Dragonblooded NPCs and Houses

Scarlet Empress

While little is known of the Scarlet Empress before she rose to power, it is known that she was serving as a soldier for the Shogunate of the Realm during what is now known as the Great Contagion. She, along with several other Dragon-Blooded officers, braved the Imperial Manse and used its control of the Realm's ancient magical defenses to save Creation from the invading Fair Folk. She then crowned herself Empress of the Realm – using her control of the Realm defenses to crush all opposition—and proceeded to rule the world for the next 750+ years. Her disappearance five years prior to the current timeline of the Exalted universe has upset the status quo of Creation, and the return of the Solar Exalted has only complicated the situation.

The disappearance of the Scarlet Empress and the resulting Time of Tumult are often referred to as the Age of Sorrows. Perhaps the most curious thing about her disappearance is that since she has left no one can remember her name or history, not even Lunar or Sidereal Exalted that lived before, during and after her reign.

Consorts

1. Jeresh – Died RY 44.
2. Rawar of Arjuf – Married RY 114. Died RY 370. Father of Ragara and Mnemon.
3. Nellens – Consort RY 227. Died RY 261. Father of Sesus and Ledaal.
4. Tepet – Consort RY 362. Disappeared RY 371.

Children

1. Manosque – Born RY 130. Founder of House Manosque, which was put to the sword in RY 244. Manosque was presumably "formally disowned", making the next in line, Ragara, considered the firstborn child of the Scarlet Empress.
2. Ragara – Born RY 139. Founder of House Ragara.
3. Sesus – Born RY 231. Founder of House Sesus.
4. Ledaal – Born RY 235. Founder of House Ledaal.
5. Mnemon – Born RY 369. Founder of House Mnemon and one of the most powerful Dragon-Blooded sorceresses in Creation.
6. V'Neef – Born RY 708. Founder of House V'Neef and youngest-born of the Scarlet Empress' children. Since some of the members of House V'Neef are older than V'Neef herself, it is presumed that they were incorporated into House V'Neef either by including Lost Eggs into the House or by reassignment to House V'Neef by the Scarlet Empress.



Regent of the Blessed Isle
Otherwise known as who framed Roger Rabbit?

For the past 5 years, Fokuf of House Tepet has acted as the Regent of the Realm after the Scarlet Empress' absence was discovered. He was an unassuming, middle-aged nobody - but that was part of the appeal; even though his lineage was distinguished he had failed at every assignment he had ever been given in a short and lamentable bureaucratic career.

Fokuf if a genial and good natured man who accepted the offer from the Dynasts to be Regent as this made them feel safe in assuming her power, as he could take the blame if she returned. However, this has proven to be a bad decision as he quickly appointed councilors to whom he delegated the decision making to and approves their decrees in a brief daily meeting. The rest of his time is spent in his apartments, contemplating the Immaculate Texts, the holy scriptures of the Immaculate Order and engaging in masturbation. This is a badly kept secret and whether this behavior stems from his already strange nature or from the pressure of being Regent is unknown.

He is not Exalted.

Ah his downfall came full circle with the terrible losses to the armies of the Dragon-Blooded by the Bull of the North. In recent months, the great houses made a coup de grace move to circumvent this simple creature in preparation of a coming declaration. ...of the Scarlet Empress' death. Is this true? Who knows, and doubtful. But the move is strategic, careful, planned for quite some time.

After a year of powerful yet careful politics, the houses declared Ragara Zhou-na as the newly placed regent. Exalted with a history of fairness in judgment in cases held between houses, highly decorated in every position he has held in the courts, Zhou-na holds a firm position not to be questioned, accepted universally, and staunch in a sense of balance.

In some ways, he sees this as a terrible curse. Many of the houses and once alliances pressure him to lay final judgments and announcements he absolutely refuses to declare. His list of allies shifts as the political calendar progresses. But if any can help rebuild after the losses of not only legions against the Bull of the North, but Thorns, and a rising concern that the Dragon-Blooded should pull back and prepare for the incoming strikes from an awakening exalted society, he is the man to help.

His greatest problem lies in the quiet work becoming..not so quiet...of houses taking control of the armies. The levels of politics staggers imagination, all pulled by secret hands, and Sidereals he does not even realize exist in the government.

And now he has an ancient calling him nightly through his dressing mirror. Oddly, he finds a sense of comfort in the tormenting by Jakou of Sal'Maneth.


Ragara Zhou-na
politician, judge
Earth Aspect


Cathak Baosi
Royal Guardian to the Regent
Fire Aspect, dedicated unto death


The Dragons of the Earth

Any history of the Empire of the Dragon-Blooded is, by definition, a history of its Empress. She created it from the smoldering ashes of the Great Contagion, sustained it when it was weak and guided it throughout its history. It has always reflected her will and her vision, and it has always been the instrument by which she has imposed both upon the world. While there is no formal cult of personality within the Realm, there really doesn’t need to be one. Any inhabitant of the lands under her sway, from the haughtiest Dragon-Blood to the lowliest slave, knows that, on a fundamental level, the Empress and her empire are one and the same.

Our history begins in a very dark place, both in that it was a time of evil and a time from which we know few hard facts. Most of the knowledge of the Old Realm was lost to the Contagion and the years afterward, and we find ourselves relying on folklore to compensate for lacunae in the ancient records. The understanding we arrived at when we look at these two sources is that the world we now inhabit was originally infested with great malevolent spirits or demons and their insidious thralls, whom we have come to call the Anathema.

The Anathema, it is said, used bizarre and unnatural rituals to steal power from the spirits of the sky - sun, moon and stars - as a means of proving their worth to their hideous masters. Once that inversion of the natural order took place, the Five Great Elemental Dragons realized that the loathsome elder gods and their powerful servants must be overcome if any progress or good were to come of this world. They regarded the nascent species called humanity, sought out the noblest warriors among them and breathed into them power over the elements. In that way were the Dragon-Blooded born. The Dragon-Blooded are the first and, despite what you may hear in certain mistranslated old folk-tales, the only true Exalted. While we may take them for granted, it is important to remember that the Dragon-Blooded are our benefactors, our guides and our defenders.
With the powers of the Dragons, the first Exalted met the servants of the old gods in battle. One by one, the Solar Anathema fell before the power of the Dragon-Blooded. Seeing their warriors fall, those Anathema who had stolen power from the moon and the stars scattered and were largely destroyed. Once their servants were vanquished, the demons themselves became the target of the Dragon-Blooded. They, too, soon gave way to the elemental onslaught, and the Terrestrial made the world safe for the creation of the Old Realm.

With the riddance of the demons and the banishment of their servants, the Dragon-Blooded turned their attention to nurturing the young civilization. The Dragon-Blooded established a society that would protect the common man and foster mankind’s higher nature. Farmers thrived when their crops were protected from wild beasts, merchants thrived when their trade routes were patrolled by the soldiers of the Realm, and under the aegis of the Dragon-Blooded, civilization expanded to cover the face of the world.

Sadly, the Realm, led then by the predecessor to the Scarlet Dynasty, was not aggressive enough in its pursuit of the Anathema sorcerers who fled to the Wyld and to the Threshold. The Dynasty was yet young and had little notion of the ramifications that would follow from allowing the Anathema to survive.
The weird night-magicians, finding protection in the bizarre Wyld lands, continued to hound the distant colonies of the Realm with sorcerous incursions and guerrilla tactics. This approach gained them nothing. However, their worship of malevolent spirits and constant disturbance of the spirit world eventually called down the rage of Heaven. The Realm was held accountable by Heaven for its lax approach in dealing with the subversive Anathema. Heaven’s punishment took the form of the Great Contagion.

The Great Contagion was a virulent disease that killed over 90 percent of the population of the Realm. Whole cities were wiped out to a man, particularly those in the outlying lands. The Dragon-Blooded suspect that some of the beast sorcerers may have worsened the Contagion by sending vermin to spread it more effectively.

At the end of Heaven’s sentence, when all those who would die had done so, the Great Contagion ended. There was to be no peace for the survivors. The maw of the Wyld opened wide and swallowed entire provinces. Swarms of barbarians flooded into the Threshold and the mainland provinces, wiping out many small pockets of humanity that had managed to survive the plague. Great cities of old disappeared, destroyed by sorcerers and monsters, and only the timely intervention of the Empress saved the Realm.

Of those glorious cities, only ruins remain - most are overgrown, covered with woods or jungle, and still infested with the weird creatures of the Wyld. The years that followed the Contagion were spent fortifying the Realm and consolidating the citizens from outlying provinces into the relatively strong bulwarks of civilization on the Blessed Isle.

The Dynasty of the Scarlet Empress grew powerful, both politically and magically, and it was she who prevented the forces of the Wyld from encroaching on the Blessed Isle. With her great elemental magic, the Scarlet Empress was able to defend the island and protect the citizens of the Realm, even as pirates and barbarians tried to launch incursions onto the Realm island itself. From her Manse in the Imperial City, the Scarlet Empress was able to push the Fair Folk back to the madlands where they belonged.

But while civilization on the Blessed Isle grew strong, the magic of the Empress could not reach across the ocean to defend the far provinces, many of which came under the control of barbarians and Wyld savages of all description. Those beyond the reach of the Dynasty developed powerful criminal undergrounds, which used their influence to turn the people against the Dynasty.

Though these Threshold areas were once part of the Realm, most of their cultures are too debased to merit direct imperial rule. Instead, they are governed by their own princes and potentates, who rules with the advice of the Realm and pay tribute to the coffers of the Scarlet Empress. In return, the Realm protects them and allows them to bask in the glory of flying the flag of the Realm higher than their own.

To better manage the growing threats to the Realm, the Scarlet Empress recently placed other members of the Dynasty at the helm of state and entered into a period of reflection, during which she will determine how best to defend the Realm and retake the barbarian provinces. It is expected that the day she emerges from her meditations she will have discerned how best to deal with the new threat posed by the Anathema. Once they have been dealt with, it is expected that she will instruct the Realm navy to retake the impudent eastern provinces, and the Realm will once again begin to grow.

Five years ago, the Empress disappeared so completely that it was as if she had never been. This occurrence, in and of itself, was not necessarily unusual. She had taken brief sabbaticals from the Scarlet Throne before, some lasting as long as six months. Even in her absence in those times, the Realm continued to function smoothly, carrying itself forwards on sheer inertia as the mechanisms of government lurched along with business as usual. None of the Great Houses made a play for the Throne, wary that this could be some trick of the Empress’ to see which of her offspring were too ambitious for their own good. And always, she returned as if she had never been away, with no word as to were she had been or what she had done.

Five years ago, that all changed. The Empress vanished one morning, gone without trace. Almost overnight, the Realm’s empire began to crumble. The government was not built for a succession - there were simply no mechanisms to put a new ruler on the throne. There wasn’t even any proof that the Empress was dead. Weeks of indecision turned into months of political wrangling, until a figurehead regent was put on the throne. The provinces were bled white, as garrisons were withdrawn from the Threshold and brought home to the Blessed Isle. Any attempt to deploy the legions abroad was seen as a maneuver in the struggle for control of the throne - the armies of the Realm were paralyzed. Even the Wyld Hunt has fallen to the wayside, as the contenders for the Throne gather their every iota of power.

Realizing that the Realm’s armies and magical defenses were mere paper tigers, the Realm’s countless subject states began withholding their tribute. But the tributaries are no the only enemies to realize the weakness of the Realm. The barbarian tribes who lurk beyond the pale of civilization have begun to raid more frequently without the Imperial Foot to retaliate against their attacks. From their strongholds within Creation, and from those outside it, the Fair Folk murmur of war. The lords of the Underworld unleash new monstrosities against the living, and everywhere there are omens of war and dark times. After millennia of vigilance, the Wyld Hunt has lapsed. And at this moment of weakness, the Solar Anathema have returned.

The Heptagram
The smallest of the Realm's four great academies, the Heptagram is located on the Isle of Voices, a small, craggy island off the north coast of the Blessed Isle. Demons and elementals alike see to it that the island is inadmissible to any who do not belong there, and the surprisingly seep channel between the Blessed Isle and the Heptagram is littered with the fish-nibbled bones of those who thought to go where they were not welcome. This academy guards its secrets jealously indeed. The Heptagram is named after its symbol, the seven pointed star. Each point of this star represents one of the greatest libraries of the academy. Those libraries represent the greatest accumulation of lore in all the Realm, and those who study here know precisely how fortunate they are to have access to them. The students of the Heptagram study sorcery, demonology, alchemy, divination and essence manipulation to a degree unseen anywhere else in the Realm.

The Heptagram is known throughout creation as the finest academy of magic, alchemy, demonology, divination, and thaumaturgy in the Realm. Among the Terrestrial Exalted, only the sorcerer-engineers of Lookshy are as knowledgeable where sorcery and First Age secrets are concerned.

Grounds
There are 14 great buildings set up in a ring around a tall central tower in the compound that makes up the Heptagram. Along the outer ring, the largest of these buildings are the Libraries of the Heptagram, the smaller buildings between them are the dormitories.

Curricula
A character who graduated from the Heptagram must start play with at least Occult ●●●○○, Lore ●●●○○, and Linguistics ●○○○○. Not every dynast who graduates from the Heptagram knows sorcery, but no one graduates from the Heptagram without being fluent in Old Realm and knowing the basics of history and occult theory.

Faculty
Ragara Bhagwei: Dominie of The Heptagram.
Mnemon Duhalva: The foremost alchemist at The Heptagram.
Tepet Senex: Called "Old Man" Tepet behind his back, Tepet Senex has been at the Heptagram longer than any other instructor save the Dominie.
Sorrowful Leaf: A Wood-Aspected Dragon-blooded originally from the East, Sorrowful leaf is the acknowledged expert in the Heptagram on wood elementals and magical herbalism.

House Ledaal
The Ledaal are known throughout the Scarlet Dynasty for their particularly inquisitive nature. Sidereal tutors and a tendency toward Air Aspects have reinforced that penchant and made this House one of the most studious and knowledgeable in the Realm.

Master of the House
Four powerful Terrestrials conspire together about the House's dealings. Ledaal Kebok Omeger is a sorcerer and scholar. Ledaal Catala Gamam has spent several years studying the Abyssal Exalted. Ledaal Caros is a frustrated graduate of the House of Bells. Ledaal Cycel an administrator who uses her Sidereal advisors to determine auspicious paths for the House.
Major Lines

* Ledaal Catala, primarily researchers and adventurers in the Threshold.
* Ledaal Kebok, historians and scholars.

All the Ledaal bloodlines have an affinity for the element of Air.

Economics
The savants and researchers of House Ledaal charge high fees for the Artifacts they build or recover, or for Spells they cast on behalf of other Houses.

Satrapies
House Ledaal claims Arjuf Dominion as it's ancestral holding, and their ancestral estate is the Palace of Vines.

Goals and Alliances
House Cathak and the Immaculate Order both appreciate the support that House Ledaal gives them, and are willing to offer their own military or spiritual support in return. This might come in handy when Ledaal researchers discover just how dangerous the Deathlords are.
Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Water Fleet Admiral Ledaal Calin
* Ledaal Kebok Coren, a prodigy who seems to influence the weather with her demon-tainted blood

House Cynis
Despite their (well-deserved) reputation for decadence and debauchery, House Cynis is also quite pragmatic. These vice-peddlers turn a hefty profit by playing to people's weaknesses, and gain plenty of contacts and blackmail fodder to boot.


Master of the House
House Cynis is ruled over by a triumvirate consisting of Cynis Wisel, Cynis Belar, and Cynis Falen, the three daughters of Cynis herself.

Major Lines
Though all three of the ruling sisters have their own extensive bloodlines, none are particularly different from the others. All three also tend to Exalt as Wood Aspects.

Economics
House Cynis holds an Imperial monopoly on the slave trade, purchasing captive humans from the Guild, and then hiring them out to interested parties throughout the Realm. And so long as they have warm bodies in their possession, the Cynis have found that prostitution is always profitable.

Goals and Alliances
Because of their poor reputation, House Cynis has no real allies, though they have many customers. House Sesus almost counts, due to intermarriages, but is only a friend when necessary. For this reason, the Cynis will not make a move for the throne, but instead try to use their information brokers to get on the good side of the next Empress.

Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Cynis Denovah Avaku, a stalwart Fire Aspect who is uncomfortable with Cynis debauchery
* Cynis Belar Rokujai, a brilliant young man who is revamping the House's spy network
* Cynis Mond, called "the Windtamer," Mond is a genius inventor of Artifacts and Charms

Cynis Vaneth
Location: Greyfalls
Specialty: Wyld drugs drug research, chemistry, natural sciences, medicine

Vaneth has often been mistaken as a woman. And sometimes as a man. The gentleman is quite the lovely man, milky skin, bright eyes, raven black hair that almost graces the floor. He styles himself as the drug-addicted feather head of House Cynis. In truth, he is always in control and contemplating the next great step. He has become comfortable in wealth, easily keeping the eyes of the Realm away from his work. As such, he has had leeway in indulging in the locals of the east.

He has harbored Solars and Lunars, but always at a price. A steep one. Some whisper that even Silver Python graced his private bed, but as a man of course. Although the encounter was rather nice, he is unsure who won in the battle...more than likely the damned lunar. At times, he receives death threats from Mahasuchi. Which is well and fine, as he sends tribute to the lunar of wyld touched drugs for his meditations. Beauty alone the culprit for the hate.

Although the guild rules and owns this land, he is the true guardian. And if a terror threatens the city or fields of poppies, he is one of the first in it's defense.

Influences: Guild, House Cynis, Greyfalls
Resources: House, Drug market of Greyfalls
Abilities: Refined Swordmaster (katana daiklaive, counterattack), Performance, Socialize (innuendo, seduction), Craft (drugs), Sailing, Riding, Lore (poetry, song), Bureaucracy (deals, underdogs), Larceny (underworld markets, theft), Resistence (toxins, hallucinagins)



Cynis Denovah Avaku

Pre-Exaltation
Cynis Denovah Avaku was born into poverty, his parents expected to stay out of sight in the crumbling cliffside castle and small estates that were left to them. He was not expected to Exalt - if he had, he might have been given a proper name or adopted into another bloodline. As it was, it took all of his parents connections and every last piece of jade they had to get him into one of the better schools. He went to school in clothing that was decades old and studied from books had been battered and torn when his grandparents owned them. He was scorned by his classmates, born into a line that none of Cynis' own daughters could be bothered to acknowledge. He didn't have proper silks to wear, proper weapons to practice with or even proper inks and scrolls for his classes. His teachers never stinted his lessons, but when he was found beating another pupil’s head into the dirt because he’d insulted his mother, he got caned while the other boy ate sugar-cakes and laughed with his friends. Still, the quality of his teaching was worth a thousand times the jade his parents bribed the dominies with. Better to be a peasant at a school for kings than a king at a school for peasants.

Exaltation
Cynis Denovah Avaku had done poorly on his geography studies, and the dominie chose to make an example of him. He was called up to the front of the class and had to stand there while the dominie wrote examples of his work on the board and asked the rest of the class to point out the errors. He stood there, gangly and too tall, and looked ahead of himself. Not to the right, not to the left, just ahead. He bit his tongue and didn’t say a single word. Suddenly, the blackboard shattered, flaming splinters flying in a hundred different directions. It was at that moment that he knew his full destiny. He remembers laughing, his teachers coming and laying their arms on him and speaking to him in soothing tones, reminding him that he was Cynis Denovah Avaku, a student at their school. They told him to be calm and to remember himself, and then they led him into better accommodations, where the sheets were silk and the walls were hung with tapestries and servants bowed to the newly Exalted with true respect. When he rejoined his yearmates at the evening meal, their eyes were full of fear, but he simply smiled at them. He had been chosen. If the Dragons chose them as well, he would make his peace with them and forge their future together. If not, then he knew that he would need allies. The touch of the Dragons had changed his life.

He knew that a career in the legions would be his best choice if he wanted to rise swiftly and restore his family's fortunes. He knew that he would have to win entry to the House of Bells on his merit alone if he was to succeed. He knew that he had to be better than all the Dragon-Blooded in his year. His parents stripped their estates bare to convert everything to jade and bribe his way into the House of Bells, and they asked family members to exert influence to aid him. Desperate, Cynis Denovah Avaku went to the Temple of the Dragons to pray for guidance. There, he met an Immaculate and begged her for guidance. She advised him not to waste energies worrying for the future and to find oath-brothers that would stand with him, even against the Anathema. He then went back to his studies and husbanded his Essence, spending it on Charms that left the other pupils around him scattered around him on the grass.

He was accepted into the House of Bells.

Since his Exaltation
He was wed to Mnemon Caras Minata (mortal) shortly after he left the Spiral Academy, a marriage arranged by House Cynis. Since that time, he has been serving with the Imperial Legions, often away at war for the Empress. He has fought against the predations of the Raksha and the Anathema (notably, the Lunar known as Sleeves of War), having driven her back time and time again, but is very concerned with how the Terrestrials might tear the world apart in their own mad graspings for power. He has served under The Roseblack and was last a lieutenant in the Legions, assigned to Whitewall. However, with the push against the Bull of the North, he has arrived in Nexus.

The Hidden
Avaku encountered a terrible moment that drove him every question and experience of his young life while leading his own men. A young boy, only 5, so much like his own young son, exalted by the sun before him and a few onlookers. Pangs of terrible conscience stormed his heart and laid siege to his mind as the boy clearly did not know what was happening and begged for his life, for forgiveness, to live. For a moment, he considered helping the boy. Then the peerage around him judged the actions, demanding he contain this anathema as the Empress demands. He did kill the boy, but it destroyed every belief he had.

He spoke with his wife at length, worried terribly she would reveal him to her house. Strangely, she cried and held him closer than she ever had before. Her acceptance of his actions and thoughts has led him to teach new lessons to his son and seek far different, oft times radical paths.



Other art:
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs12/i/2006/278/4/1/Avaku_and_restrained_anathema_by_MelUran.jpg
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs16/f/2007/176/4/1/OC__Kaboom_by_PaleLonginus.jpg

House Cathak
One of the eleven Great Houses of the Scarlet Dynasty. House Cathak is known as a pious and disciplined House of generals, strategist and martial philosophers. They are famed for their breeding, second only to House Mnemon. It is necessary because of the House's high mortality rate. It is said the House Cathak is "long on bravery, but short on judgment". Many scions of the House join the Imperial Legion, were many rank as some of the greatist war heroes of the Realm.


Master of the House
The head of House Cathak is Cathak Cainan, great grandson of Cathak himself.
Major Lines

* Cathak Garel, a household of devoted military historians.

Economics
Vast portion of the Houses wealth comes from satrapies. Recently, some Cathak House holds have started hiring out their legions to other Houses's satapies. Cathak Cainan despises the practice, but knows his house needs the money.

Satrapies
The House squeezes the most from their satrapies, but also provide better troops and less corrupt officials. More satrapies have been with holding tribute, hoping the impending civil war will keep the House occupied. Should war be overted House Cathak would make sure that the satrapies would be put in line with strong legion presence.

Goals and Alliances
House Cathak respects their alliances and partnerships.
Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Cathak Cainan, head of the House.
* Cathak Garel, head of the Cathak Garel Household of military historians.
* Cathak Cacek, founder of the game of Gateway.
* Cathak Mae, master smith of artifacts that are on par with those of the Shogunate.
* General Cathak Kitono, commander of the 23rd Legion stationed in Greyfalls
* Cathak Lazera, General of the 47th legion stationed in Harborhead.


Cathak Cainan, head of house

House Tepet

Major Lines

* Tepet Marek, Tepet Vergus, and Tepet Tilis were nearly annihilated with their Legions.
* Tepet Nerigus and Tepet Berel are primarily merchants and financiers

House Tepet favored Air Aspects in the past, but has begun an aggressive (some might say "frantic") adoption campaign to rebuild its numbers with Outcastes of any aspect.

Economics
With their Legions shattered, House Tepet cannot exact tribute from its satrapies, and must rely on the vast wealth they had stored up previous to this disaster. Still, they will not last long without a major source of income, and the entire House is desperate to reconstitute a viable military force from whoever they have available.

Tepet Ejava
The Roseblack
Wood aspect

* She is a legion general and an architect by nature.
* She owns a green jade daiklave named Thorn.
* She also possesses a Freedom Stone, a Salt-Gem of the Spirit's Eye, a Stone of Healing, a jade Mask, and green jade Articulated Plate.
* She commands the Vermillion Legion, also known as the Red-Piss Legion, and is proud of it.
* She is reputed to be one of the most famous contemporary heroes of the Realm.


Pre-Exaltation
Tepet Ejava was born while her mother, Tepet Ellora, was on campaign. When her unit was delayed in returning home by a protracted siege, she refused to retire to the baggage train or accept an escort home. Her armorers rigged the best protection they could for her swollen belly in the last months of her pregnancy, and she continued to lead her troops from the front ranks, as is the Tepet way. Ejava was born between sorties, and her mother bound her to her own breast and returned to the command tent. In the few short months Ejava spent at her mother's breast, she drank in the voice of command with her mother's milk.

The unusual circumstances of her birth brought her to the attention of many, including her grandfather, Tepet Arada. He had largely retired himself from the affairs of the house, as was his earned right. He made the trip to Ellora's home to excoriate her risk-taking with his bloodline, but once confronted with his granddaughter in the flesh, he could not entirely extricate himself from the process of raising her. She saw him rarely, but a word from Tepet Arada was still potent enough to bring the best tutors to her home and to open the doors to the best militarily oriented primary schools.

Exaltation
Tepet Ejava's Exaltation came upon her on a hunt in her eleventh year, mere weeks before Calibration. She had returned to her family's country home to learn proper manners and was sent out into the wild to hunt and bring back fresh meat. She had armed men with her, cloaked in spells of green and brown, willing to kill or die to protect her. On the hunt, she came across a great cat, dappled and tawny. Her instincts took over and she pulled her bow in one fluid motion. As the deer bounded into the small clearing, the great cat leapt at its flank, one massive paw wrenching the deer's head and neck around while the momentum of the strike carried them both to the ground. The cat's eyes met hers after a short, suffocating silence, and there was a flicker of recognition, a spark that kindled her soul. By the light of that fire, she saw the forest and the creatures around her in a whole new way. When a second deer bounded into the clearing, driven by the servants, she dropped her bow and bolted after it, maddened by the flood of primal urges. They found her, many minutes later after what was apparently quite a chase, curled next to the cooling body of the deer.


Ejava was terrified of her new life at first. In the fog that surrounds the piercing moment of Exaltation, she feared she had become Anathema, one of the animalistic, barbaric killers that roam the edges of the Realm, and that she would be hunted by her own family––her life short and brutal. She was not Anathema, however, but kissed by the Wood Dragon, and in the time it took her to come to her senses, she did an extraordinary amount of damage to the gardens around her family's manor, and later, to the headmistress's floral plantings when she returned to school. It was there that she earned the name "Roseblack", the Headmistress's lovely rosebushes withering and dying at the roots. Afterward, she was enrolled in the House of Bells, so that she could take her place in the Tepet legions, like so many others of her family.

Since her Exaltation
Three months after her graduation from the House of Bells, Tepet Ejava entered the legions, much to her grandfather's consternation. What he didn't seem to understand was that it was her decision to see the world in the service of the Empress. Her first command was that of a scale of recruits, putting down a peasant uprising in Chanos Prefecture. Afterward, the local prefect held a gala in honor of the victory, although the honor was all his. There were only two other Dragon-Blooded in the place: a pompous, arrogant boy and his shrew of a mother. The boy made ridiculous attempts at assignation, but Tepet Ejava managed to extricate herself without killing him. They met again, many years later, and fortunately for him, she did not remember him––she now has dinner with Ragara Nova every now and again, as he has grown much more smooth over the years and he sees a great deal more than he lets on. Ejava now considers him a friend.

The uprising taught Tepet Ejava something, though––that men and women fighting for their homes, their mates or their children are the match of any soldier. From there, she went on to see the world as planned, spending a year in the West chasing pirates, three months in Gem reminding Rankar IV that the Empress had not forgotten their arrangement, hunting heretics in the north, and barbarians and Raksha in the East. She's been nearly everywhere at one point or another. From time to time, she would return to the Blessed Isle. Each time she did, it was with another promotion under her belt.

Ejava's rise through the ranks was not swift, but it was steady. In time, she had risen to the rank of winglord, with 250 soldiers under her command. Then came the Battle of Tamrin Plain. Her command had been sent north to protect some investments of House Nellens, and they fought against bandits. The Anathema came down upon them, a towering, beastly creature. It had the arms and torso of a man and the head of a great stag with a rack of twisted antlers a spear's length to either side. With it came 500 of its howling, twisted thralls. Ejava had them beat until the Raksha host came down on them. Ground between the Anathema and the Raksha, 900 legionnaires died that night, among them General Sesus Fallot and three of his dragonlords––Ejava's commander among them. Ejava rallied the troops and turned the blood-maddened barbarians onto the Raksha long enough to attack. The Anathema escaped that day, but his slaves died to a man. The Raksha vanished with the morning mist and the bandits were slain.

Her next promotion made Tepet Ejava a dragonlord in the service of General Cathak Tilis Mallon––a commander that she is reluctant to praise. Mallon sent Ejava away to petition the Regent for funds and fresh troops as she was preparing for a hard fight in the Varajtul. She traveled to the Imperial City three days after news of the Battle of Futile Blood, coming to beg for jade a dragonlord and leaving a beggared general of a tattered legion in the service of a shattered house. People lined the streets as she left the Imperial Manse for the docks and watched her take her leave of the Isle. It was the first and last time Ejava ever felt ashamed.

The time since has been hard, but Ejava has been rebuilding the legion she now commands––the Vermillion, also known as the Red-Piss Legion.

Info from Scroll of Exalts
The granddaughter of the legendary general Tepet Arad, Tepet Ejava was conceived of two high-rankin officers serving on the frontlines of one of the Realm's campaigns. Her mother refused to surrender commend just because of the inconvenience of nursing an infant while on maneuvers, and clever smiths jury-rigged Tepet Ellora's breastplate to accomadate a tiny suckling infant. Upon Ellora's return to the Blessed Isle, she was castigated by her father, Arada, for being so cavalier with a Dynastic newborn, but after getting over his anger, the Wind Dancer was immediately taken by his new grandchild. While he never publically doted on her, Ejava benefited greatly from her grandfather's patronage, and her admission to the House of Bells awaited only the seeming formality of Exaltation.

The formality was satisfied when Ejava Exalted during her 11th year, a relatively young age for a Terrestrial Exaltation. But she never rested on her laurels or relied on her connections. Diligent, patient and driven, Ejava strove for excellence even beyond the standards of excellence set for her by her Dragon-blooded peers. After graduating from the House of Bells with the highest marks, Ejava had her choice of assignments. Early success in putting down a peasant uprising in Chanos Prefecture brought her a measure of fame as well as valuable battlefield experience. From there, she used the Imperial Army to see the world like few inhabitants of the Age of Sorrows ever could.

Ejava's most famous success was the Battle of Tamrin Plain, the tactics of which are still taught at the House of Vells. Initially assigned to assist a Nellens ranching concern against bandits in the Northern Threshold, the Roseblack suddenly found herself vastly outnumbered and caught between 500 beastmen led by a powerful Lunar Anathema on one side and an equivalent force of Fiar Folk hobgoblins on the other. In a brilliant tactical display, Ejava managed to divert the beastmen force into the ranks of the hobgoblins, forcing them to fight one another. The Lunar escaped, but his minions were wiped out, as were the Fair Folk forces and the bandits.

The Battle of Tamrin Plain led to her assignment as a dragonlord to the Third Legion in the Northeastern Threshold. Regrettably for all concerned, that posting was brief. Jealous rivals stymied her efforts to dvise an effective strategy for dealing with the opposing barbarian armies, and eventually, her superior reassigned her to the Blessed Isle where she was to lobby the Deliberative for reinforcements. Ejava arrived in the Imperial City just in time to learn of the disastrous Battle of Futile Blood and the destruction of her family's fortunes.

While the Tepet legions were no more, other opportunities remained, but the Roseblack realized that if such opportunities were to be realized, she would need a force she could mold to her own needs without having to answer to some superior officer likely to be her inferior in acumen. Althrough she received offers to join the command staffs of many of the Realm's leading generals, Ejava spurned them all for the one position attainable that would give her total control over an entire legion. Unfortunately, it was the Red Piss Legion, and Ejava's family was mortified when she accepted command over it. But Ejava saw a value in Vermillion Legion that others did not: total loyalty. To Ejava, the soldiers of the Red Piss Legion were the castoffs of the Realm, a massive fighting force whose officer corps consisted almost entirely of Dragon-Blooded cut of from their own Houses. It has taken her years of persistent training and drilling (and the quiet removal of those officers who were incompetent rather than simply bull-headed), but today, the Vermillion is a crack fighting force whose degenerate reputation is a mask for its brutal efficient and its dedication to the first truly great commander it has ever had.

Of course, a sword that is never unsheathed is a poor weapon, indeed. Though not a pious woman, Tepet Ejava is intensely patriotic. If the Scarlet Empress were to return tomorrow, she would be the first to swear fealty. However, there are no signs the Empress will return tomorrow, the next day or any day thereafter, and in the meantime, the Realm and Creation both slide toward oblivious. Seeing no one else who could possibily seize control of the Realm and maintain it, the Roseblack has come to an awful realization: tat she is most likely the best person to sit on the Scarlet Throne. Having accepted that truth, Ejava has become surprisingly calm about the prospect of treason, coup d'etat and bloody civil war against her own kinsman. She has quietly purged her inner circle of anyone who would not follow her path, and under her leadership, the red Piss Legion has become more than a match for any other legion. For now, Ejava waits. Tepet Arada has sent word that he is coming to the Southeast to meet with her. Whether it is to join her cause or take her head remains to be seen.




Tepet Arada

* He is a bitter ex-general and a rebel by nature.
* He owns a blue jade daiklave, Relentless Wind, the sword of Tepet himself. He wears it in a bundle strapped to his back.
* He also possesses jade Hearthstone bracers and a jade blood seed.
* He was sent by a crumbling Realm to fight against Yurgen Kaneko, the Bull of the North and even made him blink when he spoke to the Bull of the North in his own language. He did not, however, win and the Tepet Legions were crushed. He resigned his commission shortly thereafter to live the life of an Immaculate Monk.
* He is one of the most decorated officers in the history of the Realm.


Pre-Exaltation
Tepet Arada was mostly left to his own devices in his youth, having grown up in the military town of Chanos with parents who were fairly inattentive. He spent his early years learning the best ways to become a hooligan. He even got an old sailor to give him and his friends tattoos on their shoulders that said 'Hellion Legion". He even remembers getting the cane quite a bit for his antics, but recalls his childhood as pretty normal.

Exaltation
After having killed another kid that used to get into fights with him, Tepet Arada was sent to the Palace of the Tamed Storm in the Imperial City, a school that was more than used to dealing with troublemakers. He didn't remember how he had killed the other boy, but he knew it was when he Exalted, and he had spent some time locked up in a room after it happened. They told him that he was crazy for a long time after and that anyone who came near him, he started choking and beating on.

Since his Exaltation
After his time at the Palace of the Tamed Storm, he was sent to the House of Bells. He took to the military structure well, after having endured the beatings at the Palace of the Tamed Storm and quickly became the captain of his own cadet squad. The House of Bells taught him that words and such can be just as brutal or effective as a fist for a lot of obstacles. Words could even be better in some ways. Another important lesson he learned from the House of Bells was that you have to deserve power. After leaving the House of Bells, he moved into his older brother's home, but was rarely there, being out traveling to various places where the Realm had a regular military presence. He did eventually end up in the field with the Legions and had a preference for doing more visceral sorts of operations, long-range recon and fast-attack jobs.

He did the minimum that he had to do in order to be supportive and fulfill the family roles, but preferred his time out away with the Legions to time at home with the family. After a while, he became disgusted with his family and spent several years in the North, trading furs and such with some of the Icewalkers and meditating. A few years after he returned, he went off to a big campaign against Jochim the Anathema. It was a long, drawn-out campaign, but in the end, Tepet Arada took a force of his best men and razed Jochim's fort in the hills to the ground. They named him the Wind Dancer for that and was promoted to general. It was then that he was given command of the Tepet Legions and gained the sword of his grandfather, the Daiklave of Tepet.

House Mnemon
House Mnemon is the strongest of the Great Houses, and is led by Mnemon herself, the eldest living child of the Scarlet Empress. Its scions excel at anything requiring arduous study.


Master of the House
House Mnemon is one of the two Great Houses that are controlled by their progenitor. In Mnemon's case, though, she has actually lived beyond the normal Terrestrial lifespan, as opposed to her sister, V'Neef, who only recently was granted the right to found a House. Mnemon is perhaps the single most powerful member of the Scarlet Dynasty, and she runs a tight ship. If any one of her descendants fails to live up to her expectations, bad things tend to happen.


Major Lines

* Mnemon Caras, a truly devout family that often enters the Immaculate Order, and would try to break free of Mnemon's political control if they thought it was possible.

House Mnemon has the second-best Exaltation rate of any Great House, surpassed only by those upstart V'Neef. Earth is the primary elemental aspect for scions of Mnemon, but Air Aspects do occur.


Mnemon


* She is a dynastic power-broker and an architect by nature.
* She owns a white jade daiklave, Weeping Sword of Sorrows, jade and steel articulated plate with a Gem of Perfection set in the breastplate and a Gem of Harvest set in the helmet.
* She also owns the Emerald Thurible, an artifact for summoning and binding demons.
* She is a powerful sorceress.
* She is the founder of a Great House in the Realm.
* She is 399 years old, older than most Terrestrial Exalts live by almost a hundred years.


Pre-Exaltation
One of the children of the Scarlet Empress, Mnemon's earliest memories are of her mother and being summoned upon occasion to watch her rule. Her brother, with whom she shared a father as well (Rawar), Ragara, was already over two centuries old when she was born, and was building his family and his legions as she was playing in unobtrusive corners of the Palace. Ragara was the image of everything she wanted to be as a child, tall, powerful: a paragon of might. However, Ragara was afraid of her. The Scarlet Empress herself took time to teach Mnemon herself when time allowed, her Sidereal advisors having informed her that Mnemon had great potential for sorcery and would certainly Exalt. During her early years, she was also tutored by a trio of Immaculate Monks, Laughing Butterfly, Kiran and Stone.


Exaltation
Stone was her teacher in the ways of martial arts. Mnemon never heard him speak and his face was completely covered by a black hood with no holes for his eyes, nose or mouth. One day when he was teaching Mnemon how to disarm a knife attack and she was getting bored and sloppy, Stone forced her to the ground and held a knife to her throat. She felt something release that had been caged in her soul forever, ready to burst forth. Stone pressed the knife into her throat, but it did not cut her, and Stone stumbled back as Mnemon's anima flared for the first time.

The long knife that Stone had held against her a moment before clattering to the floor. Stone moved to go after it and Mnemon dashed between him and the knife. He held up his hand in motion for her to stop, but all of what he had been teaching her to fight welled up inside of her and she launched herself at him, kicking and punching. She attacked with a speed that surprised her and when he doubled over, the breath puffing his mask outward, she brought her elbow across his face and contacted with a cheekbone. He lunged for her and she ducked, hitting him open-handed across the ribcage and feeling his lung collapse under broken ribs.

Then she was done and her anima was all gone. She felt fear return as he faced her, clutching his side with one hand and leveled her with one punch from the other. He turned to leave and Mnemon, who had landed next to his knife, grabbed it and threw it at him, the knife burying itself in his shoulder, causing him to cry out. Then she saw his anima flare, discordant and fractured, a green halo surrounding him. At the time, she had never seen anything like it, and since then, she has come to understand he must certainly have been one of the Sidereals. Stone disappeared through the use of a Charm and moments later, as Mnemon sat confused and afraid, the Empress appearaed in the doorway, smiling her enigmatic smile.
"Well done," she said.


Since her Exaltation
On the day of Mnemon's Exaltation, her older brother, Ragara, tried to have her killed. He had a special suit of armor crafted for her that had tiny barbs on the inside of the breastplate that were coated with poison. Mnemon knew of the treachery at a touch of the armor and had servants clean the armor, inside and out before donning it. Two servants died that night and the Empress was doubly proud of her that day. The Empress was not impressed with Ragara's attempt on Mnemon's life and offered him the same choice that surrounded Sesus' life - if Mnemon died, so would Ragara.


After her Exaltation, the Empress sent her to the Versino, the Heptagram of Mnemon's day. She was three years into her training when the school fell. She was trying to summon and bind a First Circle demon while supervised by her tutor, Janalar, who had the Emerald Thurible hanging from his belt. It was then that she was to join the elite ranks of the upper class students who possessed demon slaves. She had heard that her tutor was going to test the power of the Emerald Thurible and summon a demon of the Second Circle. He and his attending monks were prepared for the ceremony, and nothing should have gone wrong. She took a big chance and used a Charm to allow her to see through the eyes of one of the monks, the demon she had just summoned being commanded to protect her. The demon that Janalar summoned was too powerful for him and killed him and the monks attending him. Mnemon protected herself by casting Invulnerable Skin of Bronze and she cowered from within the protection of her summoned demon. After the Second Circle demon had passed, she commanded her own demon to release her and she chased after the other demon, which was engaged in fighting with the demons summoned to protect the school and the last remaining monk, who had the Thurible. She commanded her demon to take the monk just as he banished the Second Circle demon and has possessed the Emerald Thurible ever since. The school was razed to the ground after she left, and the Empress attempted to deal with the political backlash, building another school on the far side of the island where the Versino used to be.


Afterward, Mnemon took a lover in a senior sorcerer; they eventually had a child and Mnemon began to build her own House and her legacy. She also worked against the formation of House Nellens and eventually went back to the ruins of the Versino, to summon Janalar and learn everything she could about the Emerald Thurible. She has also been known to ride with the Wyld Hunt from time to time. She also knows of the Sidereals and their role in the Usurpation and the formation of the Shogunate and the Scarlet Dynasty, having met with Chejop Kejak. She is currently one of the primary candidates for the Scarlet Throne in the absence of the Empress. Her greatest rival at the moment for the throne is Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack.

House Peleps
Staunchly loyal to the Scarlet Empress and the Realm, House Peleps controls the Imperial Navy.

Master of the House
Peleps Febara and Peleps Taxin, a wife-and-husband duo, try to instill their superlative cunning in their descendants, to better prepare them for life in the Scarlet Dynasty
Major Lines

* Peleps Najalin, a family of born naval tacticians and captains
* Peleps Kaizoku, by remaining separate from the Imperial Navy, this household's private fleet allows for plausibly-deniable privateering against the enemies of the Realm

All Peleps lines favor the elemental aspect of Water


Goals and Alliances
House Peleps does not make long-term alliances, and has no unifying goal other than to safeguard the Realm in general, and the prosperity of their own House in particular. They do, however, receive hefty bribes from the Guild, in return for allowing that organization to pass the Imperial Navy unmolested.


Peleps Deled
Immaculate monk


* He is a zealous crusader and a paragon by nature.
* He owns a black jade dire lance, Sting of Daana'd, black jade razor claws, Claws of Daana'd, a black jade reinforced breastplate, a freedom stone, a sphere of balance and the labyrinthine eye.
* He is a master martial artist and is trained in the Celestial Water Dragon Martial Art.

Pre-Exaltation
His first memory is of entering the Temple of Daana'd in the Imperial City. Despite his youth, Peleps Deled was enraptured by the power within and awestruck by the living water that danced in the basins. He was too young to understand that this temple was a Manse and that it's shape was designed to direct the power of Daana'd, but he was aware on some level that it was holy beyond its mere artifice.

His parents had no time for religion, so it was that his uncle, Peleps Deham, brought him to the temple that day. He was shown where to sit and how to direct his attention. Deham was an Immaculate himself, an Itinerant of Water. Although he did not return to House Peleps often, his sea-green skin and black hair and eyes seemed to pull Deled in and almost drown him when he looked for too long. Deham was a Terrestrial of obviously strong breeding. He only remained at House Peleps for a few weeks, but in that time, he'd made certain that Deled would be schooled in the Temple of Daana'd. The education that he received was both thorough and enlightening, if not always gentle. He was taught to read from the Immaculate Texts and he enjoyed basic instruction in the simplest forms of the martial arts. He dreaded returning home and his family sometimes made up blasphemies to taunt him. That was what instigated the first fight he had in his life.


One day, during a short break from school when he was nine years old, four of his cousins found Peleps Deled sitting by the pool in the garden. They ranged in age from nine to twelve and were all larger than he was. They began with simple jibes, and he did not give them satisfaction by responding or even looking up from his contemplations. They quickly moved on to insulting his faith, his schooling and his uncle. When they finally insulted the Immaculate Dragon, he could sit quietly no longer. Suddenly, he was among them, surprising even himself with the speed and ferocity with which he attacked. What little he had been taught in the temple remained with him and overtook him. A few minutes later, four of his elder cousins were crawling away with bleeding noses and lips, and one with a broken arm.

A few hours later, he was summoned before his parents and the parents of those cousins who he had beaten. He was punished for having cost House Peleps an important victory against House Ragara - one of his cousins was to ride against a Ragara in the Spring Race. After his beating, Peleps Deham came to him in the garden. He had arrived earlier and had witnessed both the fight and Deled's punishment. He chose not to involve himself. He told Deled that he would make certain that he was rewarded for his strength and faith and promised that, upon the day he returned from his next pressing mission as an Itinerant, he would see to it.


Exaltation
Peleps Deled's childhood ended when that day came, two years later. He begged Deham to teach him, and so he did. He learned but one kata that day, the simplest one that was taught to monks on their first day in the exercise yards in the Cloister of Wisdom. He grasped it swiftly, save for the last few movements. At first, he did not understand why, he could not comprehend the very concept of those last few steps and strikes. His body simply did not move that way. Upon realizing that, he understood. Deham showed him the kata once more, and Deled performed it with him. When they reached those last few motions, he fell as he had the first times he tried it. Deham looked him squarely in the eyes and said, "This is for Dragons", and he walked away, leaving Deled in the exercise yard.


Deled neither slept nor ate for six days. He did not rest except in the brief moment of meditation between one performance of the kata and the next. The kata took ten minutes to complete from start to finish, including the meditation. He performed the kata a thousand times, and as the sun began to rise on the seventh day, he forced his shuddering limbs to perform the movements one final time. On the one thousand and first attempt, it happened. His limbs flowed and his body bent in ways that they had not, could not, before. His heart beat with the crashing of waves on cliffs and his blood was a raging river. He had been seeking his whole young life, but in the end, it was Daana'd who found him.


Since his Exaltation
After his Exaltation, Peleps Deled was sent to the Cloister of Wisdom to study the art of mastering his Essence and necessary martial skills, in preparation for his acceptance into the Immaculate Order. He went with Peleps Deham to the Palace Sublime on the fourth day following his 20th birthday to present himself as a postulant. He waited in the yard for three days. Monks and other postulants walked past him, never seeming to notice him even when they might have stepped on his hand had he not snatched it from underfoot. They brought him no food and no water, but he endured and he waited. Finally, on the dawn of his fourth day of waiting, an elderly monk brought him stewed chicken, rice and wine. After he had eaten, the elderly monk took his embroidered silk robes and replaced them with the coarse grey woolen robes of a postulant. After several weeks of harsh treatment as a postulant, he was brought before the Paragon and asked three questions only, after which he was accepted as a monk in the Immaculate Order.


During his time at the Palace Sublime, he made attempts to educate his peers on the proper teachings of the Immaculate Dragons, often through martial arts duels. When he felt assured that his ascension from student to true monk was near, he was surprised that he was neither made an Itinerant nor swept away to some forsaken monastery. Instead, he was given over to the Wyld Hunt and Cathak Titus, second in command of the Wyld Hunt. At the Pinnacle of the Hunt, an old Earth Manse carved into the side of a towering cliff and accessible only by a winding stair of 10,000 steps or by air, he was placed in charge of training the mortal monks and honing his skills so that he would be prepared to face whatever enemies of the Realm that the Wyld Hunt was set against. He eventually became master of the Pinnacle and of the Wyld Hunt.

House Nellens
House Nellens is ridiculed by the other Great Houses for its low rate of Exaltation, possibly due to its progenitor, the only mortal consort of the Scarlet Empress. Despite (or perhaps because of) the treatment it receives from the rest of the Scarlet Dynasty, House Nellens enjoys immense popularity with the mortals of the Blessed Isle, who view the House as being one step removed from themselves. This opinion does nothing to help the status of House Nellens.

Master of the House
The other Houses would be shocked to learn that it is a council of four un-Exalted Patricians who make the most important decisions for House Nellens. The three Dragon-Blooded who also sit on the council are mostly figureheads.

Major Lines
The Exaltation rate of House Nellens is so poor that it cannot afford to split up into separate families, and so the "Nellens" line is the only one.

Economics
Like a younger sibling who is bullied away from the dinner table, House Nellens has been forced to look in new places for sustenance. They have mostly succeeded, expanding into small industries and trades that their better-bred cousins have passed over. Not only has this increased their influence with the un-Exalted masses, it has also ensured steady economic growth.

Satrapies
Because of its low social status and small number of Terrestrial Exalted, House Nellens has only one major Realm holding, in the city of Juche. It also holds economic and political control over the Eastern satrapy of Greyfalls.

Goals and Alliances
Although their lot is nowhere near as bad as that of House Iselsi, the Nellens know that they have no real allies save for the populace of the Realm, and even that is predicated on the forbearance of the other Houses. Their excellent network of informants, merchants, and contacts will help them get close to anyone who tries to take the Scarlet Throne, but House Nellens itself does not really have a chance for itself.
Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Nellens Malakai, a sorcerer who has become interested in the Abyssal Exalted, after a close victory over one
* Nellens Siviri, a talented exorcist and healer, this gentle God-Blood is wildly popular

Nellens Osan
"Opal Eye" the Lunar

Nellens Osan


as Ponana, the pampered


As a Lunar:


Nellens Afritata

Ancient and withered thin, the air aspect matron has long since been exiled from the Dragonblooded peoples. She once was a spitfire of political influence with a steel trap of a mind for economics and numbers. Few could rival her ability to balance a ledger or win at cards. In her youth, Afritata was a terribly vain thing, believing herself above all others. It was in this audacious youth she accepted a marriage and business arrangement with a member of Cynis. A strange creature was found in the depths of the wyld, brought to the edge of creation and finally bred twice. Although ugly and foul in every way, the creature did provide fascinating opportunities for exotic drugs.

Eager for coin and willing to flaunt her economic zeal, she (finishing later)

House Ragara
House Ragara is well-liked by just about everyone, which shows just how skilled they are at working behind the scenes of the Scarlet Dynasty.

Master of the House
Ragara Banoba, grandson of the Empress by way of Ragara himself, maintains an air of stupidity in order to fool the heads of the other Houses into underestimating him and his scions. That makes them excellent targets for his various power-plays.
Major Lines

* Ragara Soras, a major trading family, especially from the Blessed Isle's northern ports
* Ragara Calel, this family is the most gregarious in the House, keeping up a Ragara presence wherever it is needed

House Ragara favors Earth Aspects.

Economics
Ragara acts as banker and financier to many Dynasts. Indeed, some members have taken to loan-sharking. When the Ragara's mark cannot pay back the loan, they find themselves owing the House a favor, and House Ragara will never forget that favor is due.

Satrapies
Members of House Ragara consider one of four estates in Chanos Prefecture their ancestral home.

Goals and Alliances
The primary ally of House Ragara is the Guild, who allow the Ragara to extend their influence all the way out to the Threshold, and provide them with superb money-making opportunities. On the Blessed Isle, however, Ragara makes no allies, but instead seeks to get the other Houses indebted to it.

Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Air Fleet Admiral Ragara Feria
* Ragara Myrrun, one of the only three living Immaculate grandmasters
* Ragara Soras Heral, a gifted administrator who works with Banoba to manage House finances



House V'neef
The youngest House in the Scarlet Dynasty, House V'Neef has enjoyed an exceptionally pure bloodline, the favor of the Scarlet Empress, and the envy of its less-fortunate relatives.

Master of the House
V'Neef is still very young, and her family consists entirely of her, her husband and there children, so there has been no need for her to delegate power at all.

Major Lines
The nine born-members of House V'Neef are all directly related to the founder, and have all been strongly aspected towards Wood. The adopted members are not yet in a position to start their own households.

Economics
In addition to the lucrative satrapies the Empress bestowed upon the fledgling House, V'Neef has made a grand profit on winemaking, as most wine was previously imported from across the Inner Sea. This endeavor has also been aided by being granted control over the Merchant Navy, a post previously belonging to House Peleps.

Satrapies
By making reasonable demands of her satrapies in the South, V'Neef has gained a stable holding in the Threshold and a source of Firedust.

Though they are young and have no ancestral holding, members of House V'neef consider Qishi Prefecture their home. (Note: This information on Qishi Prefecture was cut for space from the Blessed Isle book and may not be canonical.)

Goals and Alliances
At the moment, House V'Neef is too small to make a dent in Dynastic politics on its own. However, its extreme purity of blood makes it a prime candidate for intermarriage, which is how V'Neef expects her family will gain its influence.
Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* V'Neef Aliset, a vibrant young Wood Aspect who hopes to attend the Heptagram

House Iselsi
In Realm Year 303, several members of House Iselsi made the foolish mistake of trying to assassinate the Scarlet Empress. Things have gone downhill from there. As punishment, the Empress gradually stripped the House of all its holdings, and periodically executed some of its members. What few Iselsi remain in power do so only with the aid of the Immaculate Order.


Master of the House
Because of the Empress's frequent purges and the scattering of the House's scions, no single person holds any control. Technically, the remaining elders have sanctuary in the Palace Sublime, but they lack actual authority over the younger members.

Major Lines
With so few remaining members, all Iselsi rally under the House's name. However, many members of House Iselsi have gone into hiding, using cover identities in the Threshold to remain out of sight and consolidate finances. The two most prominent of these households are:

* Enuma, operating out of Cherak
* Saraban, located in Kirighast

Neither of these households is obviously related to House Iselsi.

Economics
Without satrapies to collect taxes from, House Iselsi struggles to survive on stipends from the Immaculate Order and small businesses owned by cover families.

Goals and Alliances
House Iselsi has no friends, and no real goals save to survive. If the Scarlet Empress were to return, that might change, but barring such an occurrence, Iselsi will not last much longer.
Illustrious Dynasts of the House

* Whitemane Vocal, a mortal governor of Spider's Crossing
* Darako Moonrise, skilled ship captain who makes frequent runs between Iselsi cover families

The Ruse
The greatest secret this House possesses is that they were conspiring with the Empress throughout the entire period of being shamed. The periodic "executions" were used to relocate key members of House Iselsi to the Threshold, where they acted as spymasters in service to the Realm. Unfortunately, the Empress disappeared before the House could be openly redeemed, and now they wait for her return, so that their dedication to the Empire might be visible to all.

Iselsi Icherus
Icherus was a selected apprentice and scribe for the families of Thorns. He held a minor position in the court of Thorns, but one required for the functioning of the nobles. He lived to see the end of their world in Thorns as the Mask of Winters conquered the kingdom. Driven to the edge of the keep, he fell to his death in the seas...and yet did not die. Something protected him, providing a path to the tomb of the dead god of seals.

He has awakened the "key" glaive Keeper, made of Starmetal.

House Sesus
House Sesus is a military power, and that's about all it can reliably lay claim to, though the members of this Great House don't lose any sleep over it. Still, the House lumbers along thanks to the acumen of its members.

Master of the House
Each of the five major bloodlines operate semi-independently, led by the eldest couple from each household.
Major Lines

* Sesus Kajak, fallen from its prominent military position, this family is now primarily a mercenary operation
* Sesus Alon, a household known for its fierce orators in the Deliberative
* Sesus Magel, a more politically and financially oriented family
* Sesus Chenow, well-known for the brutality and blood-lust of its members
* Sesus Denerid, practically part of House Cynis, thanks to constant intermarriages

With the notable (and abhorrent) exception of the Denerid household, the Sesus lines favor Fire Aspects

Economics
Most of the House's revenue comes from its satrapies, who generally pay on time to avoid being subjected to Sesus troops, but occasional mercenary units also bring in money.

Satrapies
House Sesus claims Eagle Prefecture as its ancestral holding. It also holds several territories in the East.

Goals and Alliances
Despite being aligned with House Mnemon, House Sesus isn't willing to just hand the throne over, and they are contemplating accepting House Iselsi's offer of support.

Line of Ledaal Onyx - Ragara Hailia
Onyx has the breeding merit. As such, he was arranged into a marriage with Hailia of Ragara, with an impressive purity of blood and lineage. She hails from a highly political family with ties into Mnemnon. Onyx hails from a scholarly line of sorcerers, every member practically having studied at the Heptagram or tutored by them.

They have twin children now in their 16th year of age. Kaiver (son, water) and Klaressa (daughter, earth) have shown an aptitude of sorcery. Kaiver also endured courses in the Spiral Academy for bureaucracy and political science. Klaressa has always remained in the Heptagram, with tutoring from a warrior of the House of Bells. Oddly enough, the son took after his mother, and the daughter her father.

Kaiver is a lethally cunning young man, focused with a fluid grace of water in his dealings with others. His skin and hair have the slightest tinting of blue, eyes deep aqua to the point of being black. He is learning to reveal numerous faces and views, wending through nobility using cunning and magic. His magics tend to protection, mind enhancement, and illusion to spy, hold minds, twist intention, and disguise.

Klaressa is a stalwart focused young woman, unyielding when on her path when set, yet long in thought. Where her father carries the coloring and attunement to onyx and obsidian, she is a strange sunny opposite with colorings of gold and eyes like rose quartz. Many a youth has already tried for her hand, and found themselves encased in stone or cornered by magma dogs. She tends to a far more martial path of magic and study, though the lure of the occult always tempts.

When the two are together, they share an affinity for ritual magics, which they are still trying to understand. This aspect of their birth they keep very quiet until they can study and harness it together, to better further their family's goals.


Ragara Hailia is a rare bird among the many women and men of court. Few ever would have garnered she would marry Onyx or tie herself to Ledaal. The houses had far more riding on a member of Mnemon bound to Ledaal. Something in the rumors of the dark Ledaal had caught her interest, bringing her around him far more through the help of an old tutor of his that she befriended just for the opportunity. At the time, it was quite the victory against Mnemon. One that would earn her enemies. Yet as the years of their marriage passed, Hailia has found a deep and abiding love for her husband, far more than simply a chance for proper breeding. When he left upon his current mission, lost with anathema, she felt true fear and concern for him, working ever harder to secure his aims within the courts.

A water aspect, she has eyes the shifting colors of the deepest ocean depths, moving between black and blue. Her hair once dark brown has darkened throughout with hints of teal and purples. Patterns of sun glimmering on waves wanders over her skin when using charms, along with the scent of deep oceans.

Like most of her family, she excels within the realm of politics, crafting treaties and alliances between houses and following bloodlines for perfect alignment and breeding. Many believe she will grow into a refined matchmaker. Currently, she remains deeply embedded within court and the committees rather than focusing on the regent as others do. And of course, she is finalizing marriage plans for their children, taking their own interests into account.

Aspect Markings

These are some short lists of Dragonblooded Aspect marks; they aren't sorted by Breeding or Essence intensity, but some common sense should apply -- really extreme manifestations are probably best saved for high-Essence or -Breeding individuals.


Air

breath; (frosty) mist
hair-colors; white, translucent, all shades of blue
eye-, skin-colors; as above save translucent, greys (eyes)
constant small breeze
hair ripples as if in wind
thin sheen of ice / frost on flesh, hair
casts 'false sparks'
eyes have electrical flash when emotion intense
scent; fresh breezes, fog, snow
markings; dapples like snow-patterns, 'wind spirals'
flesh perfectly smooth


Fire

breath; smoke, 'false-flames'
hair-colors; all shades of fire-red, golden-orange, pale-blue-and-gold
eye-colors; ruby, amber, jet, flame-orange ...
skin-colors; deep amber, copper, all shades of red, coal black
markings; flame-feathering
scent; smoke, ash, incense?
sheds 'false sparks' or ember-like motes
flesh warm / hot to the touch
hair resembles flame
eyes glow like embers
flesh velvety like ash


Earth

hair-colors; vaguely translucent alabaster to onyx, jaspers and browns predominating
eye-colors; browns, black, gemlike
skin-colors; as hair-color
markings; mottled like granite, veined like marble ...
scent; dust, fresh soil
hair thick, heavy, coarse like stone, or resembling spun gemstone
flesh textured like mineral type (smooth as alabaster to rough as sandstone)
eyes resemble crystals or gemstones
small crystals, gems or other incrustations in flesh
flesh sheds dust, sand


Water

hair-colors; sea-green through dark blues, blue-black, pearly
eye-colors; as hair-color, plus aqua, coral
skin-colors; as hair-color save pearly
markings; foam speckling, wave-lines, scale-patterns
scent; seawater
flesh vaguely rubbery
hair resembles seafoam
small (iridescent?) scales on portions of the body
webbed or partially webbed fingers, toes
small trailing fins on forearms, calves
hair, flesh always damp
hair coils as if underwater


Wood

hair-colors; green-gold, all shades of green, browns / golden-browns
eye-colors; as hair-colors
skin-colors; greens
markings; leaf-patterns, petal-patterns (solid or outline)
scent; flowers, resins, freshly-cut wood or foliage
flesh petal-soft, bark-rough, textured like wood
flesh barklike in patches
hair coiling like vines
flowers, small leaves, tendrils growing in hair
flesh sheds pollen, tiny petals, sap

The powers that be among the DragonBlooded.

Peleps Deled - at top, water aspect
Cathak Cainan - fire aspect
Tepet Arada - air aspect
Tepet Ejava the Roseblack - wood aspect, bottom
Mnemon - earth aspect