House Flambeau

**House Flambeau** is one of the twelve Founding Houses of Hermes. Founded by Master Flambeau, the House has always been one of the experts of war within the Order.

## Paradigm

Masters of Forces in an Order that already prizes the study of that Sphere, House Flambeau are the Order's war mages. Despite their name, they are as proficient with bolts of lightning, chilling cold and devastating telekinetic blasts as they are with fire. Most are as skilled with swords, guns and martial arts as they are with spells. Tempestuous and hot-headed (no pun intended) and not usually the greatest thinkers, they have a fearsome reputation on the battlefield and there are fewer better than a Flambeau to have at your side during a confrontation.

Flambeau was part of Zoroastrian sect and parts of its dualistic ethos survive. Flambeau mages see the material world as filled with pain and corruption, from which death frees us (indeed, the old motto of the House was "*Unto Death, We Charge*"). By wielding the light of Ohrmuzd (magic), they can drive away the darkness of Ahriman and free their sublime spirits to reach the realm of Ascension through a union with the *Amesha Spentas*, the personifications of virtue. Because of this, most Flambeau mages seek to work their magic not for personal gain, but for the protection of others and most believe that death through their own magic was a kind of purification from the taint of the material world.

## History

Master Flambeau was originally on a quest for revenge after Moorish wizards had killed his master, slaying over 50 mages alone. Only the diplomacy of Trianoma managed to bring him out of his vindictive Crusade and to join the Pax Hermetica. Flambeau dedicated his House to the study of fire and destruction, and died a short time afterwards after apparently immolating himself. His House, led by his two apprentices, Lucinda and Apromor, swore itself to the protection of the other Houses. In the spirit of this vow, House Flambeau joined side with House Tremere in the Schism War of 1003, which annihilated the druidic House Díedne after accusations of diabolism.

### Dark Ages

Motto: *Ad mortem incurrite* (Latin: "Unto Death, We Charge")

During much of the Dark Ages, House Flambeau served as the Order's front fighters, battling the rogue House Tremere in the Massassa War as well as rival wizards. During these times, House Flambeau was renowned for its martial lust for life and its high attrition rate. Most Flambeau wizards tended to die in battle and often traveled between Covenants in order to offer their services. Their uncompromising way of life, as well as their noblesse oblige, made them one of the Houses more in favor of Commoners, since they did not divorce themselves from their mortal passions in the way more scholarly Houses, like Bonisagus, did.

### Renaissance

The Grand Unification gave House Flambeau a new enemy to focus on: The Order of Reason and its successor, the Technocratic Union. The most common Flambeau tactic against these new enemies was to attack them before they were attacked by them. The growing stifling of the Consensus made the more blatant ways of pyrokinesis for which the House was renowned more difficult, causing the Lucindan faction within the House, who approached their magic with much more volatility, to die out, leaving the Apromorian faction dominant, who espoused a code of slow revenge. Each new mage within the House was dedicated to the Ascension War, with some adopting tactics from the Taftâni to challenge the Consensus through spectacular displays of vulgar magic (often inviting their own death through Paradox backlashes).

### Final Nights

When Porthos Fitz-Empress *bani* **Flambeau** contained the Conflagration of Doissetep, the House demanded action, some even considering a suicide run against the Technocracy to finish them once and for all. During the Second Massassa War, House Flambeau's numbers were diminished, but their spirit still burned bright and most members, while desiring an honorable battle against their enemies, chose to instead cultivate slow revenge. Despite their high attrition rates, Flambeau is still one of the largest Houses of Hermes, thanks to its charm and direct manner.

## Organization

House Flambeau was organized in six major cabals, through which promotion was ruled through Certamen duels and the favor of the ranking Masters. This highly competitive style has gone out of favor in the wake of the recent conflicts. Instead, House Flambeau is now organized into several decentralized cells, making it impossible to attack the core of the House. These mages communicate with each other through inofficial channels.

## Culture

House Flambeau follows a "do or die" code, which gave the them the reputation of manipulability among more political apt Houses like Janissary or Tytalus. Those who already work with fire, like demolitionists and military personnel, are especially treasured, but the House also looks to advanced physics and nuclear engineering.

Many Flambeau mages are adept at mixing praxises of different Paradigms with their own, using these exotic elements to call on even more destructive aspects of magic.