No Elders, No Princes: The State of Toronto

“We are a city of charming little parkettes, she thinks grimly, that nobody ever visits. Named for local heroes that nobody remembers.”

― K. D. Miller, All Saints

• For Toronto’s history up to 2019, see An Absent Prince: The State of Toronto.

As the new year began in Toronto it was obvious that the Prince, Charles Sackville, had disappeared. Until Nell’s eventful party in January, no one knew where or why for sure. While the answers only lead to more questions, they also lead to massive changes in the lives of the city’s kindred.

First, it seemed Prince Sackville had likely fallen to ‘The Beckoning’, a mysterious force that has claimed Elders around the world – not by killing them or sending them into a deep sleep, but drawing them into a war in the Middle East that is still barely understood. When the vicious war packs of the Sabbat shifted their focus away from North America and Europe, no one cared very much about where they’d gone or why. As The Beckoning caused the Camarilla’s Elders to follow… the details seemed important.

Next, it was made quite clear that the ‘Second Inquisition’ – a mortal coalition of military and law enforcement organizations now actively hunting vampires – is active in Toronto. Their use of mortal plants extorted by law enforcement would have been more effective if they were able to hide their true nature, or report in the end – but they were not permitted to do so. Technological surveillance has been the Second Inquisition’s primary weapon in its war against vampires, now well into its second decade – and has gone from a theoretical concern to a very real threat in the city.

Upheavals in Nell’s house were inevitable. Though Nelly’s had been in the same place for over a century, it would have to move, now compromised. The madame herself admitted to feeling the pull of The Beckoning but still refused to name an heir. After that night, Nell stepped back from ‘public life,’ leaving operations in the capable hands of her loyal ghoul Dolores, and her house Tremere to work on a cure for the call the Elders feel in their blood.

The Camarilla Primogen chose to form a Council in place of naming a Prince and it has worked so far, but it has only been a few short months – but a spring and summer – and these are creatures of the ages. Those with plans can afford to take their time, and there is reason to be optimistic. The Prince’s upstart childe has been punished; The Anarch Movement’s numbers have dwindled. The return of the Ministry of Set may cause some discomfort… but no more so than the rumours making their way north that one of the Camarilla’s greatest enemies has joined their cause, and that Shadows now walk amongst them as friends. Will they cross the border and demand their place in Toronto’s Ivory Tower?

Next Post: Clans and Sects! Two tickets for Nelly’s on September 21st are still available on Eventbrite.