Liberty for Wolves {Part 2 of 2}

[Valerie]

Floating Lantern

Seattle's Anarch Free Press since 1986 • floatinglantern.bloodspot

Liberty for Wolves {Part 2of 2}
12.15.14

Unsurprisingly, absolutely zero of you heeded my advice to refrain from using this fancy party we had on Saturday night to swing your beef around for all to see. I am both saddened by the sloppy drama of this whole ordeal and comforted by my excellent knowledge of exactly how much and how little I can expect from Kindred at any given time.

Enough about my astute observation skills. Let’s get down to all of the announcements which were made, shall we?

There’s only one really big one. To hear the Prince tell it, he’s assembled some elite team of specially skilled Kindred while also being gracious enough to ensure they’re of low enough standing to actually improve their station through their valiant efforts. These are your “Knights Templar”, sworn into service under the “Marshal”, who reports to the Prince himself directly.

Your dream team is...

• Jericho, good at hitting things
• Giles Ambrose, also good at hitting things
• Maya, good at the sort of thing you make wiggly fingers when you talk about
• Esha, also good at the sort of thing you make wiggly fingers when you talk about
• Valerie, who has mastered the use of a keyboard and cell phone

As Knights, we’re managed by Marshal Cristiano Orisha. You may know him as the Keeper of Elysium, and the most refined genteel individual I’ve ever seen walk around with an enormous stick.

The Harpy called it a war coterie, but I wouldn’t say that’s accurate. A war coterie implies some sort of great skill in battle and prestige within the Camarilla, at the very least. I’d imagine that a war coterie has only the most trustworthy of scouts and hardest of hitters defending the interests of the Prince who assembled it. This is different. There’s a phrase used to describe this sort of team. It’s escaping me right now… there were some comic books about one, I think they’re making a movie now… oh. Right. A Suicide Squad.

Here’s what I actually see:

• the last remaining member of a gang who backed an attempted praxis seizure
• some punk kid with a heart of gold and entirely too many powerful friends
• a gal who literally owes the Prince her Life and is being extorted over it
• a traveler who just washed back up and was made a public spectacle of
• yours truly, the Anarch and Pied Piper to your cold dead hearts

All of these individuals will operate under the watchful eye of a Lasombra who just happens to have been present at every “Sabbat sighting”, but is also trusted with ensuring the security of every single one of our gatherings.

Just… sit with that for a minute.

The Prince also decided to award me with Camarilla standing in addition to this new position, which doesn’t warrant much of a mention besides this one, because, seriously, who think that’s going to do anything other than confuse people? Obviously not most of the members of the Inner Court, who continued to indulge my radical political views towards the end of the evening with only the most polite of side-eye.

I, for one, am not falling all over myself with gratitude for being given this “rare and risky opportunity” to take one for the team and goose-step off into the sunset beyond the borders of the Prince’s protectorate. Before you try and tell me I’m looking the gift horse in the mouth here: the Prince has the ultimate Right of Destruction within his domain. What’s his motivation for literally making up titles and sticking them on people he views as being anything from weakly disposable to actively annoying? Couldn’t he just kick us out or kill us or any other number of things which didn’t involve us moving from thorns in his side to brambles that need constant watering?

Why would he, as a Prince of limited support in a frontier Camarilla domain with a shrinking populace, go through all of that trouble? What’s the upside? This group of individuals will now be trusted with handling volatile events and scoping out locations of strategic importance to the very security of this domain… I’m not normally one for self-deprecation, but that’s a fucking terrible idea. The idea that the Prince’s own assurances to the Templars themselves are true, and that this is anything but a flaccid attempt to end our lives, is completely irrational. It’s not about covering Templar ass. It’s about not letting the Prince serve the entire Kindred population of Seattle up to outside forces. I know it’s hard for my Camarilla readership to consider that their trust in the Prince on this issue may be misplaced, but I’m seriously spoon-feeding you here.

Still hungry? I’ve got plenty more.

Much to the displeasure of my fellow Anarchs, I’ve been vocal about my support for a number of the Prince’s moves over the years. I’ll admit it still: sometimes, the guy can really stick the landing and I’m not about denying him credit where credit is obviously due. He’s held praxis for over a hundred years, which even taking into consideration he’s the figurehead of a system designed to keep things relevant well past their span of usefulness, is impressive. I doff my cap to thee.

Remember, of course, this is the same Prince who’s found fit as of this same gathering to give me some sort of official repute within the Camarilla. The Prince told me himself, in front of such peerless individuals as the Prince of Munich, that he was doing this to pay off a debt. Prestation is a custom that transcends political lines - a favor’s a favor - but I doubt a second favor was paid by this mysterious patron to also ensure that the Prince walked away from this being seen as wiser. All powerful Kindred owe and call in boons. Admitting that you’re doing something politically tenuous as a response to having one of these strings pulled is a very clear way of saying you don’t think your actions will hold up under any real scrutiny.

This is also the same Prince who demanded the Sheriff of the domain punch a hole through another Kindred’s haven looking for Wit a few months ago. Why? To have spectacle made of him in court prior to bestowing the title of Senechal, of course. I don’t know much about Wit’s deeds since he was raised to this station, but I do know this - entrusting a relatively unproven individual with considerable public speaking difficulties to be your “face man” is as least as misguided as it is cruel. I know the Camarilla doesn’t care much about whether or not individuals commit Kindred rights abuses, but I would hope it cares about ensuring the local Prince’s message is respected in his absence. I hear far too much snickering from those who claim to honor the Prince when the duty falls to Wit in his absence.

Don’t get distracted. All of the bobbing and weaving in court isn’t the feint of a political prize-fighter but the crumbling of a Tower at its very foundations. Prince Orleans can use every tool in his arsenal to try and discredit those who question him, but that would imply that he somehow retains the ultimate sway over his own subjects. Given the examples above, and the obvious whispers around town, this gives him entirely too much credit.

If you believe that I’m turning coat - if you think you have heard that from my own mouth and not the mouths of those who seek to benefit from it - I have a beachfront haven in Tempe that I’d love to sell you. Even more to the point, if you believe in a Prince who expects giving Camarilla standing to an Anarch is doing anything but punching himself in the face, installs a Senechal whose ability to command his vested authority is dubious at best, and is himself in too weak of a position to effectively neutralize the most verminous of his rivals without outsourcing it to werewolves… or the cops… or kids in neck bandanas… or the Sabbat… then I have absolutely nothing to say to you because I don’t believe in arguing with idiots.

It was still a very lovely party. Thanks for coming.

Valerie