The Ninth House

The Ninth House Icon

Matthias Nonius

> *"Nine for the Tomb, and for all that was lost"*
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**Ninth House, the House of the Sewn Tongue, the Anchorite's House, the House of Heretical Secrets** is the ninth planet in the Nine Houses System. The last of the planets to be resurrected, Ninth House is regarded by many as a mistake or an unintentional creation. Some even go so far as to suggest it was never meant to last. It is most famous for its Locked Tomb and the dour nuns that protect it. The infrastructure of the house itself is *"cracked vertically into the planet's core."*

## **History**

A myriad ago, the Emperor resurrected the Nine Houses. He entrusted his disciple Anastasia and future generations of the Ninth House to safeguard the Locked Tomb, which is said to hold the monster of the resurrection, the death of the Emperor, and the thing that he defeated once and cannot defeat again.

> *"I pray the Tomb is shut forever. I pray the rock is never rolled away. I pray that which was buried remains buried, insensate, in perpetual rest with closed eye and stilled brain."*
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The Ninth House, historically, has always been an extremely religious House. A majority of their dwindling population are penitents and postulants from other houses, as well as other mystics and pilgrims. The religion practiced in the house of the Ninth is not the same as in the other houses, being much more closely tied to the Locked Tomb than worshiping the Emperor. To some, such as Eighth House, this devotion is seen as verging on heretical.

The House has fallen on hard times in recent centuries, lacking in conventional resources and funds to retain a robust population. Despite their willingness to break resurrection-purity lines, the Reverend Mother and Father Pelleamena and Priamhark found themselves unable to secure a strong necromantic heir. To secure the House, they embarked on a horrifying plot to engineer a powerful heir without the help of Cohort vat wombs or necromancers.

Following the Ninth House Genocide, the House reached a population crisis point with only three young people to replace a generation of elderly. Seventeen year old Harrowhark faces the imminent collapse of her House or death of her house via absorption into another.

## **Atmosphere/Climate**

The Ninth House Planet is a cold and distant planet. Its sky appears a patchwork of soupy white and thin navy air, as the atmosphere is pumped in inconsistently. The planet also spins slowly, leaving Castle Drearburh and its inhabitants in total darkness for many months of the year. The soil is so poor in quality and rocky that there is little native flora and very little possibility for agriculture. The air quality is frequently described as sulfurous.

## **Locations**

### Castle Drearburh

> *"The grey and putrid heart of Drearburh. The greyer and more putrid heart of its lady."*
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Castle Drearburh is the stronghold of and grandest facility on the Ninth House. Housing the ruling family and the church, there is very little worth mentioning on Ninth that does not happen within the walls of Castle Drearburh.

### The Locked Tomb

> *"The cost of the Resurrection; the beast that he defeated one but can't defeat twice. The abyss of the First. The death of the Lord."*
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The focal point of the Ninth House religion, the Locked Tomb is resting place of the Emperor's greatest enemy. The Tombkeeper's Line and the Nuns of the Locked Tomb regard it as their sacred duty to guard the tomb and ensure the rock is never rolled away, ensuring His enemy can never again wake.

### The Prison

> *"A tiny prison, used only for those criminals whose crimes were too repugnant for their own Houses to rehabilitate..."*
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A bubble installation suspended in the atmosphere, the prison at the Ninth House is a tiny establishment for the worst criminals from the Nine Planets.

## **Diet**

Lacking the resources to grow nutritious food, the Ninth House relies on regular shipments of nutrient paste to be added to their regular bland gruels and soups. This deficiency appears to be unique to the Ninth House. It is unknown if this is a result of Ninth House's fragile situation, a part of their ascetic lifestyle, or simply a fact of life on the Ninth.

## **Characters of the Ninth House**

* Gideon Nav
* Harrowhark Nonagesimus
* Pelleamena Novenarius
* Priamhark Noniusvianus
* Ortus Nigenad
* Mortus the Ninth
* Marshal Crux
* Captain Aiglamene
* Sister Glaurica
* Sister Lachrimorta
* Sister Aisamorta
* Matthias Nonius
* Anastasia the First
* Samael Novenary

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 1
2. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 3
3. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 31
4. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 4