Great House Orax

One of nine current Great Houses, charged by Astralshaper to manage all aspects of Abjuration, from handling and harvesting to Transmutation and particulate bonding. The original inspiration of the Great House system and perhaps the first Great House, the city of Orax was incorporated in the founding days of the Meridian as a warden order of ancient elven constructs programmed to withstand the horrors of evening. They zealously defended the remaining remnant elven population, practicing magical techniques long lost to the ages to reinforce their armor and structures, saturating thousands of micro-walls of Abjuration spells within each layer of stone and steel. Given the Dreamer's preference of Divination weapons and the soon-to-be rebel tendency of Evocation, magic resistance was tantalizing for the upstart Empress that was Astralshaper, allowing her well-earned work to stand the test of time. These constructs were all that remained of their Great Order, once among many other Great Orders of the arcane empire forgotten that each specialized in applying a single niche of Abjuration and Enchantment. Astralshaper adopted the concept, declaring a new House system based on merit and contribution to her cause, rewarding them with political relevance and prestige among their peers. The constructs were incredibly loyal to Astralshaper and freely offered their valuable hand in support, aligning with the fledgling empire and their defiance against evening and evil, thus ascending them to be the first Great House - Great House of Orax - and consolidating the remaining members of their order into one centralized House within the newly founded Meridian. Perhaps one of the most objectively noble Great Houses, House Orax was born into a chaotic world that was the early days of the Meridian. From warring necromancers to rogue bands of miscreants and other nations, no man was safe, almost begging for the defensive nature of the elven golems to step in. Their mission was that of the safety of its citizens, the Meridian having constantly been bombarded with magical weapons for countless rotations. They replicated their masonry in the empire, forging structures capable of withstanding attack and siege and only expanded their ranks as they selflessly welcomed and accommodated more and more refugees displaced by the endless conflict. Little by little, they rebuilt the bulwark of Meridian to be impervious to virtually all conventional and magical weapon at the time, thus exemplifying their purpose for not only their Great House, but also every future Great House as protectors of the Meridian and master artisans of a single school of magic.
In their modern iteration, their policies and laws are in the same vein as they were in ancient days, designed to return the power to the people and disallowing any single member to wield the full authority and capabilities of Orax, relying on their many subordinate Houses to cooperate with each other in times of need so that they may develop the Great House as a whole. The elven golems may be gone, but their popular spirit remains as the Great House adopted a governing stance more akin to federation than a House, comprised of many equally influential Electorate Houses in the Defacto Council of People that dictates all matters of Orax, from economic development to military movements. The Officator of Orax coordinates the propositions and demands of the Council, presiding and answering solely to the Defacto Council and maintaining order within the Great House and the empire. Their unique dynamic, while beneficial to the masses, hampers the machine as a whole. While they were lauded for being a fair and just house, their secular attitude often left them fairly weak compared to their other Great House rivals. Electorates are highly competitive more often than they are cooperative, many attempting to wrangle power for themselves so that they may cede from Orax and take all of their resources with them. And usually, if persistent, they will succeed, further crippling Orax's potential to be the dominate Great House, constantly losing larger houses just to replace them with weaker ones. Despite all of their hardships and limitations, Orax is a hub for innovation and prosperity, with most of the economy funneling back down to the lowliest of laborers, all members of Orax sharing in the superior life standard compared to other Great Houses. They are most revered for their structural prowess, designing virtually all buildings within the Meridian to be resilient to assault, especially from evening. They also designed the majority of the Civil Perimeters: huge barriers that protect major residential areas, as well as hosting the most currently active imbuement plants, forging countless variants of magical alloys demanded by every Great House such as their famed Abjured Steel.
Under Great House Orax, there are three subsidiary Major Houses:

House Providence

A very loyal upstart House subsidized by Great House Orax to directly contest Autonon aggression, but also to provide a base of operations in expanding steel manufacturing in Eschaton. They have a sizable military to defend their assets and attack Autonon facilities simultaneously and very frequently.

House Valiant

A very disloyal upstart House that wants nothing to do with the Great Houses, isolating themselves in Preta Loka and circumventing the Mob entirely by declaring absolute subservience to the IA overseer of their town.

House Ataraxia

A somewhat loyal House that was recently acquired, some Konx-om-Pax Venerates unhappy with the grueling workload of House Magic Crafter and House Wormwood. They are in the process of converting their plants into assembly lines for intermediary Abjuration components.

Structure

Orax relies on the full cooperation and support of their overwhelmingly powerful Electorate Houses: an aligned collection of member Minor House Guilds separate to that of the generic Meridian House system. This swarm of unionized Minor Houses disregards all notions of allegiance, allowing any and all Minor Houses to join the Mob even if they reside within the jurisdiction of another Great House or the Vicarvoyancy. Orax organizes an annual Caucus that allows all member Guilds to vote for who among them they believe would best represent their interests in the Defacto Council of People as Electorates, selecting the top twenty-five Guilds with the most votes whom must send at least four of their most trusted individuals to speak on their behalf. When the Defacto Council of People convenes at the beginning of a rotation, they elect an Officiator to Orax: one individual from the Meridian that executes the will of Mob. This Mob of course is the People itself, as the Council is always open-session, with the Mob of a Thousand Faces attending to observe the proceedings, also having their own singular vote; a vote that overrides all. Should there be a hint of contest within the voice of Mob concerning the Electorate's decision such as that with the selection of an Officiator (among other political choices throughout the rotation), then the vote will voided and must begin anew. It is up to the Electorates to sell their propositions and sway the popular vote of Mob to their side to get their way. Once a new Officiator is chosen or the previous one re-elected, they bear the entire weight of the Mob on their shoulders as they must mediate controversial decisions within the council, but also major economic planning, military movements, and foreign diplomacy as their figurehead, coordinating and pushing for popular ideas and demands to be represented. They are more akin to a judge than a leader, presiding over the council and only answering to the Mob, deciding on behalf of Orax should no consensus be made in a reasonable amount of time for any conference. In times of emergency, they may declare Martial Law to overrule the Defacto Council of People, though they relinquish their right to be re-elected next rotation if this is ever enacted. The Officiator may invite any foreign person to attend a meeting as advisers to Orax, this historically meaning Monolith and the Vicarvoyancy in most cases. However in recent years, the Mob proclaimed that the Vicarvoyancy is no longer necessary and has unanimously banned their presence for any proceeding, alongside Great House Autonon.

The Mob proclaims. The Mob dictates. The Mob executes.

Founding Date

0

Type

Geopolitical, Great house

Leader

Officiator Tedian to Orax

Parent Organization

Regent Vicarvoyancy Assembly