The High Houses

## Overview

The High Houses are the noble families that are, ostensibly, responsible for governing and protecting the other citizens of The City. There are total of 10 High Houses at any given time, as decreed by the original wizard who created The City. The majority of resources and property are owned by the High Houses, and there is a general philosophy (further ingrained by the Church of the First House) that the High Houses are smarter, healthier, and generally better people who deserve to rule over the ignorant masses of the lower floors. While this philosophy has lost traction on the Fourth Floor over the past century, there are still many on the Third, Second and especially First Floors who ascribe to these beliefs.

It is customary to include either Dey' or Day' before the last name of a High House member, or mentioning the family directly. Dey' is used when addressing males, while Day' is used to indicate females. (Ex. Rupert Dey'Gallo, Annalise Day'Perone)

## History

The High Houses were originally formed as a part of the creation of The City. Chosen by Akarta to rule the City in his stead, the High Houses were each given responsibility over a different set of resources to better help The City thrive. Over the centuries, complex power dynamics, political tension, greed, lusting for power, and revenge have all played parts in a series of bloody and brutal House Wars, pitting the Houses against each other, themselves, and the lower floors.

### The First House War

(See also The First House War)

The First House war occurred during the early and middle parts of 107 CR. AT that time, House Tillani, the First of the Houses, and thus most prominent and individually powerful, was a strong supporter of the lower floors. The benevolent leaders of the house regularly clashed politically with the other Houses, encouraging them to do more to support the lower floors but meeting staunch resistance. Several of the other houses conspired to destroy House Tillani, and began with a series of rumours and scandals, seeking to discredit the House. While this had limited effect on the general popularity of House Tillani, it did serve to convince several outlying Houses to support the downfall of House Tillani, and by late Summer that year, an all out war erupted on the First Floor. This lasted for a period of 24 days before the other High Houses finally claimed victory, having stormed the central Tillani compound and capturing most of the prominent Tillani family members. These members were quickly executed on charges of crimes against the City, and crimes against the High Families. Following this, a re-ordering of the power structure occurred, and in order to maintain the existence of 10 High Houses, the Church of the First House promoted one of the Low Houses, House Tymerra.

### The Second House War

(See also The Second House War)

Three-hundred and fifty years after the First House War, the Second House War rocked The City. The High Houses of the time (Gallo, Muranne, Lavek, Ylandre, Raubige, Quaesi, Kalloris, Tymerra, Perone) came under attack from a collection of Low Houses calling itself "The Merchant League". These merchant nobles had made a great deal of wealth and resources by collecting goods and materials from the Lower Floors, and became determined to oust the High Houses and replace them with a new form of leadership. This is widely regarded as one of the bloodiest of the house wars, as it raged for almost six months, before any real progress was made. Eventually, the war cost House Quaesi it's seat, but earned the independent Low House Lavek a position for the strong fighting and protection it offered the High Houses during the last months of the war.

### The Wizards' War

(See also The Wizards' War)

(The Founding of the Centrum Arcanis. Involved: House Muranne, House Ylandre, House Lavek, House Perone, and the Free Magi)

In 698 CR, House Muranne founded the Centrum Arcanis, a centralized teaching and policing bureau for magic. Determined to prevent the kind of magic the Merchant League wielded from threatening the High Houses again, many of the High Houses joined with Muranne's efforts to establish this facility and policing body.

When word of this facility reached the ears of the many independent practitioners of magic, they banded together to oppose the High Houses, calling themselves the Free Magi. Waging a guerrilla war from Floor 3 and Floor 4, they opposed the regulations of the Centrum Arcanis and it's agents for almost two hundred years. Unfortunately, the tireless efforts of the Free Magi only served to tighten the controls the Centrum Arcanis set on magic, and in time, the Free Magi were whittled away to nothing, it's forces scattered. The High Houses and the Centrum Arcanis took this for the major victory it was, and no longer opposed, the Centrum Arcanis became the central point for all magic policing and teaching.

### The Third House War

(See also The Third House War)

Some twenty years after The Wizards' War, Houses Kalloris and Tymerra attempted to execute a coup against House Muranne and the Centrum Arcanis. When a pre-emptive attack by Houses Gallo and Lavek left many supposedly innocent Kalloris members dead, the matter was taken to the Council of Lords. The matter escalated quickly, and led to a prolonged war of guerrilla attacks and magical terrorism against House Kalloris and their allies, the remnants of the Free Magi. It resulted in the absorption of House Tymerra into House Gallo, and the destruction of House Kalloris. In it's place, House Rumond was elevated up, despite a number of protests.

### The Collapse of House Ylandre

Following The Great Fire, many of the holdings belonging to House Ylandre were destroyed. As a result, the house was stripped of its status as a High House. However, in a strange agreement, the patriarch of House Ylandre negotiated a deal with the Low House being raised into Ylandre's former positiion; The Verican. Newly appointed Lord Jaymes Verican accepted a proposal to marry his son to the daughter of the former Ylandre Patriarch, and to absorb the Ylandre House in general as a sub-house of Verican, and in exchange, the remainder of the wealth from Ylandre would go to Verican. In exchange, the Verican would pay the cost of maintaining Ylandre as a Low House, for a period of no less than 50 years, while the Ylandre rebuilt their wealth and status.

## Former High Houses

House Kalloris - House Kalloris was destroyed during the Third House War

House Quaesi - House Quaesti was destroyed during the Second House War.

House Tillani - House Tillani was the original First House, and was ultimately destroyed by a rebellion of the other High Houses during the First House War.

House Tymerra - House Tymerra is now a Low House and a sub-house of House Gallo

House Ylandre - House Ylandre is now a Low House and a sub-house of House Verican

## The Current Houses

Listed below are the current High Houses, ranked according to their power and wealth, as recorded by the Church of the Coin and the Church of the First House, in their most recent annual report:

1. Gallo
2. Salayne
3. Perone
4. Aurise
5. Muranne
6. Fatissa
7. Verican
8. Lavek
9. Raubige
10. Rumond