Mark Decker

Mark Decker is the reluctant Prince of Milwaukee and a renowned werewolf hunter.

Biography[]

“

Loyalty can be forced with the Blood... but trust must be earned in the darkest of nights.

”

Decker’s youngest days were spent on the frontier with his parents and brothers, forging a life on a stolen land that felt like home to him. He was hopeful and honorable, at least so far as pioneers went, respecting the freeholds of other settlers and learning his letters so as to educate himself in this new world. His father was a fierce American patriot before such a thing was popular, and it was at his urging that Mark took up the musket and led his local militia against natives who objected to his family’s arrival on their land. Eventually, his gun pointed toward the British, from whom the colonies sought liberation.

Though many of his fellows from the South resisted the revolution, or came to it later than their northern neighbors, Decker fought bravely and with purpose. It all seemed so simple and almost fun until a British musket shot caught him in the groin, and then the chest, and a blade cut savagely across his face. Bleeding heavily, his right cheek flapping open, Mark screamed out for his mother, who did not reply. He begged God for his father’s strength, but found it pooling in the mud around him as his cries were drowned out by the agonies of other young fighting men. He fell on the field during the Battle of Brandywine Creek, in Pennsylvania. This place, far from his family, was where he expected to die. The soldier closed his eyes as the cacophony raged around him, hoping the next time they opened he would be in heaven.

Decker was Embraced during the American Revolution. His sire, Lucian, could not bear to kill him when he had only intended to feed from the dead or dying, so he gave Decker the Embrace. For a time, he and his sire lived together on a plantation, feeding from the slaves there. After the Civil War, the plantation was destroyed and both forced to go north.

Decker eventually settled in Milwaukee, where he maintained a simple haven until a pack of Lupines ambushed him, forcing him into panicked flight. In terror, he killed most of his mortal herd. Vowing vengeance, Decker formed the Anubi, a group dedicated on protecting vampires from werewolves. Over the next century, the Anubi set themselves apart from Milwaukee's Kindred society and triumphantly claimed nearly a score of Lupine scalps as prizes.

In 1992, Justicar Ulisyan Thracs was murdered by orders of Prince Terence Merik, and a short time after Merik was brought to justice, a massive Lupine attack hit Chicago. Divided in political power struggles over the position of prince, the Kindred of Milwaukee were paralyzed and unable to fend off the the tide of Lupines and witch-hunters that descended on them. Forced to act, Decker returned to the city. He approached the ancient Ventrue Hrothulf – whether to secure the old one's assistance or assure his non-interference is unclear – and then paid a visit to the haven of one of the contestants for the title of prince. He slew him and then returned downtown. With the Anubi arrayed behind him, Decker entered Elysium and declared himself prince.

Due mainly to the Lupine threat, Decker keeps Milwaukee on a war footing. Former Anubi fill most major positions in the city, and meetings with the council have become an oft-forgotten formality. He enforces the Traditions strictly, and regularly disallows even ghoul creation as a Masquerade risk. When Xaviar declared that the Gangrel would leave the Camarilla, Decker stayed, although he mistrusts the organization. He keeps close contact with Inyanga in Chicago, and her influence on his mindset lets him sometimes reconsider his decision.

Appearance[]

Mark Decker goes by Carson Vogel in his mortal dealings and is known as a blue-blooded philanthropist who sponsors the police force retirement charities, the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, and a slew of other private interests that generally lead back to Decker’s wallet getting fatter. Decker’s lank black hair surrounds a pale white face he rarely bothers to infuse with a Blush of Life, despite all his concerns for security. A thick scar runs from the right corner of his mouth to his ear, the lobe of which is missing. His intense gaze often conveys boredom or finality. Decker often wears dark clothing and camouflage when hunting Lupines. In his mortal guise, he goes for comfortable fatigues or a cardigan and slacks. The comfortable appearance of his Mason Vogel persona belies how violent he is.