse there.   We should all be so lucky...
Los Angeles, CA
San Fransisco, CA-  the place where everyone went AWOL after the Sabbat war...
Stiles the Justicar was among those MIA, along with Joey Grant, Diego the Archon.
Eugene, OR--this gets included for a one reason.  Joey Grant went down and staked a 7th gen Brujah named Nomad.  This was not done for a political reason, but a fit of pique.  See, Nomad went and did a favor for someone he loved, and gave her a good death. Joey obviously never learned that you are supposed to share your toys, and threw a temper tantrum when he learned there would be no hunt. Then he staked Nomad and took him home for a late-night snack.

Most of the NW region ( read:  most of the older Kindred in the NW region)
All of Texas 

Thank you for your cooperation...I am sure that I will never meet any of you, because either the person I am staying with, or Stellus, or Veroshka is going to come and kill me.   That's OK.  Death doesn't scare me, because I am lucky enough to have someone who loves me waiting on the other side.  I just hope that someone out there can use this information to stay safe and find victory. 

Tobin O'Neal
childe of nobody

It is my knowledge that Jayden Gunn has been tested and proven clean of infection.   If this has changed recently, I am unaware of any change in her behaviour.

However, here are a few bits of information that you may have not run across in your searching.

A mutual blood bond prevents infection.  A normal blood bond is only protective provided that the kindered you are bonded to is not infected or does not become infected.   The infection _is_ passed in the blood.  Interesting note: aparently the Sabbat are immune to V and its subsequent infection due to their blood rituals

Another noteworthy fact.  Aparently those who are infected now posess the ability to mask themselves.  Said mask will not fall quickly, such as when a kindered is staked.  Said mask will Only Fall after kindered has been staked for three days.

Again, take everything you learn with a grain of salt.  There were several things that were recently posted that according to the
information that I had been given, were incorrect.  But then again, my information may just be incorrect as well.

I have the simple policy.  Take note of all information and do not discard even the rediculous...for that may just be the truth.

Simon Fairbanks-Blackthorne
Elder for the City of Roses