Umbra Reges

The Crime Families of Belu are the descendents of the first founding crime gang that heisted from Aku and disappeared into Belu in time past. The gang eventually settled there and each started their own families. The life of crime never quit and each member started to teach their offspring their trade. As time went on, the descendents forgot their founding and started to vie for power. This led to territory wars and loyalties to each family being announced. Eventually the heads of the family agreed to a cease fire and drafted the first Rubrum Scelus. Under this document, each family was recognized and the head of each became the founding Umbra Reges. From there on, there were & are rivalries between all the families but there is investment, respect, and power shared by them in opposition to any official government outside of their grasp.   Only the recognized leader of each family is given membership into the Umbra Reges, or Shadow Kings. Each king is given an insignia passed down from head to future head as the start of their recognition. The new king is then tasked with discovery of the location of the Umbra Reges meeting space to become accepted. They are given four resources, one from each of the other Shadow Kings, to aid in discovery of the Root Archive. Though sounding like a gardening museum; the Root Archive is where records, wealth, tools, and personal effects of the previous Shadow Kings are consolidated to be at the disposal of the Umbra Reges to use jointly for any unified tasks or threats.   Of the Families, each has a specialty that they are the masters of. The Komodos are a family of highly resilient people that endure incredible difficulties in jobs (or a fight) in order to seize a singular, traumatizing strike for the highest yield of outcome expected. Being between them and a meal is a surefire way to have a bad time. The Jackals are a family focused on communication, team tactics, and multitasking to drag down any challenge. In recent times, the Jackals have pushed heavier recruiting in Egrukar. The best way to have an easy day is to have some Jackals split the load. The Leopards rely on opportunities reliant on quick succession of factors to be pulled off. When in a crunch, a Leopard can find the perfect route… just make sure to keep up.The Hawks are wise, keeping their distance and recording every minute detail possible before taking action. The best tactic is a planned tactic. A Hawk will know what you’re going to get for dinner before you do. Finally, the Vipers focus their efforts into infiltration, diplomacy, and cunning. When things go south, a Viper is who you want to parlay your exit.