Know Your Kindred – Queen Anne

Name:  Queen Anne Bowesly
Clan:  Ventrue
Generation:  6th (Originally 8th)
Embrace:  1688

At only five feet tall, “Queen” Anne has shown no signs that she is little and can be ignored.

The most powerful Kindred in Britain was the 3,000 year old Methuselah, Mithras.  He brought Lady Anne into politics, installing her as the new Prince of London in the late 18th century after the inept would-be-prince, Valerius, proved too weak for the office.

In life, Anne was a subtle diplomat and peacemaker, adept at getting her own way by manipulating those around her.  Although she lacked a formal education, she learned much of politics by listening to her father and brothers.

In 1688 she and her husband were successful in disposing Charles II and placing William III on the British throne.  Her role in the coup was noticed by Valerius, who offered her power and influence beyond her imagination.  She gladly accepted, faked her death and then spent the next several decades keeping a low profile and learning the intricacies of Kindred society.  Once those she knew grew old and died, she reasserted herself into the halls of power she knew so well.

Her ambition and acumen fighting the Toreador and Tremere for influence over British society led to Mithras recognizing Parliament as her domain.  Anne was fulfilling her father’s dreams, but all was not well.  Valerius now saw her as a threat.  She had accomplished more in a century than he had in half a millennium.

When Mithras disappeared in the 18th century, Valerius was put incharge of London and Anne was his lieutenant.  But after a series of various disasters including a Sabbat insurrection, Mithras returned and demoted Valerius and promoted Anne to his post.

Lady Anne is a diablerist. Those who fall afoul of her political machinations find themselves under her fangs.  She constantly searches for the opportunity to diablerize elder vampires to improve her powers.  Thankfully her blood bond to Mithras masked the taint of diablerie in her aura.

When Mithras mysteriously disappeared during World War II (later to be diablerized by Monty Coven), Anne finally rose to become the “Queen of London.”  She used Parliament to pass a series of laws that weakened the other clans powerbase.  She took steps to keep the primogen weak, installing Ventrue loyal to her, paid off Toreador to support her, and destroyed the Tremere who opposed her.  Meanwhile, the Brujah were manipulated to withdraw from the council and the anarchs were left powerless with nothing to do.

Anne is small with delicate features and chestnut hair tied in a bun.  Casual observes mistake Anne for an elegant and well-heeled matriarch.  But those who know better see a confident and powerful woman who maintains her domain with an iron will.

– Source:  London By Night, pg. 103-105, A World of Darkness (2nd Ed), pg. 56, 61-62.

Know Your Kindred – Owain Evans, The Wanderer

Name:  Owain Evans, The Wanderer

Clan:  Ventrue antitribu
Generation:  Maybe 6th
Embrace:  1053

Owain Evans has the power to heal others with his blood.  He obtained this ability after he drank the blood of Joseph of Arimathea centuries ago. But he did not understand the true nature of this power until 1999 when the Kindred world was in the grip of a mysterious blood curse.

This blood curse was striking at Kindred, creating an uncontrollable hunger that would never go away, no matter how much the vampire tried to quench their thirst, they would still feel starved.  Eventually the curse would trigger the Beast within them to rise up, until they were completely lost to it.

After discovering his power and understanding its origin, Owain became known as the Wanderer, and he traveled around the world seeking to cure any and all Cainites from the curse.

Owain is originally from a small Welsh kingdom called Rhufoniog.  After emerging from torpor in the 17th century, he came to America where he became a prominent, but unobtrusive member of Atlanta’s Kindred community.

– Source:  The Trilogy of the Blood Curse novels – The Devil’s Advocate, The Winnowing and Dark Prophecy.