Since the 1920's, there have been vampires in Los Angeles who find the Traditions stifling, oppressive, or simply inconvenient. The cleverest of these are elders in their own right, and find ways of twisting and subverting the Traditions to their own ends. But the majority is neonates, perhaps ancillae, whose only hope for autonomy lies in rebellion. These neonates walk a thin line between rebellion and destruction. To push to far, too fast, is to invite retribution. The history of the anarchs is one of constant balance and adjustment. Sometimes things swing too far to one end, and you get the Watts Riots. Sometimes they swing to the other end, and you get Emerson and Elaine's purges of the 1970's.
The anarch movement in Los Angeles began in the 1920's, when a nucleus of Brujah and several hangers-on began taking advantage of the libertine attitudes of the day to engage in reckless (by Traditional standards) behavior and indulgence. Hunting was done carelessly, and to excess. These young Gods went where they would, stilled by no elder, no authority.
This behavior was looked down upon, and discouraged by those elders close to the rebels, and on very rare occasions something would be done about it. But for the most part, Rodrigo was partial to his clan, and allowed a certain latitude in the young. Later, they would find a similar attitude on the part of Julian Fletcher. This open, if soft, rebellion, continued for several decades. Alvin Forrester and Markham of clanNosferatu would eventually come to symbolize this rebel spirit.
In 1957, all the vampires of the city - whether they supported the Traditions or no - rallied to defend against the Sabbat. As is often the case with external threats, the next few years saw a much closer accord between the elder and rebel factions in the city.
It should be noted that at no time was this ever a state of open warfare. The "anarchs" have never been organized, and have never referred to themselves as a unified group. What followed was a period where most everyone agreed that there was safety in numbers, and that the way to accomplish this was, at least to some extent, under the rule of Prince Rodrigo.
By the early 1960's, however, the neonates with the least power, particularly those in South Central and other poor neighborhoods, were growing restless. The pulse of dissent in the mortal world was leaking into vampire society. And in 1965, the dam burst.
Under the Treaty of La Cienega, the young vampires who would dismiss the Traditions found themselves with a unique opportunity to play one Prince off against the others. The climate was something like it was in the 1920's once more: the young vampires heady with their own power. South Central (as well as parts of the Valley) were a place of fierce pride and independence. Several different factions and coteries wielded power, holding their territory in what was part Domain, part Confederation. At the same time, however, the mortal squalor attempted to drive aspirations from the residents, to crush both vision and individuality under a blanket of despair and ennui. The Ancillae, such as Alvin Forrester, considered themselves above the Traditions, worshipping will and strength and freedom. It was not all noble, and it was not all for the greater good.
With Acton's rise and fall and subsequently, Emerson's claim of the former Domains of South Central, Greater Downtown and Santa Monica the position of the anarchs changed once more. Due to Emerson's claim of independence from the Camarilla's global lead, many Camarilla-members outside the heart of Los Angeles view the Prince and all that support him, as anarchs. Even though Emerson's rule is Camarilla-ish by most standards, their struggle against the traditional Camarilla fundamentalists surrounding the Ancient's land, does bring the anarchs and the officers of the Domain closer.
With a common enemy the need to stand together enables even outcast to claim their share, even when that share largely consists of the Domain's border areas - the front line versus the Outsider encirclement. In this hostile climate, Neonates band together in coteries for a better chance of survival. There is limited room to continue the unlife that once was South Central - the pride and pursuit of visions and dreams.. but there is. Emerson and his ilk leave those surviving in the border areas largely to their own. It is an underground area, where officers do not mingle, except when the anarch's conduct threatens them all. It is a hard, often violent life, but it is one lead in relative independence; The reward for being in the first line of defense.
