Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
KINDRED HISTORY
BACK TO HISTORY
14 Oct 1066: William of Normandy defeats and kills Harold II at Hastings

With the defeat of Harold the influx of some dozen mainland European kindred began. These kindred had banded together to help smooth his path, and therefore their own in coming to the land and taking precedence from indigenous supernaturals such as the werewolves.


25 Dec 1066: William of Normandy is crowned king of England

The kindred who have come over to England have now advanced their own entourages amongst the mortals and secured the land around London as a relatively safe area. They have fought numerous battles with the werewolves and three of their number fell to the claws of the new enemy.


1070: William the Conqueror subdues the north of England


Whilst the mortals pave the way for a secure north of England, the kindred find that it is still unsafe and that they cannot travel far from the abodes of their mortal pawns. More kindred from mainland Europe travel to join the first settlers.


Christmas 1085: Domesday Book is instituted to survey the English lands of William the Conqueror

Influencing the mortal king William, one of the eldest to come over requires a census of the mortals. This has three purposes. The first is to gain a complete understanding of the strange country they are stalking. The second is to cause problems for the enemies, the werewolves. And the third was to gain an understanding of his brethrens powers in this country.


01 January 1159: The first Prince of London is named

The first Prince of London is named, an Invictus called Earl Waltheof. A Northumbrian of noble blood little is known about his mortal life. As a kindred he was a powerful force to be reckoned with.


29 December 1170: Henry II's soldiers murder Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury

Internal fighting between the kindred of the Invictus and Lancea Sanctum spill over into the mortal realm where the Archbishop is murdered by supporters of the king. This has been seen as a power struggle between Waltheof of the Invictus and Wulfhelm of the Lancea Sanctum.


1174: Fire ravages Canterbury Cathedral

Seizing the opportunity to hurt the status of a fellow Lancea Sanctum member, Canterbury Cathedral, the seat of power, is burned badly. Wulfhelm comes under attack from Dudoc of Wells, who wants the position of Archbishop of London.


15 June 1215: John and his barons sign the Magna Carta

A stunning victory by the younger kindred force the warring Lancea Sanctum and Invictus vampires to cede some power over the mortal world to them. Led by the firebrand Æthelhelm, the so-called neonates of London sought to bring about a meritocracy on their own terms as opposed to those of the elders.


1279: Statute of Mortmain restricts land acquisition by the church

In an effort to curb the growing influence of a Lancea Sanctum elder the kindred of England force reform on the mortal church in the first effort to curtail the power the kindred holds over the mortal realm.


1315-1322: Millions die in the Great European Famine

Many kindred have now found their way to the shores of England and the great famine saw a culling of power across Europe that had not been seen before. So many mortals died that kindred had to keep a tight reign on their herds and sought to merely stay alive as hundreds of ghouls and other minions died. This one act leveled the playing field somewhat.


07 July 1348:  'Black Death' enters Britain

Nobody is really sure how the Black Death came about but it is believed that it was a following on of the famine that stalked the land. Worse than the famine, the Black Death irrevocably changed the face of London and English kindred society, with many elders entering torpor to wait out a difficult period.


23 August 1348: Prince of London meets final death and is replaced.

During the night of 23 August 1348 at the court of the Prince a group of unknown northern kindred are in attendance. During the proceedings they slay the prince and make their escape, except for two who are killed in the fighting. It is later proven that this group was actually formed from powerful werewolves who were hoping to overthrow and execute the main powers of Kindred London.


07 February 1350: New Prince of London finally declared

After over a year of political maneuverings, clandestine alliances and even outright battle and new Prince of London emerges. Of the Lancea Sanctum, Wulfhelm Archbishop of London decides to keep the title in a show of things to come.


15 June 1381: Peasants' Revolt is dispersed by Richard II at Smithfield, London

With many elders now in torpor, neonates saw an opportunity to gain some power in the mortal realm and used the opportunity of discontent to shake the elder's foundations. Chafing under the rules of the Lancea Sanctum, they sought to end the reign of the Archbishopric. It was unsuccessful.


22 May 1455: Wars of the Roses begin with first Battle of St Albans

Internal fighting within the Invictus covenant leads to social discord and finally civil war. No kindred are able to stay out of it and it drags in every single denizen. Before the end of the war numerous kindred enter torpor or final death, such as Æthelhelm, who hides away from the city and goes into torpor.


29 March 1461: Lancastrians are defeated at Towton and Edward IV is proclaimed king

One side finally gains the upper hand taking the precedence in mortal society and thereby boosting their status amongst the undead.


November 1534: Act of Supremacy makes Henry head of the English church

Curbing the influence of their fellow European covenant members, the Lancea Sanctum of England made a break with the Catholic church and set themselves apart from them.


1562: English mariners enter into the slave trade

Under the persuasion of Ventrue kindred, the English now enter into the slave trade and what is to be a very lucrative business for the clan members.


23 January 1571: Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange

The culmination in a joint venture between a Thomas Gresham, a ghoul of the Invictus, and Jonathan Aspell, ghoul to a fellow Invictus, was the opening of the Royal Exchange in an attempt to gain power in the mortal world and grow in stature amongst mainland Europe's powerful kindred.

21 November 1579: Sir Thomas Gresham is embraced

Sir Thomas Gresham fakes his own death and is embraced into the Ventrue clan, joining the Invictus covenant.


1589: Archbishop of London enters torpor

Feeling his blood thickening further, Wulfhelm hands over the reigns of power to his trusted childer, Richard Clifford. Hiding away from the city and entering torpor, the new Archbishop sets about consolidating his position.


31 December 1600: British East India Company receives its charter from Elizabeth I

Prominent Invictus kindred are heavily involved in the expansion of the British Empire and its spheres of influence.


24 March 1622: Archbishop of London overthrown

Infighting amongst the denizens of London spills over into warfare in the night which is barely kept hidden from the mortals. In the fighting Richard Clifford, Archbishop of London meets final death at the hands of Jacob Lansbury, and unaligned Vampire. The Ventrue move quickly in to seize control with an Invictus member of the clan claiming Praxis.


25 March 1622: New Prince of London named

John Fordham is named new Prince of London and immediately sets about consolidating his position by bringing the Lancea Sanctum closer to his bosom. By allying themselves together the covenants cause a big schism in the fabric of London's kindred society forcing other kindred of the city together.


02 July 1644: Scottish and Parliamentarian armies destroy Charles I's northern army

After years of kindred maneuvering on temporal and spiritual matters the Invictus suffer a blow from their enemies who are known as 'the unaligned'. The most prominent of these, Jacob Lansbury, is trying to undermine the position of the Prince.


March 1665: Great Plague of London begins

The great plague killed a quarter of the cities inhabitants causing a mass panic and severe machinations amongst the kindred of the city. Many kindred meet final death at this time as the population and herds decrease.


02 September 1666: Great Fire of London destroys two-thirds of the city

Adding to the chaos of the previous year, the still reeling factions of the damned suffer severe setbacks, property loss, herd and ghoul losses and many even meet final death in the fire that ravaged through the city during the night and day.


1694: Bank of England is established to manage mounting debts

Trying to bring financial prosperity many Invictus, with the Ventrue leading them, seek to make England a financially viable country once more. With the nation at near bankruptcy they help bring about this implementation to gain more control on the workings of the monetary system in the country.


October-November 1720: 'South Sea Bubble' bursts and triggers a financial panic

The Invictus of the city take another blow when this event occurs with a number of prominent elders losing a lot of power and allowing others of the covenant to leapfrog them in importance in the city.


1799-1800: Trade unions are outlawed

The Invictus take measures to keep the neonate kindred of London firmly in their place and outlawing trade unions manages to help keep the status quo.


04 June 1832: Great Reform Act changes parliamentary representation

The newly formed Carthian movement achieves stunning success in a short amount of time by influencing this change to make voting in the mortal realm closer to their own ideal. With the Prince of London, John Fordham entering torpor, his successor is not as politically able and internal fighting amongst the Invictus almost bring the covenant to its knees. Forcing the Invictus and Lancea sanctum to a position of parlay it is agreed that a great council should be formed to serve London.


01 July 1832: First great council of London is formed

Bringing together members of all covenants, the Great Council of London is formed. Essentially to end the constant warfare that has been the norm for the kindred of the city, it was the only way the other covenants could break the stranglehold of the Invictus and Lancea Sanctum had on the city.


31 July 1832: Parliament passes a bill to abolish slavery in the British Empire

Hot on the heels of their last success, the rising star of the Carthians help abolish a major source of revenue and influence of the Invictus. This single act of influencing the abolition of slavery is a major cause for concern.


June 1842: Income tax is introduced for the first time during peacetime

Seeking alternate sourcing of income for their minions, the Invictus influence this tax. However in a stunning flanking maneuver, the Carthians manage to ensure that the tax is only levied over a certain amount, ensuring that working classes do not have to pay.


24 November 1859: Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' is published

Heavily involved with the scientific learnings of the age, the Ordo Dracul help Darwin release this important book. In seeking to further their own knowledge they struck a blow to the Lancea Sanctum who sought to discredit the work.


01 January 1883: Married women obtain the right to acquire their own property

Influential Carthian females helped to ensure that this bill was passed in the houses of parliament, a strange circumstance where the female members of the Invictus secretly helped. The males of that covenant were not happy with this change.


22 July 1901: The 'Taff Vale' case leads to the birth of the Labour party

Seeking more influence over mortal politics the Carthian movement ensure that one of their ghouls is prominent in coming to power at the head of a legitimate political party.

10 August 1911: House of Lords loses its power of veto over legislation

Invictus control on London is still strong, however a series of stunning incursions by the Carthians lead to this fundamental change in legislature. Somehow bringing their influence to bear the Carthians ensure that the Lords can no longer veto an act of legislation passed by the house of commons. Whilst this was not a complete victory it was serious enough to be a real embarrassment to the First Estate.


24 October 1924: Wall Street Crash sparks the Great Depression

The financial market of London is seriously affected with numerous kindred losing serious amounts of money. The prestige of many are adversely affected and whilst the overall effect on the denizens of the night was not seen directly, in the shadows machinations were in effect.


07 September 1940: 'Blitz' begins with a massive daylight raid by the Luftwaffe

The Blitz was a terrible time for Kindred who found it much harder to feed during the war time than was the norm. With the damage to property and lives, there was not a facet of their society untouched.


22 June 1948: Post-war immigration from the Commonwealth begins

The face of London kindred faces the greatest social change since 1066 with an influx of foreign citizens and kindred over the next quarter of a century. Language, ideals and morals all face a serious examination.


Winter 1978-1979: Strikes paralyse Britain during the so-called 'Winter of Discontent'

Kindred society came dangerously close to all out war during this time, which mirrored the mortal problems of the day. A schism on the ruling council over some event caused the Carthian and Crone members to vacate their seats and settle south of the river. Whatever happened the repercussions were immense as both mortal and kindred fought tooth and nail for their own advantages. Barely remaining contained the situation stabalised in the mortal realm, but has yet to do so in the kindred one. The council has changed to its current format from this time.


11 April 1981: Racial tensions spark riots in Brixton and other areas

This is a continuation of the previous issues, with the mortal minions of the influential Carthians showing their discontent and the Invictus rule north of the river.


26 January 1982: Economic recession leads to high unemployment

Invictus controlled London faces a serious problem as the mortal society is faced with a sociological problem that is not easily resolved. The issues are exacerbated further north in the country where other covenants hold sway and cannot bring the financial clout top bear that the Invictus can.


1994: First women priests are ordained by the Church of England

In what is seen as a direct attack on the Lancea Sanctum by the Crone, women gain the ability to become ordained as priests. It is rumoured that a collective apoplexy seized the elders at the news.
CITY TIPS
CITY HISTORY
METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
CHARACTERS
HOUSE RULES