Macon:The Invictus

The Invictus have held power over the City of Macon since the area's only sign of civilization was Fort Benjamin Hawkins in the early 1800s. The first Invictus settled in Macon around 1830, nearly a decade after the city had been founded, and they have remained ever since.

The Invictus of Macon experienced heavy losses during the Civil War due to constant attacks by Union forces. Though Macon itself was only attacked a handful of times, all of which were unsuccessful, the supply roads that connected Macon with the rest of the confederacy were ruitinely destroyed. The Gangrel Invictus Robert Boone, regarded by the Invictus as the founder of the city of Macon, was killed in his haven on Mulberry Street during Stoneman's Raid when Union forces turned confederat guns on the residential parts of the city in an attempt to attack the women and children that did not come out to defend the city.

Over the next century Macon, and her Invictus masters, thrived. From banks and accounitng firms to Wesleyan College and Mercer University to large scale shipping and warehousing to the various manufacturing companies as well as a regional airport that is slated for a massive expansion there is little industry in and around Macon that the Invictus do not have near complete control over. The primary exception to this being the Robins Air Force Base. In fact, it seems that the Invictus are enslaved (in a sense) by the military installation, often going out of their way to make the base as happy and comfotable as possible, even going so far as to delegate a team of Invictus whose sole purpose is to ensure that the base remains in central Georgia.

The History of the Invictus in Macon
The first sign of Invictus influence in the are that would become the City of Macon was the construction of Fort Benjamin Hawkins. Strategically placed along the Ocmulgee River over looking the Lower Creek Pathway, the Fort was the gateway to the west. The fort was funded by Robert Boone, a Gangrel Invictus from North Carolina until the founding of Macon in 1822.

Boone, along with a small handful of kindred supporters (Invictus and Lancea Sanctum) moved to Macon in 1830 to oversee the city's development personally. All to aware of the looming conflict over slavery, the coterie sought to industrialize the city as much as possible. Soon cotton was not the primary crop in Macon as textile mills, paper mills, furniture manufactures as well as a large scale steel mill, ware houses and colliers to support the rail system.

Boone and his coterie cared little for southern culture or the southern economic system. In 1836 Wesleyan College (then called Georgia Female College) was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Boone's coterie's involvement in this process was unclear but it seems unlikely that they were not aware of its incipient formation nor is there any evidence of opposition to it. Today, Wesleyan College is believed to be strongly influenced by the Lancea Sanctum, as it was all but abandoned by the Invictus in favor of Mercer University.

The institution of slavery was a dieing one and Boone was not prepared to defend it. As the Civil War began it became clear that Boone's first and only objective was to increase the prestige of the city of Macon. He was in no way concerned with loyalty to the South. His methods were simmple: he would never have to militarize his city - as long as his city remained invaluable to the South then the South would have no choice but to defend it at any cost. It is then ironic that Boone was killed in Stoneman's Raid, the first real threat to Macon during the Civil War, when a single, arbitrarily placed, cannon ball penetrated the walls of his haven, resulting in his Final Death.

Modern Nights
The Invictus in Macon are as strong as they have ever been. Their recent successes, such as River's Crossing Shopping Center, the development of the Macon bypass (I-316), the Macon/Bibb County Consolidation as well as the two border disputes (Monroe/Bibb County and Houston/Bibb County) have done much to reinforce their position.

The Invictus still seem to have one glaring blind spot in Macon: the people. While technically they are moving their pieces to where they need to be they continue to ignore the pieces that have yet to enter the playing field. The huddled masses of the Pleasant Hill area as well as the Bloomfield neighborhood are still living well below the poverty line and see little chance for employment or relief. The Invictus do not seem to carry any sympathy for either of the populations and have made no attempt to seek their support as long as the Carthians keep them quiet.

What's more is the relationship between Invictus and Lancea Sanctum that founded the city and made it what it is has seemed to dissolve. While there does not seem to be any bad blood between the two it would appear that they are nolonger working in tandem, the strongest evidence of this being the revitalization of The People's Credit Union and the development of the Avondale district in southeast Bibb County.

An Insider's Perspective
Macon's Invictus seem to be a stong, unified, and secretive covenant. The Invictus ensure this cohesion by making participation in the city an 'invitation only' matter for other Invictus. Though guests are treated with the appropriate level of respect and hospitality, it is made very clear early on that there is no room for new comers. Because of this it is difficult to discern whether or not Macon's Invictus are non-aligned or Reformists. Their actions seem to be 'all business' without any strong political or sociological leanings one way or the other. Perhaps the only clue as to their ideology is their passivity to the Carthian Movement's actions.

Reformists
If the Invictus of Macon are Reformists then that would certainly explain their tolerance of the Carthian violence that sporadically erupts during the summer and early fall months. This would also represent the most significant  Invictus Reformists foothold in the world, especially if the Carthians are also Reformists. A centrallized Reformist stronghold such as Macon could be construde as a significant threat to the continued peace between the two Invictus factions world wide.

Traditionalists
Unfortunately, the only thing scarier than the Macon Invictus being Reformists would be if they were Traditionalists. Until recently the Traditionalists have been an unorganized collection doom-sayers railing about the potential schism represented by the Reformists and the Ancient Seneca. Should these Macon Invictus prove to be an organized group of Traditionalists then they represent the first real signs of direct internal conflict among the Invictus and their mere presence acts as a battle standard around which to gather for the impending fight.