The Great Houses
Pillars of Power in a Shattered Sphere
In the modern age of the Sphere, where the League of Stars lies broken and the Astral Paths flicker with uncertainty, the term "The Great Houses" refers to the five dominant noble dynasties that carved their empires from the wreckage of unity. Once allies—or rivals—within the League’s celestial council, these Houses have since risen as sovereign powers, each governing vast realms with their own cultures, laws, and ambitions. Their names shape the politics of the age, their banners define borders, and their rivalries fuel the unending conflict known as the Succession Wars.
Each Great House claims legitimacy through ancient bloodlines, mystical right, or sheer strength. Though their methods and ideals vary, they share three unifying traits: hereditary leadership, military supremacy, and near-total control over their respective territories. They are not merely noble families—they are governments, cultures, and militarized institutions, ruling entire nations through dynastic will.
The Five Great Houses are:
House Davion, rulers of the Federated Suns, champions of honor, duty, and chivalric idealism.
House Kurita, sovereigns of the Draconis Combine, masters of discipline, tradition, and martial dominance.
House Steiner, architects of the Lyran Commonwealth, stewards of economic power and military pragmatism.
House Marik, leaders of the Free Worlds League, advocates of decentralized strength and personal liberty.
House Liao, lords of the Capellan Confederation, wielders of strategy, secrecy, and calculated tyranny.
To be a Great House is to bear more than a title—it is to wield legacy as a weapon. Each House commands a standing army, an arcane council, and a vast network of vassals, guilds, and intelligence services. Their leaders—Archons, Coordinators, Chancellors, and Captain-Generals—rule with the authority of monarchs and the scrutiny of gods. Within their courts, power is measured in alliances forged, secrets traded, and oaths kept—or broken.
The term "Great Houses" also implies an unspoken hierarchy—one that excludes lesser realms, minor noble lines, and independent states such as the Magistracy of Canopus or the Taurian Concordat, whose sovereignty is often disregarded or challenged by the major players.
Though the Great Houses speak of peace in public forums and dispatch envoys with honeyed words, they remain locked in a cold war of espionage, trade wars, border skirmishes, and shadowed diplomacy. At times, that cold war burns hot. These conflicts are not merely military—they are ideological. Each House believes it is destined to inherit the legacy of the fallen League and to restore order to the Sphere, on their terms.
The Great Houses are not just noble bloodlines. They are the engines of history, the architects of conflict, and the would-be inheritors of a lost golden age.
Until one rises above the rest—or all fall together—the Sphere will never know peace.
Type
Government, Leadership
