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HEREOS AND VILLAINS
OF THE CITY UPON THE FIELD OF GATES
by Peri Vale, Sluagh Courtisan and gossip Columnist to the Dreaming!!
The Boggans of London reside under a canopy of respect and admiration as a result of House Fionna's edicts. Lady Evelynn has oft remarked that a Kingdom cannot survive without the bedrock provided by the brownies and Buttery spirits of the Boggan Kith. Any central governing body of the Boggans that exists in London has remained hidden from the general populace, and I see no reason to believe they have such a body.
GRANNY
The portly matriarch of the TowerGate freehold Kitchens. In full and domineering command of all the staff, Kith and kinain, of the Regents freehold and responsible for below stairs duties. granny, nobody admits to knowing her real name, has a strongly felt belief that it is impossible for anyone to be 'too thin' and has developed a repotoire of fattening cakes and pies to rescue the Childlings and wilders from annorexia.
CALLUM MOR MACINTOSH
CAPRIANA
Capriana runs a soup kitchen at the Church of St Martins in the Field in Trafalgar square. The soup Kitchen has allies among the Bone Gnawers and celestial chorus volunteers too, providing the Boggans with a wealth of cross species gossip about the gallain of London. It is from among the outcast Garou that Capriana gains sanctaury in these troubled times. Winter-Draws-On, the Shapeshifting Bag lady and Alpha of the Bone Gnawers sleeps rough in and around the square where she can keep an eye on her Fae friend.
AMERSHAM
floating market trader
SNARESBROOK
London's importance as a cosmopolitan city and as a gateway to the world makes it a popular stop off for the Eshu. It is as impossible to take a census of Eshu in London as it is with any other city of size, but as a Kith the Eshu population can reach surprising numbers.
EUSTON
Patchwork King of the buskers. Euston is a jovial gansta, allocating each and every busker with his or her patch and punishing those who bring the barly tolerated occupation into further disrepute. London recently made Busking legal for licensensed performers and while Euston and his scions feel stiffled under such strictures, it has allowed them a brief respite from continued harrasment from the Law. In times of trouble, such as the present Civil war, the buskers can become a web of messengers, using carefully chosen tunes or even well practiced bum notes to give warnings to thier allies.
With the bitter Civil war raging across London no skilled artisans goes short of work. Those able to produce any form of weaponry have grown rich, and those in the favour of Balmolocha Trix are set for life. Behind the orders for weapons that keep foundry and workshops busy day and night, the Nockers are engaged in a race to unravel the secrets of awakening a Gate. Together with the Sluagh they have expended countless resources and man-hours investigating the Southgate. The discovery of the Hob Goblins was without doubt the greatest event in the recent History of this sour Kith and the novelty of their unique nature has not yet worn off for members of the local Guilds.
BELLA TRIX
Balmalocha of the Nockers and Weaponsmith to the Monkeys paw resistance. Bella trix is the closest thing the nockers have to match the trolls, she is huge. Every weapon sale, every black market design and every application to the Bes Din goes via the wine faced be-corsetted Bella trix.
PIMLICO
Pimlico is the head Nocker at the Ashmolean museum, the centre for Nocker research and Development as well as the central repository for Patents. Pimlico peers from behind his wire rim spectacles and refuses to aid anyone without the most stringent paperwork, in triplicate of course. The convoluted filing system is a work of pure fantasy and its eccentricities keep the records of the Bes Din safer than any security system.
BARON OTTO MATIX
Seelie weaponsmith for the Gwydion alliance.
The Pooka of London are no different from the pranksters worldwide, flighty, unorganised and without direction.
BULLSEYE
Unseelie dog Pooka, recidivist thief, bar fly and mentor to Calamity Schrodinger of the Regency Oathcircle.
BRONWYN
Court portrait artist and scullery maid, assistant to granny and lover in mourning of Sir Uthden.
OSCAR THE WILDER
guide, vagabond, companion for hire and gossip.
KASPAR
POOKA PIDGEON
Something within the Gwydion camp has so intrigued the Redcaps that several bands have managed to overcome their hatred of the Sidhe in order to ally themselves with the Seelie. This unprecedented arrangement alone has given cause for rival gangs to join House Fionna. The collection of Redcap gangs are dealt with in more detail here.
KARN ACTH DOONE
Unseelie Captain of the predominantly Seelie Canniball Doones, the Redcaps Highwaymen of London. Dressed like extras from an Adam and the Ants video the cannibal Doones suffered badly under the teeth of thier unseelie bretheren and joined the Fionna to gain revenge. From his hideaway in Chislehurst caves Doone preys upon lone travellers and wanderers before disaappearing into the night again.
BILLY BEDLAM - Pirate Captain of the Rawhead and Bloody Bones.
Cutting his teeth in the highlands of Scotland as a brigand, Bedlam fought against the clans as an English spy in several battles. After leading the forces tha slaughtered the majorety of a Scathatch line and loosing his leg to tthe young Son of the MacRoth line, Bedlam became a man with a price on his head. Eventually his small gang had to leave scotland because even the other redcaps had had enough of him and no one would shelter him from the spectre of Dillon Mac Roth. He took to the seas after butchering a boat full of Irish immigrants. For years, Bedlam and his gang the Rawhead and Bloody Bones have caused havoc in the Irish sea as pirates and pillagers.
The most despicable and feroucious Redcap in the Land of the young, Bedlam has gathered the largest coalition of redcap gangs in living memory and keeps them in line while also working for the Gwydion. His Thugs have three chimerical ships moored on the Southbank and act as hired muscle for the Gwydion forces. If Lady Kelemon could ever find a way to team redcap grunts in the same units as her loyal red Branch knight's the war might well turn in her favour.
One can obly wonder what twist of fate has brought Bedlam to London at the same time as his arch enemy Dillon Mac Roth. Less charitable souls have suggested that his loyalty to House Gwydion is subject to Sir Dillon's continued post as Champion to House Fionna.
HYDE PARK
The vital and wise Satyr's find London fascinating and are drawn to study its mysteries at length. From the libertine nightclubs to the coffee shops of the many museums, Satyr's gather to share their wisdom with each other and with those Nobles wise enough to pay heed. The recent investment of Earl Sylvannus at the New Cross Gate freehold has raised the public profile of this Kith and provided for them a central head quarters from which to plan their strategies.
AIKEN DRUM SIOCHAIN [Deceased]
For several centuries the Siochain Aiken Drum called London home. He kept a small flat here and was often seen at court with the elite. Aiken Drum was a lifelong friend to the Regent Shaugn ap Fionna and had a hand in shaping the rule of the Regency when house Fionna declared that it would only consider itself rulers in waiting for the Ard Righ. A student of Botany, Herbalism, magic and the Inanimae culture, Aiken was also recognised as the greatest chef anyone had ever known. His culinary skill kept him popular across the kingdom and guaranteed him a welcome as warm as any Bard might expect. The entire city mourned when the great Satyr was slain by the Toy Stalker under the control of the Nocker sociopath Fear Doirchie.
ATARI
CRODH MARA (CRO MARA)
Master of the Beggars Banquet.
Crodh Mara is the Unseelie king of the beggars and partner in crime to the Eshu Euston. His army of homeless street kids known colloquially as the Beggars banquet, are an uncounted contingent in the Civil war. Along with the buskers, the beggars, the pick pockets and Drug dealers of the Beggars banquet are the eyes and ears of the Changeling race on the back streets of London, providing an early warning system for the Fae and keeping a close watch on the Gallain with whom they share the city.
A master of disguise and infiltration, Crodh Mara flatters himself with delusions of being a modern day Sherlock Holmes. While he has a well developed mind and the instincts of an alley cat, he is still a young Goat compared to such luminaries as Earl Sylvannus and the Marquise de Soho and the majority of his conscripts are mortals.
PANDORA
This staunchly Unseelie Satyr survives as a bodyguard and courtesan for hire. Selling her services at the floating Market or touting for business at Court, Pandora enjoys the protection of her friends among the seven Sisters and this grants her a degree of safety usually missing in her chosen profession. Once a month Pandora appears as the as yet unbeaten champion of the All Girl naked jelly wrestling matches hosted by the Marquise de Soho and this gig pays enough for her to keep a modest flat in the Marquise estates. Her coffers are also filled by regular spots at London's choice lap and pole dancing clubs.
MARQUISE DE SOHO
As a childling the Marquise saw his mortal family die one by one, victims of the cholera that devestated London. Only the combined efforts of the Nockers and the Sluagh, along with thier agent Sir Joseph Bazelgette, managed to turn the tide and the Satyr managed to live long enough to undergo his Chrysalis. For many years the Marquise was the tutor to the Noble children of house Fionna. Once his years and advanced descent into his Grump seeming forced his retirement he was given the small estate of Soho and a handsome pension. Since then he has been the recognised voice of the Satyr's in London. A constant attendee of court functions, the Marquise refuses to grow old gracefully and spends all of his spare time devising new ways to seduce the young and shock the old.
London is a living, breathing city and just as with all creatures the state of its bowels is always indicative of its health. Beneath the streets of London are more walkways, Cellars, tunnels, sewer works, crawl spaces and secret bunkers per square mile than any other city on Earth. This would have been true even if not for the great works undertaken by Sir Joseph Bazelgette, a Kinain of renown. Bazelgette was the Mortal Child of two Changelings, a Nocker and a Sluagh, and he extended his sewer systems deep into the ground and provided a vast Byzantine kingdom for the whisperers.
From this sunless Kingdom the Sluagh maintain a network of spies, cut purses and Assassins, loyal to Serpentine. The majority of London's Sluagh remain beneath the streets, careful to keep the rest of the city ignorant of their numbers. The information network of Serpentine and her Motley is patronised by all factions in the current troubles and has elevated the Whispering Court above it usual station.
CAPELTHWAITE
You can't miss this Gwydion Sluagh, he looks like he watched sleepy hollow twice too often. When Baron Golden-and-crispy was still shuffling around, Capelthwaite was his chief minister for intelligence. Now Kelemon is running the show, Capelthwaite is little more than a toady vizier employed to tell her Majesty how amazing she is and the keep the lesser sycophants nodding at the right time.
BETHANY
MAIDA and PERI VALE
Maida Vale, my big Sis, is Serpentines major domo. Head party animal of the Seven Sisters and owner of the Valley maids cleaning agency, what better way to gather information on the rich and famous than by being able to sift through their rubbish. Maida and her Sluagh allies run London's premier intelligence agency, ensuring that those women who are able to pay for their services remain well informed and ahead of the male dominated politics of both the dreaming and Waking worlds.
The younger Peri [pictured left] is a popular Socialite who signs her work as a 'Sluagh Courtesan and gossip Columnist to the Dreaming!!' Those of you who know my work, and if your reading this you already do, will require no bio or self aggrandisement from me. All that is important is that I owe fealty to none of the factions and my views are uncluttered by opinion. In times of war the Bard is neutral and who has inherited that position more than I?
OLD BAILEY
(Suggested by a character in Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE)
The Sluagh Grump Bailey, old Bailey to those who know him, is an Information broker and a collector of knick-naks. By no means a major player or a hero, Bailey does still manage to be a regular player in the Civil War. Lowly Commoners and High Born rulers all share one thing in common within London, the fact that at one time or another they have all patronised this strange little Sluagh. Unique tokens for loved ones or gifts to woo the favour of Nobles, the location of tunnel entrances or the date of certain weddings, Old Bailey buys and sells all. Bailey's deepest secret is how exactly he comes by such secrets when he has no partners or associates. He knows far too much for it all to have been gained in trade so he must have another avenue of discovery, but whatever it is, he isn't telling.
The Sidhe are split along House lines and traditions. While the Unseelie wait on the sidelines in London's West end, the rest of the city is drowning in a Civil war for the Throne. House Gwydion and its allies Liam and Dougal control central London from the Baron's court, Fionna, the hereditary rulers of the City, and Eiluned dominate East London and the south Bank of the Thames.
SHAUGHN AP FIONNA The Regent [Deceased]
The son of King Murdoch Fionna and Lady Evelynn, Shaughn was raised to be the Fairy King of London. But as his father lay dying from an assassins blade he made a shattering proclamation. After much discussion with his mother and other Wise fae, he declared that the Changeling's could have only one King as set down by the Tuatha de Danu, the Ard Righ. The forefathers of the Fae had left four treasures with the Sidhe in order to ascertain who the Dreaming chose as the High king and the American upstart had been granted no such recognition. David Ardrey was, Shaughn declared, an enemy of the Fae and he would not follow such arrogance. He would rule, but only as Regent in waiting for the one true King, the Ard-Righ. With the support of most of Britain and Commoner fae across the globe, Shaughn became the first regent of the field of gates.
Regent Shaughn ap Fionna married a distant cousin, Lady Desdemona Fionna and she bore him a Son, Cathal. She did not live long after the birth and the young Prince Regent grew up with only his grandmother to love him. The Regent was a just and great leader of the city but knew little about raising a child. He was perhaps too harsh at times and too lenient at others and as he progressed in years his attentions were directed towards a collection of mistresses and the pursuit of social advancement for the Changeling race.
In his final years, the Regent saw to the founding of the Regency Oathcircle. A cross court collection of Wilders set the task of discovering the whereabouts of the missing Siochain Aiken drum. The Oathcircle was also a baptism of fire for his son because the regent knew that his death was close. A late night visit from Lady Clotho Leaunhaun revealed to him her vision of his death at he hands of the Toy stalker. It also revealed much of the outcome of his passing and the regent found himself suddenly concerned with the abilities of his son. The Toy stalker did indeed slay the regent and left the Prince Regent to rule London, Shaughn died with a smile upon his lips as he watched his son spring into action to destroy the chimerical assassin.
CLOTHO LEAUNHAUN
One of the few Sidhe of house Leaunhaun to openly lay claim to her house, the Witch Clotho is Yrtalin's advisor at the Ravenscourt. Should you be (un?)lucky enough to attend the Unseelie court you might be shocked, or possibly titillated, by the naked and heavily tattooed form of War master Yrtalin's new wife as she attends to her cauldron or other symbols of her dark arts. The beauty of the Sidhe is overwhelming when clothed, but none can deny that her unashamed display of porcelain perfect flesh is enough to silence the Pooka and send a Redcap's heart to fluttering.
Lady Clotho, a title to which she is entitled but chooses not to acknowledge, is an important figure in the Unseelie tactical briefings, using scrying, precognition and manipulation of the strands of fate to ensure the Ravenscourt stays ahead of the game. Strangely enough, rumour insists that it was Lady Clotho who encouraged the Ravenscourt to accept Count Darkain's offer of non aggression in the Civil war. Other rumours, although never voiced at court, whisper that She and the Count shared a bed before the death of the regent and that her affections for him are stronger than her devotion to the Unseelie way. When I put this question to War master Yrtalin he simply smiled his crocodile smile and told me 'love conquers all my dear' with a wink to his wife.
PUG
A freebooter exiled from House Balor, currently employed by the Grey Watch, Pug is the opposite of the stereotypical Sidhe. Hairless except for his Goatee with jutting, tusk-like teeth and a monobrow to put the Redcaps to shame the hulking Pug lives up to his infamy with gusto. A row of Ogham brands along his arm openly count coup of the Fae he has personally undone and his refusal to wear any clothing on his upper body leave this as open to perusal as his abstract and deeply unsettling tattoos.
After returning from the Dreaming with Sir Dillon MacRoth, Pug has hovered around the Regency Oathcircle and eventually accepted coin to join the Grey watch. Now he wanders the bars and back alleys of London as an agent of the Regent's Champion and amazingly, as part of Lady Evelynn's honour guard. I for one try to avoid his attention, finding something altogether Redcap in his lecherous gaze, the result of Balor indiscretion no doubt!
COUNTESS LACHESIS AILIL
Few women can hope to capture the heart of a satyr such as Coblynau, but Countess Lachesis has scaled that impossible height. Whatever matters of Shadow Court business keeps the President away from court, the Countess has not allowed them to hinder her own social life. Together with Prince Yrtalin, Lady Lachesis is the visible face of the Shadow Court, but unlike the Warmaster, she knows how dark that sects goals truly are.
It is said that the Countess does all the 'hiring and firing' in Shadow Court politics, and that for the Unseelie; she alone measures the length of life one is permitted. Chief among her agents are the Pooka Bullseye and the Satyr Pandora, both of whom allow her to spread her sphere of influence much further than she could on her own.
LADY SIOBHAN OF HOUSE FIONNA HELEN
LADY MAEVE BALOR
Lady Maeve has been a guest of the Ravenscourt Nobles for almost a year now, along with her companion Nuada (Lady Atropos Balor). The ravages of her tainted blood have left her doubly cursed but she has managed to overcome adversity with grace and aplomb. Those whom witness her slow progress cannot help but notice her crippled leg even though volumous skirts of the Victorian style cover it. But one would have to be purposefully looking to realise that Noble is also blind.
As the premier Ambassador of the estranged House Balor to London, Lady Maeve is neutral in the current war. She has spent time with Lady Evelynn and the Baron Goldhawk since her arrival. It is also no secret that her militant companion is close to the Rawhead and Bloody Bones Gang of redcaps led by Billy Bedlam. Bedlam spent many year in the employ of House Balor and as a social rather than a military intelligence I have no idea how well that arrangements fares in light of the current hostilities.
In recent month's, the representative of House Balor has been courted by Scathatch Lord, Sir Dillon MacRoth and Lady Maeve has refused all approaches from other suitors, including an Ailil baron favoured by War master Yrtalin. Seeing the Red and green scarf tied about sir Dillon's sword in recent battles I personally am expecting some sort of declaration from the House Fionna champion before too long. But then again I am a romantic at heart and refuse to acknowledge the barriers between such a union.
LADY ATROPOS BALOR
Lady Atropos uses the pseudonym Nuada at court, both as a reference to her deformity and as an insult to children of the Tuatha de Danu. The sparkling silver armour that covers the entirety of her Right arm covers the fact that her forearm and hand is a shrivelled stump. The prosthetic hand serves her as a weapon as well as a fashion accessory, its taloned fingers causing awful slashing damage to those whom she slaps.
While she holds the title of a knight, lady Atropos is more of a street fighter, having earned her spurs with the Rawhead and Bloody bones Redcap gang. Her violent nature and icy heart are a direct contrast to the warm and demure nature of her Companion, the Lady Maeve.
HERLA GWYDION
SABDH
DUCHESS NIAMH ap GWYDION OF THE GOLDEN HAIR
A pearl-pale, high-born lady, who rode
On a horse with bridle of findrinny;
And like a sunset were her lips,
A stormy sunset on doomed ships;
A citron colour gloomed in her hair,
But down to her feet white vesture flowed,
And with the glimmering crimson glowed
Of many a figured embroidery;
And it was bound with a pearl-pale shell
That wavered like the summer streams,
As her soft bosom rose and fell.
Duchess Niamh was the fiancée of the Late Cathal ap Fionna and that prestigious post lead to her becoming hostage to the Baron's court.
Before the bad feelings between House Gwydion and house Fionna reached their inevitable conclusion, Lady Evelynn brokered a marriage between her Grandson and a niece of the Baron's, recently arrived from Arcadia. The union was intended to unite the two Seelie factions of London and to avoid the current war. Unfortunately the premature death and Undoing of Regent Cathal put and end to such hopes. The Duchess remained at the Fionna court after her fiancée's death and for a while the Court accepted her, albeit begrudgingly, as its own.
In the earlier and more cordial exchanges of the war, Duchess Niamh was returned to her own House, exchanged for an Eshu Earl, and put under house arrest after the assassination attempt on Baron Goldhawk and Lady Kelemon. Unkind comments about Court have asked how can she truly be a hostage to the Gwydion when she herself is a member of their house? Intriguingly enough, the fact that the Earl who stood as Hostage to House Fionna almost took his own life
recently seems to weaken the regency's bargaining chip even further and yet lady Evelynn appears unflustered. Perhaps the rumours are true and she would have given almost anything to be rid of the spoilt and untrustworthy girl once she was no longer needed to legitimise her Grandson's rule.
The Duchess carries an ageless charm that her relatively recent incarnation in the waking world cannot diminish. She is flirty but courtly, well versed in intrigue but Charismatic with it. An inside source also told me that she has allied among the Werewolf Gallain with whom she communicates via her servant Sabdh.
London is at war, and wars always draw soldiers such as Trolls and Redcaps. Not traditionally common in Southern England during times of peace, the city now hosts a strong contingent of Trolls allied to House Fionna. The fact that London's other factions contain relatively few of this kith is one of the main reasons the battle for the Throne of London has remained a cold War rather than a fully fledged bloodbath. Bands of Trolls police the borders of London's contested estates to provide a military vanguard against incursions. With the veterans of the Accordance war and Old generals like Snowdon to train them, many younger Trolls have taken up posts as squires in training to fill the numbers of the Kith even more.
WEALDSTONE
GOG AND MAGOG
BENDITH Y MAMAU (benDITH ER MAMIGH)
STOCKWELL
GOBLINS
PROF FLANGE BRACKETT
STOPPIT & TIDY UP
girl gobbo
OTHERS (Chimera, Gallain etc)
FEAR DOIRCHE
An elderly Knocker Mage (possibly Dauntain) with Allies among the Gallain Technocracy and a horde of enslaved Goblins to work his foundries Fear Diorchie has plagued London since the earliest days of the Interregnum. His plots earnt him a starring role in several fairy tales and a following among the Unforgiven. His lies led to the release of the Toy stalker upon London by the Black Friars. The Friars sought to sacrifice a Lughnassa Corn king of great status to make up for the lack of sacrifices in recent years and Fear told them of the Toy Stalker, a Chimera skilled in hunting the innocent and happy. They unleashed this macabre sprite and set it to find and slaughter Aiken drum, a Siochain and respected Satyr. What Fear Diorchie didn't share was the key to stopping and controlling the Chimera, using the rouge creature instead to hunt and kill other important Changelings in order to plunge the City into Chaos. The death of the regent went a long way to fulfilling his mad dreams before he was killed by the Regency Oathcircle.
Prince Ragoczy of Transylvania- The Comte De St.-Germain
Ragoczy has displayed several talents beyond the scope of simple humans, but no one has a clue as to which of the Gallain races he belongs. Certainly he is no Velveteen because he can walk abroad by day and he has no Fae Mien so he cannot be a child of the Dreaming. Perhaps he is a vassal of the Velvet children, that would certainly explain his claims of being several centuries old that have been verified by members of House BeauMayn.
Whatever the truth is about this dashing man, he has defiantly taken a sudden interest in the activities of our fair kind. He has been to more balls and parties this year than I have and more than once I have passed him coming out of a Nobles private quarters as I was going for an audience.
THACKERY
JACK STICH - THE TOY STALKER ©opyright Karl the Sensitive Troll
DREAMERS
SIR JOSEPH BAZELGETTE
ALICE
SUZIE LEGGITT
OTHER CASUALTIES OF THE CIVIL WAR
A selection of Changelings were found dead in baths and showers within locked buildings. The Regency oathcircle eventually discovered that this form of assassination was carried out by the Triton's, a subaqua race with the ability to become base water and travel through pipes. Other murders were carried out with Mer arts and are placed at the feet of the Merudach seen in the Thames.
William and Theodore These two Redcap misfits both died at thier squat. Bill spread across the kitchen with the tap still running, and Ted dead in the shower.
Alexander the Satyr found dead in the bath with his girlfriend by Regency Oathcircle.
Manwir Ap baldur The Troll Harbour master.
Tony 'trafalgar' Timms A Pigeon Pooka and Scout.
Govannon. A Nocker associated with brewing ale and attached to the new Cross freehold.
Triona A Satyr who overdosed on heroin brought on by the Mer art of Aphrodisia.
Maxamillian ap Parcival Troll master at arms, electrocuted on the roof!
Svetlana Frigga A Troll who Froze to death in the sewers while on guard duty.
Paul Saint and Finbarr Nocker's drown in thier own homes.
Dr Barny Little An Owl pooka, local Teacher, found dead in the bath.
Lady Lianna Fionna found dead by the Regency by Oath Circle
Bronwyn went missing on the way back from a life class at the local university. Nothing is known about her fate but consultation with Lady Clotho points to her being held prisoner somewhere. The Regency oathcircle believed they spied her in a cell when they broke into the Goldhawk freehold to rescue Princess Eloise.
