Holland by Night

In the tenth century the west of the Netherlands was little more than an underdeveloped region on the periphery of the Holy Roman Empire. The majority of the land was wild and uncultivated marshland, unfit for all but the hardiest kindred and kine. Only the occasional Gangrel seemed to be attracted to the solitude of this wasteland. The only cities of note in the area were Utrecht and Dorestad, as they were important religious and mercantile centres.
The end of the tenth century heralded a change to the region, as the population started to cultivate the wild marshlands. Two young vampires recognised the potential of this region and it's development. 
The first, the Lasombra Marcella Celiber, had been a major influence on the bishops of Utrecht and their politics for many years. It is thought that she had originally fled the Iberian Peninsula after a difference of opinion with an unnamed, but powerful Lasombra. 
The second major player in the region was the Ventrue Albrecht. A recent arrival from Germany, this young Ventrue had come to Holland to fulfil his dreams of power. He saw the growing power of the counts of Holland and decided to back them with his wealth and influence. 
The struggle of these two kindred and the two power structures they backed would be the central conflict of the region in the next hundred years. Albrecht finally struck a major blow, as in 1076 the army of the count overcame the army of the bishop. The bishop's power in Holland would never again be equal to the counts. In the coming centuries Albrecht would even be able to have a large influence upon the elections of the bishops of Utrecht. The fate of the Lasombra Marcella d'Aragón at that time is unknown. A recent document suggests she spent a long time in torpor, somewhere beneath holy ground in the city of Utrecht. 
Albrecht's victory had come with a price, as the struggle of the previous century had taken up most of his time and money. Recent political, geographical and economic developments had made his domain a nexus of trade routes and full of growing cities. As he finally could turn his attention back to his domain he found that others had already sneaked in. 
Upset by the recent reclaiming of the wild lands, a local Gangrel called Varom had resorted to puncturing dikes and dunes and was causing major floods, to scare of the local populace. This made it necessary to create a new organisation to keep the newly created farmlands dry. To this end the local lords entered into a social contract with the farmers, giving them greater freedom. This development is credited to a wild haired preacher, calling himself the hammer of Brujah. Albrecht lost even more of his power as he had to allow the count to concede city rights to several of his towns due to a leak of some important, and possibly damaging, information. Recently recovered sources credit the Nosferatu Gave Gods (God's gift) with the leak.