Kyiv (WOD)

Kyiv (also Kiev), is the capital and largest city of Ukraine.

History

Medieval

Kyiv has stood on the wooded west bank of the Dneiper since the late fifth century, well before there was anything resembling a Russian state. Positioned perfectly as a trading center, the city has prospered throughout its recorded history - until now. The city itself, behind its battered walls and shattered golden gate, is subdivided into three districts. Formerly the richest part of the city, Upper Town has grown sullied and decrepit during these long years of hardship. Few of its ornate structures remain, and what was once the home of the city's clergy and nobility is now a warren of poverty and crime. The only bit of Upper Town's faded past that remains is Saint Sophia Cathedral, an old church bedecked with silver and gold and exquisite mosaics. The cathedral managed to escape looting during the raids on Kyiv only through the efforts of the pagan Tzimisce Darvag Grozny, who has sworn to tear down the church himself and is not about to let some pitiful band of kine beat him to it. Grozny is the closest thing Kyiv has to a Cainite Prince, though he has no interest in such titles.

Kyiv's Lower Town, or Podil, is traditionally the home of Kyiv's artisans and crafstmen, and it still boasts a number of the city's remaining merchants. It is also, however, the lair of enough thieves, bandits, pirates, cutthroats, slavers and whores to make even Upper Town's criminal element look sedate. Citizens in Lower Town lock their doors and windows at night, and not out of any fear of vampires. Rumors among the Cainite population place a small cell of Prometheans here, but Grozny's fanaticism about defending his city from other Cainites makes this an unlikely proposition.

The third district, Pechersk, is Kyiv's religious center, and it is occupied almost entirely by a series of churches and monasteries. One, the Monastery of the Caves carved into the earth, has remained relatively untouched during Kyiv's various sacks, a fact that has drawn the attention of those who prefer to keep their presence both secret and safe. A small cell of Obertus have set up a library and monastery of their own in the lower levels, protected by several monks who have been inducted into the order. The leader of these Obertus, Mother Miska, is an Obertus revenant. None of the Obertus here are vampires, which may be why Grozny has chosen to leave them alone. This may be because Grozny remains ignorant of their presence as he spends little time in this district.

Wraith: the Oblivion

Near, but separate from, the Kyiv Necropolis lies the Babi Yar ravine. Part of the Dark Kingdom of Wire, cause it's where one of the largest mass murders of World War II happened. As a result a massive Nihil opened up, spewing forth Spectres. Since then a mix of Dybbuks and fallen Red Army soldiers have been guarding the Haunt.

Residents

• Darvag Grozny (Tzimisce Prince)

References

• VTDA: Transylvania by Night, p. 120
• DAV: Dark Ages: Europe
• DAV: Spoils of War

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