Clan Lambach

Clan Lambach
Also Known As	House Lambach
Organization Type	Sorcerer Family
Leadership	Anatole Lambach
Membership	Aria; Stella; Pymarim; Saugulus.
Associated With	Inspiratio, Anticross.
Related To	Largias; Nehekara

Clan Lambach is the most powerful organization on a wide scale across Nehekara, and possibly Largias, at least in the field of magic, due to the depredations and planning of their common ancestor, Lambach.

History

Lambach began life as an exceptionally intelligent but struggling boy in an ancient land which doesn't exist anymore. Being gifted with an unbelievable intellect, a quick wit and adaptation abilities that would one day be recognized as borderline mutation, Lambach learned everything around him. From the crude but effective science of agriculture, to the religious rituals, false and factual of villages around his own, and most of all, the ritual magics of the local shamen. Expecting him to grow into the next village shaman, everything was taught to the boy. By the time he was a teen, he was already more gifted and knowledgeable than the shaman and the priests, and was not satisfied.
Lambach sought out more knowledge, traveling to larger cities to learn from the local mystics and scholars.. once more, absorbing the information like a sponge. By the time he reached adulthood (about 15 in those days), older, ostensibly wiser men feared and admired him in turn, his potential terrifying them greatly.. but his abilities almost a necessary evil to enhance their own powers. Lambach realized that well and used his skills to their lowest abilities to get what he wanted out of the greedy, jealous men, and in exchange got what he wanted. Their knowledge, their wares, and their daughters.. and wives. Leaving a trail of bastards before moving on to the next city, the one true thing Lambach wanted was power by now.
By the time of his 20th year, his name was known and spoken of in hushed tones. The often angry sorcerer came into cities, demanding knowledge and punishing those who would not give it to him.. and then punishing them for already knowing this. It took him some time to realize that while everything he didn't know was ...amazingly vast, no one else knew it either. And that's when he turned to darker forces, seeking out forbidden grimoires, ancient tomes of unspeakable powers and horrors, as well as covens of witches and worshipers of things man was not meant to know. As with everything else, Lambach took to this like a sponge to water. Learning of runic magicks calling upon ancient 'gods' which were more alien than demonic, forbidden curses and powers, the next few years were devoted to this abominable work.
When he came out of these studies, he was a changed man. Having gleamed at how insignificant man and all other creatures on the planet were to the greater scheme of the universe.. a word now losing its meaning, he realized he would never live long enough to become knowledgeable enough to matter. He was not satisfied with this. The name Lambach should be spoken of in centuries from now, alongside great kings and emperors, not simply a footnote in the annals of time. He needed a legacy. And so, he set out to get it. Traveling back to his village, he ordered them to arm themselves, telling his brothers, sisters and those of his age to join him as they would raid the capital city. He promised them victory. They attempted to stone him for heresy. They all died, and then did exactly as he ordered.
It was a four day siege, during which the capital fell, and the reign of the sorcerer king began. Lambach, his bastards, and his army of undead had claimed the city, which would forever be known as a crypt.. at least, until it was burned, centuries later, but that is another story.
Lambach set out to find and marry himself or his bastard sons to all great wizardry families in the area, any mystics and seers were annexed into his extended family, dubbing them 'Clan Lambach'. From there, he began to oversee an ambitious breeding project, purposely mating.. sometimes against their wills, the strongest heirs of all the families assembled under the banner of Clan Lambach, slowly but surely starting a line of incredibly gifted spell casters, all he while producing more and more offspring of his own, with many different women. However, he realized this experiment would go on long after his death, and while he could whip them into shape now.. there would be no guarantee that his descendents would follow in his grand plan. This was unacceptable.
There was only one solution. Immortality, the impossible magic. But nothing was impossible to Lambach. He began using his extended Clan's resources to research every aspect of magic, and eventually turned to nigrimancy, later called necromancy, which he.. once more, mastered, amazingly quickly, using his phenomenal innate power to craft the most perfect phylactery for his life essence, and then set about to make the most foolproof way of assuring his forever immortality. He dissipated his own life essences among the leaders of his Clan's main families, granting all of them the status of 'House', and ensuring that his unlife would become ETERNAL so long as even one of his descendents was still at least active, even as an undead.
From then on, Lambach.. taking various names for himself among the Houses of Clan Lambach, to move among his family members, continued his grand breeding experiment, forming various Houses over time, crafting them each into different branches of Sorcery, and taking great pains to learn whatever new magics humans, and especially, his descendents come up with, forever expanding his influence, and power, intending to unlock every mystery of the universe, and gather his own, everlasting deification, through absolutely knowledge and power.
Most major breakthroughs in mystical arts come in some part from himself or Clan Lambach, having had a hand in influencing most great mystical and philosophical thinkers. The very idea of Alchemy can often be attributed to the workings of the undead sorcerer, all to further his own goals, and often annexing great thinkers from the shadows into the dark grasp of Clan Lambach.

Purpose

Lambach is an incredibly old and unbelievably powerful Lich, empowered thousands of years ago due to an unnatural connection to necromancy, and the founder of several branches of Clan Lambach, known far and wide for their amazing magical and particularly necromantic talents. While he has spent a long time in relative inactivity, he has remained behind the scenes to manipulate the growth and spread of his family, through many houses. He has recently returned to activity, due to needing to expand outside of his currently established houses to build a new, millennium-spanning dynasty, forever expanding his already abominable power base, this time starting fresh from the source, as the great Houses of Clan Lambach once did.

Houses of Clan Lambach

Clan Lambach is the assembly of Houses, of Nehekaran origin, but who have spread through most of the world. Those who operate outside of their home region are more conservative and generally 'pleasant' to the common people, but all Houses still follow the will of their dark ancestor.
House Lambach: Metamagicians and alchemists. House Lambach is the head House of Clan Lambach. They have members, who bear the name Lambach, of every other House among their numbers. It is Clan Lambach's duty to share magical knowledge with this House. From this, they developed Alchemy and Metamagic, and when dealing with a member of House Lambach, one never knows what kind of magic they can wield. Their ability to affect magic makes the Lambach name and the House Banner the most feared sight to any other magician in the world, not to mention the legends of Anatole Lambach itself. House Lambach is both overseer and assistant to every other House, following their founder's will to keep progressing the Clan's power, at all costs. As such, House Lambach works with the others, often being second best in every Magical style.
House Anabelle: Necromancers. House Anabelle is the favored House of Lambach himself, and the most likely to produce liches. House Anabelle operates under a Matriarchy, with the eldest daughter of each generation taking charge of the family. This has caused discontent among the men of the family, but there is no doubt that the Anabelle women are much better at Necromancy than their male counterparts. House Anabelle is the richest and most influential House, but its reputation as Necromancers is known far and wide.
House Demion: Illusionists. House Demion have the most extensive contacts with the outside world, as the family heads have made it a point that every child be educated classically. This gives them a wide variety of topics, on top of their illusory and sensory control magic, allowing them to act as advisers and court magicians in a lot of domains. They are the most widespread House, and the ones who usually arrange alliances between countries, lands and other Houses.
House Yzark: Summoners. House Yzark has the reputation of being antisocial. This is not entirely true, but every member of House Yzark is more focused on its pacts and contracts and contacts with other-planar entities than those with the human world. They are of moderate riches and easily dismissed influence, but they are always on the forefront of any war effort, as almost all armies are willing to pay to reinforce their troops with monsters and other beings.
House Lahmia: Enchanters. House Lahmia has a reputation as manipulators and, well, sluts, and it is well deserved. Another house which is a Matriarchy, though in this case it is simply convenience, House Lahmia has mastered Enchantments, and have produced more duchesses, countesses and queens than the other Houses. They are masters of manipulation, even without spells, and are known to be seducers without par. They have often kept domains from going after Clan Lambach by marrying the right people or eliminating others.
House Neteure: Druids. House Neteure has a relatively poor reputation among the other Houses, as it brings nothing to them of monetary or political value. House Neteure has not abandoned its druidic roots, nor does it intend to anytime soon. However, it has mastered its powers, and short of the Elven Kingdoms, are most likely the most attuned to Nature magic in the world. Other druids come to them for counsel, even with their association to Clan Lambach being known. They are an anachronism in the more scientifically-minded Houses' pursuit of magic, but they deliver results and are always able to assist the others.
House Zash: Elementalists. House Zash have mastered battle magic. They hold a personal army at all times, and are the House most versed and suited n military service and battle. Their ability to affect the elements can seriously change a battlefield, and as such, members of House Zash are often called into battle, either to defend their lands, or as mercenaries. They are the House with the best reputation outside of their homelands. House Zash is often in contact with other Magical researchers as well.
House Ahmed: Space-Time Manipulators. House Ahmed had experimented in Alchemy, or its proto-form, but their research led to the discovery of Space-Time magic. They are the founders and creators of most spells having to do with transport and teleportation, as well as the creators of the 'Portal' spell almost all sorcerers learn at one point. House Ahmed willingly joined Clan Lambach, to further their possibility for studying magic, and to thank Lambach for developing alchemy from their research. They have reasonable resources and influence among the lands.
House Long: Spiritualists. House Long are what grew out of Lambach's original village. Shamans, seers and other spiritually attuned men and women. They are the least involved with House politics, or even worldly politics. For a group allied under Clan Lambach, they are the most generous and 'friendly' to outsiders. House Long has a reputation as honest and wise, using spirits to guide whoever they feel should get their help.. and of course, the other Houses of Clan Lambach. They do not get along with members of House Hotario, because they feel using Demons is a risk, both spiritually and physically.
House Hotario: Demonologists. House Hotario was assembled under Lambach when he crushed several demon worshiping cults and told them they were his, now. The prospect of working under a Lich was somehow appealing to them, and they agreed, pooling their knowledge, along with the real power Lambach presented them. House Hotario is shunned by all but the Clan... publicly. Somehow, though, they always have money and protection from persecution. The fact is House Hotario has fingers in every pie, because every Duke or King can always use some help from 'below'.

Known Members

• Anatole Lambach: The founder of the Clan. Follower of Xel'lotath. Currently deceased.
• Aria: The head of House Anabelle. The most powerful necromancer in their world.
• Stella: The second heir to House Anabelle, possessed of amazing power but very little skill.
• Saugulus: An ambitious necromancer from House Anabelle, currently incarcerated for crimes against humanity.

Trivia

• I am making this up as I go along so if I retcon quick stuff bear with me.