The Houses of the Courts of Chaos

"A House is more than a family, a group of people or a place to live. It is a way of life, a way of defining yourself in an ever changing world."

Mojica, House Aricline

In the legal sense, a House is a political unit. The succession to the Throne of Chaos is determined in terms of Great Houses. Most of the members of a House, excepting adoptions, have blood in common. So, Houses are families as well. Some Houses dominate certain professions or fields. Therefore, Houses are socio-economic units as well.

Houses, thus, are many things all at once.

Explaining the essential differences between the Major and Minor Houses requires a short digression to the Political Nature of the Courts.

The Top of the Courts is the Emperor, Merlin.

Below Merlin is the unicameral parlimentary like body known as the Diet.

The Diet always has one representative from each of the Thirteen, and 6 other slots rotated among the Minor Houses, for a total of 19 persons. The Diet fluctuates wildly in power, and has ranged from the currently rather impotent and shadowy body it is now, to, once, ruling the Courts themselves during the brief Chaosian Republics that have sprung up from time to time in the long history of the Courts. The main reason for the Diet is to provide a curb on the Emperor's excesses of autocratic rule.

Perhaps, with a new young and relatively untried Emperor, the Diet will try and wield more influence in the matters of Chaos. Even more powerful and tempting than being on the Diet, the other major signature of a Great House is that the Emperor is always chosen from their ranks.

To prevent the unusual series of assassinations which did propel Merlin to the Throne from being an exception rather than rule, the succession is a complex and not very straightforward affair.

Considering Mandor has formally removed himself from the succession both for the leadership of Sawall and the Throne of Chaos, Merlin's brother Despil is, in effect, the Crown Prince. He is not much for the spotlight, and it is not clear how exactly he feels about this, since there has not been an official Heir in quite some time. After Despil, the succession would go to Jurt, and then Belissa Minobee, head of House Hendrake.

The order of succession goes circularly through the Houses, and no more than 2 heirs in a row in a single House...this is to prevent a single House having a stranglehold on the succession, and the temptation to simply destroy that House. To move up the ladder, as it were, requires much more work...

Dara, then, happens to be currently 27th in line to the Throne...not that she seems interested in such overt power. However, if she were to kill her own children Despil and Jurt, she could easily jump up the rankings and become Crown Princess...since she would be the highest ranking person in Sawall...and directly related to Merlin.

Thus, the question turns to how does a House become Great, or lose such status? It is relatively straightforward. With a single exception, the excommunication of Lessima, Great Houses have always lost their status in conflict with another House, usually the minor House trying to ascend into the slot. Great Houses thus jealously guard their status, and scheme and plot the fall of their rivals. Minor Houses aspire to become powerful enough to knock off one of the Thirteen. The Courts may sometimes seem placid, but they usually are not so peaceful...

The Youngest Great House is Baccaran, having knocked off the tottering House Shaydacs a century before the Patternfall War. Sawall, Helgram, Ambelrash and Hendrake are the only four Great Houses which predate Emperor Primus.

The Great Houses of the Courts of Chaos

Note, this is in succession order