What has gone before

Book I dealt with the death of the antediluvian progenitor of the Cappadocian clan and the ascendancy of the Giovanni necromancers. Ivan & Vega began as the food, and then the pawns, of the Conspiracy os Isaak, a group of vampires committed to helping the Giovanni attain supremacy in the Cappadocian clan. The characters were created as cannon fodder against the Conspiracy's enemies, the Founders of the Camarilla. The characters came into conflict with both the Founders and their erstwhile masters. In doing so they learned two secrets: the antediluvian Cappadocius sought apotheosis, and Augustus Giovanni sought Cappadocius blood. Ultimetly, Augustus slew Cappadocius and drunk his blood, leading to the demise of the Cappadocian clan and the rise of the Giovanni in its place.

History

Much has changed in Europe since the events of The Last Supper, and the world has become smaller. Copernicus and his spiritual children have literally reinvented the universe; behind Galileo, Brahe, Kepler and countless others, the technocracy has extended a strangle hold on reality. The Age of Reason and the Age of Exploration have erupted hand in hand, and many of the european powers have turned their attention abroad. The Americas, Africa and the Orient have been ruthlessly exploited, with European flags flying on every continent. The English, French and Spanish have carved up North America, while the regions to the south are primirily Spanish. Africa is a patchwork quilt of claims and unexplored territories, and lions roam freely across veldt where the Sahara will one day sprawl. To the east the Dutch have saturated Japan with more guns than all of Europe possesses, and Macao and Hong-Kong are bustling ports for European traders.

At home, two centuries worth military blunderers have stampled across Europe in ever changing alliances. Even as the Founders charged the mansion of Augustus, the English and French staggered through the Hundred Years War; that conflict finally staggered to a close with either side gaining any advantage. Since then the English have allied with the Dutch against the Spanish, then turned on the Dutch over conflicts regarding trade. Industrialization is creeping in as the sceptered isle attempts to shake off Cromwell's heirs.

France, when not battling the English or the Spanish, has spent decades tearing itself apart in religius strife and the Huguenot War. The passions and horrors of the witch burnings are still present, and old women and friendless girls are still being put to the stake.

The German states are still warring amongst themselves and with the rest of the continent. The Low Countries, having only recently shaken off the Spanish yoke, find themselves in trade wars with England.

Spain's star has risen and fallen multiple times. The Moors and Jews have been expeled, but this ethnic cleansing has hardly solved all of Spain's problems. Philip II's spectacular failures in the Netherlands and with the armada essentially wrecked his country for decades, yet the conquistadores have managed to hang on to Italy for over 150 years. The Papal States generally managed to maintain their independence, but most of Italy was a prize to be handed from conqueror to conqueror for as long as they could hold it.

The inquisition's heyday has come and gone, and the transformation into the so-called Society of Leopold is well underway. Still, there are more witch hunters in the world than previously, and even if the faith of the masses has started to dim, that of the fanatics burns even more brightly.

In the world of the Kindred, the Convention of Thorns in 1493 ended the anarch uprising, but gave true birth to the sabbat. Over the past 170 years, the wars of the kindred rage across Europe even as the wars of their mortal pawns did, but it has become clear that the camarilla's numbers and resources have given it the upper hand. Already the exodus to the New World and the long, slow reatret to Scandinavia have begun for the Sabbat. Hardestadt and his fellow Founders have nearly achieved their dream, or so it would seem.

The Eternal City

The Vatican looms higher in this world, with the shadow of St. Peter's creeping across th eriver Tiber come late afternoon. The streets of the jewish quarter form their own little labyrinth, and there are nothces in the swords held by the heroes of Roman statuary.

Rome is laid out around the Seven Hills, whith the river Tiber bisecting the city. The northern part of the city consists of exclusive residential districts, as do the Seven Hills. The heart of central Rome is the piazza Venezia, and from this forum the Corso, Rome's most famous road, runs to the north. It passes through the piazza Colona, which is dominated by a statue of Augustus, and ends at the piazza del Popoli. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo, an obelisk and several fountains are here.

Extending from the south of the Piazza Venezia through the heart of ancient Rome is the Via dei Fori Imperiale. It is along this road that the colosseum rise and the endless series of Roman forums can be found. The Arch of Constantine and the baths of Caracalla are also accessible from the Via dei Fori Imperiale. Many of the pieces of classical statuary here have been literally defaced, if not decapitated; many of the buildings have been mined for stone to raise christian monuments. The rape of antiquity is on full view here.

Also to the south are the Palatine and the Capitoline hills, which afford spectacular views of the ancient city as well as an exclusive site on which the wealthy can dwell. In contrast, to the west of the Capitoline are the narrow streets and crooked houses of the Jewish quarter.

The so-called Field of Mars is a maze of small squares and streets that contains much of the hustle and bustle of Rome in 1666. The piazza Navona (formerly the Diocletian Circus), once flooded for mock naval battles, is a new center of commerse. Also of note is the Roman Pantheon, which has been looted of gold but little else, and which stands south of the riverside tomb of Augustus.

The Trastevere is another Tiberside area of the city, crammed with artisans, tenement-style buildings and small shops.

On the right bank of the Tiber, north of much of classical Rome is the Vatican. The skyline is dominated by St. Peter's Basilica, as well as the innumerable papal palaces. There are many gardens here, perfect places in which to stroll and discuss matters of faith. Also along the river but further north is the Castle San Angelo, a defensive, turreted medieval fortress. Even further north is the Aurelian Wall, which stands between the heart of Rome and the Pincian Hill.

To the east of the Corso are the streets lined with fashionable shops, which are patronized by the wealthy and pretentious. Notable are the Vias Condotti, Borgognona and Frattina, which lead to the Piazza di Spagnia. Another one of the streets running through here is the Via Sistina, while the piazza itself is the center of the potent Spanish presence in Rome.

Scene I

February 13, 1666.