Joshua survived the destruction of the Cabal's home, although the price was high; no one else had escaped with him. He returned to the burned-down wreckage after a time to check on his Sanctum. He and the Doctor had established protective and concealing magicks on the basement level, and found it still sealed, its contents intact. It was of little comfort to him, however. The loss of his second Cabal left him consumed with grief and rage, and he took to aimless wandering.

He ended up in Necropolis early in 1998, having traveled there on a whim. The city had been mentioned in passing by one of his Cultist friends, and he wanted to stay out of the Ascension War for awhile...to rest and forget. He soon found out what a nest of vampires he had stumbled onto in the old Shadows Bar, and was drawn back into the world of the Kindred.

His first chance encounters left him with a place to stay in the city, and a handful of mixed impressions about the vampires that infested it. His path came closer to that of a hunter; many of the Cainites he met turned out to be Sabbat, with their own agendas and plans for him. For some time, he was convinced that this was what all vampires must be like -- worthy only of slaying, as the Order had taught him to do. What would a mage, even one of the Order, know of Camarilla or Sabbat? They were -all- Sabbat to Joshua. He made few friends because of this outlook, even discouraging any who wanted to be. An Errant twice over, he was certain that any friends he made would be doomed; such was his curse, it seemed. He tried in vain to save a newly Embraced vampire from the clutches of the Sabbat. He tried and failed to preserve the innocence of a Sleeper...a gypsy who, in the end, fled the city after witnessing some of the supernatural beings flaunting their powers. Time and circumstance took them both from him, but his search for purpose was at an end. It was time for Fate to intervene.

---

Joshua looked up from an old book taken from his library to see Morgan Powyll walking into the Shadows bar, wretched hive of scum and villainy that it was, and at once was drawn to her unique, feral beauty. In no time at all they were chatting amiably, and on the way to becoming friends. Though he still had his personal differences with the Kindred to consider, he stayed quiet about them, choosing to simply enjoy her company. He was confident enough to offer his blood to his new friend, but used magick to deny himself the pleasure of her Kiss...not wanting to lose control.

Morgan noticed this, of course, and so they talked of each other's past. Joshua discovered, to his surprise, that the Sabbat was not the only sect of vampires in existence. He learned about the Camarilla from Morgan, an Archon on a hunting mission. He became a companion of sorts to her, offering his aid when she tackled problems that meant something to him. He had yet to trust a vampire to do more than that.

Morgan had some idea of the danger Joshua could pose to the Camarilla if he turned to hunting her kind, and treated him accordingly. As they spent more and more time together, he found her to be compassionate, understanding...surprisingly humane. In time he learned to trust her with his blood and his life, and was not disappointed.  The time came, though, for Morgan's mission to end; he waited for her to return from the hunt, anxious to see her again. But she failed to come back. Desperate to find her, he tracked her down using advanced Correspondence arts. His time of need had brought new understanding, an epiphany of desperation. Finding her at last, wounded to the point of Final Death, Joshua lashed out with his magick to heal her and restore her power in mere moments...but at a cost. He collapsed from the countering lash of Paradox, lying helpless before Morgan as she rose from near-death. But she rescued him in turn, carrying him out of the sewer system where he'd found her.  It was on that night that their relationship changed, becoming something much more than friendship.

Previous Page

History File Page Four

Back to the Homepage