The Sixteen Great Houses

The Sixteen Great Houses of Galia includes some of the most important families within the Galian Aristocracy, and represent several and prominent individuals in the Galian Military, Economy, and Bureaucracy.

Structure:

Background

Current Standing

Morals, Ideals

Power, Wealth, Assets,

House De Abiret
See also: House De Abiret

As the ruling dynasty of the Empire, The House De Abiret (Along with their cadets, House De Alba, and Delvalle) have a long and immense history within the Empire and have remained until now unchallenged in their grip over the state. Though in part thanks to the stumbling of the dynasty through the prior centuries, and to the creeping encroachment of the Bureaucracy on Imperial power the once peerless house has seen the bubbling of tension and challenge to their rule.

Even so the De Abiret remain the obvious hegemon of the Empire, even if that title is in contention. The present head of house, Roman Abiret has fallen to a coma and remains unresponsive. This has sent the House into a virtual crisis as the Incapacitated Emperor had produced no male heirs, leaving his only daughter Teresa Abiret as the Crown Heir and Regent. Though there is no legal precedent barring her accession many of the high nobility in the Empire (especially those whom stand to benefit from the fall of the House De Abiret) view her gender as disqualifying for the throne. This state of affairs has led to the occurrence of the present Imperial Succession Crisis.

While many of the other Great Houses operate on either a lofty moral code, or through cold realpolitik, House De Abiret has always cautiously tread the middle ground. The driving purpose of the house has always been to maintain the health and stability of the Imperial system in which it has so much invested. This has seen that the House has on several occasions sided with both the reform, and conservative factions of the government, though with the present successions crisis and ascension of the Crown Princess as de facto Matriarch of the family the De Abiret have quickly come to from the backbone of the present day reform faction.

Despite holding the highest title in the Empire, the House De Abiret has seen itself lose significant ground to the other Great Houses in the game of power and politics. Easily the strongest asset for the De Abiret is the general loyalty of the Crown System Galia, which while some pockets of resistance exist is by-and-large loyal to the Crown Princess faction. Beyond the family holds a rather substantial cash reserve which has been amassed over the last few centuries. Immediately loyal to the Crown Princess are the Imperial Fourth, and Fifth Fleets (Based from Anchorages Lumina, and Seraph respectively). A point of contention, however, is the Imperial Sixth Fleet anchored on the moon of Aizuno, tasked with the defense of the immensely valuable Aizuno Imperial Shipyard. While the vast majority of the crew of the Sixth Fleet are loyal to the Crown Princess, virtually all of its leadership have sided with House Akari, and the conservative faction, leading to growing tensions within the Crown system as the possibility of civil-war could include a violent and prolonged siege, or even mutiny for the rebellious Sixth Fleet, and the moon of Aizuno. House De Abiret has close relations with Houses Atlan and Seaton, while its most fierce rivals are that of House Akari, Astassier, and Oskar.

House Akari
See also: House Akari

Formed unusually as the voluntary merger of three houses (Corwin, Obara, and Holm) House Akari has since its inception been recognized as one of, if not the leading House of the Empire. Though formed some half century after the Galian Civil-War and birth of the Empire, House Akari's predecessors had already built a name for themselves, with House Corwin and Obara especially wielding immense influence over the newborn nation-state. Today House Akari are seen as the primary rivals of the Imperial Household, and represent the immensely powerful and dominant Conservative faction of the Empire.

Presently Arch-Duke Mathias Corwin of House Corwin is recognized as the patriarch of the family holding the principal familial title, the Arch-Duchy of Akari. Akari is the single most populous system in the Empire and perhaps second most important behind the Crown System itself. The planet of Akari itself hosts a population north of 50 Billion, and ranks among the most populous worlds in the galaxy. Almost as valuable as the planet itself are its satellites, particularly the toxic moon Osulara, and the eponymous Osulara Imperial Shipyard, which is the second largest shipyard in the galaxy by annual weight-output. In addition to this the system of Akari (Which is nearly totally dominated by the Corwin, Obara, or Holm families) contains both Anchorage Osulara, and Anchorage Ebisu (Home of the 31st and 32nd Fleets) as well as the Duchy of Mao, Ritis, Krona, and Cuzuela. Further the Akari family has established itself as the dominant force of the Imperial Conservative faction, with Mathias Corwin holding the coveted position of Chancellor. Along with this title, House Akari has seen itself come to dominate the Imperial Bureaucracy and establish Mathias Corwin as a viable contender for the throne in the present Imperial Succession Crisis.

House Akari are infamous manipulators of the Imperial Bureaucracy and Politics, having gamed the system to such an extent that in light of the frail grasp onto power of the De Abiret family in the late 30th Century that they had managed to secure the loyalty of large swaths of the Bureaucracy within the Chancellery, leading to the present near dictatorial control of the department by the family. During this time the family has expanded its powers within the Chancellery to secure a nearly unchallenged line of succession, even going so far as establishing its own secret police through the expanded and empowered Chancellery Office of Protocol.

House Astassier
See also: House Astassier

Dating back to the Galian-Systems Alliance, House Astassier is the oldest of the Imperial families, and the only family in possession of a noble title pre-dating the establishment of the Galian Empire. Historically the Sovereign Principality of Avelania was an independent state which was recognized as an entity separate from the GSA, however will the fall of the GSA into autocracy under the dictator Pierre De Abiret Avelania was dragged into a cold-war with the ascendant Galian Empire. This conflict reached its zenith during the Avelanian war, in which the Sovereign Principality enacted the Killing of Chutov, which resulted in the deaths of more than 13 Billion people. Following this atrocity (Which also saw a mass migration away from the Empire into the systems of what would quickly become the fledgling Republic of Laelia) international opinion quickly turned against Avelania, and the Galian Empire now having refocused its efforts defeated the Principality and ultimately brought it into the Empire as a Semi-Autonomous vassal state.

Today House Astassier remain largely in control of the Principality, holding the Hereditary Sovereign Prince title. The family has greatly improved its position in Imperial Society under the guidance of the young and charismatic Sov. Adrian Astassier. Avelania is a highly developed and important system ranked third in terms of prominence in the Empire. On top of this Avelania itself is a highly militarized society (Even by Imperial standards) with all free citizens requiring to provide a minimum of two years of military service (Including Women). Because of this, Avelania maintains an abnormal four fleets in active duty (One of which must be provided to the Empire and operates abroad). Along with this, large segments of the population of Avelania have joined the Mercenary trade leading to Avelanians having an out sized presence in the Empire's various Mercenary groups. House Astassier possess a rather infamous brand of Realpolitik, favoring the improvement of their own (And Avelania's own) position over all else. This has lead to conflict between House Astassier and the other rival houses. During the Avelanian war this code was taken to the extreme when Avelania bombarded the surface of the Crown world Chutov with Nuclear and Chemical warheads, rendering the planet inhospitable. House Astassier is infamously known for resorting to dirty (Or down right illegal) tactics as fits their purposes. As such the House has made few friends, and alliances are often short-lived, self serving, and often terminated in hostilities.

Despite the near universal distaste for them, House Astassier has managed to carve for itself a substantial amount of power. On top of its three personal fleets the House also has the loyalty of several mercenary organizations and Knight-Orders. In addition to this, Avelania's highly developed economy and abundant export of luxury goods has created a steady and strong income stream from the House and has helped establish for them a large and healthy treasury. House Astassier are famously one of the wealthiest of the Aristocratic Houses (Challenged only by houses Oskar, De Abiret, and Lalande) but unlike those Houses, House Astassier is known to spend its wealth readily by investing heavily in infrastructure projects, military parades, cultural events, and the commissioning of ornate (Perhaps even gaudy) buildings across its worlds. The Avelanian Crown World Santilly is famous for its intricately detailed, elaborate, and expansive architecture which is considered by many to be the masterpiece of Imperial aesthetics. This all is thanks to the immense wealth, and loose pockets of House Astassier.

House Atlan
See also: House Atlan

House Atlan is one of the younger great houses, having its origins during to period of liberalization following the Antonine tyranny of the mid 2900's. Originally minor land holders in Lineria, House Atlan rose to prominence first as a family of Lawyers and Judges with close ties to House Avington and the Imperial Court system, but eventually become more known for its diplomats and most recently generals. House Atlan has always been an isolated house, having very few allies, and no real enemies to speak of.

Despite having no true rivals, the cutthroat and treacherous nature of Imperial politics have been harsh to the fledgling house, which has in recent decades fall on hard times, with very few real titles remaining. Today the head of household is Admiral of the 3rd Fleet, Kristopher Alcantar who also holds the title of Duke of Kuana. House Atlan is nominally a member of the Imperial reform faction, with both the Royal Family, and its former Suzerain House Avington as primary allies, however House Atlan's deep history in the Imperial court system has also ensured a rather tenuous alliance with the conservative House Fairwen. House Atlan is well known, and widely respected for its strict adherence to Imperial laws and customs, seeking to maintain the Imperial order and laws. Despite this, however, House Atlan is known to employ prefer lenience and understanding over punishment. Further, House Atlan chooses to avoid political conflict, seeking to preserve its rather precarious position in the world of Galian politics by minimizing the potential for damage. The Family possess few titles which may serve to stabilize them during a protracted political dispute. The family's primary title is the Duchy of Kuana -- an infamous harsh tropical world that, while possessing deep mineral reserves, is notorious hard to work in due to the presence of lethal flora and fauna in the planet's dense continental jungles. Beyond this, House Atlan's members include a few prominent military commands, most notably Admiral Alcantar, a close associate of Crown Admiral Lawrence Holcomb.

House Avington
Descending from a dynastic line of Senators from the system of Lineria, House Avington is one of the oldest houses of Galian high aristocracy. Though the family never spread substantially beyond its holdings in Lineria, it maintained a nearly unchallenged grip over the vital and populous Imperial system. House Avington was always looked at with suspicion and concern by outsiders to Lineria, as the family has nurtured a long reputation for debauchery and hedonism, however the family has remained almost paradoxically popular within its home system. The unique nature of House Avington, which operates under its own brand of Epicureanism and Ethical Hedonism have lended itself well to establishing the family's reputation fearfully rowdy and debauched reputation, while allowing it to maintain a perplexingly level of financial and material security.

House Avington's head of house hold is Katherine Avington, Grand Duchess of Lineria, and Duchess of the system capital world Juno. The family extracts a substantial tax base from Juno, and the rest of Lineria's other planets and moons. The system is the major industrial hub for the western Empire, with resources from the systems of Nacia and Ilmare being refined in the system and exported. In addition to this, House Avington holds a number of prominent board positions in various Crown Corporations, including Peter Avington (Brother of Gx. Katherine) serving as Operations chair for I4 (Entitled Count), and Arthur (Son of Katherine) entitled as Director of Marketing for Koss Imperial (Which maintains a branch office on Juno).

House Avington expects its members to seek pleasure above all else in life. From a young age members of House Avington are taught that pleasure, and particularly avoiding pain is the primary goal of life. Members of House Avington have fostered a reputation as debauched partiers, often sliding into the depraved. Despite this, members of House Avington are also known to be rather shrewd and wise in the realm of politics and finance, since the brand of hedonism practiced by the house seeks to be inherently sustainable, with no expense made which the family can not afford, and no norm or custom broken that may be considered a step too far. Typically the head of House Avington is expected to refrain from this lifestyle however, and instead act as an anchor, controlling and regulating the family and ensuring that no one individual gets out of hand.

This loose lifestyle has proven both an asset and a liability for the family, as particularly debauched members of the family frequently find themselves victims of blackmail, or the focus of lawsuits or slander. This has also been leveraged to great effect by the family as well, however, with the family having a great variety of kompromat on nobles and businessmen from all walks of life. Their strong financials, and loose purse strings have only further served to solidify the family's popularity in their home system of Lineria, which is quickly evolving into a hub of tourism in the Empire, thanks in large part to the many celebrations and festivities paid for on the dime of the House. Further, the family has seen itself drift into the sphere of the Imperial Reform faction, largely thanks to its isolation from the conservative faction led by House Akari. The House has made for uneasy allies with the De Abiret, and holds historical ties with House Atlan. However, the family's progressive stance on social issues, and historically diplomatic foreign policy have helped it make quick friends with House Rigal.

House Seaton
House Seaton is neither old or young, nor has it attained the immense wealth of houses Oskar and Kasatrix, or the deep seated institutional power of House Akari or Abiret. Yet still, House Seaton is one of the most well known, powerful, and equally respected or reviled houses in the Empire. Tracing its origin back to a single man, Andrew Spencer (Ca. 2791-2904) who rose to prominence in the early Imperial period through a series of successful businesses and for his heroism displayed in the Avelanian war, House Seaton gained widespread recognition when its founder married into the Imperial family after a whirlwind romance with the late Emperor Asterio's sister Lisetta. Over the following centuries the newly founded House Spencer would become the current House Seaton through its merger with another prominent business family, the Lovell. Today House Seaton is headed by Andrew Spencer, who bears the name of his great-great grandfather who long ago founded the prestigious house. House Seaton's power is easily misunderstood by outsiders, who see on the surface a minor family with scattered business holdings, no prominent role in the bureaucracy, and a single Grand Duchy to their name. However House Seaton's power and influence go deeper than the surface. The Family is most famous for its nimble manipulation of the Galian social system, and its heavy intermarriage between other prominent households. Most notably, the sister of head-of-house Andrew Spencer, Aria, is presently married to Arch-Duke Chancellor Mathias Corwin, arguably the most powerful man in the Empire. Similarly members of House Avington are the parents of both Katherine Avington, and even the crown princess Teresa Abiret herself. Thanks to this, a complicated web of alliances, agreement, familial arrangements, and kompromat have ensured House Seaton at seat at nearly every negotiating table, and family parlor in the Empire. While the household may be lacking in the immense material wealth, or insurmountable political or military clout of others, House Seaton forges its own path through cold blooded social manipulation.