House of Shajara (Area of Concern: Leisure)
The House Shajara's area of concern is leisure, and is infamous for its risqué parties, with illicit drugs and other hedonistic activities. The Shajaras are one of the eight Non-Human families of the Noble Court. As very young Elves, the Vizier Hali and Viziera Cassilda Shajara, have not yet bothered to try to create an heir, preferring to live the hedonistic noble lifestyle unburdened by infant offspring. They are secretly followers the forbidden survivor star, He-That-Walks-Beyond-The-Wall, the Prince in Saffron, and is was recently discovered that Vizier Hali is actually a Worm That Walks disguised as an Elf, and has held the Shajara Vizier position, changing his face every so often, since Ambrose Shajara, centuries ago.
Structure
Vizier and Viziera
Vizier Hali Shajara: At just over 100 years old, Vizier Hali Shajara is very young for an Elf, and he has as yet not made arrangements to produce an heir, preferring to live the hedonist noble lifestyle unburnened by infant offspring. Hali is charming and charismatic. He speaks with a smile and a lilt that leans into his own audacious, hedonistic lifestyle. He revels in the rumours surrounding House Shajara, and is bringing his listeners along for the ride. He, and his listeners, know what is said about him, and he will neither confirm nor deny any of it, because where is the fun in that? But his affable demeanour is a mask, allowing him to get away with horrors that would put a less brazen noble to the Whisper Vote.Viziera Cassilda Shajara: Viziera Cassilda Shajara is one of the most dominant vizerias at Court, and has an ongoing rivalry with Viziera Guinevera of House Dargent, which is masked as a fashion contest, but is in reality a subtle fight for dominance. Although Guinevera is winning, mostly due to blackmail around the Shajaras' illegal summoning activities, Cassilda and her fierce monkey, Yhtill, are still a formidable pair.
Extended Household
Yhtill: Cassilda's fearsome golden-furred monkey is quite possibly her summoned eidolon. A wild and dangerous guardian, the monkey's razor-sharp teeth and claws deal lightning damage to its foes. While electric attacks could indicate the creature hails from the Plane of Air, it is also possibly that it was summoned from outwith the four cardinal stars using unsanctioned rituals, which would align with the wider rumours circulating about House Shajara's illegal summoning activities.Culture
Extremely hedonistic and indulgent, the Shajara's have an overfilled Undergazette file tying them to every scandal and party in the city, with little but rumours and hunches to actually implicate them in any crimes. According to the Dargent accounts, the Shajaras will be bankrupt before the end of their (admittedly-long elven) lives, unless they have some unknown source of income from elsewhere, that doesn't show up on the accounts.
Nightmares
"As for the golden Shajaras, their nightmares are exquisite. There are so few that have no need to experience nightmares yet choose to induce them anyway. And your golden Shajaras are two such mortals. Their nightmares are not solely the stuff of my realm, however. There is another entity far stronger than I, into whose realm they have sought to open doors within their minds. It is a realm surprisingly close to my own. You could say we share a wall. [Mirror becomes slightly translucent as a strange yellow tinged light as it seeps through the glass. Twisting, elaborate, multifaceted architecture of ivory and saffron dyed satin and velvet. Shimmers away again.] There are things in their nightmares which I do not think it would be wise to expose you to just yet. Do not take it as a personal slight. I am a great admirer of your mind, I know it well, but I do need it intact for now, and I fear there are some things that could too easily break a will such as yours."The Man Who Is Not There tells Lindie Asklepa the nightmares of the Noble Court.
History
House Shajara can be traced back five elven generations to Vizier Ambrose Shajara. Ambrose is known to have had two wives: although the first wife is not mentioned in the Noble Peerage, Viziera Houri Shajara is listed as his second wife.
Between Ambrose and the current Vizier, Hali Shajara, the only generation listed are the grandchildren of Ambrose (i.e. grandparents of Hali and Cassilda Shajara). This means that every alternative generation of the Shajaras are not listed in the Noble Peerage.
Ancient and Eternal
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Leader
Leader Title
Parent Organization
Controlled Territories
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Courtly Relations
House Dargent
Vizier Richard: +78 (Needle, Sailor, 1313)Viziera Guinevera: +70 (Map, Tailor, 1313)
Katib Hugo: +6 (Wound, Sailor, 1313)
