Werewolf Clans

The Wolfhelm Clan have their origins in the Holy Roman Empire. Originally the Wolfhelms were a number of different families with Werewolf ancestry that were scattered across Europe from present day France to Austria, Germany and northern Italy. They were mostly farmers who kept to themselves. They were not Christian and worshipped Leto as their goddess. This caused many across Europe to distrust them, if they even knew Werewolves existed. Many people thought they were just myth. In the year 1163, Emperor Fredrick I executed a campaign to exterminate Werewolves across his empire.

After three families in Nassau were crucified, the other Werewolf families in the region were understandably annoyed. Once news spread far enough, several hundred very angry Werewolves faced down Fredrick's army near the town of Solms. The army was completely ripped apart. Their heads were all loaded into a wagon and sent to the Emperor. Fredrick covered up the incident and pretended his army was never obliterated at the hands of Werewolves. The various surviving Werewolf families got together to elect a leader, picking the Wolfhelms to lead them. They made an agreement with Fredrick I to leave them alone.

Through the centuries the Wolfhelm Clan kept to themselves and rarely involved themselves in human matters. Being left alone to worship their Goddess and live their lives was much more important to them. This changed in 1620 when Wolfhelms across Central Europe were being attacked by other Werewolves. This turned out to be the Lobo Clan from Spain, who had converted to Catholocism centuries ago. This started a rather bloody war that wasn't far removed from the many other Wars of Religion being fought for centuries across Europe.

This war grew out of control with other Werewolf clans joining the war and the damage spilling over outside lands under Werewolf influence. This eventually drew the attention of Vampires and Elves who forced the Werewolves into a peace with each other in the Eclipse Treaty of 1645, which established clear borders where Werewolf Clans had influence and allowed them to practice their religions freely. The two clans still warred with each other, trading lands in Spain and Southern France for centuries.

Known in Northern Spain as the Llobu Clan, the Lobo Clan have lived there for well over a thousand years. It is thought that they predate the arrival of the Visigoths in the region. Records show a representative of the Werewolves with the surname Cú Allaidh voted for Pelagius as leader of the Asturians in the year 718.

It is known that Werewolves mixed with the royal line at some point, but isn't exactly known. It is popularly believed that this person was the mother of Fruela of Cantabria, and her name was removed from historical records for this reason.

At the time, most of the Lobo Clan practiced a combination of Celtic religion with the worship of their Goddess Leto. They converted to Catholocism after the Bishop of Cantabria convinced them that Leto was a saint who granted her bloodline power through the grace of god.

This set the Lobo Clan on the warpath against the invading Muslims and anyone else who was not Christian, even if it was other Werewolves. Many parts of Europe have minor Clans of Werewolves, Vampires, and the like. Spain does not. They were exterminated or forced to convert.

After the Reconquista was complete, Many Lobos explored the New World and took part in various European wars as mercenaries. The Lobo Clan never really saw a period where their power and influence didn't shrink, at least until they clashed with the Wolfhelms, who repeatedly challenged them through the 1600 - 1800's, eventually taking Lobo held land in Southern France and Eastern Spain.

Things got worse for them in the 1930's during the Spanish Civil War. They were on the side of the Republicans, but when Asturias was taken over by the Nationalists in 1937, numerous Werewolves were executed. The leaders of Fascist Spain hated Werewolves. When the The Werewolf Riots of 1942 occured, they took their chance to attempt to exterminate them completely.

The Garou Clan have their origins in the Kingdom of Brittany in the 800's. They were never trusted, even after they converted to Catholocism, so they hid that they were Werewolves. When Brittany mostly fell to the Viking Raids in the 9th and 10 centuries, the Garou scattered across France. In the countryside they were farmers but in larger cities like Paris they were organized thieves and were quite good at the job. Many Garou Werwolves are still professional thieves even in current times.

Their loyalties have shifted quite drastically over the centuries but generally they were always against the French. During the hundred years war in 1350-1450, they fought on the side of England and caused chaos across the countryside, but about halfway through, they switched sides on the guarantee they would be granted their own lands. During the 30 years war in 1618-1648, because France took the side of the Protestants, they declared war on France and prevented them from having a larger influence in the war.

During the French Revolution in the late 1700's, the Garou almost completely disappeared from all records. A few very old Werewolves from that time say that the Garou were taking advantage of the chaos, stealing vast sums of wealth, and were also not causing too much public chaos to ensure they kept their lands. When France consolidated power under Napoleon, the Garou also consolidated power, secretly taking over large portions of the nation, extending their influence to France's overseas territories.

The Garou appear in history again after the Great Revealing. The French were a little shocked that almost a third of their country was indirectly controled by the Garou (and another third by the Wolfhelms). Numerous laws were passed through the later half of the 1800's to attempt to take power away from them, but all this did was cause the Garou to do nothing when World War 1 started. France quickly repealed nearly all the laws to convince the Garou to enter the war and fight against the Germans.

During World War 2, the Garou and Wolfhelms tore through the French countryside, killing many thousands of soldiers and civillians. The Axis and Allies had to temporarily call a truce to deal with them. A last minute intervention by the Strixia Clan of vampires guaranteed the Werewolves would be destroyed.

The Blaiddyn Clan have existed in Wales since at least Roman times, but may have had a presence there since the Bronze Age. They have always practiced some form of Celtic religion along with worship of their Goddess Leto, though in current times, roughly half of them are Anglican Christians and similar to the Lobo Clan, believe Leto was a Saint who granted her bloodline power through the grace of god.

In ancient times, the British Isles had several secret Elven Kingdoms that ruled independent of whatever Roman then Anglo Saxon, then Viking, then Norman king was in power. There were secret Elven Kingdoms in other parts of Europe, but the Werewolves generally avoided them. Here, the Blaiddyn were allies with the Elves and worked to keep their secret world hidden from normal humans.

Because of this however, the Blaiddyn have almost no historical records about them. What is known is that an army of wolf-men eradicated multiple Anglo Saxon armies in the year 927. It happened again in the year 1013, and in 1016. There are also records that an army of wolf-men temporarily opposed William the Conquerer in 1066 before joining his side and helping to conquer the rest of England.

The next time they appear in history isn't until the 1850's when it was revealed that three secret Elven Kingdoms existed on the British Isles, as well as a Werewolf Clan and two Vampire Clans. The British Parliament immediately tried to dismantle the Elven Kingdoms in the year 1854, but the Blaiddyn Clan, always allies of the Elves, sent an army directly to London to oppose them. Instead treaties were signed that called for peace. the Elven Kingdoms and the Werewolves would be left alone. In exchange the Werewolves and Elves would lend their power to the British in times of war.

This arrangement proved to be advantageous to the British during several wars, especially World War I. Several Wolf units were involved in the Sinai and Palestine campaign and the Gallipoli campaign. It was a little less so in World War 2 when Werewolves lost themselves to the Lunatic Cry. Many Garou Werewolves had to be put down by British forces.