House Eridanus

The great and noble **House Eridanus** has, since time immemorial, served as the loyal and trusted exchequers, financiers, treasurers, and collectors of the Imperial tithes. It is the only House trusted to protect and maintain the accounts of the Imperial throne, and is largely responsible for guiding and regulating the manufacturing industry of Acheron Rho.
House Eridanus was one of the seven houses that formed The Minor Houses of the Astral Synedrium and is now operating independently after the legal acquisition of the A.C.R.E. corporation. Eridanus has historically maintained the closest and most productive relationship with the various organizations in the sector, with special economic relationships with The Trilliant Ring, Deathless Conflict Solutions, and recently SERAPH.

*See also: House Eridanus in a Nutshell*

## Role in the Empire

House Eridanus controls the full industrial capacity of Eridanii companies and the, now dissolved, A.C.R.E. corporation. These companies contribute the largest amount of consumer goods, resource mining and industrial processing in Acheron Rho.
One of the oldest and most central responsibilities of the House is to collect taxes for the Imperial Treasury. Eridanii nobles are respected for their knowledge and experience in matters of finance, economics, and administration. Nobles and institutions across the sector manage their finances through the Eridanus Imperial Bank.

## House Eridanus Nobility

### Count/Countess

The generic title for any Eridanii landowner is Count or Countess. The absence of an occupational title indicates they do not specialize in any one occupation and often live off the income of their serfs. In urban areas, the demesne of a Count may include several neighborhoods or even a small city but in rural regions, an entire river valley may be an Eridanii county.

### Viscount/Viscountess

Viscount or Viscoutness is the generic title for lesser Eridanii nobles. They are the vassals of landed Counts. Landed Viscounts are lords of a single city block or maybe the castellans of a modest estate in the country. Most Eridanii Viscounts are unlanded, with little inheritance opportunities. They often function in supportive roles to their landed family members.

*Main article: House Eridanus Titles*
## Class Structure

House Eridanus citizens hold a hierarchical position in society, depending on their birth and wealth. Citizens are divided into nobles and serfs by birthright, and a further hierarchy is established based on personal wealth and connections.

Class segregation among serfs corresponds to their position in the House Eridanus corporate structure, with labourers on the bottom and management at the top. For serfs outside the corporate structure, the prestige of their function decides their position in the hierarchy. Administrative functions in the Imperial bureaucracy or the Eridanus Imperial bank are considered the most prestigious.

### Nobility

Nobles stand at the top of the hierarchy and hold the most important political positions. Most Eridanii nobles work in the Imperial bureaucracy or the Actii Mercantil. They have to rely heavily on their non-noble employees, servants, and freeperson CEOs to run the industrial manufacturing sector they now control. The nobility tends to act as stakeholders and overseers, rather than executives.

Eridanii nobility can be roughly divided into four social strata. The stratum one falls under is a combination of personal wealth, land ownership, and social connections. The four strata are:

#### House Eridanus’ Upper Echelon

The upper echelon of the House consists of Eridanii Count(esses) that hold important political positions. They are the 1% of the House that together make important political decisions. The Triumvirate, Actimaestri, Savii, Recounts, Rectors, the Scrutineers, and members of important House Committees and Councils are all part of this elite group, and collectively hold most of the political capital in the House.

#### Landed Eridanii Count(esses)

Eridanii Count(esses) are the largest group of Landed Eridanii Nobles. They make up around 40% of House Eridanus’ nobility. Collectively, they own most of the wealth and social capital in the House.

The primary income of these landed nobles is collecting income from their serfs. Additionally, many own large Noble Companies. Some Count(esses) hold important positions in the Offices of the Triumvirate. These nobles are usually fully committed to their occupational title, and leave the management of their holdings to unlanded family members, or servants.

#### Landed Eridanii Viscount(esses)

Landed Viscount(esses) make up around 20% of House Eridanus’ nobility. They are always beholden to another Count(ess) who serves as their liege lord, often a family member. Viscount(esses) have far less political power than their Count(esse) lieges. Landed Viscount(esses) own relatively small plots of land, that are granted to them by their liege lord. Liege lords do this to subdivide their holdings for easier management.

#### Unlanded Eridanii Viscount(esses)

Unlanded Viscount(esses) make up around 40% of House Eridanus’ nobility. They are often younger children of the landed nobility and have little inheritance opportunities. They are technically the largest group of Eridanii nobility but hold disproportionately little political power due to a lack of wealth and social capital.

Many unlanded Viscount(esses) have occupational titles to obfuscate their lack of status. They find work inside the Imperial administration, Imperial Bank or Offices of the Triumvirate. Other Viscount(esses) work for their landed family members in overseeing the family’s High Companies. Unlanded Viscount(esses) have fewer responsibilities and are more often permitted to choose adventurous occupations, such as the military. As opposed to their landed siblings, who are expected to find safer occupations.

### Non-Nobles

Everyone has their place on the ladder, and people who act above their station are ruthlessly put down, either economically if they are a serf, or socially if they are a noble. Among non-nobles, there are several ways to divide them.

*Main article: Eridanii Freepersons*
* **Discounts:** Previously Directors and CEOs of the ACRE Corporation, and not nobility. They hold higher management positions in the Eridanus economy, and are often far richer than most nobles, though lacking in social capital due to their lack of noble status. By marrying into a Noble family, Discounts gain the social and political capital required to operate within the noble spheres.
* **Freeperson:** The well paid and legally protected middle management of the Eridanii Nobility and Discounts. People with skills to run the day to day of the massive Eridanus economy. Freepersons get access to freedoms and amenities far greater than the average serf, and gain the rights to lease property, and travel freely.
* **Serfs:** Working-class serfs make up the backbone of the Eridanus economy. Treated as wage slaves, they are generally regarded as cogs in the Eridanus machine, their place divinely appointed by the Almighty. The working classes are kept in line by their lieges through the control of information and resources. Eridanii serfs have to work long days to be able to afford a living wage.

## Government Organization

### **The Vaultkeeper**

The Vaultkeeper is the most prestigious leader of Eridanus. Vaulkeeper Eridanus Eridanus Avon II currenlty serves in this role. The position is a hereditary title given to the head of the 'Eridanus Family' who are the keepers of the Eridanus Imperial Bank. Whilst they have no direct power over the Triumvirate or the operation of the Triumvirates individual offices, the Vaultkeeper and their family oversee the operations of the Imperial Treasury and all documentation towards the Eridanus Imperial Bank must pass through them. Also known as Vaultkeeper Eridanus Eridanus, the Eridanus family claims to trace their lineage back to the original settlers who established House Eridanus within the sector. The previous Eridanus Emperox, Empress Eridanus Eridanus Juliana, was the Vaultkeeper before her anointment.

### **Triumvirate**

The three political leaders of House Eridanus work together as a Triumvirate. The Trivox, Taxarch, and Transactos serve as the heads of diplomacy, taxation, and trade respectively. Each of these roles oversees large departments within the Eridanii government that handle various aspects of the day to day running of the House and its responsibilities. Elections for Triumvirate positions happens when a member steps down with various political parties vying for control. The Actii Mercantil and its politicking and lobbying have become a critical factor in who gets elected to the Triumvirate.

*Main article: Political Parties of House Eridanus*
#### **Decentralized power**

Before the A.C.R.E. audit, the Triumvirate was the primary governing body of the House, and could effectively control most Eridanus operations. This balance of power within the House’s politics has shifted post-audit. The Triumvirate was never set up to control an entity as large as A.C.R.E., and has been forced to subdivide their governmental responsibilities through the appointment of many new committees, councils, and other governmental structures. This process decentralized political power in the House. The Triumvirate is still the most prestigious political body in House Eridanus, but their influence is now more indirect, through appointing the members of the other branches of the government, rather than direct control over daily operations.

Many of these new governmental bodies, such as the Actii Mercantil and Ordo Fiducalem, are just as influential as any Triumvirate office. These different organisations are constantly trying to exert their influence over one another, whilst projecting an image of unity and efficiency to those uninitiated in House Eridanus’ internal politics.

#### **Office of the Trivox - Bankers and Bureaucrats**

Eridanii as the keepers of the Eridanus Imperial Bank are expert lenders and keen scholars of financial law and theory. The Office of the Trivox, although most visibly the public face and diplomatic wing of the house, are keen recorders of contracts and financial dealings. The office works closely with the Crux Papierkrieg Büro in keeping records of financial dealings across the sector, and is the primary authority on intervention when such contracts are broken. The Trivox also directly appoints the Eridanii emissary to the Emperox.

### Offices subject to the Trivox

 Archevox
 Triffox
 Artifex

#### **Office of the Taxarch - Duty to Taxation**

House Eridanus is most well-known for its role as the taxmen of the sector. It is a simplistic view of the Office of the Taxarch’s responsibilities but in a way is accurate. The Imperial coffers need filling for the Emperox to exercise God’s will and House Eridanus is duty-bound to assist in gathering tax revenue for the treasury.

House Eridanus lacks the legal power to set taxation rates for imperial levies but advises the Emperox on sound fiscal policy. With the Emperox’s sound judgment, the Office of the Taxarch collects tax revenue from planetary governments across the empire. Often the House is contracted by planetary governments to write and enforce tax codes on the planet’s behalf. A complex system of tradition, obligation, expertise, reprisals, and recognition of the efficiency of the Eridanii bureaucracy keeps many tax codes across the sector closely linked with the Taxarch and their officers.

Unwarranted animosity has built up over the years, whereby House Eridanus is villainized for simply executing the will of the Emperor and ensuring the stability of the sector.

### Offices subject to the Taxarch

 Exchequer
 Texarch
 Taxocryptarch

#### **Office of the Transactos - Trade and Profit**

Aside from their role as tax collectors, many Eridanii thrive off the profits of their Noble Companies. Most families are invested in one or more of House Eridanus’s many industries. Families such as the Opolens or Strodiz family, own vast trade fleets and use contacts made from all factions to ensure their ships are not only full but also protected from even the most daring of pirates.

The Office of the Transactos efficiently delegates and organizes both logistics and regulation of industrial production and trade. As the leader of the High Masters of the Economy and Trade Committee, the Transactos is responsible for deciding the agenda of the Actii Mercantil and has great influence over the trade regulations of Acheron Rho.

The Eridanii are far from scrupulous when it comes to trade matters and will trade and transport all but the most illegal substances of The Empire. As trade envoys and tax collectors, House Eridanus can offer the best prices and the transport of questionable items past authorities that might otherwise stop other merchants.

### Offices subject to the Transactos

 Acquisitos
 Celestious
 Educatos
 Regulatos

### Goods and Services of House Eridanus

Tiber is a natural producer of many tropical plants and through their many roles the government of the house also enables several services.

A breif selection of the house's products:

* Blackleaf Farms tobacco
* Strix Coffee Company
* Data Eduction, Lineation, and Predictive HEX Informatics (DELPHI)
* The Grey Eyes a portable cybernetic version of DELPHI
* Debtor's Orchid the flower you give to those in debt
* Fizzy Cheese (Second Wave)
* Lyran and Eridanii Co-Developed Medication
* Stordiz Shipping Company
* The Black Book
* Tiber Springs™ Tax-Grade Water
* Tiberian Lumber
* Mechanized Lumberjacks
* Tiberian Teas
* Tea Hexahedrons aka T-Hexes
* Various and sundry financial products such as stocks, bonds, options, and Vassal Coupon Contracts

### **Actii Mercantil**

The Actii Mercantil are the overarching mercantile guilds that guide and regulate the innumerable businesses controlled by House Eridanus. Actii are present across the whole sector, and are the economic governmental structure of House Eridanus. Individual companies are members of an Acti that represent their industry’s interests within the Empire, similar to a guild.

The primary mandate of the Actii Mercantil is providing an economic framework for Noble companies. Individual Actii enforce regulations and set prices for specific industries and all Eridanii companies are required by law to be a member of an Acti, but nobility from other Houses can voluntarily opt to become members. The Actii are mostly self-regulatory, and their regulations are intentionally constructed in a complex and byzantine way, to allow for the duels of bureaucracy that Eridanii nobles excel at.

#### House Eridanus Companies

House Eridanus’ wealth is not concentrated in the upper echelon of the House, but is distributed amongst all Eridanus’ noble families. Each family in House Eridanus owns one or more Noble companies. These companies each make up a small piece of the massive House Eridanus economy.

#### Noble and High Companies

Noble companies own subsidiary High companies, managed by the family’s Viscounts and Discounts. High Companies are in charge of large scale industrial production, while Noble Companies deal with sector wide trade and more niche, luxury commodities. Collectively, all these companies comprise a large part of the sector's economy, industrial capacity, and resource extraction.

### **The Force of the Currents**

With the acquisition of A.C.R.E's extensive industry and correlated military capacity, House Eridanus possesses two means of projecting its emboldened firepower, one Internal and one Defensive. Internally, the Actii Condotta and Canó are hired by Eridanii nobles for military operations. Defensively, the militias of Tiber and Demnoph deter factions from forcibly landing on Eridanii centers of control.

**Acti Condotta** and **Acti Canó** are two Actii Mediane who represent the house’s forward operating force assets. Acti Condotta, a guild of private military companies, are collectively responsible for the security of the House, and its assets across Acheron Rho. These guilds are able to fund experimental units and utilize technological marvels to create super-soldiers. The genetically and cybernetically enhanced G.E.T.I. Units are one such marvel.

The **Tiberian Planetary Militia** (TPM) and **Demnophi Planetary Militia** (DPM) are the two local defenses of the planetary governments of Tiber and Demnoph respectively. Trained in planetary defense and guerrilla warfare. Eridanii refer to these troops conscripted from their planets as Ripenses, “soldiers of the riverbank”.

### **Clandestine Eridanii**

#### *The Margin Scheme*

The so-called Margin Scheme is a secretive organization within House Eridanus, operating as a catch-all deniable asset to be called upon in extreme circumstances. The "margin" refers to the margin of error present in Eridanii financial and census documentation. This margin of error accounts for both the funds allocated for the Margin Scheme's use, as well as its recruitment pool, Eridanii nobles who have been officially pronounced dead. Members communicate in the field using a haptic Morse code transmitted via plain, black wristwatches. The Margin Scheme has been known to be involved in scouting, espionage, assassination (although quite rare), and recovery of high priority assets.

#### *The Tax Breachers*

Subversive and self-serving, the implacable Eridanii mafia, the ***Tax Breachers*** work behind the scenes in Eridanii government to advance their own wealth and agendas. They manipulate and skirt the law in search of money and power. Rumor has it that at least one member of the Triumvirate is a Tax Breacher at any given time. They are experts in fraud, racketeering, extortion and all other types of financial crime.

#### **The Ordo Fiducalem**

A publically visible aspect of Eridanii government, the **Ordo Fiducalem** is the Eridanii surveillance apparatus which keeps serfs bound to Eridanii in check. It detects and eliminates subversive elements within Eridanii holdings and assets, and removes them. It is a remnant of A.C.R.E.'s Demnoph Central Intelligence and retains much of its old structure, but with noble oversight.

## Culture

*Main article: House Eridanus Culture*
Children of their Imperial Duties and their luscious tropical world of Tiber, the Eridanii have rich traditions that span near a thousand years. While some things such as faith are private matters within Eridanii society; other facets of life within House Eridanus space are highly structured and followed by all members no matter their status or wealth bracket.

Much of the traditions of House Eridanus are centralized around their worldview of debt. Eridanii marriage, funeral traditions, vassal contracts, and even sport are all influenced by the practical financial concerns of the penny-wise house.

see our Board for examples of Eridanii Aesthetics
### Eridanii NPC’s

Viscount Eridanus Theodorou Douglas – Poor lord on Echo's moon down on his luck.

Empress Eridanus Eridanus Juliana – The Second Emperox of Acheron Rho.

Taxarch Eridanus Eridanus Ricardo – Husband to The Mother of Mercy.

Quant Eridanus Alexander Espesen - Attaché to the selectors of the Comptroller on Imperial Prime.

Vaultkeeper Eridanus Eridanus Avon II – The current Vaultkeeper of the House.

Countess Eridanus Warren Kate – Representative of the owner of the HCS ‘Prudence.

### History

#### **Pre-Scream**

House Eridanus was among the first peoples to civilize the sector during The War for Human Prosperity

2215 – Eridanus Constellation Ships assisted in the founding of the Empire.

2216 – Formation of the noble House Eridanus

2217 –Eridanus Imperial Bank is formed and provided a safe-haven for the Emperox’s finances

2226 – Tiber is colonized. House Eridanus was told that the jungles would do more harm than good but through ruthless efficiency and a disregard for serf life, they eked out an existence along the river in a town later called Tiberium.

2315 – Empress Eridanus Eridanus Juliana was anointed as the Second Emperox of Acheron Rho

2415 – Empress Juliana’s fiscal policies provided the way for The Golden Age of Acheron Rho. She was succeeded by the enigmatic Emperox Diomikato.

#### **Post Scream**

2668 – Sub-light-speed travel was quickly re-developed after The Scream and a period of intermarriage cultural mingling blossomed with the noble House Reticulum of Aomori

2698 – With the arrival of House Vela Navigators Eridanus was reunited with the Empire however, the Alvero System was still left isolated before more widespread use of Drive ships and accurate mapping of save drive-lanes created the modern empire in 2792.

2806 – A.C.R.E splits from House Eridanus. Nobles fed up with the squabble over the holy throne of the Emperox, divested themselves of their nobility and formed a new corporate entity on Demnoph.

2874 – A HEX Crash ruined the local economy and building projects were left half complete. The city of Tiberium was lost to economic ruin, and Tyr was made the new capital of Eridanus’ homeworld.

2892 – The Vaultkeeper of Eridanus was assassinated and Legate Aquila Alejandra Ari] took on revenge for our house, during this war, the vast trade ships and logistical expertise were at the disposal of the one later known as the Blood Eagle.

2902-2955 – Despite her ascension to the seat of the Emperox, The Blood Eagle was not well-liked, a second civil war raged. House Eridanus was outwardly neutral to supportive of the Blood Eagle, seeking the divine stability of a duly elected Emperox, factions within the House waged covert war for power and credits.

3168 – The Titans psiball team are bought from House Aquila and are rebranded *The Tiber Titans.*

3175 – Growing support for psiball among Tiberian commoners leads to the formation of the *Tyrian Warlocks*.

3185 – House Eridanus declares open war against the Cygnus Emperor, Betrayer of Humanity.

3200 – House Eridanus with the other Houses Minor rally behind the defense of Diomikato and threaten war against A.C.R.E and the Sector Trade Organization (STO). In Autumn of the same year, an extensive audit of the A.C.R.E. Corporation resulted in the acquisition of a majority of the corporation's factories, farms, and other such assets.

3201 - Formal acquisition of the planetary government of Demnoph and later Yakiyah

* The Black Book
* DELPHI
* Demnophi Planetary Militia
* EBSE
* Embassies
* HEX
* Imperial Bank
* Margin Scheme
* Ordo Fiducalem
* Political Parties
* Snickerdoodle
* Tax Breachers
* Tiberian Planetary Militia
* Titles
* Triumvirate
 Culture | * Corp Cant
* Debt
* Debtor’s Orchid
* Dialect
* Faith
* In the Black
* The Joining
* Juliana’s Sarcophagus
* The Red Ledger
* Red Tape of Tiber
* The Ritual of the Eternal Spring
* Sayings
 Tiber | * Alvero
* Locations of Interest
* Flora and Fauna
* The Empress’ Tears
* Divinity of the Sky Whales
* Lacertiller
* Sky Dolphins
* Sky Whales
* The Tiber Titans
 Demnoph | * Tsatsos
* Flora and Fauna
* Satellites
* Syeh
* Infrastructure and Zones
* Notable Locations
* The Ziggurat
* The Foundation
* Project Apollo
* Demnoph Harvesters
* Devotees of the Good Work
* The Sky is a Lie
 Yakiyah | * Tsatsos
* Flora and Fauna
* The Agora
* Ronaseën
* Tañez
* Operation Huddled Masses
* Yakiyan Yaks
* Devotees of the Good Work
 Products
* The Briefcase
* Coffea tiberis
* Fizzy Cheese (Second Wave)
* Co-Developed Drugs
* G.E.T.I. Units
* Grey Eyes
* HADES
* Lumber
* Lumberjack Mechs
* L.O.A.V.E. Program
* Paper and Forms
* Quantum Wristwatch
* Tea
* T-Hexes
 House Eridanus Members
* Taxarch Eridanus Eridanus Ricardo
* Arhat Benbow
* Arhat Pitt III
* Viscount Eridanus Theodorou Douglas
* Countess Eridanus Warren Kate
 Social Media & Meta | * Twitter
* Website
* Pinterest
* House Eridanus Faction Turn Fluff
* House Eridanus 3301 Campaign