Arcadian Noble Houses

For House Fleets, see Arcadian House Fleets. For the Empire as a whole, see Arcadian Empire.

House Tartresis
House Tartresis of Calamar Leader: Emperor Lugis Tartresis†, Empress Ellie Tartresis, Empress Halarre Tartresis House Colours: Green, Black Planet: Calamar (1D)

Lugis of Tartresis, Emperor of the Arcadian Empire, Duke of Calamar, ascended the throne at the end of the succession crisis that followed the end of the Federation-Arcadian War. The Emperor Lugis holds one of the five nominal Ducal titles of Morshadd, but far more importantly, also rules one of the Houses Major. This gives him a much more stable and powerful support base than Emperor Addrad did. The noble Tartresis hold great esteem within Licori society, being widely respected and admired by the other Houses. They govern well and fairly, despite the rather tumultuous times that followed on from the demise of the old regime, including being on the wrong side of a Tal Shiar influence campaign. Despite this, they have kept up good relations with most of their neighbours, achieving some measure of reconciliation with the Ked Paddah and the Gaeni. During the Romulan-Klingon War, Emperor Lugis approved support for the Romulans, building a number of auxiliaries for them.

In addition to the Imperial Fleet maintain the strongest of the House militaries. They also support a number of smaller colony worlds, and conduct construction of many orbital systems. This gives the new Emperor something far closer to a monopoly on the use of force than House Nithad ever had.

All of this has changed with the beginning of the Seasons of Strife. Emperor Luigis was killed in the Bombing of Morshadd, and his heir killed in a simultaneous attack on the Calamar system by the Corporate Wolfpack. His younger daughter, Ellie Tartresis, was quickly declared Empress by House Rithe, after the disappearance of his older daughter, Halarre Tartresis. She has since returned, and declared herself the rightful ruler of the Empire. Tartresis has lost much of its House fleet, and the Imperial Fleet is in disarray, with vessels captured by the new Morshadd Commune.

Source of: Internal Diplomacy Assets, Engineering Teams

House Ixira
House Ixira of Ixaria Leader: Countess Menach Ixira House Colours: Silver, Purple Planet: Ixaria (2D)

House Ixira fell under occupation along with their home system, Ixaria, during the Federation-Arcadian War. However, Countess Menach Ixira retained her place, as despite protests from the Ked Paddah, the Federation Diplomatic Service objected strenuously to attempts to depose her. In exchange for this, House Ixira's opposition to House Tartresis succeeding the throne was far more muted than it might otherwise have been. Their time under occupation has nonetheless left something of a scar on minds of the nobles of Ixaria, if not Arcadian nobility generally. For the commoners, however, one set of rulers or another set of rulers mattered rather little.

The Ixira were the source of many of the pure research mentats of the Licori, and were the House that did the most to inadvertently bring about the war. Their architects are responsible for all of the starship designs used by the Arcadians were designed first and foremost by House Ixira, including the new Coyote technical cruiser. Vast factories and orbital plants are the pride of House Ixira, and highly prized by the Arcadian Empire. The system had been protected by a wide variety of advanced applied science platforms, including some that rewrote physics at a distance. Many of these can no longer be reproduced, as their secrets were held by teams of Mentats who were lose during the assault on the system. Nonetheless, more conventional defences have replaced the losses, even as their new breed of researchers dig through what documentation is still extant.

Source of: Heavy Industry Assets, Doctrine Assets

House Bene
House Bene of Gesseria Leader: Duchess Jerzai Adarr House Colours: Red, Green Planet: Gesseria (1E)

Spies, provocateurs, and saboteurs, House Bene are crafty and owe their status as a House Major largely to their ability to manipulate their way into and out of trouble. Though not economically or militarily the mightiest of the Houses, their services are nonetheless used far and wide. The world of Gesseria is a lush Class M planet across most of the surface, but a quirk of the planet's geography makes for a vicious desert region at the equator. Life under the Bene is not as free as it is under the Tartresis, but it is certainly freer than it once was under the brutal Kortennon. Traditional roles are passed on among the subjects, in a process that would not be unknown to feudal villagers of years gone by, even if 'traditional' occupations like electro-plasma joiner or energizer coil technician would be baffling to them.

During and after the war, House Bene was the most cooperative with the Romulan Tal Shiar, and most intransigent to the FDS. This has continued on, with House Bene almost running an independent foreign policy, seeking out further connections to the new Romulan Empress, the OSA, and the Gorn.

Source of: Recon Assets, Doctrine Assets

House Rithe
House Rithe of Gammon Leader: Countess Coeniad Rithe House Colours: Pink, Ochre Planet: Gammon (2C)

Following the deposing of the Baron Sergen Kortennon and the occupation of the planet Gammon, the House Kortennon was stripped of their holdings and titles. Many petitioned to be given the title to the now abandoned planet. However, with the destruction of House Nithad and the Emperor, none had the authority to award the title. Many Minor Houses sought patrons among the major houses, hoping that their chosen vehicle would ascend the throne. House Rithe was in the enviable position of being old allies of the Tartresis, and when Emperor Lugis was crowned, the Kortennon holdings were transferred to House Rithe.

With the extensive industrial capacity of Gammon, which passed through the occupation largely unscathed despite various attempts at scorched earth policies and orders by the late Baron, House Rithe has grown exponentially since the end of the succession crisis. The surviving Gammon starships were transferred to House Rithe, in addition to a few survivors from their existing fleets. With a new Jackrabbit-class cruiser, the AHS Valiant, House Rithe has a strong force behind it already.

With a view towards ruling and peasantry far more in line with House Tartresis and lightyears away from House Kortennon, the Rithe have already done much to engender loyalty in their new populations. However, they are heavily in debt due to their work raising the standards of living on planet Gammon. The merchants of the Licori are confident that the investments will pay off handsomely, but it does leave the Rithe somewhat vulnerable in the short-term.

House Rithe is highly suspect in the Bombing of Morshadd, and has since taken effective control of much of the Empire. However, they have lost Morshadd itself to the Morshadd Commune, and they have no vessels in orbit of the planet. They are suspected to have some measure of control over the Corporate Wolfpack, giving them a great deal of additional fleet power. They are also claiming legitimacy as the ruling government through Ellie Tartresis.

House Coris
House Coris of Grand Cape (Morshadd) Leader: Duke Toan Coris House Colours: Purple, Gold Planet: Achar (L-class Mining Colony)

House Coris is an up-and-coming minor House with great ambitions for their new holding on the planet Achar. With resources coming from their mining operation, and Imperial favour, House Coris is well-positioned to potentially become a fifth House Major. Much colonisation is taking place on Achar, which while a touch marginal in terms of its habitability, is nonetheless a relatively pleasant place to live and work, and has quite some potential for sustainability.

Possession of the Ducal-titles has given House Coris considerable prestige and influence, even though being a late-comer in the rush to the stars doomed the Duchy to minor House status. It is a matter that has long grieved the nobles of House Coris. They even were a minor challenger for the Arcadian throne in the aftermath of the war, with many other minor houses backing them. However, with no real fleet as yet to back them, their claim was never strong.

House Herbe
House Herbe of Khalt Leader: Baroness Ara Herbe House Colours: Gold, Black Planet: Khalt (3D)

Given offworld holdings for the first-time after the downfall of House Manan, House Herbe is a new face on the interstellar scene of Licori politics. Their new planet, Khalt, is a difficult world to rule as they work to end the turmoil that doomed House Manan. However, they still have other resources. In addition to the planet Khalt, their ancestral holdings are in a wintry part of Morshadd known as the Ouran Basin which provides much of their colonists and soldiers. This basin is still rich in minerals, including new seams that phaser mining has only now unlocked. Determined to make the most of their new opportunity, some speculate that House Herbe, which is moving fast so far, could become the fifth House Major.

The Houses Minor
A wide variety of smaller houses, mostly planet-bound, also exist. These have little impact on the wider political stage and, while they cannot be totally forgotten, are difficult to specifically target due to their disparate nature. They provide a considerable amount of industrial and economic benefit. They are best able to wield political power when they can agree as part of the Red Cloister, a council of noble houses. However, this is not the most common state of affairs.

Source of: Industrial Assets, Internal Diplomacy Assets, Recon Assets

Imperial House / House Nithad
Leader: Emperor Addrad Nithad House Colours: Pink, White

At the heart of the Arcadian Empire once was the Imperial House, or House Nithad. In the end, the rule of the Imperial House was brought down by their inability to attain a greater degree of control and centralisation over the various off-world Houses. Although he directly ruled over much of the planet Morshadd, and strongly influenced the other Houses Minor that still occupied surface holdings, in the end there was not enough of a central power. The other Houses led the Empire to war, and without the ability to enforce the ultimatums delivered to him against the other Houses, his position was inevitably doomed.

House Kortennon
House Kortennon of Gammon Leader: Baron Sergen Kortennon House Colours: Orange, Blue Planet: Gammon (2C)

Former rulers of the Gammon system, the power of the Kortennon was forever shattered by a grand assault by a multi-national force from the United Federation of Planets. Subsequently, their being stripped of power by the incoming Emperor Lugis was a fait accompli. Their holdings were eventually awarded to House Rithe instead.

Old Description
The brutal and vicious Kortennon have long ruled their estates and provinces with an iron fist and an attitude to labour that would make a Klingon prison warden blanch. The extent of how far the Kortennon may go when extracting the last drop from their subjects is a large part of what started turning the opinion of the Diplomatic Service against the Arcadian Empire in the early days. It was reckoned that any political system that could embrace the Kortennon under its umbrella was not a political system that should be tolerated.

The Kortennon are fierce traditional rivals of the Tartresis, going back to near-mythic times. For as long as has been remembered, there has been a Kortennon, there has been a Tartresis, and there has been enmity. It does not look to be changing any time soon, even though they fight alongside each other for their Emperor.

The Baron Kortennon patronises a number of mentats. In fact, there are few mentats within his land that do not owe their fealty direct to the House. The social pyramid of Gammon contracts sharply and rises high. The Kortennon also have little compunction about forcing people through the process, though careful sureties against disloyalty are of course taken. As a result, the Kortennon have a relatively powerful advantage in full mentats, but this is somewhat countered by their coerced nature.

Source of: Heavy Industry, Engineering Teams

House Manan
House Manan of Khalt Leader: Baron Ferd Manan House Colours: White, Green Planet: Khalt (3D)

Former rulers of the planet Khalt, they were stripped of their titles following the revolt of their subjects, while also nearly sparking a war.