<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" width="40px" /> A “clan” is defined as those Virehnai who share a direct blood relationship to one another – a parent, and their progeny, and their progeny’s progeny.
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Clans of the Fourth Virehnai War
Listing of Known Clans/Heads of Clans
Your birth clan is your sire’s clan, and you always belong.
Associative Clans are just that; clans you can join, and associate with - but it is NOT your birth clan. A Virehn may relocate to another city, either permanently or for a time, and it’s recommended that any Virehn away from their birth clan seek a clan. They may provide you with lodging, or aid in a time where you face a sudden difficulty. Many virehn who work and have professions may belong to a professional clan. For instance, many Virehn who work for the legal firm Jacoby, Lightner and VanEtters have an associative membership in Clan Robichaux.
The Vel’sheth - who all come from different clans - have an associative clan of their own, called the Vareth’Kai. Leonid Dmitriev, is the current head of the Vareth’Kai.
Or at Cypress Hill Retirement community, outside of DC in Rockville, MD, there is an associative clan called Clan Cypress Hill that is there not only for all the Virehnai that work there - but also for those sick Virehnai who are staying there until they meet their final end.
There were four main clans operating in the area that would be torn apart by the Fourth Virehnai War. These four clans defined the time of Vlad II Dracul and his son Vlad III Tepes. All played a part in the rise of hostilities. As in any conflict, lack of communication (along with a lack of respect) was key. Vlad III, known to the world today as Vlad Tepes, was the poster boy for the problems that were mounting around these clans, and the politics swirling behind them. Vlad, for all he did - love him or hate him; malign him or lionize him - was blown around his entire life like a leaf in the wind. From his first breath to his last, hard as he tried, Vlad III was a pawn on a chessboard.
When Vlad II’s children, Vlad III and Radu, were held hostage in the court of Murad II, it was Clan Nahrim Zah’tarun that watched over the sons of Vlad Dracul, and kept them as safe as they could. It’s why eventually, Vlad III felt he owed them a blood oath, and debt: they kept him safe, when others either didn’t, or couldn’t. The other Clans were angry with this, particularly Suthren Vahal’dim.
When Vlad II was a hostage himself in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, it was Clan Tharnakh El’Veridun that watched over him**.** Vlad II and Vlad III were both oathsworn to Tharnakh El’Veridun.
Draveth ka’Szunai - House of Basarab: “Heirs of the Red Flame” This Clan was never the largest, and it never would be. It was more a loosely bound family. The head of this house was the blood brother of Michel and Howard, Aleksandr Philippou, known as Sasho. At Vlad III’s Tribunal, Sasho himself was nearly put on trial for creating this clan, along with the House of Basarab, as he helped his old friend Tihomir’s son Basarab I gain the throne initially.
Tharnakh El’Veridun - Holy Roman Empire “Blood of the Iron Crown” This was a very small clan, when compared to clans like Clan Casimir. They had members in cities throughout Europe, as envoys to the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. Vibia Sabina was a member of this associative clan, along with being the head of Clan Sabin, and served as its head. She made alliances with Virehn who stood out to her as particularly useful, and had them placed close to the Church officers and some royal courts as she needed them. Through Tharnakh El’Veridun, she had ties to the Holy Roman Emperor, and even several bishops and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church in Rome.