John de York

Ventrue -x- York -x- Talk:Lineage of Mithras

Sobriquet: Prince

Appearance: John took great care of his appearance, always dressing immaculately in the latest fashions. A small pre-Embrace scar marred his otherwise flawless visage. A Norman warrior in life, he bore himself as a scion of an ancient aristocratic house as was his wont in interacting with mortals throughout his seven centuries as the vampiric prince of York. According to those who knew him, he was considered tall for a man of his age and well proportioned, but not overly muscled.

Behavior: John bore the arrogance of one born to rule and who knew this only too well. His displays of supreme confidence, even in moments of dire circumstance were legendary. He was well known as a supreme strategist whose use of ploy and counter-ploy held his enemies at bay for centuries, not least among them Mithras. But John was known best as a ruthless and implacable enemy who asked for no quarter and rarely offered any.

History: Baron John was Embraced just after the Norman Conquest, his rapid rise through the Cainite hierarchy was unprecedented. Stories of old hint darkly at the possibility of John having allied himself with a triumvirate of Norman vampires against his own sire Julian Cerialis in order to usurp the throne of York. When Mithras reappeared in London, Baron John wisely sided with the Methuselah against his former allies the Triumvirate. It is clear from historical texts and the eyewitness accounts of those who knew Baron John personally that he deeply resented the Methuselah's interference in northern affairs. Over the following centuries he played at being Mithras' lackey while plotting with the Tremere to indirectly remove Mithras from the throne of Avalon. While the Tremere of Durham were certainly his closest allies, he cultivated contact with anyone who could aid him in his ambition.

Unfortunately in the beginning, John faced resistance at home in York from elders who considered him a childe at only two hundred years of age and who questioned his every move. His staunchest foes were the Danish einherjar and the House of Aimery who often foiled his ambitions. Yet he survived several assassination attempts in his seven centuries as Baron of York.

Rest in Peace: John's destruction in the late 15th century came as serious blow to the Kindred of Yorkshire who had come to see him as a symbol of peaceful authority and social permanence. His final death at the hand of none-other-than Mithras himself shocked the subjects of York and set his remaining childer against one another as they struggled to take up the mantle of his authority.