Renewal

From London Requiem

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Christopher Wren submitted his plans for the rebuilding of London within 10 days of the blaze starting. And as the mortal city rebuilt, so the kindred had to react. The City of London was now a rich prize, for much of the ruling Invictus were gone, and trade continued to grow despite the war with the Dutch in 1667. The East India Company was a catalyst to this among others, and as the city grew once more, at remarkable speed, some kindred moved quickly to secure the rich prize of the centre.

Lucius, Mayor for no more than four decades and perhaps the only surviving Invictus following the fire, was deposed in 1667. It was the war with the Dutch that provided the opportunity, a group of three kindred travelling with the fleet that occupied the Thames during that year. It is unclear whether there were any present at an Elysium to take power, perhaps the only people who could truly know the events are those three kindred and Lucius. Records are not particularly clear at this time as the kindred attempted to reorganise and come to terms with the loss of so many of their number.

What is known is that by 1670 van der Boer was securely the Mayor of the City of London, supported not only by the two who had originally accompanied him, but by a number more of the Invictus House Occido, of whom it appears he was a member. What was previously dominance through discipline and politics became even more rule by an iron fist. None were allowed to speak against van der Boer within the City, and for the first time the Invictus attempted to spread beyond the Roman walls, pushing back the Lancea Sanctum and the few Ordo Dracul and unaligned, and gaining influence over areas such as Moorfields and Spitalfields. Lorenzo, the Bishop of Spitalfields under the Lancea Sanctum, made pact with van der Boer to maintain what he called "his parish" but his and his Covenant's influence was much reduced for several decades.

House Occido's control reached its peak in the years following the Glorious Revolution. But they never truly achieved lasting control beyond the boundaries of the Square Mile. The Lancea reasserted themselves, and it seems that there was also an increase in numbers of Ordo Dracul in the east of London. In truth, London was growing too fast to be controllable outside of traditional areas. From a population of 200,000 in 1600, it had grown to 650,000 by 1750. van der Boer and his House could maintain control within the traditional boundaries, but as the mortal population grew so did the kindred population and it appears that by around 1720 van der Boer acknowledged he could not overstretch and contented himself with dominating the Square Mile.

The civil war in the 1640s had provided an impetus for a number of kindred to base themselves in London as the centre of Parliamentarian rule. Although it was some centuries before the formal recognition of the Carthian Movement, this is the first point at which there is a permanent presence known of kindred who believed in other than dictatorial rule. They maintained havens safely away from the centre, particularly following the ascension of House Occido, but both in Marylebone and Paddington, as these areas grew, there are some records of kindred presence.

The late seventeenth century had also seen further developments among the Ordo Dracul. Though no firm evidence exists of the exact year, it is believed that two of Dracula's brides, Lisette and Anouska, entered London and made their home there at this time. The presence of two of their three visible leaders made London a centre of power for this small covenant.

The 18th Century >>>

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