Welcome to the
Golden City
1965. San Fransisco, California.
More than 100 years ago, the presence of gold attracted a rush of settlers to the area. Among these settlers, of course, were the Kithain, the fae of the mortal realm. They smelled the gold across the country and came from all corners. They flooded the area and the thriving young city, and with them came the Clurichaun known today as Lady Joan. A jovial and free spirit, Lady Joan reveled in the absence of Kithain nobility.
As the nobility of Kithain began to establish the Kingdom of Pacifica, however, Lady Joan proved to be quite the resistance to the hierarchical authority of her fellow dreaming changelings. With a group of like-minded individuals, she created a magical barrier known as the Golden Gateway around the new fair city, ensuring that no noble Kithain nor Arcadian influence would tarnish the city she now deemed under her protection. With this act, she became the first and only Vox Phantasma of the city of San Francisco. For a century, this gateway has held strong as the community - both Awakened and Asleep - has grown and thrived as a beacon of freedom from the Arcadian and Kithain hierarchy. Without that fae influence, other Awakened flocked to the area — the Kuei-Jin’s Red Deer Court and the Pan-Fera Confederation were among the first to settle.
However, in the last year, the Lady Joan has vanished without a trace. The integrity of the Gateway has begun to wane, held together only by the combined work of her followers. Stranger still, as the moon waxes and wanes, so does the strength of the Gateway. Without the magic of the Vox Phantasma, the Gateway cannot stand. In the years of holding fast against outside influence, the Hedge, which seperates the mortal realm from the fae world, has grown high and thick around the city. And from the Hedge, twisted creatures born the chaotic magic inside, known as the Gallain, make their way through into the mortal world and wreak havoc on the city Lady Joan swore to protect. Inter-community conflicts arise on top of the growing danger of the Gallain as the Camarilla vie for influence in the city via the establishment of a new Prince and his House of Gold, and as the Mercurius Maximus University becomes a hub of mage activity with the announcement of a mysterious Tenth Throne manifesting in Concordia.
With the presence of five factions, the Masquerade must be upheld at all costs in order to protect the sanctity of the Awakened population and the safety of the Sleeping city-dwellers. However, with the growing tensions and danger looming over the city... is the Masquerade even the most pressing issue?
