April 20th - Tick Tock

Now...where was I? Jaxon's release, occurred on President's Day, it was a good party, a good coming out. I was proud of him, I really was. He'd come such a long way from that first day I'd met him, angst laden and ready to take on the world. Still ready to take on the world, with better tools and a mind as sharp as they come. It was barely a month later, after he'd established himself as Keeper of Elysium (again), when all good things come to an end. A moment of madness, curiosity, opportunity, all these things, and Jaxon did the unspeakable, amaranth committed on a relatively unknown and universally disliked Gangrel named Casey Blake. Arkady was there, just as culpable, for he'd decided to kill his clanmate, afraid that Casey's daftness would result in a loss of his status, he tossed the sheriff card, took my childe to do away with that particular problem. Somewhere in the mix, Jaxon killed her, took the soul, and was marked forever. It was only a matter of time, before the wolves descended, the vultures circled, and the accusations came in the form of the newly appointed and coming of age Malkavian Primogen, Kroh. Oh, how I wanted to kill him. I probably would have, it he hadn't suddenly developed a sense of something, and took himself away from the city, but the damage had already been done.

Nathan Atkinson, Kroh's backbone as it were, took up the cause also, claiming that he spoke for the now deceased gangrel, accusations based on visions and auras and all things not admissable in the courts of kindred law. He wanted a blood test, I refused. He wanted a trial, I gave him one. Jaxon, charged with the crime of diablerie, would face Trial by Ordeal, as per the old ways. It was somewhat unconventional, threw off the neonate council members who'd barely established themselves, expecting that the matter would be solved with a test tube of jaxon's blood and the tremere tricks, were in for a surprise. The choice of ordeals left for them to decide, falling upon Eva Jentre's list of ordeals used in past conclaves. They trusted her impartiality with regards to the matter, she was no longer a primogen, no longer even a member of the council, ousted by Gregor only a few days prior. The list was presented, Eva graciously slanted the ordeals toward the less hopeless ones, in exchange for the cancellation of a life boon owed by Arkady, there was much legwork on this one. Meanwhile, Ember would for me (and not Jaxon), convince Nathan Atkinson of the folly of his accusations, Nathan backed off, Kroh disappeared of his own accord, and the trial proceeded..trial by fire. Jaxon passed with flying colors, though I'm not so naive to believe that is the end of it. Vultures still circle, just only more distant.

Ember was embraced, making her the third Ventrue childe of mine in the city. The populace now consisted wholly of those of my lineage, though a mass migration would prove that to change over the next few weeks. But the timing was right for many things, and my rule, my law on the matters of state and the matters of clan remained, and still remains unchallenged.