Clan Lykaion

They thought that his doom was sealed for aye, By no prayers to be diminished: To hunt until the last Judgment Day, Till World and Time were finished.
— Johannes Carsten Hauch

A chilling howl piercing the dead of night, echoing through the wilderness expanse. Silhouettes floating across the firelight, dancing to the haunting song of the dead. These are the invocations of the Wanax, vampires that have prowled into the modern nights in the shapes of hounds and mist. Equal parts savage and refined, the Wanax stalk their prey in the wilds and in the halls of power alike. The Wild Kings revel in their vampiric state, enjoying the power and freedom it affords them. At the same time, the bloodline has traditions and rituals that ground them in the history of their lineage. They are above all else survivors, and they have shown a great propensity for changing with the times while retaining their cultural identity. Their origins can be traced from the Druidic traditions of the Celts, to the Mithraic mysteries of the Roman Empire, to the soothsayers that rode with the Scythian nomads of the Eurasian Steppes. Possibly an offshoot of the Striges, the Wanax clan has nonetheless played a hand in shaping the course of Kindred history. During the Roman Era, the Cainites of the Inconnu feared their roving packs of hell hounds (often led by Wanax in hound form) and the siren song that lured even Elders to their deaths in the Wild Hunt. Over time, as hostilities settled into the uneasy peace of the Long Night, the Wanax found havens in the domains that scattered Europe, where Princes ruled in the ever-deepening shadow of a fallen Empire. Here, as former outsiders, the Herites found an unlikely place in Cainite society as impartial arbiters of disputes. Their long-standing tradition of drawing together warring tribes of mortals ironically suited them well to the games of vampiric politics, and soon the vampires of this bloodline found themselves in a sort of political limbo, sought after as councilors and negotiators but never fully welcomed into the courts of the High Clans. It is perhaps for this reason that many of the Wanax shocked the founding Clans of the Concordate when they fought beside the Striges during the Apostasy, wading through ghoul pawns and ancilla knights with shocking ferocity and wild abandon. It is equally surprising to discover that so many Wanax have fallen in with the Crown in modern nights. During the Concordate the Herites by in large abandoned the Apostasy. The Ashar had shrewdly orchestrated an agreement between the victory-soothed Vulgateur and the (less than enthused) Lucidante to accept the Wanax' surrender, reasoning that the burgeoning sect was better off with the Banshees than without them ("Keep your enemies closer"). With the promise of acceptance into a new society, where all Clans and Bloodlines were held as equals, and facing an uncertain future with the Apostates, many of the Wanax accepted the agreement. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Wanax adapted swiftly to unlife in the Concordate, Though weakened by their losses during the Revolt, the Wrenboys (as they came to be called) were nonetheless able to insinuate themselves into the politically savage society the Kindred had forged. Many in modern nights find places as Seneschals or Keepers of Elysium. Others serve as trusted Primogen or watch the barrens and the edges of the Prince's domain as Scourges, guarding against Lupine incursions and vampire drifters.