Category:London, England

OOC Information

VSS	Masquerade VSS
Supervising Storyteller	ANST Masquerade	Click here to edit
Supervising Storyteller's Email	anst@masq.modernenigmasociety.org	Click here to edit

IC Information

Sect	Camarilla
Prince	Selby Ashworth
Seneschal	Lennox Campbell

Boundaries

All of Greater London and then some

Courtesies

London has nearly two millennia worth of outdated Courtesies and laws, many of which deal with the relationship between London and the Baronies of Avalon (a now-defunct feudal state that once consisted of nearly every population center in the British Isles and Normandy). While there are a handful of kindred who retain Avalonian titles, laws regarding their order of precedence in receiving lines at affairs of state held by King Mithras are no longer relevant except in rare, deviously crafted circumstances.

Officially, the "Followers of Set" are still banned from the city. This law has only been sporadically enforced in the past century, and arguably does not apply to members of the Ministry who follow faiths other than the Church of Set. Nonetheless, most Ministers avoid London.

The laws regarding visitors are numerous, but they largely boil down to the standard practices of any Camarilla city: present yourself immediately upon arrival to your Primogen or their representative, or, in the case of kindred whose clans do not have Primogen in London, present yourself directly to the Sheriff (who will rarely deign to meet with outsiders unless they have significant prestige or bribe their way into a meeting).

Important Locations

Many of the historic government buildings, including the Tower of London, the Palace of Westminster, the royal residences, etc. are off-limits to all kindred; this is a holdover from when King Mithras claimed personal dominion over all branches of the British royal family and their affairs. Rather than claiming that dominion (as Queen Anne did), Prince Ashworth has decreed that no one, including themself, shall interfere with the royal family or the Prime Minister.

As with many old European cities, London holds a staggeringly large number of Elysia, very few of which are actively used for meetings in modern nights. Westminster Abbey was a favorite of Queen Anne's. Prince Ashworth primarily uses the Royal Albert Hall on the rare occasions they hold court in Elysium.

In addition, hundreds of sites across the metro area hold some significance to influential local kindred, which makes it somewhat tricky for newcomers to even find temporary havens unless they have local connections and/or use prestation to secure accommodations.

• 43 CE - London is established by the Romans
• 71 - Mithras, a Ventrue methuselah, arrives and creates a Ventrue stronghold
• ~450 - Mithras enters torpor, leaving London in the hands of his descendants and other allied Ventrue
• 1069 - During the wars of the Norman Conquest, Mithras wakes from torpor and begins reestablishing his hold on the region
• 1154 - Mithras reclaims praxis of London and declares himself Monarch of the Baronies of Avalon, which at the time consists of a handful of small domains throughout southeastern England who support his rule in exchange for protection
• ~1200 - King Mithras appoints Cappadocian elder Lord Camden as his Seneschal, which quickly grows to be an important and powerful position as Mithras turns his attention to ruling and expanding Avalon, leaving London in the hands of his Seneschal
• 1348 - King Mithras banishes the Followers of Set and the Tremere from Avalon on suspicion that their impure blood and dark sorcery was responsible for the Black Death
• 1493 - King Mithras hosts the Convention of Thorns; he and the Baronies of Avalon do not officially join the Camarilla for several more decades
• 1514 - Lord Camden is assassinated and Mithras's child, the Duke of Amber, is appointed Seneschal
• 1602 - The Duke of Amber negotiates a deal with the Scottish Toreador who have held out against the expansion of Avalon, leading to their mortal servants, the House of Stuart, gaining the British Crown; Mithras is furious and appoints Valerius, an elder Ventrue not of Mithras's lineage, as Seneschal; not much is publicly known about the fate of the Duke and Duchess of Amber after this point
• 1693 - Ventrue Justicar Violetta negotiates peace at long last between Mithras and the Toreador, resulting in the Treaty of Durham, which cements Ventrue supremacy in Great Britain in exchange for limiting King Mithras's authority over the domains outside London; around this time, Mithras begins using the title Lord Mithras rather than King; this treaty still holds in modern nights, though its exact implications are a matter of debate
• 1798 - Mithras leaves Britain entirely, and Valerius claims praxis of London some years later, though he is careful to mention that he is not claiming the throne of the Monarch of the Baronies of Avalon
• 1850 - Prince Valerius appoints Christian Whitechapel as his Seneschal; Whitechapel is the first kindred of less than elder generation to hold the position of Seneschal of London
• 1900 - Mithras returns, casts down Valerius as a traitor and false prince, reclaims the title himself, and appoints Valerius's childe, Anne Bowesley, as Seneschal; he also banishes the Setites again, this time for colluding with the traitor Valerius
• 1940 - During the Blitz, Mithras enters torpor, and Anne Bowesley seizes praxis; she is called "Queen Anne," at first mockingly, then increasingly with respect and terror as her rule proves to be even more iron-fisted than Mithras's
• 1998 - Sabbat Assamite Montgomery Coven is added to the Red List for the crime of diablerizing Mithras; Coven's increasingly bold leadership of London's Sabbat is cut short as he disappears to avoid the Alastors, but the rising tide of Sabbat continues to grow, and their open warfare with the Camarilla attracts hunter attention
• 2011 - The Beckoning: Queen Anne and many other elders disappear overnight; Clan Ventrue is hit especially hard
  • Toreador Lennox Campbell, a sinister Nosferatu known only as the Underprince, and a cabal of Tremere all fight one another to claim praxis, but highly strategic Sabbat attacks force them to put their internal struggle on hold in favor of facing the sect war
• 2014 - The Sabbat disappears to Mexico City, and Lennox Campbell unites with Selby Ashworth, a Nosferatu ancilla who had been Keeper of Elysium under Queen Anne, to eliminate the Tremere competition
  • Selby Ashworth claims praxis and appoints Lennox Campbell as their Seneschal
  • Many of the remaining Ventrue elders take this as a sign of the End Times and relocate to other cities
  • Violent struggles between Prince Ashworth's faction of "aboveground" Nosferatu and the more traditional Nosferatu dwelling in the massive, ancient warrens of London Under London suggest that the Underprince is not pleased with the new "Overprince"

Clans Toreador, Ventrue, Nosferatu, and Malkavian comprise the majority of London's residents, and only those four clans and the Banu Haqim have Primogen. King Mithras appointed a small wooden doll as the "Tremere Primogen" in the 16th century, and "John Stickson" has held that position ever since; rumors that the doll is a conduit for blood sorcery and/or terribly haunted have never been confirmed. Tremere aren't officially barred from the city, but visiting Tremere are advised to be wary and avoid making trouble.

Various Anarch gangs reside in London. Emma Baron is a prominent organizer among them, but she is quick to correct anyone who calls her "Baron Emma," as the Treaty of Durham is very specific regarding kindred who claim noble titles without being granted them by the Monarch. Nonetheless, if anyone were to claim the position of Baron/Advocate, it would likely be her.

The Docklands were long held by Clan Giovanni by special arrangement with the Monarch, and now that area has become home to an enclave of Independent Alliance kindred. Like the Anarchs, they're careful to keep their heads down, but they are well-connected and prospering. There are no resident members of the Ministry, but occasional visitors of that clan do pass through despite ancient laws banning Followers of Set from Avalon.