Julia Sowinski

“	Maybe a world that wants to destroy me deserves to be destroyed.	”
	— Julia, just before her Embrace

Julia Sowinski is a Lasombra neonate and the young Primogen of New York City.

She is the protagonist of Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York.

Biography[]

Originally from Poland, Julia and her family emigrated to the United States. Before her Embrace in June 2019, she was an investigative journalist at the New York Lodestar. This came to an abrupt end when her sire Caren, who had designs to sire a childe as a political offering to the city on behalf of Clan Lasombra, began destroying her career and social life as part of the Clan's customary practice of ritually hazing prospective Embraces. As per the conditions of the Chicago agreement, Caren took the life of Hester Reed as a sacrifice.

“	In TV shows where an investigative journalist gets too close to the heart of a politically incendiary case, it rarely goes well.	”
	— Julia

In the months following her Embrace and orientation into Kindred society, Julia was made the Lasombra's clan representative in New York City, a position easily mistakable for but nowhere remotely comparable in privilege or status to a Primogen. In practice, she was actually tasked with a number of odd duties, including as a Kindred "immigration officer", handling the traffic of vampires who come through New York, under the supervision of Sheriff Qadir al-Asmai. Besides her touchstone Dakota, and the Sheriff, Julia commands the respect of few, besides perhaps Katherine Wiese, as well as the Banu Haqim Primogen, Samira.

“	Airs and graces, everywhere you look. An adorned hamster cage where everyone is trying either to suck up to their betters or get their asses kissed by overeager underlings. The fact I find this so pathetic is probably part of the reason why I never amounted to anything. C'est la vie.	”
	— Julia

In March of 2020, Julia was tapped to lead the Camarilla's investigation into the mysterious death of Baron Douglas Callihan. Her future in New York and in the sect hinges critically on the outcome of her work, and the reception of her final report.

Julia successfully rises to become Primogen of the Lasombra in the city despite being only a year old as well as having a real office and a haven. She also wins the respect of the Camarilla court who recognize a player when they see one. It requires her to have sacrificed her ex-girlfriend Dakota and given up much of her morality, though. She must murder a Carter Vanderweyden and frame him for Callihan's murder while helping the court get away with their crime. It's implied that the ghosts of those she's destroyed start haunting her too.

2024[]

Having recently taken her place on the Council, sacrificing her lover and a good part of her humanity in the process, she is still regarded as somewhat of an outsider. Her relationship with her former mentor, Qadir al-Asmai, has grown decidedly chilly. Armed with cigarettes and a dark sense of humor, Julia fights hard to stay ahead in the eternal power struggle of the Ivory Tower. But nobody knows what the upcoming nights will bring for the young, fatalistic Lasombra.

Under Qadir's orders, she investigates the recent murders of fledglings and Thin-blooded, leading her to the hunter org Hunter Offensive. She assists a young Ravnos Kali to escape the Court's execution and is later wounded by the Offensive hunters in their attack on the Elysium.

Description[]

A veritable Kindred powder keg, Julia combines the wits of a former journalist with the ruthlessness of a fully realized Lasombra. Her domain is in Queens and she has a cigarette habit as a form of ritual.

Trivia[]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York has two possible endings. The Good Ending is the canonical one, as confirmed in the sequel game. The Bad Ending has Julia become a tool in the coverup of the murder and then flee the city to not be killed by Kaiser or the other parties she's angered on the way. She's failed as a representative of the Lasombra and with COVID on the rise, it's uncertain whether she'll survive the trip to the West Coast. But she has retained her humanity and her relationship with Dakota is not destroyed beyond repair.
Julia's mortal career as a journalist is reminiscent of Andrew Emory.
Julia's swift ascension was presumed to be orchestrated by the someone who framed Carter Vanderweyden