The Prince of London, Nest ferch Caddell, is an ancient vampire. She is so old that she no longer remembers her youth, even slightly and is quite open about this. Today, she rules London from her throne, atop One Canada Square as a member of the Ordo Dracul, although rumour has it that she has belonged to other Covenants in her long distant past. Caddell has ruled London for the last 200 years, groomed to take over when her predecessor, John Dee, entered torpor in 1804.
The second world was was a turbulent time for the kindred of London – while initially, the Blitz provided great cover for humans that went missing, and made it easy for kindred to feed, on May the 10th, 1941, often referred to as The Hardest Night, the court of London was bombed, killing most of the kindred there. Only Caddell and a handful of others survived, and not one of them will speak of that night.
Still: London recovered. A Kindred population returned to the city – either newly embraced, or arriving from other places to take up positions in what had suddenly become a comparatively young court.
In the time since the war, Caddell, and her second Dr Montague Summers have led these newer arrivals to prosperity. Caddell’s rule is strict, but not unfair. London is divided up into territories, and territorial rights are carefully controlled. The Kindred of London know that Caddell deals with other powers on their behalf – the wizards of The Silver Ladder, The Autumn Court of the faerie, and other, stranger things – the Kindred of London are left largely untroubled by them, in large part because Caddell works to ensure their territories are kept separate.
Indeed the greatest grumbling about Caddell’s rule is that it’s obvious to to even a cursory examination that the Kindred control – true control, hunting and feeding as they like, extends to only about 60 percent of London. And as the Kindred population has risen over the years, with much of the feeding land already given out to the Prisci and the more established residents, that has created frictions, as newer arrivals are forced to exchange favours for feeding rights in the territories belonging to more senior residents, or to risk being caught feeding without permission, and facing the Prince’s justice.
And now, Caddell has announced that they are opening up a new feeding ground. That somehow, an estate in Central London has been concealed from Kindred eyes and minds for over 70 years – an area of just over one and a half square miles to the South East of London, between Bermondsey and Deptford.
The Covenants In London
The Ordo Dracul are the least numerous, and, notwithstanding that one of their number is Prince, least politically significant. They seem to using the fact of Caddell’s political ascendency to pursue their strange researches unmolested, but whatever they’re doing, it doesn’t seem to impact the other Kindred of the city at all.
The Invictus have ruled London for much of history, until they were deposed by Caddell’s predecessor some 400 years ago. Their current CEO, Sir Edward Blakelock is one of the Prince’s closest advisors, and seems happy that the current status quo continue. One might speculate that he feels he has all the power he needs, without the tedious responsibility.
The Carthian Movement definitely isn’t lead by Jenny Ketch, for all she’s Prince Caddell’s other close advisor, and the members of the Movement tend to do what she says. But there are mutterings among some of the younger members of the movement that it might be time for their governing committee to make changes – Jenny seems entirely too comfortable working alongside Caddell and Blakelock, and perhaps her commitment to the cause is wavering…
The Lancea et Sanctum are the Covenant whose fortunes have fallen furthest during Caddell’s reign, although there are signs that this might be about to change, with their charismatic new Archbishop, Rev. Lancaster managing to get their Covenant’s members moving in unison again. There are even unsubstantiated rumours that they’ve found enough favour with God that they and their disciples have access to a new form of Theban Sorcery.
The Circle of the Crone rub along more or less as they always have in London, a small confederacy of adherents, with two potential leaders presently jockeying for overall leadership. They’re a Covenant without much influence, for all it’s rumoured that Caddell might have been part of one of the Circle’s precursors in the distant past.