The Dead Kings

The Dead Kings are a Nomad family that traverse North America. Their current leader is Lincoln Eaton.

## Origins

There was a small Nomad family called 'the Kings' founded in the late 2010's, who were originally a Motorcycle Club that morphed into a clan, and kept their biker traditions, to the point it's now their culture. At some point in the 2020's, the Kings were ambushed by Raffen Shiv out in the sticks of Oregon. All the founding members stayed behind to fight against them and buy time for the rest of the family to escape. One of the older teenagers, Callie Eaton, began leading the clan, restyling them as the Dead Kings, to honour the sacrifice.

## Recent History

The current head of the clan is Lincoln, the great-nephew of Callie Eaton. He's something of a loose Catholic, though now he is of 70 years of age and still has no cyberware (about 15 - 20 of the remaining 38 members have no implants - not even direct links in their wrists). They use older, 'more reliable' tech. Sadly, the Dead Kings are, ironically enough, mostly dead now. The Raffen almost completely wiped out what was left in Washington some six or seven years ago. They were chased across Montana, dodging asteroid showers and firestorms - not everyone made it out, as some cars overheated and broke down. Ever since a small fraction of the Dead Kings made it out, and they have limped on, struggling to survive.

Their insistence on independence is ultimately be their downfall: because they refused to join nations, they were found with very little friends. Bear in mind, they identify as Dead Kings, not Nomads, and they were damned if they were going to sully their great history hundreds have died for by forsaking their principal value: independence. There was a great deal of pride for them - but this meant that many people left the clan to join up with Nations like the Aldecaldo's, Blood Nation, Snake Nation or Thelas nation - simply because it meant security and safety. However, when families within the Dead Kings went to join up, they couldn't take their colours - it's understood within the clan that when you join a nation and become a Nomad, you cease to be a Dead King, so you can't take your colours with you - you don't have to hand them in, though you cannot fly them anymore.

The Dead Kings that didn't leave died fighting against numerous Raffen Packs. Over the decades, there have been multiple raids and battles that have been won and lost with numerous casualties. We come now to the present of the story, where the Dead Kings Clan are, in actuality, no longer a Clan, but an incredibly small family with less than 50 members, counting the children. They're very much a relic of a bygone era - they've been overly romanticized by some Nomads, called fools by others.

## Culture

Clan members will go on something of a pilgrimage to the site of the Kings' last stand, which is known commonly amongst clan members as 'the Fane'.

They're very much like typical Nomads in the sense that they value family, freedom and integrity. However, unlike others, they can be incredibly dogmatic - unwilling (and perhaps unable) to change. They value honesty, freedom, integrity, but also compassion and morals. There's people of all colour and religion, as the Dead Kings have, unlike most Nomads, journeyed from east to west and back again - all across the US. Their connections to vehicles are just as intense, if not moreso, with many vehicles (amongst other things like weapons and even cybernetics) being handed down the generations.

### Funerals

When someone dies, they're buried in a grave and a cairn, then marked with a piece of wood which is usually carved with their name, the Clan symbol and then the famous words known to any Nomad that knows the clan: "Dead Kings Never Die."

### The Cut

Each 'cut' is made up of black synth-leather and white patches.

Their cuts are patched on the back with the Dead Kings symbol (a crowned skull) and the clan name. But, they also have other patches that tell you exactly who that person is. You'll have a family name as a patch (i.e. 'Smith'), then who they are in that family (i.e. If one's grandfather joined the Clan, they would have a patch that said '3rd Gen'). There are other patches of course, which denote your role in the clan (i.e. 'Scout', 'Fixer', 'Tech' etc), and also others which denote if you're descended from an original Founder (i.e. Gus Chavez wears a patch that says 'King's Blood'). There are some others which reflect something about the character (i.e. Vann has no implants, so he had the patch 'unchipped'). Cuts are made for new members and are generally passed down through the family.

### Road Names

Members of the Clan are known mainly by road names - these can be general nicknames, references to their appearance, the way they drive or certain events. It is possible to insist on a nickname - like Snakebite. One of the original Kings, Snakebite insisted on this being his name, and so the others agreed - all he had to do was bite a snake.

## Current Members

* Abbie Stowe
* Alexander "Dead-Eye" Jachmann
* "Axe"
* Caroline
* Clay
* "Coil"
* "Deek"
* Dustin "Dusty"
* "Foxy"
* Gustavo "Nitro" Chavez
* Isaiah
* "Lady"
* Lincoln Eaton
* Robb Stowe
* Tara "Chip" Jachmann
* Tyler Eaton
* Will
* Varrick "Vann" Morgan