House Cynis

Dynasts know House Cynis as hedonists and sinners whose decadent salons and indulgent parties are the finest entertainment the Realm has to offer, and as masterful physicians capable of soothing the most dreadful hurts and ailments.
To patricians, the house’s irresistible allure almost overshadows its scandal — who could resist an invitation to one of their infamous debauches, or the tantalizing possibility of a tryst with a Cynis paramour? The Blessed Isle’s lower classes and the Threshold’s populace know House Cynis as the hand that cracks the overseer’s whip as slave work crews maintain roads, gather crops, and raise public works.
When Dragon- Blooded indulge themselves on sumptuous feasts and exotic narcotics at Cynis galas, the house’s slaves cater to their every need.
When taking their leisure in Pangu’s magnificent bathhouses, slaves massage them and anoint them with oils and perfumes. Cynis scions crave art, leisure, and beauty, and shape their holdings to satisfy these desires.
Breathtaking frescoes grace the walls of Cynis households and satrapial palaces; galleries depict deeds of the house’s famous scions; colorful mosaics and flower gardens elevate villages and public squares to aesthetic perfection.
Religious dissidence and heresy take root in Cynis holdings more easily than other houses’; while House Cynis isn’t atheistic, it offers the Order little assistance in curtailing such behaviors among the peasantry.
In addition to its Imperial monopoly on the slave trade and its grain exports from fertile Pangu Prefecture, House Cynis has a major presence in the Realm’s criminal underworld.
This provides additional markets for the house’s drugs and poisons, and a deniable vector for disseminating information harmful to the house’s rivals.
The Empress turned a blind eye while such activities remained modest; Sesus is perhaps the second-largest player in the Realm’s criminal underworld, and Cynis’ activities drove a wedge between the two houses.
With tribute drying up and piracy cutting into trade, Cynis’ ability to host its astoundingly lavish galas diminishes, as does its supply of exotic slaves and rare drugs. This shakes its hold on the Dynasty’s appetite for extravagance.
The house raises prices on luxury goods to compensate, and focuses on maintaining key drugrich Eastern satrapies. More quietly, it offers the Guild greater inroads into trade with the Blessed Isle in exchange for steeply discounted contracts on Threshold mercenaries.

Parent Organization

The Great Houses