Curwen Stahl, Ex Unaligned Prince (NPC)

The Prince of the City since 1970, Curwen Stahl entered into the political scene of the Kindred with the disappearance of Sigi Gislenus. A relatively unknown individual prior to that point, few can actually pin down -when- he came to New Oskana, or whether he had dealings with the prior Invictus regime whatsoever, as it certainly doesn't seem to be on the books. As a result, rumors of Curwen murdering Sigi Gislensus, either alone or as part of a conspiracy frequently make the rounds.

Curwen himself is a "man of peculiar tastes" as he says. Apparently relatively affluent and with an easy time speaking and persuading others of his point of view, some equate him to one part cult leader, one part politician, and one part used car salesman. While certainly not as much the tyrant as Sigi, he goes from charming to cold-mindedly vicious with almost no forewarning when the wrong issue is pushed, something that was evident with his public destruction of Edmund Hale. Half the assembled Kindred expected him to still be all smiles and disarming airs as he killed the Carthian, he's noted to be a creepy individual even as he wins you over. Vain, though not obnoxiously so (to most), confident, and assumed to be over a century old at least, he refuses to throw his personal support in with any particular Covenant. Even his Clan is relatively suspect; Daeva and Nosferatu are both the leading candidates to those familiar with him, but he's quick to dismiss direct questions in regards to heritage in casual conversation. To the majority that don't have consistent dealings with Curwen, he's an enigma, all smiles and fangs, with way with words even as he gives off an eerie vibe of wrongness, taking something of a distant approach to leading the city's Kindred.

Ruling the city, of course, does create a fair number of rumors in his regard, above and beyond the means he came into power. It's said that he's created a wide reaching blood cult among the rich and affluent of the city, feeding their vices even as he feeds upon them. It's said that his vanity borders on narcissism, creating expensive statues and portraits of himself to place in various city offices and galleries around the city even as he sponsors them. Others state that his blood is potent enough that he's become reliant on Kindred vitae, enough so that he and the assumed elder, Kawacatoose trade childer and citizens to feed their hungers. There's even a rumor that the previous prince, Sigi, wasn't destroyed at all, and is still secretly pulling the strings, using Curwen as a front. He did outright kill a vocal member of the Carthian's afterall. For his part, Curwen seems to either be oblivious, or more likely, dismissive of such rumors, neither confirming or denying them.

Or had been. More recent events has seen the fall of Stahl from rulership of the city. A stark change in policies regarding territories eventually culminated in members of the city's Kindred seeking to oust him. For months since he's not been seen directly, his claim to city taken in turn by Kasano, and then soon after Lord Oskana. While the Brass City Towers are still in place, a project supposedly headed by Stahl, what he is currently up to is something of an unknown. The talk of his ties to the late Sigi Gislenus have become more entrenched; talk of Diablerie and stranger, his stark personality shift, not to mention rumored ties to Belial's Brood have all come to light. As is, one this is for certain; he's not left the city entirely, and given his more recently observed tendencies is unlikely to without fighting tooth and nail to retain what he considers his.