The chapter of the Ordnung that Wolfram: A Gothic Parable focuses on is called Löwenschild (pronounced "looh-ven-shild"; German for "lion-shield"), ruled by a Director, Natalie Löwe, the latest in a hereditary line. Their leadership consists of a council of seven Eltern, a council of twelve Herr-Diener, and an academic body. Charlie MacBeth is currently an Elter, and the Director is established for life as the head Elter. Herr-Diener may only come from among the humans inducted into the Ordnung (regular Diener). It is not unheard-of, however, for a Diener (if he/she is of good character and sanctified; not given to excess, arrogance, or violence; and above reproach) to sit as a temporary Elter in lieu of a Wolfremic candidate of similar quality.
The area over which Löwenschild has dominion was once known as the Holy Roman Empire (which was not Roman, nor was it truly an empire; many also remark that it was not holy, either, but I know too little about it to take sides). The bounds of the Holy Roman Empire encompassed much of central Europe by about 1600 (according to this map I found on Wikipedia).
At the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, the Pope crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in a public ceremony; but in secret, the first Directorate of Löwenshild, along with its first Herr-Direktor was also established to keep safe and secret the creatures whose existence must not be known to the lay of humanity. While the Ordnung von Wolfram existed long before Löwenschild, this was the first Directorate of its kind in the Ordnung, its first (and currently central) chapter.
The Löwenschild Succession
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| Director Löwe, next to Karsten. The average Semperfort in Wolfremic form stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the average human. |
For reasons unknown, the line of the Director has, since the advent of the Wolfrim, been bound to the fate of becoming a Semperfort-Wolfram, an event that occurs between adolescence and the approximate age of 30 years. The Wolfrim officially accept this line, known as the Löwenschild succession, as their blessed and anointed spiritual leadership. The current Director (Natalie Löwe, as earlier noted), is a rightful heir of this very line, which has undergone no exile since its establishment.
Semperfort vs. Pseudefort
As concerns the Wolfrim, all must enter by the Gate. Whoever does not is a bandit, whose aim is to destroy from within. The Semperfort lineage is absolute in its fate, and is the only authorized line to lead the Wolfrim.
The Pseudefort, by contrast, are a small and scattered coalition who have accessed Wolfremic powers deliberately and by illicit means. Their goal is to replace the Semperfort lineage and establish an earthly empire by exploiting the Wolfrim's collective and individual strength.
A typical Pseudefort is ambitious, proud, devoid of conscience, ruthless, opportunistic, and self-indulgent. The very prospect of attaining power is like a chemical addiction. The closer they come to possessing absolute authority, the more they crave it. Their powers are not properly Wolfremic, but are an imitation, generated by their deep-seeded avarice. The Pseudefort have no Wolfremic form. They remain constantly in human form for the entirety of their existence. After all, to take the form of a subjugate creature is distasteful to them. Why would they lower themselves to a minion's level?
