House Vela's Council of 12

For the longest time Velan Society was organized as **absolute monarchy**, with the Royal Šāh wielding unrestricted political power over the Perithr system and its people. The only advisers that could influence the monarch's decisions was a **council of the 12 oldest families of the House**, known as the Council of 12. They together with the Royal Family were instrumental in driving House Vela to rediscover the map of Acheron Rho.

Horrified by the reign of the Blood Eagle, Velan society quickly reformed with the full support of the Royal Family. The Grand Forum soon replaced the Council of 12, but the 12 families, also known as "The 12," are still very influential within House Vela. Not only are most of them very wealthy, they also control many key fields within Velan society.

Each of the 12 families had their own title structure and were representative of the many cultures and traditions, that formed House Vela. While it is no longer needed to use these titles, the heads of the old families may still use them as a way of showing their immeasurable sacrifices during the Rebuilding.

Having been part of the Transition Committee, the Council of 12 disbanded after the Velan Ascendancy was established. Most members of the twelve families serve dutifully as public official in the new nation.

### Arteshbod Family

**Old** **Title:** Mir

Today the Arteshbod family is mainly known for the whiskey they produce. They claim to be able to trace their family back to the earliest settlements of humanity in Acheron Rho. Arteshbod legend says that the family in fact sponsored the colonization ship of House Vela. Rumors claim that this wealth came from illegal activities, and some say, that these dealings are still the main source of income for the family.

### Eratesh Family

**Old Title:** Czar

The Eratesh family has strong ties to the security sectors of House Vela with its main focus on intelligence gathering and information brokering. This stems from owning key pieces of land for development in both covert and industrious properties, often operated through the Eratesh Trading Company (ETC). They have served as wardens of many things over the vast history of House Vela and proudly trace their line back to the most ancient annals of Velan histories.

### Jabira Family

**Old Title:** Mtemi

This matriarchal controlled family values motherhood and maternity above all. Many of the men of the family are presenting very androgynous in their visuals to live up to their secret standard. It is not that they think of men as lesser beings - they simply do not see the male form as one which can nurture the babe that is Empire. The family watches over the Empire in many ways, some watch the people, some the political landscape, others watch artifacts and culture.

### Kumbukani Family

**Old Title:** Zuberi

(Kumbukani = remember in Chewa)

The Kumbukani Family is one of the more tribal and traditional Families of the 12. Based in Derinkuyu, it is a mystery as to when they arrived on Haqani and why they remain underground and incognito. They are the primary mushroom producers on Haqani who are responsible for the planting, harvesting, and distribution of 70% of Haqani's mushrooms and mushroom based products. In addition to food and beverages, they also produce helpful oils out of mushrooms, as well as mixtures of herbs and mushrooms for ceremonies and other recreational usage. While the Kumbukani family is based in Derinkuyu, they maintain operations all throughout the wilds of Haqani employing the Umzingeli to collect various exotic mushrooms from Haqani's wildlife. The Kumbukani are very traditional and somewhat tribal as compared to the other modern noble families, they can be seen wearing Velan headdresses and still performing ceremonies and many more ancient Velan and Haqani rituals.

### Marro Family

**Old Title:** Suffet

The Marro Family Estate is deeply rooted in Velan military intelligence and logistics. They’ve had many family members serve as special operators over the past centuries. They came into prominence after the Scream - no one is quite sure why or how, but they were cemented among the 12 Families by the time Vela returned to the stars.

### Nagi Family

**Old Title:** Guardian

The Nagi family is notable for its stalwart defense of the Royal Family and the Library since time beyond accurate record, always standing vigilant and ready to answer whatever call House Vela in defense of either. Such is the determination that members who leave the somewhat expansive family are known to heed the call to defend Vela even if it were to conflict with the House ex-members live with. Only members who remain with House Vela may hope to become the head of the family, though, with the oldest member of the direct family line being the current head and all others based on the the many branches and when they split from the line. Nearly every member serves as a Protector, with those who use other titles being trained to a minimum level to at least pass as a Protector as a matter of course, with all members starting training at very young ages. They are known for producing many successful Immortals and more than a few Oramirals in the past, though after the war against the synthetics their number has become somewhat reduced and the families comprising it have trained all the harder for it. It’s not uncommon to see them with cyberlimbs throughout their numbers or devilishly complex neural interfaces for those amongst the Immortals they produce.

### Norion Family

**Old Title:** Architect

The Norion Family is the Velan family at the forefront of any of Vela's artisan or digital advances in information and technology. Designs of most of Vela's Great Works, the LINES (Lighthouse Integrated Navigation & Exploration Systems), and their upgrade from the Great Library to the Great Server, are but some of the Norion Family's most prestigious achievements. Norion CyberTech is the business side of the family, which specializes in Cybernetics, Programming, and Electronics. If you possess a Velan commpad, its likely a Norion-built model. Their influence in the Information sector has elevated them to the 12 Families, which has only further increased the stranglehold on local Velan markets.

### Pajari Family

**Old Title:** Nizām (= order, arrangement in Arabic)

The Pajari Family are the owners of the oldest finishing school in the Perithr system, *The Winking Noble*, on Pharos. They are also traditionally responsible for the arrangement of marriages between the noble families of House Vela. To that end they work closely together with House Fornax, to ensure that the arranged marriages are not only advantageous and appropriate on a social and political level, but also ideal genetic matches. The Pajari Family itself is known for meticulously selecting their spouses for specific traits, and planning their bloodline in a way that almost matches the breeding programs of House Lyra.

### Former Members of the Council of 12

#### Asherah Family

**Old Title:** Sultan / Sultana

The Asherah family was strongly connected to the many unique and hard to come by pharmaceutical materials on Haqani which gave them a lot of influence in the medical and pharmaceutical circles of Velan society and economy. This lead to a deep connection with House Serpens, which ended in them finally joining the Minor House.

#### Vashakani Family

**Old Title:** Xhavri

Completely absorbed into the Eratesh Family through marriage. The oldest member of the family changes their name to Eratesh and becomes the new head of the Eratesh Family. Until the Scream this arrangement gave the merged family two votes in the Council of 12. As soon as the opportunity arose, the remaining families were happy to install the Marro Family as a voting member instead. The Vashakani Family **lost their voting rights** with that move, as decreed by the Royal Šāh.