The Blackwells, Bernys, and Kings are the only old families mentioned in the story, but Sitciny was supposed to have 9 old families. The Corens, Driscolls, Hillwoods, Kennitons, Lennox, and Roths. The quintessence of old money elitism, class, and power. However, it all came at a price: Fear. Of being forgotten, of being destroyed, or the worst of it all, the fear of losing.

The 9 old families are called so because they were the first ones to inhabit Sitciny and lay foundation of what it developed to be.  The exemplary and the deplorable. They are what can be called the Founding families of Sitciny, dating back generations. Before their arrival, Sitciny had been a manufacturing hub, with no residential areas. At least not with enough people to call it a settlement.

The few that lived on the very outskirts were the poorest who couldn’t afford to travel back and forth for work. As always is the case, arriving first to an uninhabited location, came with unprecedented struggles but also unrivalled affluence. Since most of the area was up for grabs, the 9 old families built their estates to be on par with one another’s. However, not all could compete with each other.

The Kings were the most affluent family and arguably the proudest too. Their wealth and pride only rivalled by the Blackwells. But the Kings had a strategic advantage. A city in its developmental stage, where wealthy people were fighting for riches and others for sustainability, needed one thing the most: Finances. And the Kings could provide just that as a Financial Company. They worked as a bank in all but name for the people of Sitciny after figuring out the loopholes to get there. The definition of “Turning everything they touched to Gold”, the Kings’ word alone was worth more than all riches combined. But they also were virtually the gold mine of Sitciny for generations. As the only gold mine, they flourished.

For the Kings, pride was equivalent to someone’s last name. Being born in the right family their greatest accomplishment. And they had inarguably triumphed on that front. Though, standing on the top, they also stood alone. It was hard enough to survive in Sitciny when the loss of one was a gain of another, the Kings’ pride earned them no friends. Considering themselves superior, and for good reasons, the Kings saw no need for making alliances. For they were the strongest allies for themselves. Nothing was ever beyond their reach, after all, the Kings were never declined what they set their eyes on.

When Wayne Hayes turned to take over the right side of the city, the Kings became his most formidable enemies. To take on them, he needed to act fast. And taking them off the map worked impeccably for Wayne in two ways: first, he gave the Kings no time to prepare, let alone retaliate. And it showed the other 7 families, they were not matchless anymore.

For the Bernys loyalty was as grand a duty to family as it was to allies. Although they never topped the list as the richest or most powerful family, the Bernys’ strength was in their numbers. The Berny family commanded the most manpower in legal and illegal businesses. Standing apart from the rest as the only ones who considered Sitciny for what it was. A home. And when they embraced Sitciny as their home, the city embraced them back. As a large-scale company involved in heavy machinery industry, the Bernys’ were well-respected for being authentic and highly skilled in their work. When Ace Berny entered a formal business alliance with, his childhood friend, Fletcher Blackwell’s EDGE Group, the Bernys offered their manpower in return for the Blackwell influence. And together, they took over the entire economy of Sitciny. Save for the Kings, no one could even come close to what they achieved, the way they reigned. The Bernys and Blackwells were inseparable. Their generations old alliance, unbreakable than ever. All in the name of friendship.

The Bernys were the embodiment of loyalty, elegance, and leadership. For family and for their alliances, they were the pack leaders. Ready to stand back when needed and take the reins when required. Their strength was in their numbers. Alone, a Berny might crumble, as a family, they could survive the darkest night. From a young age, the Bernys trained their family members in the matters of business–the legal and the illegal. They understood what was expected out of them as a Berny before they understood what the world expected of them. Unlike the Blackwells, where every once in a while, power was challenged among family members, or the Kings, where individual victories meant nothing if it contributed nothing to the family name, the Bernys understood their individuality and their roles in the family well. 

However, little did Ace Berny know, the only dagger to be stabbed in his back would come from his strongest ally. No matter how many attempts Maise Blackwell-Hayes made to protect the Bernys, Wayne Hayes only ever saw them as a competition. When cutting off the investment and by extension the Blackwells’ loyalty seemed like the end of the world to the Bernys, it was Maise’s damage control to get them out of Wayne’s sight without them ending up like the Kings. However, Wayne Hayes had other plans. Reducing their legal business to a shadow of what it used to be, Wayne Hayes chopped of the Berny family’s wings and severed their long-standing alliance with the Blackwells. In the end, the Bernys had to retreat to protect themselves. Broken but not bent.

From the beginning, until the end, the only family that enjoyed power was the Blackwells. As the most powerful families in terms of influence, the Blackwells learnt the art of diplomacy as quickly as learning to embrace change. Unlike the Kings, their power didn’t lie in something tangible like money. Instead, the seat of their power was knowledge. Not just on how to hold influence over other old families and people of Sitciny to further their business, but for the manufacturing of non-metallic mineral products as their business front, and how to maximize its use to gain power over people. The Blackwells personified resilience. The diplomacy they learnt helped them survive in the long run. 

Each Blackwell could stand alone to survive, for they were each gifted with wits and charm. And each of them were keenly aware of their gifts, each had the confidence and the pride to use it. The Blackwell pride also came from not only being the most powerful family in Sitciny, but the second wealthiest. Though they preferred alliances over conflicts, the Blackwells never bowed in the name of friendship. “Words first, weapons later” was the philosophy the Blackwells lived by. If they could solve something by the shrewd use of their intellect, they didn’t see the need to involve weaponry. Because after aiming a weapon at someone, diplomacy was out of the window. The only good time to pick a weapon for the Blackwells was to put a permanent end to a situation. However, influence earned by fear could only get someone so much. Instead, they believed in commanding respect, until it was impossible not to deploy dread in people.

While the rest of the old families were busy hustling their businesses, the Blackwells also moved in to gain control over the government agencies of Sitciny, most prominently the law enforcement. Since the Blackwells understood the art of politics better than most, they understood how the game worked. Regardless who they played it with. A favour in return for a favour. The more personal, the better. And a daunting weakness to hold the alliance together. Not wanting to rule from the forefront, the Blackwells were the rulers without a crown.

When Wayne Hayes unleashed the chaos on the rest of the old families, the Blackwells still managed to survive. Their alliance with the Hayes family played a huge part, but as did their perseverance, resilience, and wisdom.

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