====== The Covenant War and the Concordant ======
===== The Covenant War =====
==== Cold War (1910-1932) ====
In Springfield's early 20th century, the Circle of the Crone - a pagan covenant of vampires - was nominally the dominant covenant in the region, but had long been challenged by the Lancea et Sanctum, a vampire covenant that worships Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced Christ's side with his spear. Things escalated in 1910 when a third covenant - the Ordo Dracul - aggressively moved into the area to claim the rich profusion of Dragon Nests. A twenty-two year cold war broke out between the three covenants over Springfield, each side jockeying for any advantage, and the mortals of Springfield suffered for it.

==== Open War (1932-1948) ====
The three-way cold war culminated in 1932 when a Crone acolyte caught a Sanctum priest spying upon her coterie. The priest was overwhelmed and fought to Final Death rather then be taken by “heathens.” His death sparked one of the few wars between covenants, and when the Ordo Dracul made a “land grab” they got sucked in as well. It should be noted that although the region was technically a “war zone,” very little actually changed except various domains became strictly controlled by one Covenant or the other – in theory. Open battles rarely took place, and few Kindred risked their unlives to travel within the region to fight unbelievers. However, violence against mortal pawns exploded beyond Springfield's borders as the war expanded, and was blamed by the  authorities on Depression-era woes.  

The “war” raged until after the end of World War II, when it was discovered that the Invictus made a secret pact with their traditional rivals, the Carthian Movement, to claim all of New England after all three covenants had exhausted themselves. Further revelations pointed to Carthian manipulation, and members of the Order, the Circle, and the Spear met secretly in Springfield, Massachusetts, in October of 1948. In an unusual (and frankly scary) show of unity, the three powers decided that the Devil you know is always preferable to the Devil you do not and agreed to a temporary cease-fire. They then further agreed to unite against the “upstart” Invictus and Carthians, and on All Hallows Eve, 1948, Kindred from all three covenants swept through New England and attacked strongholds of the Invictus and the Carthians, killing many and driving the two covenants put of the region – and much deeper underground. The three victorious covenants declared a sixty-year Concordat to allow them time to rebuild and watch for treachery from the defeated secular covenants.

===== The Concordant =====
==== 1948-1999 ====
Although never solid, the Concordant actually stabilized New England for decades. The Circle continued their practices but left the Sanctum to theirs and vice versa, and they both ignored whatever the Ordo was doing in their 'Dragon Nests.' Mortal society experienced an upswing post World War II, but then the Cold War broke out. The 1960s saw the Circle and the Ordo gain temporal power as the young challenged their elders and dabbled with alternate religions. However, the "moral" 1980s saw power swing back to the Lancea et Sanctum. The Concordat chugged along in the 1990s, and surprisingly there were no major breaches by any of the covenants.

==== 1999-2002 ====
The birth of the 21st century saw cracks beginning to appear, as the Concordat was set to expire on October 31st 2008 and each covenant eyed the others distrustfully. To complicate things, Invictus schemers and Carthian guerrillas worked to incite open war once again to topple the three “mystical” covenants and claim the area for themselves – for the good of all Kindred and to uphold the Masquerade, of course. 

==== 2002-2004 ====
Whatever status quo that existed was shredded by angry werewolves. For two years, the Kindred battled maddened lupines who attacked them without warning, and without care about clan or covenant. Many Kindred were torn apart or outright vanished, and the three allied covenants found their survival actually hinged on the Concordant. While the Invictus and the Carthains fell to the lupines in isolated groups, the Circle of the Crone, the Lancea et Sanctum, and the Ordo Dracul worked together and manged to beat back the lupines. The attacks ended in 2004, just as suddenly as they began. 

==== 2004-2009 ====
The end of the lupine war saw many Kindred dominions in Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, southern Vermont, and Southern New Hampshire in tatters. The next few years were spent rebuilding their domains, their networks of influence, and their Requiems. Envoys from the Circle, the Sanctum, and the Ordo met secretly to discuss renewing the Concordant, and slowly a framework was built. The three covenants announced a formal five-year extension of the Concordant on August 12th 2008, avoiding the expected collapse of the alliance.

==== 2010 ====
Although teetering, the Concordant was holding things together until early 2010. Then, the status quo again went out the window as Obidiah, a powerful vampire from the 15th or 16th century, arose from torpor in Springfield, Massachusetts. Obidiah used to the the Prince of Springfield until the Civil War, but in truth his power and influence spread far beyond that city. Obidiah immediately relocated to the Five College area, and the vampires of New England are stuck in limbo - no one wants to anger the oldest known vampire in the region, but everyone desperately wants to know what he's up to. 

For his part, Obidiah keeps his agenda a tightly-guarded secret, and no one's entirely sure if he is aware the Concordant even exists. 

===== The Hidden Puppet Master =====
The initial concord between the three covenants was manipulated by Solomon, a mage of the Seers of the Throne, in a social experiment; much of the regional Kindred culture – such as it is – slowly moves to the Seers’ will. Solomon has agents within the Sanctum and the Order, but has found the Circle far tougher to crack.