House Orien

The House of Passage manages land transportation. The lightning rail is the house’s most dramatic tool, created along with the help of House Cannith, but Orien also runs caravans and coaches across the length of Khorvaire. Dragonshard focus items ensure that the fastest vehicles are those driven by heirs with the Mark of Passage, but the house also licenses unmarked teamsters. The Courier’s Guild of House Orien delivers mail and packages and has a branch that handles more covert and dangerous deliveries. Orien has dominated transportation for centuries, but now the house is facing challenges. The Sweeping Desert is a dramatic obstacle for ground transportation due to the loose sand and powerful winds and weather, and Baron Kwanti d’Orien has had tremendous difficulty securing funds to rebuild the lightning rail line across the blasted landscape. Indeed, he spends most of his time away from his headquarters in Aundair, trying to raise funds for the project while keeping an eye on house operations. He travels across western Khorvaire in his personal lightning rail coach, the Silver Unicorn—a reference to the house’s unicorn emblem. House Orien’s problems don’t end with the Sweeping Desert, though. The expanding role of Lyrandar airships out of Martial threatens the house’s business. Baron Kwanti would like to be able to offer more instantaneous transportation, but long-distance teleportation is a service only the strongest Orien dragonmarks can provide. So the house is working with House Cannith in an effort to unlock and enhance this gift of the Mark of Passage. Orien heirs might be caught up in these experiments or in the rivalry with House Lyrandar.

Culture

Dealing with travel and moving around, Horizon Walker Rangers often end up as the most important members of the house, many finding ways to travel between planes as a result of their study of transportation.