Sunday, May 9th, 1999 3:32 am - Hamilton Golf and Country Club Parking Lot - Butcher/Doug
HP: 7(7) BP: 11(14) WP: 4(5) Hum: 8(8) SC: 4(4)
Doug nodded, "Donna's right, what Prince Antigen did tonight, not only for you guys but Fia as well, especially at a time like this, is something I would have called incredibly unlikely to say the least. It's certainly without precedent to my knowledge. It has me worried about what he's got going on behind the scenes, frankly. He wouldn't be in power if he were as lenient as he appears which means there is a lot more going on than meets the eye", he said this to Mike but gave a meaningful glance to Donna as he finished.
"To answer your question about the Prince of the city being royalty, not exactly. Kindred power structure is roughly based on a feudal hierarchy, but the title Prince is more Machiavelli than anything else. When the office of Prince is empty, generally speaking, the most powerful vampire who want's the position is acknowledged, usually after a political dominance dance. A prince controls a domain, typically a single city, and is advised by a council of primogen. Primogen are the head of a clan, usually the eldest in the clan and they get in power much like the prince does. There are a few offices that the Prince appoints people to hold, Scourge, Sheriff and Keeper of Elysium are typical plus whatever special offices he decides he might need or want specific to his city. Think of the Scourge office as the princes' executioner, their job is to destroy people that are by definition guilty. The Sheriff is pretty much what it sounds like, their job is to enforce the Traditions, laws, and the princes edicts within their domain and investigate when it appears as if a tradition or edict has been broken. Almost every domain has one or more places designated as Elysium. It is neutral territory where Kindred can gather without having to worry about someone stabbing you in the back while you're there. The Keeper of Elysium is responsible for pretty much everything that goes on there, including handling events."
He glanced at Donna, then looked back at Mike and continued, "Normally, I wouldn't worry about anything else as far as politics goes but in this case, I might as well finish since there isn't much left and it may be relevant in the near future, although I hope not. That's the basics of Camerilla politics that ninety percent of kindred ever need to know but above the Prince, you have the Inner Circle. You will never meet one of them or know of it if you did. They take great pains to make sure no one knows who they are but the most common theory is that they are made up of a council of the most powerful princes. What people do see on occasion are their representatives, they're called Justicars. They are the direct authority of the Inner Circle and can only be challenged by another Justicar and since there is only one per clan, they're not that many and challenges don't really happen. As far as you and I concerned it's the voice of god almighty. Each one of them picks a few kindred to assist them, they are called Archons. The only reason I mention them to you now is so you will know what you're dealing with in the unlikely event that one of them shows up. It's unlikely but one of the jobs of a Justicar is to oversee the war in general with the Sabbat. Given the amount of destruction, the huge potential breaches to the masquerade, even you guys being adopted, we have to assume we've popped up on their radar and I haven't even included whatever the hell was going on in Burlington in addition to Hamilton."
He looked at Donna, "Did I miss a highlight in Camerilla politics anywhere?"
