House Interitu

## Description:

House Interitu, previously known as the "Order of the Fanged Skull," is a clan of Vampires found all across the K2 Universe, particularly in Hinterlands like Cerinth or the Continent of Pilbo, where Magic runs freer. House Interitu is dedicated to learning the secrets of life and death through the development of Necromancy; the House is known to attract mad scientists, crazed scholars, students ever hungry for more knowledge, and traumatized individuals in fear for their lives. House Interitu is not Cainite and does not subscribe to the Cult of Sanguinity, foregoing worship of [REDACTED] entirely; as a result, House Interitu often finds itself standing alone, shunned by most other Vampires.

Public awareness of House Interitu is relatively low, except in those Hinterlands cursed with the House's influence; House Interitu rarely operates from the shadows and uses subterfuge or intrigue only when such measures are deemed necessary to continue their research undisturbed. Those individuals beyond these Hinterlands' borders are blissfully ignorant of House Interitu's existence.

### Organization:

#### Capital: N/A

House Interitu is highly hierarchical, divided into innumerable ranks and positions, each with their own privileges and abilities; as Vampires tend to be, House Interitu's internal machinations are often far more complex than their interactions with those outside the group. House Interitu is "led" by the cabal of Liches that act as the House's eldest members; these Liches are those members who successfully graduated from their Vampire forms via Necromancy. These Liches hold the most sway over the entire House, and decide who is and is not worthy enough to be brought into the fold. As time goes on, however, the cabal grows more and more insular and isolated, as older members fall from public view to focus purely on their personal goals.

House Interitu is notably decentralized compared to most Vampire Houses of its kind. House members are allowed to go where they please, do what they want, etc. as long as it does not interfere with a fellow member's work or harm the House; the most common relationships between members of House Interitu are between a sire and its Vampiric spawn. Most members do not meet any of the Liches that puppet House Interitu from the shadows, and this structure is maintained with purpose.

Recruitment into House Interitu is a grueling and long process. Prospective members are observed by their prospective sire for at least several months; over this period of time, the prospective member is tested. Their mental fortitude, intelligence, wit, creativity, and personality are tested and analyzed by the prospective sire until the sire is confident that this mortal fits the House's requirements; once this observation period is complete, the prospective sire brings their findings to the cabal of Liches, who vote on whether the prospective member is truly worthy. In the case that someone volunteers themselves, the Liches then interrogate and test the prospective member personally in a much more formalized manner; this method of recruitment was the original way in which new House members were decided, before the House accrued such a large membership that the logistics were no longer feasible.