Matthew my boy! I hope these nights have been treating you well. I hear you've been investing in the tech sector; marvelous thing this technology age is— Horratio Ballard talking to Matthew Strause in Elysium
Quiet and cunning is what Matthew Strause is mainly known for. He is incredibly smart and extremely resourceful. This trait is rumoured to have been what attracted his sire,
Ludwig Bradley. Together, the duo travelled and Strause was Bradley's ward until he could come of age to be legally embraced. They traveled through Europe during the late 1700's, getting in bed with the Camarilla empires of Europe. It was during these travels that they eventually met
Evelyn Walters and added her to their family.
Eventually, before travelling to the New World, Matthew was finally embraced by his sire. The politics in Europe prevented Bradley from attaining siring rights and it is widely believed that the move to the New World was to circumvent issues with Matthew's embrace. Either way, the trio found themselves in Chicago during the early 1800's as the city was moving out of it's settlement phase and slowly morphing into the metropolis she would eventually become.
Bradley had attempted to claim Praxis over the burgeoning city, he declared his presence to the local Kindred in the surrounding areas and invited them to Chicago's first Elysium - this ended in disaster. @ raiders sacked the Elysium and chaos prevailed. If it weren't for the intervention of Maxwell, Bradley and his family may have been victims of the Sabbat raid. Soon after, Maxwell claimed Chicago for his own. A claim that Evelyn openly disagreed with, though she was quickly silenced by her sire's gaze. Matthew's opinion on the matter isn't solidified in stone. He has always been quiet and contemplative, never speaking his mind openly. Instead, he merely followed his sire's wishes and seen by many as an example of how childe should act with their sire.
The Great Chicago Fire hit which resulted in the disappearance of both Bradley and Matthew. It was believed they both met the Final Death. For Bradley, this may have been true as he never re-emerged. But a mere decade later at the cusp of the 1900's, Matthew came back. He never has openly explained where he had been for ten years or why he wasn't present during the fire. When asked he merely mentions that he had been caught in a burning building where he had gone into torpor. Though nobody has ever validated his story.
Either way, their family was fractured. The patriarch was gone, the oft never mentioned third childe of Bradley, Constance, had re-imagined herself and distanced herself from her brood mates. This only left Matthew and Evelyn. Seeing the lay of the land and
Prince Lodin's tyrannical grasp over Chicago; the two decided it was time to return home. They left Chicago to go back to Europe where they traveled around for around a decade. Eventually, the duo returned, this time with a new member of the family. Evelyn had shacked up with a
Nosferatu named
Gustav Inrah and together, the trio went back to Chicago.
Evelyn, went off on her own - completing her own objectives with Gustav to further her standing within the Chicago Camarilla court. Matthew on the other hand was quiet. His existence was largely solitary for this time period and their aren't many accounts of his actions. The little that is known however is Matthew's interest and penchant towards technology. With the advent of the home computer in the late 70's, Matthew jumped aboard the craze - learning as much as he can. He even had investments in Computer repair shops around this time.
The fall of Evelyn had little blow back on Matthew. He had largely divorced himself from her machinations, so when it all came to light he had little to worry about. He was forced to share domain with Evelyn however as she had her rights revoked. Though Matthew seemed unfazed by this decree. It was around this time that Matthew moved out of Chicago; with the technological boom on the rise, Matthew set his sights to the mecca of tech, Silicon Valley. He allowed Evelyn full reign of his domain in his absence.
Matthew returned during the 2000's with a number of well placed investments and tech start-up companies under his belt. He is on the board of directors for a tech funding company, the
Fraiser Foundation, their job being to scout potential promising tech startups around America. Their latest success has been the dating site Tender.
Unlike his sister, Matthew is held in high esteem by his contemporaries. This is due to his work on the betterment of Kindred kind through the advent of technology and seeing the potential such a market had. Elders however, are weary of this due their general distrust of Technology. But those that advocate for Matthew far outweigh the detractors.
As it stands, Matthew is a particular favorite of Prince
Kevin Jackson, and the Camarilla court. He is unofficially one of the Harpys of Chicago's Camarilla. This is due to his embrace of todays culture and technology. Many around his generation remain weary and distrustful - Matthew has adapted to the social media age better than those his age or even younger.
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