A Dance of Puppets:

 

Veneto region is really a peculiar case in the world of the Damned. The same unassailable rule of the Giovanni, which should guarantee stability to the region, is in fact paradoxically the cause of one of the most bizarre conflicts inflaming the sons of Cain in modern nights, "la Danza dei Burattini" (the Dance of Puppets). The term, forged in derisive spirit by a Ventrue Elder visiting Venice, has immediately become popular in the Venetian halls. It indicates the constant state of war involving everything and everyone beyond Venice. Three different courts, each with its own Prince, have proclaimed themselves the Court of Venice. What makes the situation comical, at least to outside observers and in Giovanni eyes, is that none of these self-styled Princes have passed the century of non-life. They look like children fighting over toys while their parents are busy at work. For the Necromancers, the Venetian Neonates are living contradictions: they fight to the death to restore a glory that was already surpassed long before their Embrace, to recover territories in the name of clans that have no real desire to get them back, and to win a throne that does not even exist. Therefore, the Dance of Puppets is generally ignored by the lords of Venice, except when the occasional Neonate does something especially stupid. When that occurs the parents enter the children room, take the toys away, and then peace returns - at least temporarily. However, as soon as the adults turn their backs, the process starts all over again, like an eternal, never ending play. Actually, many Elders would probably stop laughing if they took the trouble to get off their golden thrones and pay more attention to what is really happening.