Scion Citadel of London

Scion Citadel of London
Type	Capital Citadel of Scion
Location	South East, Scion England
Inhabitants	Amaurotics Clairvoyants Rephaim

The Scion Citadel of London, also known as Scion-London and SciLo, is the capital of Scion.

Description

SciLo was established by First Inquistor James Ramsay MacDonald in 1929. The administration of Scion-London in 2059 has made it unlawful for anyone to practice clairvoyance. Their official reason is that clairvoyants are scammers and frauds. But they are deceiving the public because their real reason is that they fear that the powerful clairvoyants could take back the government for the people. Their law is unfair because the voyants have gifts that can help people. Due to their lies and deceit, an entire underworld of clairvoyants, known as the syndicate, has sprung up and represents a constant threat to the government. The amaurotics of London “have spent their lives under a thin carapace of superficial freedom, with no idea that any protect, violent or otherwise, could be viewed as treason by the soldiers” of ScionIDE.

Paige Mahoney describes London as "beautiful and immortal. London has never been a 'city' in the simplest sense of the word. It was, and is, a living, breathing thing, a stone leviathan that harbors secrets underneath its scales. It guards them covetously, hiding them deep within its body; only the mad or the worthy can find time." London has so much death in its history it is hard to find a spot without spirits. Scion citadels tend to use the fashion and slang of the decade they were established. Thus, everyone in SciLo wears neutral colored clothing in a Victorian style.

Before Scion, the high lords of Westminster had planned to eradicate the disease-ridden rookeries of London and replace them with modern, sanitary dwellings. However, urban renewal, like most other problems, got put on the back-burner when unnaturalness arrived. Some attempts at clearance were made after the Ripper killings, particularly in Whitechapel. There are still four slums in the citadel, mostly populated by buskers and beggars. A world of sewers and passages are beneath the streets of London. They were built during the monarch days and are mostly forgotten about now. Much of the places of art, such as theaters and music halls, have been destroyed thanks to Grand Inquisitor Abel Mayfield. He had often proclaimed that all art propagated dissent. Only the stupid had dared make fun of Mad Mayfield, Conqueror of Ireland, amaurotic or voyant.

London is divided into sections, called cohorts. There are six cohorts, each ruled by a mime-lord or mime-queen. All syndies however are subject to the Underlord or Underqueen. Each cohort is divided into six sections. There are a total of thirty-six sections. If a person wants to leave their section, especially at night, they need a travel permit and good luck. Throughout the citadel are large transmission screens, which play emergency broadcasts as well as weekly pubic hangings on Sunday evenings. Most districts have a handful of "neutral" buildings to members of the syndicate, where turf disputes and grudges are ignored.

I Cohort

I Cohort Section 1, better known as I-1 or the Devil's Acre, is the center of the citadel, and thus is also the center-most section. The mime-lord of I-1 is also the Underlord, Haymarket Hector. Clairvoyants avoid this area at all costs because it is the location of the Westminster Archon, or Archon for short. The Westminster Archon is the seat of power in the Republic of Scion. It's the workplace of most of Scion's key officials, including the Grand Inquisitor, and sometimes houses members of the Sargas family and their allies. Close by the Archon is a vast, decaying abbey where the kings and queens of old had been crowned, locals call it the Thorney. Lychgate Hill is the district where Old Paul's is located and is where the gallows are for public hangings. It's a great stone arch. Old Paul's is the highest building in SciLo and the seat of the Inquisitorial Courts. Voyants are occasionally given televised sham trials there before they are sentenced to death. They are traditionally executed in the inner courtyard of Old Paul's. About a five-minute walk from the Devil's Acre is Birdcage Park is one of the few remaining green spaces in SciLo, it is fifty-seven acres of grass, trees, and winding flower beds. It's close to Grand Inquisitor Frank Weaver's estate in Victoria. Hungerford Bridge is near the floating restaurants, also called pleasure barges. The Tower of London is the prison complex. It is located miles from the Archon. White Tower is the keep and heart of it. It's run by an elite security force called the Guard Extraordinary. The syndies call them Ravens because they're cruel, black-clad Vigiles with a limitless number of torture methods. The entrance to the secret underground station is right behind Traitor's Gate. Traitor's Gate is built under a sweeping stone archway. It's a solemn black construction with a latticed lunette that was used as an entrance during the monarch days. Voyants are kept in the Bloody Tower until they are sent to Sheol I.

I Chort Section 2, better known as I-2, is controlled by the mime-queen known as the Abbess, and her mollisher is the Monk. I-2 is home to the largest night parlor in London. It also is the location of St. Dunstan-in-the-East, where all syndicate leaders are interred. it's overgrown, beautiful, and has a canopy of leaves. The Abbess's gang is called the Nightingales. They wear rich dark velvet and satin clothes, embellished with lace sleeves and delicate silver jewelry. They are always playing friendly games with other sections at the Minister’s Cat, except for the Wicked Lady’s people who they have a long rivalry with.

I Cohort Section 4, better known as I-4 or Seven Dials, is the territory of the Seven Seals. The mime-lord of I-4 is Jaxon Hall. In this section is a monument called Nelson's Column. It is a monument to the people who have facilitated the establishment and the continuation of Scion, the Grand Inquisitor. There is a plinth for Palmerston, Salisbury, Asquith, MacDonald, Zettler, Mayfield, and the current Grand Inquisitor, Frank Weaver. The seventh plinth always bears the likeness of the ruling Inquisitor, along with his or her motto. I-4 includes Holborn station. Stukeley Street contains the concrete playground where Nick Nygård trained Paige to fight and climb. Piccadilly Circus is where the enormous I-4 transmission screen is located. Soho is the part of the district that is mostly amaurotic. The people come for the casinos, underground theaters, and the 3i's Coffee Bar, The Minister's Cat is a gambling-house and the only place in I-4 where members of other gangs are allowed to linger without express permission. The lattice of backstreets forms the underbelly of I-4. It's where the poorest of Jaxon's people eke out a living or die trying.

I Cohort Section 5, better known as I-5 or Cheapside, is the financial center of Scion. The mime-queen of I-5 is Ognena Maria. The Bank of Scion England is on Threadneedle Street, the heart and soul of the financial district. A vast hologram of the anchor rotates above it. Scion monitors all the accounts for voyant activity. The Barbican Estate is home to Colin Mahoney, and is where the white-collar Scion workers live. Colin's apartment complex is The Golden Crescent. Paige lived here with Colin from the age of eight, until she left home at sixteen. At the top of the Lauderdale Tower is the I-5 transmission screen. I-5 is also home to Grub Street. Saffron Street marks the intersection between I-5 and I-4. Didion Waite's auction house, the Juditheon, named for his late wife, is located in Bow Bells. The auctions are held in the underground crypt. Old Spitalfields market has voyant parts and amaurotic parts. Turnmill Street has a teahouse with an owner who ensures no Vigiles bother voyants. It's close to Farringdon tube station. Nearby is Faulkners Alley, Cowcross Street, and Passing Alley. One of the gangs in I-5 is the Threadbare Company. They are from the district where Tyburn once stood, possibly on Threadneedle Street.

The Grand Museum is in I Cohort, as is Trafalgar Square and the Strand. Stretching between I-4 and II-4 is Primrose Hill. It's a rolling green space on a shallow incline. Scion has planted a vast number of oak trees and thousands of primroses in memory of Inquisitor Mayfield. There's a hidden cold spot near the bottom of the hill. I Cohort is full of skyscrapers.

II Cohort

II Cohort Section 1, or II-1, is Vauxhall. It contains the dockworker's slum. It is run by Jimmy O'Goblin. II Cohort Section 3, or II-3, is White City. It has a mammoth shopping complex. The mime-lord of II-3 is Ark Ruffian. II-6, short for II Cohort Section 6, is where the morgue and the East End are located. II-6 is also known as Whitechapel, or the Chapel for short. There are lots of jerryshops, essentially places that loan money in exchange for pawned items, in II-6. The mime-queen of II-6 is the Wicked Lady, and her mollisher is the Highwayman. II-6 also includes Jacob's Island, the Old Nichol, and the docklands. The Unnatural Assembly meets at a derelict public bathhouse in Hackney. It's been boarded up for well over a century. The Ranthen have a safe house close to the Old Nichol, they have another one in the East End.

III Cohort

III Cohort is nicknamed the ring. The mime-lord of III-1 is the Bully-Rook, who is as much of a brute as his name suggests. Paige's school, called the School for Girls of Quality, is in III-5. The mime-lord of III-5 is Tom the Rhymer.

IV Cohort

IV Cohort Section 6, or IV-6 or Morden, is the smallest section. Its mime-lord is the Heathen Philosopher.

Notable Locations

• The Devil's Acre: I-1 Cohort
  • Birdcage Park
  • Hungerford Bridge
  • Westminster Bridge
  • Caxton Street
  • The Thorney
  • Old Pye Street
  • Lychgate Hill
    • Old Paul's
  • The Westminster Archon
    • Prison Cells and Torture Rooms
    • Inquisitor Tower
    • Victoria Tower
    • Ministers' Offices
    • S-Whitehall Underground Station
    • Octagon Hall
  • The Tower of London
    • The White Tower
    • Traitors' Gate
    • The Bloody Tower
• I-2 Cohort
  • St. Dunstan-in-the-East
• Seven Dials: I-4 Cohort
  • The White Binder's Den
  • Piccadilly Circus
  • Covent Garden
    • The Garden Black Market
  • Nelson's Column
  • Book Mews
  • Holborn Station
  • Stukeley Street
  • Neal's Yard
    • Chateline's
  • Soho
    • The Minister's Cat
• Cheapside: I-5 Cohort
  • St. Mary-le-Bow/Bow Bells/Juditheon
  • Old Spitalfields Market
  • Postman's Park
  • Bank of Scion England
  • Islington
  • Bobbin's Coffee
  • Wood Street Watch Tower
  • Farringdon
  • Charterhouse Street
  • Commercial Street
  • Passing Alley
  • The Lauderdale Tower
  • The Barbican Estate
    • The Golden Crescent
  • Goodwin's Court
    • Wax and Candle
  • Grub Street
    • Spiritus Club
    • Bell Inn

• Vauxhall: II-1 Cohort
  • Dockworker's Slums
• White City: II-3 Cohort
  • Shopping Complex
• Camden: II-4 Cohort
  • Agatha's Boutique
  • Dead Dog Hole
  • The Stables Market
  • Camden Lock
  • Camden Interchange
  • Camden Catacombs
  • Camden Hippodrome
  • The Fleapit
  • The Interchange
• Whitechapel: II-6 Cohort
  • Bermondsey
    • Jacob's Island
  • The Old Nichol
  • Morgue
  • The East End
  • The Docklands
  • Hackney
• Morden: IV-6

Trivia

• London remains the Rephaim's primary source of clairvoyants.
• Brekkabox is the citadel's favorite fast-food place.
• Most of the columns in the citadel turn red or green depending on the security situation.
• The Pentad Line is the name of the line of the five secret stations under SciLo. The stations were built during the construction of the Metropolitan Railway, the old name for the London Underground.

Gallery

I Cohort Section 4

II Cohort Section 4

I Cohort Section 5