Edward Williamson
- Camarilla -x- Denver: Alien Hunger -x- Leipzig -VAL-London - Pax Britannica
Sobriquet: Lord Williamson (formal) - Edward (informal)
Appearance: Edward is a little short for a modern man, standing 5ft - 6inches, with dark hair and dark green eyes. He is a man of striking appearance with aristocratic chiseled features and the physique of an Olympic gymnast. The epitome of fashion in Denver, Edward will always be seen in the latest fashions and wears his hair accordingly. Self composed to the point of Zen; Edward carries himself with an air of authority and is always the center of attention regardless of the circumstances.
Behavior: Well spoken and outgoing, with European manners, Edward radiates confidence and calm in equal measure. A staunch supporter of the traditions and the old forms used by elder Cainites, Edward can seem a little stuffy to those newly embrace, until he quietly smiles with antique charm. Edward is a man of swift and decisive action, a firm leader who will not balk at bloodshed if he believes it warranted, but who despises the carnage and chaos of war. Edward’s treatment of his subjects shows another side of his nature, though. So long as they obey the laws of the Kindred and plot no treason, they are free to do as they will.
History: Edward is ancient by by the standards of modern vampires. He was Embraced in the late 11th century, his is very much a product of his time. In his mortal life, Edward was a troubadour. He accompanied his father, William the Conqueror across the English Channel, and the carnage that he saw at the Battle of Hastings and at various later skirmishes colored his views on war ever since. He has seen war in all its bloody grandeur, and devoutly hopes to see it as little more as possible. This leads him to acts which many may view as cruel, but which he views as necessary evils and preventative measures. One such action is the destruction of Prestor.
The destruction of Prestor is, in fact, a good illustration of many of Edward's characteristics. First, it was an act taken to prevent what Edward saw as a course of action that could only lead to nocturnal war. He knew, or thought that he knew, that Prestor meant to make a bid for control of Denver and was creating childer as soldiers for his army. Edward's aim was to nip the war in the bud, before chaos and vitae could hit the city streets.
Edward's treatment of the independent Kindred of Denver shows another side of his nature, though. He does not treat them cruelly. So long as they obey the Traditions of the Camarilla, Edward's personal edicts, and plot no treason -- they are free to do as they will.
Edward was not fully in his right mind when he ordered the execution of Prestor, though. Thaddeus has been working his wiles on Edward using techniques of persuasion both mystical and mundane. Edward sent Duke to hunt down any of Prestor's surviving brood, those who showed resistance were eliminated, but those willing to bend their knees to the rightful prince of Denver were allowed to live. Only in retrospect, did Edward realize that he had been the pawn of another. Edward's fury at being so used, allowed him to dissolve Thaddeus' insidious hold over the old Toreador's mind and propelled Edward into an investigation of the events that led up to Prestor's destruction. What he found was the machinations of a branch of the Inconnu to destroy Prestor's mysterious work. To this night, Edward holds a vendetta against the ancient Nosferatu Thaddeus for making him a dupe in the plans of the Conspiracy.
Edward has, as many Elder vampires have, developed an obsession or two to keep himself sane. One of his obsessions is, of course, his aversion to rebellion. It is a total commitment on his part. A second obsession is with music. Throughout the years, Edward has always been involved with the art of music. In various lives, he has composed it, played it, and listened to it. He is often friends with composers and musicians, and keeps mementos of them when they die or he moves on to another life.
In 1808, Edward was in Austria pursuing his musical interests when he befriended a young Austrian soldier. They both shared a love of opera and spent much time together. When a small group of mortals discovered Edward's true nature, Edward felt threatened enough to forego the Traditions and Embraced the soldier as his new Childe. With the aid of his new Progeny, Edward managed to eliminate all who had pierced his disguise. The Austrian soldier remains with Edward to this night as his Thrall, and now goes by the name of Duke.
Although the immediate threat to the Masquerade had been dealt with, Leopold, the Prince of Vienna, felt strongly enough about the subject to let Edward know that he and his new childe were no longer welcome in Vienna. Edward understood that Leopold, a brand new prince ascended to the throne of Vienna with the support of Clan Tremere, chose the better part of valor and left the city with his new childe in tow. For a time, they traveled Eastern Europe, for Edward wished Duke to become acclimated to his new unlife in familiar surroundings. Towards the end of the 19th century, however, sire and childe found themselves in London, enjoying the antics of the D'Oyly Carte Company as they performed the debuts of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas.
Although Mithras, the millennial prince of London, was cordial, he was far from welcoming over the circumstances of Edward's own Embrace in London centuries before at the hands of his own sire, Paris of Rome. Mithras extracted a hefty boon from Edward for the right of he and his childe to remain in London. Though Edward did accept responsibility for the boon, he chose not to remain in London for more than a decade. At the turn of the 20th century, the ploys and counter-ploys of the, so-called Great Game sickened Edward and made it apparent that war would soon engulf Europe once again. With the power plays of London's Kindred having lost their charm and war looming on the horizon, Edward and Duke made their way to the New World. At that time, the journey to the United States was still considered dangerous and not one often undertaken by the Kindred.
Their arrival in New York was welcomed by Michaela, the Elder Ventrue prince of Gotham. The war with the Sabbat of New York was slowly building up and Michaela was seeking allies in her struggle with the Black Hand. But, as mentioned before, Edward had seen enough of war in both the realm of the living and the nocturnal skirmishes of the Jyhad; nor was he about to let Duke become the war-pawn of Michaela. Edward paid his respects and offered nothing more, which soured relations between the two Elders relatively quickly. Though Edward found much of interest in New York, including a potential childe in the form of a beautiful woman named Leslie singing opera on Broadway, he chose to exercise restraint in courting her.
Edward and Duke spent barely a month in the Big Apple before continuing westward in search of a place where they could flourish unhindered. What they found was Denver. The town, barely a city, was already occupied by a Lasombra antitribu, Don Alonzo de Vargas and a few other Kindred. The city was still in turmoil though, expanding at a great rate and with a huge population of transient undead. Once again they paid their respects to the Elder in residence; Don Alonzo de Vargas, for mysterious reasons of his own, chose not to take the role of prince and largely ignored the two Toreador. It was not until the Roaring 20s, that things settled down and Denver developed a large enough permanent Kindred population that the comfortable anarchy which had previously been dominant seemed inadequate.
At that time, Edward and Don Alonzo were the only two Elders present in Denver, and it was obvious that only one would rule. The presence of Edward's brood tipped the balance of power slightly in Edward's favor and gave him enough strength to make a proposal. He proposed that together, the two of them could rule Denver, Edward would publicly take the title of prince, while Don Alonzo who preferred to manipulate things from the shadows, would act as a silent partner without the risks attendant upon a prince. The situation was such that the Lasombra Elder agreed to the proposal with the stipulation that he could maintain an equally sized brood within the city and could make childer at his own discretion. Though this demand did not sit well with Edward, he loathed dissent and war of any kind and agreed to the magister's terms.
The next 70 years were time of growth and development in both the mortal and Kindred communities of Denver. Though the city continued to see a steady stream of transient undead, only a few chose to make the modest cow-town their home. This allowed the Toreador and Lasombra relatively free reign in the Mile-High City until the secretive arrival of the Inconnu Conspiracy. It would not become apparent to the few elders of Denver until it was too late, that the Inconnu had begun to manipulate events through the withered hand of the ancient Nosferatu Thaddeus. Though only a few would ever discover the presence of the ancient Conspiracy, those few who did, either became pawns themselves or died mysteriously.
The 1990s brought two unpleasant circumstances. The first was the arrival of a French neonate who called himself Prestor. Though he initially followed the Traditions and presented himself to Edward, he was both a Caitiff and something of an amateur occultist. Neither endeared him to Edward or Don Alonzo, but within a couple of years Prestor spontaneously Embraced a brood. Both Edward and Don Alonzo were alarmed by this turn of events, but it was Edward who called the Blood Hunt against Prestor, rather than bringing him to heel. In a further complication, Prestor's fledglings managed to escape his haven while he struggled with Duke and the haven burned around them. Although Duke did manage to round up the survivors, Edward could not find it within himself to destroy them out-of-hand. Instead, he suggested that they move west to California and the so-called Anarch Free State or take up residence in Denver as his blood bound thralls; most chose the former rather than the latter choice. Unfortunately, this perceived weakness on the part of Edward did not sit well with Don Alonzo who held a much more strict view of the Traditions and created a wedge between the prince and his shadowy ally.
Though the next few years were quiet, they were far from pleasant as Edward came to realize he had been the dupe of an ancient Nosferatu called Thaddeus and Don Alonzo began to question Edward's decisions. While the struggle between Edward and Alonzo occurred behind closed doors and remained one of nebulous political maneuvers, it still grated on the Elder Toreador's ego.
The second and far more catastrophic event occurred only a few years later in 1997. The Sabbat laid siege to Denver. The Black Hand seemed to attack out of nowhere, almost before Edward and Alonzo were aware of their presence they set about destroying the carefully cultivated Masquerade in the Mile High City. The Hand attacked Edward's haven with fire and blood-magic, making the struggle a life and death affair. Edward was gravely wounded and entered torpor as his body was hidden by his childer. While Don Alonzo de Vargas assumed the mantle of the princedom. Though the Sabbat was eventually defeated, it did do considerable damage to the Masquerade, which made unlife in Denver far from pleasant. One Sabbat tactic was the mass Embrace of canon-fodder which in turn created a frightening number of fledglings, all of whom had to be found and contained in one of several ways.
Upon Edward's awakening from torpor a little over a year later, he saw that the circumstance of the Toreador - Lasombra alliance in Denver had been reversed. Rather than create more strife, Edward chose to pursue his vendetta against Thadeus, but somehow, in only a year the Nosferatu's trail had grown cold. Edward met with Don Alozo secretly and agreed to play the role of the usurped prince in return for the safety of his own brood and once again the two elders found an accord.
The 21st century has seen Edward return to the Old World in pursuit of Thaddeus and his allies the Inconnu Conspiracy. The recent turn of events in Europe has begun to make Edward regret his decision to pursue the ancient sewer rat, as chaos and strife once again begin to engulf the European Kindred community.
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