Aurora used to be the sort of place that a Kindred would stop off for a snack on their way into (or out of) Chicago, but for the last 30 years or so, something strange had been going on without anyone from Chicago noticing.

Dominic Kovacs, an Unaligned Ventrue had installed himself as the Prince of Aurora. Actually, Prince may not be the correct term as Kovacs ruled the city entirely independently of the accepted Prince/Prisci/Covenant system common throughout the world, although Kovacs was certainly aware of Kindred and their habits.

Instead, Kovacs forced the Blood Oath on his subjects and recruited them to prowl the streets, searching for others who were passing through. These Kindred were likewise forced into the Oath and searched for others to bring into the fold. Kindred who went missing were either unnoticed in their home cities or written off as victims of the lupines roaming the suburbs.

Exact numbers of Kovac's brood are unclear, although estimates from the newly freed suggest that at the height, there were at least 30, a phenomenal number given the city's population, but perhaps not so surprising given their coordination.

Late 2005 saw a group of Carthians from Milwaukee stop in Aurora to gather themselves before presenting themselves in Chicago. Kovac's men found and murdered two of the travelers. Their experience gave them ammunition to challenge the failure of the Great Experiment in the city and illuminated just how insular the city had become.

Not long after, a multi-Covenant "strike force" attacked, destroying Kovacs (and some other Kindred by way of "collateral damage"). The aftermath saw one of Kovac's former followers, Britt Samson take control of the city.

Kindred who escaped Kovac's regnancy were given the chioce of relocating to Chicago, returning to their former homes or staying in Aurora. A surprising number chose to stay in Aurora, perhaps feeling that this was the perfect place to test their freedom and build a new future - something Britt intends to do on her own, free of the influence of Chicago.

That is, until the Carthians declared Aurora a Frontier town and essentially annexed it via monomacy. Britt Samson was rendered to torpor and eventually carried off for protection by the Carthians of Champaign. Dante Minelli has assumed the role of Prince of Aurora.

As with any experiment, the results are yet to be seen, but this time, the Kindred of Chicago are keeping a close watch as it unfolds.