House Darukai

Led by Baron Aelsabeth Darukai, a sobek woman, House Darukai is the single oldest noble house in Karathus, stretching back to its very origins, and playing a large part in its development.
  In the earliest days of Karathus' growth, one family of sobek grew especially wealthy due to their efforts in the construction of houses and developments; this wealth carried with it a great renown, they were entrusted with many decisions of the city, and their word became law. As the once single city grew into a small nation, the Darukai name became like royalty, with sons and daughters becoming heirs to their proverbial throne; although their rule was built on wealth alone, and Karathus had gone unchallenged for many years, they were woefully unprepared for any resistance. A great clan of titans from the surrounding wilds known as the Emberseers attacked Karathus, ransacking and pillaging the outer colonies, growing even stronger from the wealth of resources in the bustling cities. The Darukai house barely had time to muster a defensive force before the giants had sieged the capital city, slaying the Darukai leadership and taking the throne for themselves.
  All things considered, the Emberseer clan did a pretty good job at actually leading Karathus, they bolstered the defenses first and foremost, then worked on expanding their territory, through violence when possible. The last of House Darukai attempted to rebuild their station, to which the Emberseers allowed, if only through pity.
The sobek family never forgot the slaughter of their parents, and secretly plotted against the Emberseers; they had heard rumours from the far west that there was a power so great that with it, one could kill a man with a snap of their fingers, and so they begun to research it, sending scouts to these western lands to learn how they could harness this great power. Soon enough, the secrets of the soul arts had been revealed to them, and the Darukai family began to delve into this new magic. However, the Emberseers had discovered their plots a while ago, and were letting them think they had the upper hand, so that the Darukai would learn these soul arts for them.
After being humiliated time and time again by the Emberseers, the Darukai would eventually give up their efforts of revenge, settling down into the role of nobility, as other powerful houses rose up around them.
  That was until after the Cosmic Sundering, which shook Karathus just as much as the rest of the world; when the aftermath of the cataclysm had subsided, and the world was able to resume a relative normality, the Darukai family, extremely wealthy and a huge player in the politics of Karathus, started to research into the new forces of the world at large; the cosmos, Infernal Behemoths and the mysterious 'deities' that had begun to worm their way into folklore. They hoped that through these things, they would find something to further increase their influence. They dabbled into every one, but unbeknownst to them, they had barely scratched the surface of any of them, although they had caught the attention of one in particular.

  One day, while investigating one of their properties, a salt mine that had reported six of its workers mysteriously missing after an expedition, a 'Hanarir Darukai' was visited by what seemed to him like a human woman, dressed in a formal black coat with stark white hair. They spoke together of the power his family had, flattering and cajolering him into a "profitable discussion" between their families; Hanarir declined her offer, as the strange circumstances of the meeting were, frankly, frightening. This angered the woman, and in a fury, she grabbed the young sobek and bit him, before disappearing in a flurry of wind. Hanarir stumbled out of the mine, realising that he was now completely alone, and far deeper than he ever remembered going, then ordered the mine to be shut, as it was clearly 'cursed'. When Hanarir got home, he told everyone of what had happened, and the others noticed that where he was bitten, a black corruption had begun to spread out; soon he was hospitalised with a terrible fever that the doctors and mages could apparently do nothing to cure.
Hanarir Darukai was believed dead the next morning, his body was to be prepared for burial. However, the very next day, he was seen by his siblings to be walking the corridors of their home, albeit with blackened scales and a deathly mist at his feet. When his siblings asked him what had happened, he suddenly attacked them, elongated fangs bared. With supernatural strength and speed, Hanarir had, if not killed, maimed everyone in his family before finally being put down by his sister, Aelsabeth Darukai who had fortunately learnt some holy magic. Though the family had survived, they didn't go without scars, and soon, each surviving member came down with a similar fever, although it was not fatal for them; instead, every member of the Darukai family had become known as 'vampires', supernaturally strong, fast and cunning, with vastly extended lifespans, but with the accursed need to consume the blood of mortals, or else become like Hanarir had been, ravenous, violent and without any reasoning at all. The family lived with this curse, learning of its origin from the Scribe, Izall, and although some think they shouldn't be allowed to live, the Darukai name lives on, trying best they can to fulfill their need for blood in as humanely a way as possible.
  Around a millennia later in the modern day, House Darukai is still a thriving house, and their current leader Aelsabeth Darukai, named after their great-grandmother, helms it with an aura of aged wisdom, as well as the ability to frighten others, that no-one else can match.