Meredith James

Meredith James: Current Keeper of Elysium to Prince Conall MacArran, Former Primogen to Isabella Munroe and Charles Madison, Member of Security under Damian McNaughton.

"As far as I can see, unless I rid my heart of the hatred and contempt I feel...I will only have two options...Either become what I hate or what I fight."
-June 27, 1997

Meredith's list of accomplishments is as long as her list of mistakes. She could have easily be the most controversial Toreador (possibly the most controversial Kindred) in Toronto, once. No longer.

Anyone part of the art scene in London, England at the end of the ninteenth century knew of Meredith James. She had started acting when she was barely sixteen, and never looked back. By the time she was eighteen, she was working almost constantly, and was one of the few actresses to gain billing with their leading men. She was embraced shortly before the turn of the century. She spent her early years in London, with her sire, Eugenie LaFontaine, and remained there for many years after Eugenie left. At first, Meredith continued much as she had in her mortal life, continuing to act despite her great sadness at her sire's departure. Within ten years, she realized that she could not remain in the public eye, and went into hiding for years on end, barely able to leave the house for parties, let alone for politics. She was deeply depressed, her slight inclination towards sadness having grown into a full-blown illness with her embrace. The Toreador roused her from it eventually, and she began work form behind the scenes, encouraging mortal talent, and raising money for the arts. She did perform, though only for kindred audiences. Performing in London was too great a risk...no matter how many years it had been.

She received letters every once in awhile from Eugenie, who had settled in Toronto. In mid-1996, she noticed the letters had stopped. She mailed and called Eugenie several times, but no word came back to her. She decided to travel to Canada, fearing the worst. Her fears were confirmed the moment she arrived. Eugenie had been killed over a year ago.

Meredith concentrated on recovering and did so quickly, though it was obvious she blamed someone for her sire's death. She became involved in clan matters, so much so that Isabella Munroe named her primogen when it became apparent that Damian could not longer perform his duties. She became involved with Dylan, then the Gangrel primogen, now the Sheriff, around the same time. She was involved in the raid to bring down the mysterious "box" surrounding the downtown core, and would have died, were it not for the efforts of Isabella and Dylan. She and Isabella were mutually bound after that. However, that ended when Isabella chose to fight Kamen, the man who had killed her love and former Prince, Robert the Kent. It is believed that she became bound to Shamus Kleo shortly after that, possibly against her will.

Then came the auction of the Crown of Caine, and the infamous "incident" with Sagat Rook. Meredith had been speaking with Peter Dallworth, Sagat's grandchilde, at length. When the Bishop Rook arrived, Meredith stated that she would be responsible for his protection withing Elysium. The night finished with an altercation between Mr. King of Montreal and Bishop Rook. The Toreador of Toronto attempted to avoid this in a rather unorthodox way; in fact, it may have looked like they were standing with the Sabbat. The possible duel was averted, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Until next Elysium. Meredith, then the entire clan, were stripped of their prestige. During the same night, she exposed Damian McNaughton as Sabbat.
Meredith left her primogen seat, acceding to the Toreador's wishes. Arkady took the seat, and their small feud escalated somewhat for awhile.
Shamus killed Sagat Rook only a little while after that.

Oddly enough, Meredith didn't seem all that upset. She went on as usual, beginning preparations for her upcoming performance of the Misanthrope, and still handling some clan matters. Even her somewhat rocky relationship with Dylan seemed to be going well. Until Shamus announced his allegiance to the Sabbat. Until Karil announced that he was becoming Camarilla, and he was exiling the Sabbat from Toronto. Until the night Shamus killed himself. After that, eveything began to fall to pieces.

Dylan was, and probably still is, angry with her. Then the Interdiction and the charges....
But somehow, even with the evidence against her, she managed to be found not guilty.

Meredith has since been a model of propriety. The rumours of several affairs with kindred high in the Camarilla do not seem to bother her.
She was recently appointed Keeper of Elysium after losing Primogen once again. She has been heard to say that she feels even more strongly than the Prince does about Elysium's rules being followed. But Meredith has never been the violent sort...