A trust betrayed, a rusty blade

Standin' on the air, I walked the line

Paid my fine, hope I know the land

The actual facts, unnatural acts

Sins that take their toll

The Angel and the ginn and the beast within

They fight to take control

Lord, have mercy on my soul

Have Mercy on my Soul ~ Everlast

I am the soul of the City. When you think me absent, I am there. When you think me distracted, you have my full attention. When you think me destroyed, still I exist.

Those were the first words that Arthur Farragut etched into the Pillar, the words he built his entire Court around. When he had the rest of the laws removed from the Pillar that one remained. Over the years, I watched as so many challenge that notion, some because they lacked faith that the Prince was active in his city, some because they wanted more power for themselves. And, ultimately, they were proved wrong.

Let me ease some of the speculation to say this: I was, indeed, related by Blood to Prince Farragut. Our relationship is, and has always been, a complicated one. For many, many decades I was prepared to simply sit in his shadow, serve those whom I wished to do so. Harrison Whyte, may he rest in peace, was one of them. So to was, on a few occasions, James Milligan. As a Mekhet, I had no desire to be either seen or heard.

It would have stayed that way, perhaps, if Farragut had not reached out to me, had not opened the Pillar and allowed me access to the Court he had closed a decade before. It was a demonstration of what so many refused to believe - when you think me absent, I am there – and it changed everything.

With this, I became Farragut’s Herald. When the Prince himself returned to the city, I became his Reeve. After he ascended, I claimed for the Invictus the Northern Regency with its parks, beaches, and expensive real estate.

Now I claim the Praxis of Chicago.

I have watched others, older, wiser, then myself fade. They say that Stagger Lee has Eclipsed. Eamon Pryce destroyed by a monster of his own creation. Whyte turned insane by the manipulations of the Architects, his ashes scattered to the wind. Anton East, retreating further and further from society as each night passes.

Even Arthur Farragut ascended, just as he said he would. Few people are going to believe this, even those who saw his body begin to dissolve into smoke right before their eyes. I’m not sure I do, entirely. And yet this, this is the one thing in my life I am willing to take on Faith. When you think me destroyed, still I exist.

As so there was nothing easy in fighting James Milligan for the Praxis. It will be lost to history, our previous relationship, as all anyone will remember will be the final fight between us. History will undoubtedly cast this as a great battle between the Carthians and the Invictus, with, for the first time in this cities history, the Invictus winning.

What will be lost is the fact that for years – decades – I had nothing but the greatest respect for James Milligan. The night after I reopened the Pillar, he was the Regent I turned to. When I became Herald, it was by his doing. I supported him when Ursos Arctos tried to usurp his Regency. When others tried to unseat Farragut, Milligan remained loyal.

When Ed Edison became weakened by scandal, Milligan saw his opportunity and took it. I asked him not to do this thing, but he did. When he was willing to sell everything he believed in for my support, I gave it to him. And with the blood still fresh on our contract, he turned around and violated that same Pillar, that same place on Goose Island, that he knew meant so much to me.

I had to fight him then, for the Praxis. Whatever remains of the Milligan who once lead the Carthians in this city will now surely fade, as the others have before him. Once again, between the two of us, the city will change, only this time, it will be upon my ascension to the throne.

I come to this place, then, understanding the importance of history, of legacy, and knowing better then anyone how it shapes what we become. And yet, I can see a change coming, I can feel it on the wind that blows through this city. The Regency will evolve into something different. The Covenants and Clans will be granted their due. New Kindred, younger Kindred, who don’t know the names Whyte, Pryce, and Farragut will assume leadership. This is the city, ever changing, over which I will rule.

I am the soul of the City.