In modern times lineage and House have become the focus for many of the Upyreshi, but Houses are things of chosen association and lineage is a meeting of two families and refinement of the Blood through that union. Before we can focus on any House or lineage we must know our family and through the family we come to know our tribe. Once all Upyreshi were one tribe, the Akhkharu, the first Upyre and its spawn, and they persist still with the Dark Lord in the realm of the Underworld known as Stygia or Pokol the Black Earth. Descendents of the first four sons of the Dark Lord broke through back to Earth after the start of the Great War, each son seeding one of the four tribes. This is how the Upyreshi became the Strega, Nosferatu, Incubi and Revenant tribes now present in the world; the Strega evolving from the Sheddim, the Nosferatu from the Cthonoids, the Incubi from the Undines and the Revenants from the Grigori. All of this is covered in Book 1 of The Testament of Shadows in a more traditional manner using the cipher of the Accursed Nations found in the Greater Key of Solomon and other places. All of the tribes represent a particular distillation of the First Tribe, each adapting to the needs of that grouping of Upyreshi so that it could thrive. The families represent a further evolution of some traits of a tribe and a lineage shows a distillation and localization of a tribe and the family it comes from.

The Strega Tribe as a whole is represented by a screech or Strix owl, directly evoking the lore of Lilith mate of Belial and mother to all Upyreshi via the joining of her daughters to her sons. The Strega by nature evoke the motif of the Upyreshi being a fallen angel or fiery serpent as well as the mythos and lore of witch blood stemming from Azazel who is the union of Belial and Lilith. All of the Strega, no matter the family or lineage, are Strega and as such share some things apart from all other Upyreshi, having more in common than not. The Incubi Tribe as a whole is represented by the swan, in particular the black swan, directly evoking the lore of the Upyreshi as linked to desires, dreams, nightmares and inspiration. The Incubi can be seen in the siren, the mermaid and banshee of legend as much as in those icons once seen in an era when studios created stars from talented people. The Nosferatu Tribe is represented by a rat, a plague rat, such as those that came from China to Europe bringing the plague with them, evoking the lore of the Upyreshi as linked to illness and the theft of strength of the body. The rat is also symbolic of the Nosferatu as showing the Upyreshi as survivors, able to sustain themselves where others will not or can not. The Revenant Tribe as a whole is represented by a hound, evoking the lore of the Upyreshi as it applies to dealing with the Upyreshi being the Dead inhabited by chthonic beings. The hound or dog shows the hunter able to move with and among mankind, often expressing mankind’s own draw to things linked to the dark and the Dead.

Each of the tribes has its power and its lore that is unlike any other and each is worthy of awe, both fear and admiration. As important as it is to harness one’s family and lineage, it is equally important not to lose sight of what members of the same tribe have in common. What unifies the members of the tribes leads them back to their source in the First Tribe and through them back to the font of the Blood that is the Dark Lord. By making the most of one’s tribe, one is better able to honor one’s family and lineage and thus do more for one’s House. In grasping the tribes, the Upyreshi are able to see how they all fit together as a people, a culture and influence from the Underworld able to dwell on the Earth. In each of the tribes we find a microcosm of the whole of the Upyre race showing how each individual Upyre is itself a microcosm of the race. In this way each Upyre is lacking in nothing while each does emphasize some things and lighten others.