The Beryn are a minor family of the Giovanni clan, or bloodline. They were created primarily to serve the family’s interests in the region. Indeed, Bruges followed by Antwerp were two very important trading hubs. Bruges was nicknamed the Venice of the North, and it was mainly for this reason that the Giovanni wanted to hold sway over the region. If there’s money to be made, the Giovanni are in. Their choice fell on a Flemish merchant already well established on the trade routes between Flanders, Brabant, Luxembourg and Venice.

With the Giovannis’ expertise in necromancy and their banking knowledge, the Beryns quickly prospered in the region and expanded their ranks. Members can now be found in the Netherlands, Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Congo, for the most part. Of course, not all the family’s maneuvers have been uncovered. Although they have a vast commercial and banking network, the Beryns are not very numerous. The Giovanni’s main branch didn’t allow them to have more than 13 members, and today there must be around 8, two of whom are in Brussels. Roerk is ‘Primeur’, the first of the family. Unlike the Giovannis, the Beryns are more open to embracing outsiders if they prove to be remarkably talented and/or unfailingly loyal. The family adopts him and he becomes ‘Erkende’, one recognized by the lineage. Nathalia Beryn, childe of Roerk, followed this footsteps. And both remain in the European capital, hidden either by the shadow of a crypt or by a false identity. Indeed, despite the promise of 1528, the Beryns are hunted down in the same way as the Sabbat in the city. Despite Lille Haake’s attempts to restore some semblance of nuance, the Brussels hierarchy remains deaf and continues its goal of annihilation.

However, the Beryns are the only ones to have survived without too much damage, in this great hunt against the Sabbat, and they have every intention of continuing. They have considerable assets and solid alliances. If we mention Lille Haake, Primogen Tremere in Amsterdam, we can also mention Fréderik de Kastelweg, Primogen Ventrue in Brussels. He is originally from Antwerp, and has tight links to the Beryn, the declaration of a hunt and the break of the peace did not break all ties between them. Indeed, the Beryns are reported missing, or in exile. However, Nathalia Beryn bears the identity of a Ventrue, which is recognized by Frédérik de Kastelweg. And as the Primogen has declared for her, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be the case, is there? Laws are made to be broken. Most people would think that someone doing that would lose so much that it wouldn’t be worth the risk. However, what they may have trouble perceiving is the leverage the Beryn could bring to Fredérik de Kastelweg.