Kerr exhaled an appreciative breath when told Ben liked history. He supposed there was that impersonal label to be found here, though his focus was the 'my' part of things; this wasn't 'history' when it was his past they were reliving. Ben's perspective was one he needed to embrace, to compartmentalise himself away from the negativity. That said, he really liked the fact that his love found him interesting. It would keep him delving into the twisted places in his soul until that interest was gone. The things you did for love.
"Oh, man," he said when asked about an Irish Oligarchy. He'd contemplated introducing Ben to the world over here but the fact that he'd asked first still made Kerr feel a little panicky. It felt too soon. Ben was still vulnerable and he felt far too inadequate to the task. He had allies that were too few in number to make this task less daunting but... he was curious, too. He'd been gone twenty or so years but he'd been busy in that time and he highly doubted his run as Luminary had gone unnoticed, even this far away. Maybe he'd helped redeem himself, even if only marginally?
"The setup in Europe is pretty... er, bohemian I guess you'd say. It's the wild fucking west over here. There are pockets of power all over the place, it's not democratic like it is in the States. They're in the major cities, yes, but pretty much in every major city. There've been movements to create a single ruling council but none of them have succeeded, as far as I know. Most councils include representatives for whatever species is in the area but they're often ad hoc and if it's an itinerant species, the representatives fade in and out. Only the oldest councils remain set in stone, otherwise it's very messy. It's nothing for there to be multiple opposing councils vying for control of the one city, controlling all of Europe is a pipe dream. It would be a very powerful, extremely well-resourced and heavily-populated council that could take over."
Kerr laughed bitterly at his final statement, realising he'd gone off on a bit of a tangent and not properly answered Ben but it was the mindset he'd held when last he'd lived in Europe. All the convoluted power structures had just meant more headaches for him than he'd known what to do with, because every night Sawyl seemed to piss off a new bunch with new rules he'd have to make amends for. Sawyl had not been interested in mea culpa contrition, either.
"Halen could've done it. Maybe. Probably. I'd like to think so, anyway. A dragon would certainly have had more sway than the rest. Maybe that's what he was doing in America - firming up his seat of power before conquering the European radicals and pulling them into line. Fucking Lazarus," Kerr spat the ancient's name then sighed his way out of that train of thought. What could've been would never be now, there was no point lamenting.
"There are Irish councils, yes. I try to steer clear of all of them because they were the first ones Sawyl pissed off and they have very long memories. He was nothing if not thorough. Wherever we went, he and the twins broke someone's rules. We had to keep travelling because of it. A friend on an English council advised me to take him to the U.S. when the same patterns began repeating in England. The councils there were even less forgiving and they had a reputation to uphold. They were gunning for his death. Ironic, really." Kerr shook his head and smiled, able to be amused by Sawyl's insane antics now that he was finally dead and Kerr was no longer being tarred by his brush. His sire was born too late, really; he'd have done so much better in the really early days where the term 'civilisation' was as loose as his morals were.
