Post by Zillah on Nov 24, 2013 10:03:11 GMT -6
A History of the Angevin Empire
Humans have been living in the British Isles since before the fifth millennium before Christ, but the date of the first Cainite presence is unknown. Cainites who remember those nights may still exist, but none have spoken of those times, and written records do not appear until shortly before the Roman invasion. The Toreador claim involvement in the creation of the Stone of circles that dot the island and in forming the beauteous works that have been found in a number of stone tombs. The truth of the matter, however, is lost in the mist of history. The Gangrel state that their presence in the British Isles dates back to the dawn of time, when they pursued a “great betrayer” to these lands and waged war on her amid the primal woodland, becoming regarded as gods by the mortals. This is widely believed to refer to the pursuit of the Lhiannan, the barbaric offshoot of the Gangrel known to have strong ties to the Celtic Peoples who predominated until the arrival of the Saxons.
The Natives at first tolerated the arrival of their “civilized” companions from Rome, but as mortal and Vampiric invaders sought to impose their will on society, reshaping it to meet their own desires, tolerance turned into resentment and then outright warfare. Perhaps the most significant event of those early days of Roman rule, if not the history of British Cainites, was the arrival in AD 71 of a Ventrue Methuselah. Embraced far to the east by Veddarrha (The Ventrue Antediluvian), the young, warrior suborned the cult of a Persian war-god, establishing himself as the living embodiment of the deity Mithras. Having journey through Greece and the East, Mithras eventually came to Rome where his cult gained particular favor among the legions. Followers of the bull-god were present in every major campaign of the empire, including that in Britain. Stories of the conflicts in the new province soon reached his ears and, in search of new challenges and opponents, Mithras set off for this cold and distant land. His plans were unknown, but in the end he would stay in Britain for more than a thousand years.
Campaigns against the Welsh eliminated the last remaining threat to Roman rule and led to the establishment of a series of forts in the subdued land. The Military action also served as a cover for Cainite action between supernatural opponents, in which the Lhiannan and their pagan mortal associates were the main targets of the assault. The center of the druidic and Lhiannan power Mona (now Anglesey), had been razed by the Romans in AD 60, but outlying communities continued to subscribe tot eh outlawed ideologies. Efforts to subdue the Picts of Hibernia were less successful. The legions handily defeated the barbarian hordes in pitched battles, but the Picts rarely allowed themselves to be drawn into such engagements. Furthermore, Lupines often accompanied the Pictish raiders, Allowing them the maul the mortal forces. Mithras reveled in these battles, exploiting the ongoing conflict with the Picts and Lupines to sate his bloodlust. The border skirmishes raged for half a century but the mortal authorities eventually decided to approach the problem from a different angle. They ordered the construction of a wall across the northern frontier. Later for the Ruling emperor Hadrian, the wall incorporated numerous forts and watchtowers that became the bastion of the Mithras cults.
Despite his frequent absences in the northern battles, Mithras’s influence grew steadily over the years, his cult becoming one of the principle religions of Roman Britain, with his temples – mithraei – dotting the land. The cult attracted a number of Cainite adherents, but even those who didn’t subscribe to Mithraism turned to the Methuselah for guidance. By the middle of the second century, Mithras was the most powerful Cainite in Britain, the dark shadow of the Roman governor for all intents. Under Mithras’s aegis, the Ventrue came to be the most powerful clan in Britain, establishing a hegemony that would waver only with the fall of the Empire, and which endures in some from until the Anarch Revolt in the 15th century
The cornerstone of Mithras’s rule, religion, also proved to be his greatest weakness. He resented the growing influence of Christianity – a religion that subsumed many elements of his own cult, including the celebration of December 25, tales of a virgin birth, and the death and resurrection of it figurehead. He is widely believed to have been behind the scattered acts of persecution against adherents of the new faith, both Cainite and mortal, and he took personal interest in Constantine the Great, who was proclaimed emperor of York on 306. Mithras hoped to use his influence over Constantine to crush the “upstart” religion, but he spectacularly failed in this, when the emperor accepted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire – some say under the influence of Clan Lasombra. Mithras’s efforts to destroy Christianity instead became a desperate rear-guard effort.
The collapse of central government in Britain (in AD 409) was a mortal wound to Ventrue authority, and many younger Cainites turned on their elders, blaming them for their misfortunes. Mithras survived many attempts on his unlife, but other elder Cainites were less fortunate. The internecine conflict sapped Mithras’s resolve. He knew that even someone of his strength and power could not hope to prevail in these circumstances, so, feeling the weight of his years, he chose to withdraw from the conflict and enter torpor beneath the floor of the mithraeum at Vercovicium.
The mortal nobles hired foreign mercenaries, foederati, who were initially loyal to their employers. Arriving in increasing numbers and realizing the land was theirs for the taking, many brought their families with them with the intention of claiming it for their own. Saxon Cainites (mainly Gangrel and some Brujah) arrived with the foederati and the associated colonists, bearing no love for the Roman-British Cainites. Many British Cainites chose to accompany their mortal associates across the channel to northwest Gaul, a land that would become known as Little Britain (or “Brittany”).
In the years before AD 500, Ambrosius and his associates fought the Saxons to a standstill, eventually inflicting a great defeat on them at Monas Badonicus. A combination of treaty and martial strength held the invaders back fro several decades. In 542, however, civil war erupted among the British and resulted in the cataclysmic Battle of Camlann that led to the defeats of the rebels but also cost the life of the principle British warlord, called Arthur by the chronicle of the era.
Cainites used the struggle between the nascent states of “Angle-land” to further their own goals, expanding their influence and power across the British Isles. The Celtic lands proved to be a major obstacle, with the massive Lupine presence among the Picts hampering expansion into the lands that would become Scotland, and several ancient Cainites dominating affairs in Wales. Ireland remained beyond the reach of most Cainites (save a handful of Lhiannan and their Gangrel pursuers) until the arrival of the Vikings.
As the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms struggled against Viking raiders and later Danish invaders, the Scotts unified under Kenneth MacAlpin who conquers the Picts in AD 844. This victory coincided with a decline in Lupine support for the Picts and was followed by an expansion of Cainite influence in Scotland. Lupines and the Fae remained a danger to vampires, but the “new land” offered a host of opportunities for wary and adventurous Cainites. By AD 900, the Toreador had established haven in Edinburgh and Berwick. These groups would remain largely independent of their Saxon (and later Norman) siblings until the middle of the 11th century.
The arrival of the Danish Gangrel and Ventrue with the invading forces had an unexpected side effect, prompting alliances between hitherto-antagonistic Cainites of Celtic, Roman-British and Saxon stock. As Angle-land emerged as a country, so the Cainite power structure matured, and a series of regional lordships – the forerunners of the Baronies of Avalon – emerged in the middle of the 10th century. These regions would reach their ultimate bloom with the introduction of feudalism.
The 11th century was a time of immense change for England. The mortal and Cainite struggles against the Danes culminated with the destruction of the Toreador “Bishop” of Canterbury, Cerdic, in AD 1012 and the ascension of Sweyn of Denmark to the English thrown a year later. Sweyn’s reign lasted only a year and was followed by a Saxon-Danish war that resulted in Canute taking the throne. The greatest change, however, came in 1066 with the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Essex, took the throne of England but found his rule challenged by both Harold Hadrada (hard-ruler) of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy. Hadrada landed forces near York, but was defeated by Godwinson’s forces at Stamford Bridge. William landed several days later at Pevensey, eventually marching inland to defeat Harold at Senlac Ridge (now Battle Abbey) 19 days after Stamford Bridge.
William became known as “the Conqueror” and set about establishing his dominance over England. He built the first stages of what would become the Tower of London in1067, and his troops subdued the northern regions a yea later in a series of bloody terror raids that became known as the “Harrying of the North”. Unbeknownst to him, a triumvirate of Cainites accompanied William, bent on reestablishing dominance over vampiric society just as the Duke of Normandy did over the mortals. Saxon, Danish and Roman-British vampires resisted the growing influence of Roald Snakeeyes, Baron Geoffrey of Calais and Countess Liseult de Taine, but by manipulating existing conflicts, the “Triumvirate” was able to neutralize or eliminate the principal threats to its leadership. Countess Liseult later acknowledged her role in arranging the Harrying of the North to eliminate Cainite resistance in the region, little realizing that the action would lead to her own doom. In the mithraeum at Vercovicium, Mithras senses the bloodshed of the Harrying and awoke.
Arriving in the city he knew as Londinium, Mithras journeyed to the temple of Mithras summoning Cainite and mortal worshipers. He didn’t the Triumvirate into account, though, as they suddenly realized who they were facing and attacked the temple with fire. Mithras withdrew to the shires, traveling the lands while building support.
The Tremere Magus Meerlinda arrived in England in 1098, charge with establishing a chantry for her clan. The Warlocks initially sought a base of operations in southeast England, but the Triumvirate objected to their presence. Instead, Meerlinda led her followers west, eventually deciding (despite the uncomfortable aura of faith of the abbey) to settles at Glastonbury. This action provoked a massive response as the clerics, magi and fea allied under the aegis of the Compact of Glastonbury to oust the Cainite invaders. The “War of the Tor” lasted from 1101 until 1105 and eventually led to the Tremere’s withdrawal. Meerlinda instead journeyed north to Durham, founding the Lion’s Gate Chantry in 1109.
The death of William, son of King Henry, in the wreck of the White Ship in 1120 threw the succession into chaos. Although Henry would reign for another 15 years, his daughter Matilda became heir tot eh throne. Married first to Henry V, emperor of Germany, and later Count Goeffrey “Plantagenet” of Anjou, Matilda had considerable power, but the English barons did not want her to ascend to the throne, preferring Henry’s nephew Stephan. This led to a protracted civil war, the Anarchy, that saw the final death of Cainite Baron Geoffrey at Winchester, while “Lupine Marauders” were blamed for the dismemberment of Liseult de Taine in 1411. (Both events were the work of Mithras and his agents.)
In 1152, Matilda’s son, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine, former wife of Louis VII of France. This marriage created a massive power bloc, spanning the length of France from Normandy on the channel to Bayonne near the Pyrenees. A year later, Henry led troops to England and forced Stephan to acknowledge him as heir to the kingdom. Henry’s attacks also eliminated the last member of the Triumvirate, Roald Snakeyes, and Mithras knew his time was at hand. He returned to London in 1154, assuming domain over the city at the same time Henry became King. The Ventrue Methuselah was recognized as “Prince of London,” and he extended his influence over much of the country thanks to diligent work during his exile. Each barony swore fealty to London, forming the largest Vampiric realm in Europe, just as England became part of an unprecedented empire.
Although the continental holdings were never part of Mithras’s plans, several acknowledged him as overlord. The cities of La Rochelle and Bordeaux became part of the new “Court of Avalon” while Britanny, Normandy and Pitou also gained some representation. Ironically, Henry II’s heartland on Anjou remained beyond Mithras’s grasp, dominated by the Toreador Melusine who refused to acknowledge either Avalon or the Courts of Love as her overlords. It was in1175, after she fought a shadow war against both the Baronies of Avalon and the Grand Court in Paris that an arrangement was reached between Mithras and Melusine. Meeting in Rouen, the Ventrue Methuselah recognized the Toreador as “Queen” on Anjou, albeit as a subordinate of Avalon. Melusine also assumed responsibility for Poitou and Gascony, leaving Mithras free to concentrate on the British Isles and Northern France.
The Ascension of Richard (later called “Coeur de Lion”) posed a number of problems for Mithras as he was often absent and left his gubernatorial duties in the hands of regents. Unrest in the kingdom increased, and Richard’s despotic brother John, sought to usurp power. Several young Cainites, mostly from clan Brujah, tried to exploit the situation. Many were slain by the Prince and his agents, but others became well established as “brigands.” The notable areas of Cainite unrest were Nottinghamshire and Sussex, the former dominated by a band of cutthroats led by Robert Leeland. Mithras’s agents would eventually bring “Robin” Leeland low at Kirklees Abbey, but not before a ten-year insurrection that tied up a number of the Prince’s resources. Richard’s death at Chalus in 1199, and the accession of John “Lackland” began the decline of the Angevin Empire.
The Disaster of the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople heralded the start of the War of Princes. Numerous revolts sprung up against Mithras’s rule, notably in Normandy and Poitou, but also in England. As the King of France launched military assaults on King John’s French holdings, Cainites struck into Avalon under cover of the Mortal conflict. Normandy and Brittany fell to the French almost immediately, their Cainites cowed by the assault and acknowledging Paris’s regency after the fall of “impregnable” Chateau Gaillard. Anjou, under Melusine’s rule proved a tougher prospect but here too the situation became untenable and the Queen left Anjou after the Prince refused to send assistance. Already at odd, the disdain between Mithras and the Queen of Anjou became mutual apathy. Further meetings between the too were cold and formal, cumulating in their 1208 encounter in London where Mithras declared his intentions to focus on affairs in England rather than the “Sprawling morass of duchies in France.”
John’s position deteriorated. IN 1213, realizing his weakness, the barons met at Bury Saint Edmunds to discuss numerous demands to set before the king. Melusine exploited the discontent, manipulating the barons and using their revolt as a cover for action against Mithras. Cainite havens across England came under attack as Melusine and disaffected Ventrue and Brujah challenged the Prince’s authority. Signed in Runnymede in 1215, the Rose Treaty, named for the clan that orchestrated it, brought the Cainite strife to and end, but the mortal equivalent, the Magna Carta, failed to end the mortal civil war, even though it met the baron’s demands. The French eventually sided with the barons and invaded, but they were repelled in 1217 after the battle of Lincoln. Numerous Cainites of the Court of Love accompanied Louis of France’s invasion force but were driven back by the “unified” British Cainites.
Lackland’s son, Henry III, came to the throne in 1216. Since he was only 9 years old, regents governed in the king’s stead until his majority in 1227. Meanwhile, French perfidy cost the empire its possessions in Poitou in 1224 while forces under Hugh de Lusignan ravaged Gascony. Having rarely set foot in Anjou or Poitou since the turn of the century, Melusine took up residence in Winchester, displacing Baron Roger as head of the fief and becoming a permanent thorn in Mithras’s side.
Humans have been living in the British Isles since before the fifth millennium before Christ, but the date of the first Cainite presence is unknown. Cainites who remember those nights may still exist, but none have spoken of those times, and written records do not appear until shortly before the Roman invasion. The Toreador claim involvement in the creation of the Stone of circles that dot the island and in forming the beauteous works that have been found in a number of stone tombs. The truth of the matter, however, is lost in the mist of history. The Gangrel state that their presence in the British Isles dates back to the dawn of time, when they pursued a “great betrayer” to these lands and waged war on her amid the primal woodland, becoming regarded as gods by the mortals. This is widely believed to refer to the pursuit of the Lhiannan, the barbaric offshoot of the Gangrel known to have strong ties to the Celtic Peoples who predominated until the arrival of the Saxons.
The Natives at first tolerated the arrival of their “civilized” companions from Rome, but as mortal and Vampiric invaders sought to impose their will on society, reshaping it to meet their own desires, tolerance turned into resentment and then outright warfare. Perhaps the most significant event of those early days of Roman rule, if not the history of British Cainites, was the arrival in AD 71 of a Ventrue Methuselah. Embraced far to the east by Veddarrha (The Ventrue Antediluvian), the young, warrior suborned the cult of a Persian war-god, establishing himself as the living embodiment of the deity Mithras. Having journey through Greece and the East, Mithras eventually came to Rome where his cult gained particular favor among the legions. Followers of the bull-god were present in every major campaign of the empire, including that in Britain. Stories of the conflicts in the new province soon reached his ears and, in search of new challenges and opponents, Mithras set off for this cold and distant land. His plans were unknown, but in the end he would stay in Britain for more than a thousand years.
Campaigns against the Welsh eliminated the last remaining threat to Roman rule and led to the establishment of a series of forts in the subdued land. The Military action also served as a cover for Cainite action between supernatural opponents, in which the Lhiannan and their pagan mortal associates were the main targets of the assault. The center of the druidic and Lhiannan power Mona (now Anglesey), had been razed by the Romans in AD 60, but outlying communities continued to subscribe tot eh outlawed ideologies. Efforts to subdue the Picts of Hibernia were less successful. The legions handily defeated the barbarian hordes in pitched battles, but the Picts rarely allowed themselves to be drawn into such engagements. Furthermore, Lupines often accompanied the Pictish raiders, Allowing them the maul the mortal forces. Mithras reveled in these battles, exploiting the ongoing conflict with the Picts and Lupines to sate his bloodlust. The border skirmishes raged for half a century but the mortal authorities eventually decided to approach the problem from a different angle. They ordered the construction of a wall across the northern frontier. Later for the Ruling emperor Hadrian, the wall incorporated numerous forts and watchtowers that became the bastion of the Mithras cults.
Despite his frequent absences in the northern battles, Mithras’s influence grew steadily over the years, his cult becoming one of the principle religions of Roman Britain, with his temples – mithraei – dotting the land. The cult attracted a number of Cainite adherents, but even those who didn’t subscribe to Mithraism turned to the Methuselah for guidance. By the middle of the second century, Mithras was the most powerful Cainite in Britain, the dark shadow of the Roman governor for all intents. Under Mithras’s aegis, the Ventrue came to be the most powerful clan in Britain, establishing a hegemony that would waver only with the fall of the Empire, and which endures in some from until the Anarch Revolt in the 15th century
The cornerstone of Mithras’s rule, religion, also proved to be his greatest weakness. He resented the growing influence of Christianity – a religion that subsumed many elements of his own cult, including the celebration of December 25, tales of a virgin birth, and the death and resurrection of it figurehead. He is widely believed to have been behind the scattered acts of persecution against adherents of the new faith, both Cainite and mortal, and he took personal interest in Constantine the Great, who was proclaimed emperor of York on 306. Mithras hoped to use his influence over Constantine to crush the “upstart” religion, but he spectacularly failed in this, when the emperor accepted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire – some say under the influence of Clan Lasombra. Mithras’s efforts to destroy Christianity instead became a desperate rear-guard effort.
The collapse of central government in Britain (in AD 409) was a mortal wound to Ventrue authority, and many younger Cainites turned on their elders, blaming them for their misfortunes. Mithras survived many attempts on his unlife, but other elder Cainites were less fortunate. The internecine conflict sapped Mithras’s resolve. He knew that even someone of his strength and power could not hope to prevail in these circumstances, so, feeling the weight of his years, he chose to withdraw from the conflict and enter torpor beneath the floor of the mithraeum at Vercovicium.
The mortal nobles hired foreign mercenaries, foederati, who were initially loyal to their employers. Arriving in increasing numbers and realizing the land was theirs for the taking, many brought their families with them with the intention of claiming it for their own. Saxon Cainites (mainly Gangrel and some Brujah) arrived with the foederati and the associated colonists, bearing no love for the Roman-British Cainites. Many British Cainites chose to accompany their mortal associates across the channel to northwest Gaul, a land that would become known as Little Britain (or “Brittany”).
In the years before AD 500, Ambrosius and his associates fought the Saxons to a standstill, eventually inflicting a great defeat on them at Monas Badonicus. A combination of treaty and martial strength held the invaders back fro several decades. In 542, however, civil war erupted among the British and resulted in the cataclysmic Battle of Camlann that led to the defeats of the rebels but also cost the life of the principle British warlord, called Arthur by the chronicle of the era.
Cainites used the struggle between the nascent states of “Angle-land” to further their own goals, expanding their influence and power across the British Isles. The Celtic lands proved to be a major obstacle, with the massive Lupine presence among the Picts hampering expansion into the lands that would become Scotland, and several ancient Cainites dominating affairs in Wales. Ireland remained beyond the reach of most Cainites (save a handful of Lhiannan and their Gangrel pursuers) until the arrival of the Vikings.
As the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms struggled against Viking raiders and later Danish invaders, the Scotts unified under Kenneth MacAlpin who conquers the Picts in AD 844. This victory coincided with a decline in Lupine support for the Picts and was followed by an expansion of Cainite influence in Scotland. Lupines and the Fae remained a danger to vampires, but the “new land” offered a host of opportunities for wary and adventurous Cainites. By AD 900, the Toreador had established haven in Edinburgh and Berwick. These groups would remain largely independent of their Saxon (and later Norman) siblings until the middle of the 11th century.
The arrival of the Danish Gangrel and Ventrue with the invading forces had an unexpected side effect, prompting alliances between hitherto-antagonistic Cainites of Celtic, Roman-British and Saxon stock. As Angle-land emerged as a country, so the Cainite power structure matured, and a series of regional lordships – the forerunners of the Baronies of Avalon – emerged in the middle of the 10th century. These regions would reach their ultimate bloom with the introduction of feudalism.
The 11th century was a time of immense change for England. The mortal and Cainite struggles against the Danes culminated with the destruction of the Toreador “Bishop” of Canterbury, Cerdic, in AD 1012 and the ascension of Sweyn of Denmark to the English thrown a year later. Sweyn’s reign lasted only a year and was followed by a Saxon-Danish war that resulted in Canute taking the throne. The greatest change, however, came in 1066 with the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Essex, took the throne of England but found his rule challenged by both Harold Hadrada (hard-ruler) of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy. Hadrada landed forces near York, but was defeated by Godwinson’s forces at Stamford Bridge. William landed several days later at Pevensey, eventually marching inland to defeat Harold at Senlac Ridge (now Battle Abbey) 19 days after Stamford Bridge.
William became known as “the Conqueror” and set about establishing his dominance over England. He built the first stages of what would become the Tower of London in1067, and his troops subdued the northern regions a yea later in a series of bloody terror raids that became known as the “Harrying of the North”. Unbeknownst to him, a triumvirate of Cainites accompanied William, bent on reestablishing dominance over vampiric society just as the Duke of Normandy did over the mortals. Saxon, Danish and Roman-British vampires resisted the growing influence of Roald Snakeeyes, Baron Geoffrey of Calais and Countess Liseult de Taine, but by manipulating existing conflicts, the “Triumvirate” was able to neutralize or eliminate the principal threats to its leadership. Countess Liseult later acknowledged her role in arranging the Harrying of the North to eliminate Cainite resistance in the region, little realizing that the action would lead to her own doom. In the mithraeum at Vercovicium, Mithras senses the bloodshed of the Harrying and awoke.
Arriving in the city he knew as Londinium, Mithras journeyed to the temple of Mithras summoning Cainite and mortal worshipers. He didn’t the Triumvirate into account, though, as they suddenly realized who they were facing and attacked the temple with fire. Mithras withdrew to the shires, traveling the lands while building support.
The Tremere Magus Meerlinda arrived in England in 1098, charge with establishing a chantry for her clan. The Warlocks initially sought a base of operations in southeast England, but the Triumvirate objected to their presence. Instead, Meerlinda led her followers west, eventually deciding (despite the uncomfortable aura of faith of the abbey) to settles at Glastonbury. This action provoked a massive response as the clerics, magi and fea allied under the aegis of the Compact of Glastonbury to oust the Cainite invaders. The “War of the Tor” lasted from 1101 until 1105 and eventually led to the Tremere’s withdrawal. Meerlinda instead journeyed north to Durham, founding the Lion’s Gate Chantry in 1109.
The death of William, son of King Henry, in the wreck of the White Ship in 1120 threw the succession into chaos. Although Henry would reign for another 15 years, his daughter Matilda became heir tot eh throne. Married first to Henry V, emperor of Germany, and later Count Goeffrey “Plantagenet” of Anjou, Matilda had considerable power, but the English barons did not want her to ascend to the throne, preferring Henry’s nephew Stephan. This led to a protracted civil war, the Anarchy, that saw the final death of Cainite Baron Geoffrey at Winchester, while “Lupine Marauders” were blamed for the dismemberment of Liseult de Taine in 1411. (Both events were the work of Mithras and his agents.)
In 1152, Matilda’s son, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine, former wife of Louis VII of France. This marriage created a massive power bloc, spanning the length of France from Normandy on the channel to Bayonne near the Pyrenees. A year later, Henry led troops to England and forced Stephan to acknowledge him as heir to the kingdom. Henry’s attacks also eliminated the last member of the Triumvirate, Roald Snakeyes, and Mithras knew his time was at hand. He returned to London in 1154, assuming domain over the city at the same time Henry became King. The Ventrue Methuselah was recognized as “Prince of London,” and he extended his influence over much of the country thanks to diligent work during his exile. Each barony swore fealty to London, forming the largest Vampiric realm in Europe, just as England became part of an unprecedented empire.
Although the continental holdings were never part of Mithras’s plans, several acknowledged him as overlord. The cities of La Rochelle and Bordeaux became part of the new “Court of Avalon” while Britanny, Normandy and Pitou also gained some representation. Ironically, Henry II’s heartland on Anjou remained beyond Mithras’s grasp, dominated by the Toreador Melusine who refused to acknowledge either Avalon or the Courts of Love as her overlords. It was in1175, after she fought a shadow war against both the Baronies of Avalon and the Grand Court in Paris that an arrangement was reached between Mithras and Melusine. Meeting in Rouen, the Ventrue Methuselah recognized the Toreador as “Queen” on Anjou, albeit as a subordinate of Avalon. Melusine also assumed responsibility for Poitou and Gascony, leaving Mithras free to concentrate on the British Isles and Northern France.
The Ascension of Richard (later called “Coeur de Lion”) posed a number of problems for Mithras as he was often absent and left his gubernatorial duties in the hands of regents. Unrest in the kingdom increased, and Richard’s despotic brother John, sought to usurp power. Several young Cainites, mostly from clan Brujah, tried to exploit the situation. Many were slain by the Prince and his agents, but others became well established as “brigands.” The notable areas of Cainite unrest were Nottinghamshire and Sussex, the former dominated by a band of cutthroats led by Robert Leeland. Mithras’s agents would eventually bring “Robin” Leeland low at Kirklees Abbey, but not before a ten-year insurrection that tied up a number of the Prince’s resources. Richard’s death at Chalus in 1199, and the accession of John “Lackland” began the decline of the Angevin Empire.
The Disaster of the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople heralded the start of the War of Princes. Numerous revolts sprung up against Mithras’s rule, notably in Normandy and Poitou, but also in England. As the King of France launched military assaults on King John’s French holdings, Cainites struck into Avalon under cover of the Mortal conflict. Normandy and Brittany fell to the French almost immediately, their Cainites cowed by the assault and acknowledging Paris’s regency after the fall of “impregnable” Chateau Gaillard. Anjou, under Melusine’s rule proved a tougher prospect but here too the situation became untenable and the Queen left Anjou after the Prince refused to send assistance. Already at odd, the disdain between Mithras and the Queen of Anjou became mutual apathy. Further meetings between the too were cold and formal, cumulating in their 1208 encounter in London where Mithras declared his intentions to focus on affairs in England rather than the “Sprawling morass of duchies in France.”
John’s position deteriorated. IN 1213, realizing his weakness, the barons met at Bury Saint Edmunds to discuss numerous demands to set before the king. Melusine exploited the discontent, manipulating the barons and using their revolt as a cover for action against Mithras. Cainite havens across England came under attack as Melusine and disaffected Ventrue and Brujah challenged the Prince’s authority. Signed in Runnymede in 1215, the Rose Treaty, named for the clan that orchestrated it, brought the Cainite strife to and end, but the mortal equivalent, the Magna Carta, failed to end the mortal civil war, even though it met the baron’s demands. The French eventually sided with the barons and invaded, but they were repelled in 1217 after the battle of Lincoln. Numerous Cainites of the Court of Love accompanied Louis of France’s invasion force but were driven back by the “unified” British Cainites.
Lackland’s son, Henry III, came to the throne in 1216. Since he was only 9 years old, regents governed in the king’s stead until his majority in 1227. Meanwhile, French perfidy cost the empire its possessions in Poitou in 1224 while forces under Hugh de Lusignan ravaged Gascony. Having rarely set foot in Anjou or Poitou since the turn of the century, Melusine took up residence in Winchester, displacing Baron Roger as head of the fief and becoming a permanent thorn in Mithras’s side.