Kathy Glens is a 10th generation Toreador guitarist resident of the Chicago area. She missed Baby Chorus, and that was evident after the first practice session.
Playing with the band is slowly replacing everything else in her life. She will do whatever it takes to keep the band together and playing.
Biography[]
Mortal Days[]
Sravya Kathy was born one of two twins, her parents fiercely pushing the siblings toward educational pursuits from the age of three. By 10, both children had fallen in love with their passions; Gagandeep could always be found learning about automobiles, while Sravya had one love: music.
Her walls were covered in pictures of Mary Ford, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, and Elizabeth Cotton. Stacks of slim crates filled with records lined the lower half of all the walls. Any free moment was a deep dive into music. The words were nice, but it was the power of the guitars that reverberated in her brain. Eventually, she saved enough money from birthday presents, summer housework earnings, and allowances to buy a 1963 Harmony Rocket H59.
Two key events in 1968 changed Sravya’s life forever. She saw Jimi Hendrix perform in Chicago, and the University of Chicago musical program accepted her as a protégé on a full scholarship. The moment of enlightenment burned within her, and she adopted her middle name to remember her family while increasing her appeal with American audiences. She then took the last name Glens for the career she was destined to have.
Kathy slept through most of her classes, struggling through tests while playing music in clubs at night with her new electric guitar. Her playing left rooms stunned; people asked where she studied, and she waited to hit it big.
Unbeknownst to Kathy, her music converted one fan from a hater of the electric guitar to one who could see the beauty in it. Nero, a Toreador and gifted violinist, followed her for months, watching her talent evolve and adapt in such a short time. One night after a show, he came to the 18-year-old musician and offered the chance to preserve her talent for eternity, refining it with each passing night. Kathy instantly agreed.
Kindred Nights[]
The Embrace of Kathy Glens birthed Baby Chorus, with her as one of the founding members. She knew blues, folk, rock, and when punk emerged, she assaulted it with all her talent. The talent and fury that so many refused to see and elevate to the next level because she was a woman, a child of immigrants, and dark-skinned. But Kathy had talent and skill without peer. Any style that came, she attacked and mastered it. Once mastered, she would weave multiple styles together during her many improvisational hour-long solos, leaving bandmates dancing and her audience captivated.
The War of Chicago raged on in the streets while Baby Chorus entertained the masses packed into the Cave. Kathy saw Damien stage dive and was feeling the crowd. The cheering grew louder and louder. She struck the first note of her solo, about to draw all eyes on her, when she heard Nero scream in pain. Her blood already flowing for the speed riff, Kathy glanced toward her sire to witness a 10-foot-tall fur-covered nightmare of death ripping Nero to shreds before a half-dozen more Lupines rushed out into the crowd. In one fluid motion, she dropped the electric guitar and rushed the beast, slicing it dozens of times with razor-sharp guitar strings. The beast dropped, bleeding out, and she turned toward where Nero stood before two Lupines charged her; the rest of the night was only darkness.
Slowly Kathy emerged from the trauma and turned back to the religion she had to stop practicing, finding a form of solace in it. She even began hosting a weekly college radio show under the name Cynthia Glens for a few years, until she had to “graduate.”
Feeling some semblance of peace, she sought out the now 47-year-old Gagandeep and found him more angry than surprised. She had vanished decades ago, leaving their family crushed. He accused her of being a demon, a devil in the guise of his sister, sent to torment him. She was a cold and dead thing.
The Beast overtook her, and she beat him nearly to death before his eight-year-old daughter, Sravya, cried at her to stop. The Beast barely constrained, she fled, knowing she had almost killed the only remaining connection to her old life.
Kathy dived into music, philosophy, and attempts to find a cure for what she had blindly become when Nero offered her eternity. Her quest discovered vague references to something called “Golconda.” She spent years trying to learn more about Golconda, to little avail — and eventually decided to be more “human.” She believes she has tapped into understanding, and that the power in all Kindred blood may hold answers.
Marshall, her former bandmate, had taught them all a few secrets of Blood Sorcery before dying in the Cave decades ago. The band and music need to move us toward something greater and not just be a symbol of unity, but unity itself.
One night, she returned home to find Damien waiting outside her haven in Near North Side. Kathy always remembers him smiling when he told her that Baby Chorus was coming back, and she would want in. He had made a deal with the Prince, and they would be the bridge to keep the peace during negotiations with the Lasombra. Their music would bring unity. Kathy Glens agreed instantly.
Appearence[]
Kathy intermingles modern Indian and western fashions with a little ‘60s punk. She wears a salwar kameez with a leather jacket and Doc Martins. Her long, jet-black hair is always untied and in sharp contrast to her death-pallor skin. Blush of Life returns her light brown complexion and deepens her black eyes.
Character Sheet[]
† Chicago by Night applicable stats
‡ Chicago by Night Second Edition applicable stats
CbN 1st & 2nd Ed[]
Note: Uses her high Celerity to ensure her position as the fastest guitarist any of the characters is likely to ever see.
Image: A rather normal-looking young woman, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Dresses casually—jeans and a band T-shirt.
Roleplaying Hints: You are a sincere and interested listener, but your interest in a conversation is likely to wane if people expect you to do the talking.
Haven: Across the street from the Cave.
Secrets: B
Influence: None
Fifth Edition[]
Backgrounds Sheet[]
Groupies (Herd 3). Kathy has a rabid following willing to step up with a single tweet. Mick and Geoff (Retainers 2) are the band’s roadies and also its biggest fans. They’re not ghouls, but are utterly loyal to Baby Chorus.
Online Fans (Contacts 2). Under her guise of Cynthia Glens, Kathy has a loose information network via callers and social media followers. She can find out all about Chicago gossip just by engaging them.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 113-114
- VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 115-116
- VTM: Chicago by Night Fifth Edition, p. 191-194