The position of “Rex Nemorensis” — translated, “King of the Grove” — has fallen into disuse. Few Acolytes even know of the role, though some may know an oft repeated legend or three about those powerful eremite elders said to keep vigilant eye over the Circle.
The King of the Grove is generally an elder Acolyte who is the keeper of much forbidden knowledge. He knows not only those rituals considered anathema by those in-the-know, but he also tends to maintain a bevy of secrets regarding many of the vampires in a given domain. The King is capable of counsel both mad and sage, and is often capable of subtly steering covenant activities from afar by planting a thought or a seeding a secret amidst the cultists. In this way, Rex Nemorensis has a great deal of power — though, as a hermit figure, this power is only rarely flexed.
In times past, the power of the role was coveted. Some Acolytes simply wanted the power over their cohorts, whereas others sought to escape the lunatic’s parade of the Danse Macabre. Plus, the King of the Grove was in many domains said to be unusually close with the gods, if not a god himself. Becoming Rex Nemorensis, however, is only possible through a single means: destroying the old King of the Grove. (In some areas, this destruction must be through diablerie, so that the souls of all the old Grove Kings become contained in a single vampiric vessel.) The King of the Grove knows this and he — supposedly — accepts challengers to his reign.
Reality was not always so clear. Some did not uphold their mythic stoicism and avoided challenges so as not to be deposed. Others maintained their “come one, come all” attitudes, but the challengers played unfairly, ganging up upon the Grove King or sending others from different covenants to do the job. And so, the position has fallen largely into antiquity. Some say, however, that a few old Grove Kings exist out in the deep woods or dark mountains, still watching over the cults in their domains.
