Great Houses

Great Houses are those Aodhian noble Houses that were founded between modern Aodh’s founding in 700, and the return of Ignacio into Hireath in 884. They are generally regarded as being more prestigious than the Lesser Houses that came after.

## Overview

Like all nobility, Great Houses enjoy reduced taxation, having their legal matters handled at the Peers Court, protection of injured nobility laws and considerable prestige. Like with all nobles, the Head of each House is entitled to a seat at Peers Court.

Compared to Lesser Houses, Great Houses enjoy some additional benefits. Members of these Houses have a comparatively easier time escalating matters to the Royal Court (Aodh’s highest court), and tend to be favored over Lesser Houses in both legal matters and appointments. Advisers are traditionally selected only from among Great Houses, and they are also heavily favored for appointment to Envoys.

Great Houses also have a much easier time marrying into royalty, as well as marrying to other Great Houses, further increasing their prestige and influence. Soleil’s have often married off their ‘surplus’ children into Great Houses as tokens of favor, leading to many of the prominent noble families having a pinch of Soleil blood in their veins. As Great Houses are relatively few, and they tend to favor intermarrying, it is fair to assume that most Great House nobles are distant relatives to one another - although closely related matches are rare, and purposefully avoided. Great Houses marrying into Lesser Houses is not impossible, but is relatively rare.

Great Houses are also known as Ancient Houses. This alternative name is generally used interchangeably, but some particularly elitist nobles insist that Ancient House refers only to the Houses founded 700-731, during the reign of the first King of Aodh. This view is contested - especially by all the Great Houses who do *not* meet this exclusive criteria - and the distinction is not official.

### **Founding**

As Great Houses are defined by their age, it is not possible for anyone to become a Great House noble without marrying into one of the existing Houses. Even if a Lesser House gains recognition and prestige equal to a Great House, they can not become a Great House - the title refers only to the age of the House, not necessarily its other attributes - although Great Houses certainly do think highly of themselves.

All Great Houses were founded between 700-884. At this time, wealth played a smaller part in becoming nobility than it does for modern Houses, although even during these ancient times, individual rulers had different preferences. It became progressively harder to join the nobility as time passed; Iniga is known to have created the largest number of noble Houses out of any King - in modern day, however, many of these Houses are now extinct or defunct.

#### **Iniga 700-731**

Iniga handed out noble titles mostly to pegasi, and exclusively for two reasons:

1. Above ordinary service in the God’s War - handed mostly to military leaders
2. Rewarding exceptional talent and contribution to the city of New Valore

Iniga invented hereditary nobility to entice skilled individuals to stay in the new settlement - a promise of prosperity not only for them, but their children, and children’s children. As nobility was still new and rules unestablished, many of the newly founded Houses didn’t last, and either went extinct, bankrupt or were married into other Houses.

#### **Ea 731-769**

Ea’s time focused on further developing New Valore and its wealth. She handed out relatively few titles, mostly to members of the military.

#### **Paru 769-795**

Paru married the Prince of the independent city-state of Bloom, and officially ennobled their family, as well as several other important families in Bloom. Granted titles mostly as a political tool, raising to power those who agreed with her ideals.

#### **Sholeh 795-847**

Sholeh appreciated intellectual prowess, and appointed scientists, thinkers and inventors into nobility. Wealth played little to no part in her decisions.

#### **Uriel 847-851**

During his notably short reign, Uriel only had time to hand out a select few titles, all for military contributions - whether leadership, bravery, or support of the war effort.

#### **Interregnum 851-871**

Time of no King, with young prince Titus too young to rule. No new noble Houses were created during this time. Existing noble Houses exerted their power over Aodh during this time, and were not interested in sharing it with others.

#### **Titus 871-873**

Strongly anti-Seroran; destroys several noble Houses that retain pro-Seroran sentiments, and appoints new, loyalist Houses in their stead. Short reign; created only very few new Houses.

#### **Vukan 873-884**

A religious and devout King who sought to raise the status of religion and piety in Aodh. Appointed new noble Houses from among religious writers, but also recognized efforts of those who had helped to restabilize Aodh after the war, appointing several new Houses from among those who had been shirked by the interregnum.

Ignacio’s return in 884 makes the Houses created later in Vukan’s reign Lesser Houses.

## Royalty

The royal House is in essence a Great House - the Greatest House. For generations, it was the ancestral Soleil Kings who ruled Aodh, said to be descended from the last King of the kirins. Then House Vela and King Isador ruled as royalty until their fall in summer 1702. House Aelius is now the reigning royal House.

In Aodh, royalty is defined as the King and their immediate family (siblings, parents, children etc). Members of the consorts family (the consort’s parents, siblings etc) are not addressed as royalty. When a member of the Royal family marries into another family and leaves the Palace, they may still be honored with the title of Prince, but their children would not be considered royal.

A King will typically take anywhere from two to five Consorts, and may also have several lovers. Kings are expected to produce several children to secure the line, although only the oldest child of the First Consort (or failing that, the oldest child) will be groomed to rule - others are generally prepared to take on other government roles (such as Adviser or Envoy), or are betrothed into notable and favored Great Houses. The ‘spare’ may receive an education more geared towards ruling, especially during unstable times.

Marrying ‘extra’ Princes off to other Houses allowed the Soleils to keep their line relatively stable, and free of major coups and succession crises.

The children of the King are called Princes, regardless of gender. The heir apparent is known as the Crown Prince.

## List of Great Houses

*This list includes all named Houses from Great House Noble characters. To have your House info linked, it needs to be approved, and available in a separate doc, or added to the wikia (to be added, DM Denver)*

* House Aelius - *founded 705 - current Royal House*
* House Ardor-Burell
* House Bracken - *founded during reign of Paru (769-795)*
* House Cardea - *founded 720*
* House Dagrunson- *founded 797*
* House Gamliel - *founded 700 - oldest surviving House after Soleil.*
* House Incendium - *founded 775*
* House Nitor - *founded during reign of Paru (769-795)*
* House Soleil - *founded 700 - the original Royal House and first noble House.*
* House Xoias - *founded 721*

### Defunct Great Houses

These Houses used to be counted among the Great Houses, but have since died out or otherwise lost their nobility. These Houses are available for use in backstories (noble marriages, shared ancestry) or potentially even PC non-noble descendants. DM Denver to discuss.

Note that player-made Houses will not be added here without prior discussion - if all members of a House are removed from the game, the House is just deleted.

* House Vela - *founded 702 - briefly the Royal House 1700-1702. Disbanded by King Aleksei summer 1702.*