The Outlander




Name: Derek
Clan: Gangrel
Born: 1840
Embraced:1871?
Apparent Age: 31
Generation: 8th (Embraced 9th)
Born in Chicago in 1840, Derek's only childhood memory is of the old school house on Madison Street. His father had a job with the local police and his mother was a very skilled housewife. Derek originally had plans to follow in his father's footsteps.
These plans lasted until April 12th, 1861. Derek quickly volunteered and was assigned 1st Regiment Light Artillery, Battery "A". He served well until he was wounded in Atlanta,GA in 1864. Derek suffered nearly fatal wounds in a battle and would have died if not for the quick actions of a medic; the medic was found draped over Derek, killed by two shots to his chest. Derek spent the remainder of the war in a hospital. He was on a train home when the news of Lincoln's death reached him.
Derek worked at home for a few years after the war. His father lost his job in the late sixties because of some corruption charges. Derek's father struggled to help his family get by and eventually started to drink heavily. All this turns out to be moot in '71 when Derek's perents are both killed in a fire. All of these events convinced Derek to take an extended sabbatical. He was last seen in Chicago gathering a few objects that had survived the blaze and then walking into the forest.
Derek was not seen again until the late 1920s when he came into a late night cafe in Detroit. Any who had known him fifty years earlier would have marveled at his youthful appearance and good temperment. He was remarkably pale for having lived in the wilderness for the past five decades. For the next thirty years Derek managed to stay off of most people's radar. He was only occaisionally seen around town and mostly kept to himself. There were the bonfires though, he never seemed to miss a good party.
At some point during the '50s, things in detroit started to change. Random killings and strange occurances became very wide spread. It was this time that Derek started to gain his reputation. At a gathering on Belle Isle, Derek and his companions were attacked. What could only be described as maniacs in poor Halloween garb, came out of the surrounding trees and attacked by biting and using sharpened animal claws; all the while howling and shouting obscenities about their "foolish masquerade". Most of the attendees were killed very quickly. Of those that survived, Derek was able to take charge and mount a defense against the strange attackers. Much to the dismay of his attackers, Derek was discovered to be an accomplished fighter and very able to shrug off blows. A few of the attackers were taken and questioned before they were tied to logs and sent down the river, some missing various body parts.
After that night Derek started a personal crusade; appearently the attackers had killed a few good friends of his and were not acting on their own. A few of the survivors joined him and they set out to destroy the originators of the attack. For the next three years they fought many, all of which shared the fate of a log ride down the river. After much killing and interrogation they were able to discover the leader of a strange organization that planned on ruling the darker side of Detroit. This man called himself a bishop and had believed that some of Derek's companions were a danger to his plans.
Derek and the few with him wasted no time in their vengeance. They attacked this bishop in the place he resided and a long battle of firepower and wits unfolded. The night ended with the building, the bishop and his men in ashes. Only Derek survived. Derek felt as though a new 'power' were flowing through him. It was learned shortly after that there were others that would be called bishop. Seeing as how Derek felt he had no personal grievances with these others, he agreed to leave Detroit. Once again, Derek disappeared into the forest.
Derek surfaced again in La Jolla, CA around 1985. A traveling musical group had been stranded in the forests near by and Derek had led them out. Derek found friendship once again with these artists and stayed with them for the next few years. It was these musicians that have convinced Derek to return home and do some soul searching.