Houses are groups of characters
dedicated to a single belief and/or cause. This cause or belief
is the sole purpose uniting the house, and its members strive to
bring about this purpose. They also seek to influence the other
houses to believe that their house is superior. The following
houses have made their way into this world:
The House of Ancient, which is a House of paid assassins, wiping out people if a bit of gold is put down for the job. These are Thera's hit-men (and hit-women) (and hit-squids?) and their cloaks often make them beings to be feared and avoided;
The House of Life, which seeks to rid the world of the soulless evil which is undermining health, happiness, and the overall quality of life in Thera, which often pits them against the Brethren of the Nine Hells and the Ancient assassins, not to mention other soulless and foul creatures;
The House of Outlaw, which is in the business of gathering gold, selling goods without paying taxes to the Empire, and overall having fun with their lives while bowing to the wishes of their Godfather;
The House of Arcana*, whose members are scholars seeking knowledge of the world and of magic;
The House of Crusader, also known as the Steel Clan, whose members seek a good fight, promoting purity of body, mind and spirit (no mortal magic!), honor, and valor. It is said that the Steel Clan has had no direction and nothing to do since the fall of Arcana, but their purpose has forged ahead. Where in the past they were mostly a violent House, seeking the destruction of mages, and especially ArchMages of Arcana, now they seek to eradicate mortal magic from Thera through any honorable means available, including diplomacy and logic (though they have not given up on good old-fashioned methods of beating mages about the head with sharp pointy objects, axes, staffs, and even bare fists);
The House of Valor, led by Cirdan, Lord of Peace, seeks to enforce Peace in Thera and aid those they perceive as needing and being worthy of such aid as they can give. They are the noble knights, living by a code of their own;
The two houses of Legion and Enforcer merged to form Empire. They do a certain amount of law enforcement but not to the extent Enforcer did. A Senate was formed in January, 2000 to deal with dynamic issues for this new House. (That Senate dissolved when Lord Wervdon could not support it, but a new Senate arose in April, 2001 under Lord Kaleb's auspices.) There was also a Council of Thera formed of two representatives from each House and two representatives who are unhoused who represent those who are unhoused. The last Council of Thera meeting took place sometime in 2000.
Rising from a hole in the ground caused by a meteor that destroyed the Grey Havens in early summer, 2000, the Brethren of the Nine Hells have sought to open Hellgates, to bring demons forth to plague the land of Thera, and ultimately to bring about Thera's demise. It is said that if they succeed, everything will be destroyed, including the magical Weave from which the gods receive their powers, and the gods themselves. The power granted the Brethren originates in the Abyss, it is said, though some people believe it comes from the magical Weave and then is twisted into something dark and horrible, never returning to replenish the Weave. Mind you, this is all hearsay, rumors, and in some cases, truth as remembered by various people and committed to tales told around the campfire and to children sitting upon the knees during quiet moments to instill nightmarish frights to keep them from becoming troublemaking adults. (It is debatable as to whether scaring children with horror stories of the Brethren actually makes them good adult citizens when they grow up.)
Houses have special hideouts, each
with a special item that gives members special powers. Houses
whose special item is in another house shrine lose their special
powers. Joining a house is meant to be a lifelong occupation.
Those that quit or are kicked out of a house are usually given a
punishment for their leaving. House hopping is highly
disappoved of, though there are rare times when such a change in
the life of a character makes sense. It is also highly disapproved
of if you control characters in more than one house, especially
opposing houses.
For more info on
individual houses or joining one, ask a house member or post a
note to that house. (There are also helps on each of the Houses
by name.) See also Ancient, Life,
Outlaw, Arcana, Crusader, Enforcer**, Valor,
Legion** for a closer look at the individual Houses. Due to the highly secretive nature of Brethren, there is no help file for that House. Contact a member of the House for more information about it.
* The House of Arcana fell on 1 August 1999 due to a number of
situations which added up to disaster. Lack of respect for one
another as well as the leadership (immortal and mortal - elders -
both), internal conflict, and corruption within the ranks all
made it possible for the Crusaders, led by Darkwood and Gryleth,
to overrun the Library of Arcana and destroy it, smashing the
Crystal of Power and putting an end to the magical powers granted
thereby. Yes, a House can indeed be destroyed by mortals. Is this
a good thing? Time will tell. For now the world of Thera is in
some imbalance as the magic- hating Crusaders have no real
enemies to keep them in check. Woe be to those whom the Crusaders
next target in their crusade to rid the world of mortal magic.
** Legion and Enforcer merged to form the Empire. Whatever you read here of Legion and Enforcer are strictly history.