House Tepet
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House Elevation: RY 365
House Blood Aspect: Air
House Colors: Blue and White
House Income: Mercantile Households, Satrapies Tribute (down to 3/4 normal)
House Home Prefecture: Lord's Crossing Dominion
House Allies: House V'neef (tangentially)
Contents
Founder
A potent Air-Aspected warrior whose lineage could be traced back to important Shogunate Houses, Tepet and the Scarlet Empress were lovers for some forty years before he was made Imperial Consort in RY 362. Within three years, he was elevated to the founder of his own House. Though he didn't remain lovers with the Scarlet Empress for much longer, their first three children were brought into his new House (all three of whom survive today). He was replaced with Rawar, a fact that those closest to him said bothered him greatly.
He eventually ended up with other wives, and other children thereby, but only two more of those survived to the current day. Tepet vanished in RY 371, but not before he gave his sword to his grandchild Arada to care for. Some members of the House believe he is still around to this day, but others note that he disappeared a year after Rawar's death, leading them to suspect that Tepet had a hand in the Empress' lover's demise, and was subsequently killed or imprisoned by the Empress as a result. No one truly knows, however.
Heads of Household
There are five masters of House Tepet currently, composed wholly of Tepet's five surviving children.
- Jita (Air Aspect • Tepet Estate, Lord's Crossing, Lord's Crossing Dominion, Blessed Isle): The eldest of the Tepets, Jita has always been headstrong and willful. This has put him in good stead as the eldest of the House's leaders, and the others are accustomed to deferring to him for one simple reason: "Jita gets his way in the end," is the House's aphorism on dealing with him. He has had several wives throughout his life, and produced a number of children, but never founded a household proper. His children are notoriously capable, and many of them inherited his tendency towards doing things their own way. Perhaps the most recent and obvious examples of this are his son, Tepet Arada, the famed general of the Tepet Legions, and his great grand-daughter, Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack.
- Jyuko (Air Aspect • Tepet Wing, Imperial Palace, Imperial City, Blessed Isle): The quiet Second Brother, Jyuko has always been in his brother Jita's shadow. Of course, unlike many in that situation, that seems to be where he prefers it. The House's foremost sorcerer, and a well-respected former instructor at the Heptagram, Jyuko considers it his personal responsibility to test his House's newly Exalted children for their potential at sorcery. It is well-known in the House that if Jyuko suggests a child attend the Heptagram, none of the elders gainsay him in this. He has never produced a household proper, though many of his children and descendents have been some of the best sorcerers the Realm has known.
- Marek (Air Aspect • Tepet Estate, Lord's Crossing, Lord's Crossing Dominion, Blessed Isle): Called the Father of the Tepet Legions, Marek is less of a general and more of a war-profiteer. He knows, first and foremost, how to make war turn a profit, and his innovations in that field have filled coffers not just in his own House, but in military Houses all through the Scarlet Empire. Marek watched helplessly as easily 95% of his descendants were wiped out in the North, and it is his voice of grief that insists that Tepet Arada be returned to Lord's Crossing and punished for his failure in that battle. Only Jita's compassionate leadership has prevented that from happening to date.
- Mokairo (Air Aspect • Tepet Estate, Lord's Crossing, Lord's Crossing Dominion, Blessed Isle): Mokairo has dedicated his existence to his House for one simple reason: he has never produced children. Nonetheless, he is considered by his household to be the ultimate bureaucrat and administrator, so much so that both of the mercantile households of House Tepet were established by nephews he'd taken under his wing. These days, he is kept very busy, indeed: the House is nearing the edge of bankruptcy, even despite his efforts (such as arranging for the Imperial Bereavement Subsidy).
- Vergus (Air Aspect • Tepet Wing, Imperial Palace, Imperial City, Blessed Isle): Vergus grew up dogging his older brother Marek's every footstep, and has continued to follow in his footsteps to this day. The second son who founded a household, Vergus turned his fascination with First Age and Shogunate-era technology into a true benefit when he managed to acquire a small fleet of airships for the use of his Legion. Vergus' grief at the loss of so much of his family - including his only two children - has been almost crippling for him. He has spent a great deal of time away from the House affairs since the loss of the Legions.
Household of Tepet Marek
One of the three military-focuses households of House Tepet, Household Tepet Marek is headed up by one of Tepet's own grandchildren, the elder Marek. Based mainly out of the House's estate in Lord's Dominion, Marek holds power equal to his elder brothers' influence put together, simply because he is the oldest son of Tepet who is also the head of his own household. Tepet Marek's Legion influence was focused in the North and East primarily, so they were the hardest hit of the Households. Indeed, save for a few elders and a few very young Exalts, Tepet Marek lost almost all of its Exalts.
Household of Tepet Vergus
The Vergus household of House Tepet specialized its Legions for quick mobility and travel, even employing a selection of Shogunate airships for that purpose. When Tepet satraps sought assistance making sure that a recalcitrant tributary paid its tribute on time, it was to Tepet Vergus' household that they turned. Its sorcerers and airships ensured that those Threshold nations who thought about holding out on the Empire had only to hear rumors that the Tepet airships were coming to quickly empty their vaults. Like the Tepet Marek household, the Vergus lost many against the Bull of the North, including several airships that transported troops to the front lines.
Household of Tepet Nerigus
The son Jita, Nerigus, was never cut out for Legion training. While his uncles wanted to put him through the rigors of the House of Bells to turn him into a "real Tepet," he begged his father to let him attend the Spiral Academy instead. The ever-permissive Jita agreed, and has never had cause to regret the decision. Nerigus runs a thriving mercantile empire out of Lord's Crossing, the cross-roads of the Empire, and was made the first head of a household who was neither one of Tepet's sons nor a military man.
Household of Tepet Tilus
The most recently founded of the military households in House Tepet, the Tilus Legion was the last of the Legions to arrive on the scene of the Bull of the North. They were witnesses to the majority of the devastation that had already been wrought, and were greatly disheartened by the defeats they witnessed, and by the descent of Tepet Arada into grief. The Tilus household also suffered incredible losses at the hands of the Bull of the North, but its elders have reason to believe that many of those losses were due to rout, and that they likely still have Exalts of their House still in the North and Scavenger Lands, too shamed to return to their home as cowards rather than corpses.
Household of Tepet Berel
The Berel household, founded by Vergus' son Berel, is the second of Tepet's mercantile households. Though Berel was one of the earliest of Vergus' children to embrace his enthusiasm for air combat, he was not a military mind himself. In fact, it was through his uncle Jyuko's influence that he attended the Heptagram and emerged as a skilled thaumaturge and magical engineer. He led his father's House in its search through the North for old Shogunate era air depots, finding several of them. In so doing, he managed to establish impressive mercantile contacts throughout the North, so much so that his sideline money-making soon became impressive earnings, gradually coming to dominate trade between the North and the Blessed Isle. His uncles honored him for his work by making him head of his own household.
Household of Tepet Deramol
Deramol's Household was founded for his ingenuity and perspective. The grandson of one of Jita's children who had a reputation as a scoundrel, a wastrel and a useless fop, Deramol's birth family were all reckoned degenerates better suited for House Cynis than the stoic Tepets. Deramol was certainly a member of his family, but he was also more. He had much more in common with his great-uncle Mokairo. When he came of age, he gladly took responsibility for running his branch of the family's holdings, leaving them to their pleasures.
In five years, he'd turned what was originally a money-sink of drugs, booze and orgies into a thriving semi-business, opening their parties and hunting trips to the country into a sort of relaxing get-away well-favored by other Houses. By the time Deramol opened his third exclusive resort, other Houses were complimenting the Tepet elders on their ingenuity and cleverness. Deramol was also canny enough to give them all the credit for his work; in return, they acknowledged his cunning and foresight by making his the sixth Household in the House.
These days, though, Deramol is finding himself in a position to provide more than just finances to his family. He has extended many of his House free invitations to stay in his Household's accommodations, including closing the one in Lord's Crossing for the exclusive use of his family members. This has provided a welcome respite from their grief - or, in many cases, a safe place where they can grieve openly without concern for their reputations.
Other Lineages
The Line of Jegan
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The line of the elder Earth Aspect Jegan descends from Tepet's third child, Jita. Jita's marriage to a Threshold-born Dragon-Blooded named Lura resulted in only a single child, Jegan, who Exalted as an Earth Aspect. As a result, his line were often married off into other Houses when the Earth of the line came through in Exaltations.
With the death of all but one of the most recent generation in the Tepet Legions, and that last child being married off into House V'neef, this line seems to be at an end. Nonetheless, this branch's closeness to House V'neef has earned them an ambassadorial position in House Tepet, who hope to parley that alliance into a deeper House-to-House alliance.
Jegan's Mother
- Lura (Earth Aspect • Deceased): Jita's beautiful "Threshold Princess," Lura hailed from the border between the Riverlands and the East proper. They remained married for years, and when she produced her first son, it nearly killed her. It was several decades of trying to have another child before she accepted the inevitable. Jita claimed it didn't matter to him, but Lura was always conscious of the duties of the Blood. Rather than dishonor herself by simply disappearing, or trapping Jita in a marriage that would produce no more children, she committed ritual suicide, using the Shogunate traditions, on their thirtieth wedding anniversary. It is known that Jita still mourns her death to this day, and so has always doted on Jegan and the grandchildren that they produced.
Jegan & Aola
- Jegan (Earth Aspect • V'neef Estate, outside Kirighast, Harbourhead, the South): See House V'neef for more info on Jegan.
- Aola (UnExalted • Deceased): A patrician woman who'd served as one of Lura's handmaidens, Aola was there to comfort a grieving Jegan shortly after his mother's death. The two were married within the year, and Jegan loved her fiercely for her whole life. She gave him three children, two of whom Exalted. She died sixty or so years ago, giving birth to Kara.
Jegan's Children
- Avis (Earth Aspected • Deceased): Jegan's oldest child, Avis, was married into House Ragara, and lived there happily for a time. Avis was an avid tourer of the Threshold, particularly the West. Unfortunately, his ship fell afoul of Lintha pirates, whose hands he died at.
- Liana (Air Aspected • Deceased): An important woman in the Tepet Legions over a century ago, Liana's battle acumen was impressive. Eventually, she retired from the Legions and married a patrician husband. The two of them produced two children, both sons who Exalted. Eventually, when her husband died, she joined the Wyld Hunt, with whom she served until her death at the hands of an Anathema in the North.
- Taril (UnExalted • Deceased): Liana's husband, a Patrician of one of the minor Patrician clans allied with House Tepet, Taril was dutiful and a hard-working member of the house's business in Lord's Crossing. He and Liana lived a happy life together, and he died peacefully in his 60s.
- Kara (UnExalted • The Scarlet Hall, Yane, Varang City-States): Kara grew up with a distant, grieving father in the Southern Threshold. It was a young V'neef who saw her potential, and sponsored her for training at the Spiral Academy. She'd always intended to return home to her father's estate, but with her graduation and advancement through the ranks, she's found herself in an Advisor's position in one of the few V'neef satrapies, which suits her quite well.
Jegan's Grandchildren
- Karoda (Air Aspect • Imperial Garrison, Yane, Varang City-States): One of the forefront of House Tepet's scions to be placed forward by his House when they established their early alliance with House V'neef, Karoda has done much to help cement his family's alliance over the years, including transferring from another Legion altogether in V'neef's early years to lend his expertise. He even saw to it that his House agreed to marry his daughter, Aola, into the V'neef family. But then, things went wrong - with the destruction of the Tepet Legions, he has watched the alliance he worked hard to build crumble out from under him. It is with some small measure of resentment that he has seen V'neef break off most of the V'neef betrothals to House Tepet. Desperate to keep House V'neef as allies, he insisted that his daughter go ahead with her marriage.
- Ashira (Air Aspect • Deceased): Originally a Sesus, Ashira was only too happy to marry into the Tepets, whose military acumen she admired. She rose to prominence in the Tepet Legions, eventually coming to command her own dragon, with several of her children under her command. She was among the Tepets killed in battle with the forces of the Bull of the North.
- Yimatsu (Earth Aspect • Ancient Walls Monastery, Arjuf Dominion, Blessed Isle): Beloved "Uncle Yimatsu" is an Immaculate monk in Arjuf, though he took a year's leave of absence to be with his brother in the Varang City-States after the reports of the Tepet Legions' fate - and that of his brother's wife and three children - trickled in.
Jegan's Great-Grandchildren
- Radia (Air Aspect • Deceased): A war-sorceress of no small skill, Radia was an incredible wielder of elemental forces. In her capacity as one of the Tepet war-sorcerers, she'd forged relationships with no fewer than three elemental courts (two of which were in the Threshold, quite an accomplishment among her peers). She was among the Tepets killed in battle with the forces of the Bull of the North.
- Tian (Air Aspect • Deceased): An impetuous and wild youth, Tian was a specialist in the Tepet Legions: part of an elite fang of warstrider pilots. He was among the Tepets killed in battle with the forces of the Bull of the North.
- Sujol (Earth Aspect • Deceased): A combat engineer, Sujol led a corps of thaumaturge-engineers attached to his brother Tian's warstrider fang. Always fascinated by the way things functioned, Sujol loved visiting his father, taking pleasure in the intricate clockwork of the Varang peoples. He was among the Tepets killed in battle with the forces of the Bull of the North.
- Aola (Air Aspect • Imperial Garrison, Yane, Varang City-States): See House V'neef for more info on Aola.
