The Council Wars
A time of political and racial strife (1983 to 1986)
Even with the addition of MALDAVIS, nothing might have happened if Lodin had remained careful. Overconfident from what he saw as his crushing victory, he decided to consolidate his power.
He began by making several neonates to help him rule those parts of mortal society with which he remained uncomfortable and to keep his more ambitious progeny in check. He desperately wanted to limit
the powers of his first brood; likewise, he wished to gain a hold over the powerful media and the computer technology that were becoming increasingly important to daily commerce.
The primogen had begun to take notice by the time Lodin had sired the fourth neonate of his second brood. At first, only those who had historically opposed the prince voiced any opposition, so little happened.
This frustrated minority began to support Maldavis' rise among the Anarchs, feeding her their own potent blood and teaching her the dark secrets of the city. Maldavis never knew who her mentors were, though there were
many she suspected.
Despite all this, she remained but a minor irritation to the prince until early 1983, when Lodin turned yet another member of the primogen against himself. This time he angered Annabelle Triabell, one of the leading Toreador. While she was not a particularly potent force among the primogen, hers was the vote that would split the council. With her changed position, the Council Wars began.
As is often the case with Kindred politics, the world of the kine reflected this fierce struggle. The powerful post of mayor had been one place where Lodin's authority had never been challenged, and he had always filled it with mortals
more than willing to do his bidding. Maldavis chose to strike here first, and after years of preparation, she presented a new candidate for mayor- Harold Washington. Though she did not control him herself, she did ensure that Lodin could not
tamper with him. Lodin was caught completely off guard, and the primogen restrained his immediate urge to crush Maldavis and slay the mortal candidate. On April 15, 1983, Harold Washington became mayor.
Horrified by what he had lost, Lodin ignored the primogen's restrictions and attempted to strike back. To his amazement, he found Maldavis' forces prepared and was shocked to find that even with all the Ventrue behind him, the anarchs remained beyond his reach. For four years the battle continued, although unlike earlier conflicts violence played a secondary role. The main arena turned out to be that of mortal politics, as both sides jockeyed for position in hopes
of using the kine to do their dirty work. Though some Kindred were destroyed, no one wanted to repeat the Night of Rage.
During those years, Maldavis' power grew while Ledin's shrank. Oesp1te h1s best efforts, the prince could not discover her hiding places, yet the anarchs sought out, confounded, and occasionally slew- his own supporters with impunity.
The Camarilla did not listen to his complaints, as the sect did not want to provoke another Night of Rage. Lodin's despair grew when he realized that some of the primogen supported
Maldavis. His remaining pride would not allow him to beg for their help when he learned that they had turned against him.
Read Here about the Council Wars from a Kine's perspective
Conflict Type
Military Campaign
Operation Incubator
Lodin began to respond to MALDAVIS' delicate machinations with cruder, less sophisticated maneuvers of his own. For instance, around Christmas 1985, he implemented Operation Incubator, whereby he attempted to ruin some of Maldavis' key mortal
allies through police harassment and public embarrassment. His plans backfired when news of these efforts reached the public and a scandal erupted over the "persecution" of the city government. Somehow the story had managed to bypass his censorship. Maldav1s' strength reached its peak in the spring of 1986.
During the next year, Anarchs destroyed many of the prince's lackeys in the c1ty government and installed their own pawns into many of the City's positions of power. Finally, desperate and terrified for his very existence, Lodin threw himself at the
feet of the primogen and begged their forgiveness right before Thanksgiving of 1987
For hours he listened to the elders' complaints on the way he ran the city, until finally they reached a deal. Annabelle agreed to switch sides if the prince would agree to give one certain Ventrue remarkable freedom and grant her the right to make two neonates.
Even the primogen had to abide by Lodin's rule against the Embrace, for it was ratified by the Camarilla, but Lodin had no choice but to grant the privilege. Moreover, he was required to attend the primogen in Elysium on the first Monday of each month, to
hear their complaints and to listen to their advice.
Fortified by this change in fortunes and Annabelle's revelation of a spy who had been dogging the Ventrue, the prince set to work regaining his power. Lodin began his Thanksgiving Massacre with a direct strike against the popular mayor whom Maldav1s had brought to power. The Ventrue drained h1m
to the point where he died the next day of a heart attack. That day, aided by the capture of one of Maldavis' most trusted lieutenants, the prince's mortal servants began tracking down the anarchs and killing them as they slept in their havens. The following night turned into one of terror for Maldavis' remaining allies.
Lodin's forces watched all their havens, and nowhere could they find safety. Once again, the anarchs lost the bulk of their strength to the prince's onslaught. This time, however, was even more horrifying. Licks would go to sleep in the safest of their havens, only to awaken at noon as stakes were driven through their hearts.
The mighty Brujah Procet, a member of the primogen, was numbered among those who disappeared
The prince almost managed to slay Maldavis herself, but she managed to survive through means Lodin never understOOd. He suspected continued treachery among the primogen. He had to content himself with the knowledge that the greatest threat to his power had been defeated, and sethimself to work regaining
his grip on mortal society.