(This page is for the Metaphysical Houses. For the actual building locations, check out the City page.)
"Almost all of us… found rising in ourselves powers - psychic or magic, we might call them. They included control over the elements, over wild spirits around us, telepathy and other mind-enhancing abilities, and other, odder paths. Our guides explained that these powers were natural for us, and had been awakened by our coming to this world, and would in future define us. Each power, they went on, was well-understood, and defined as a "House" to which we would find ourselves joined. And that has proved the heart of the order of our society." - Kate Wilson (the elder)1
In the beginning, when the new Blood entered the world, Power was entirely organized in terms of the twelve original Houses. However, the situation has become more complex in the last hundred years; as the newcomers settled into the ways of the world, new Powers slowly began to emerge. These others, called "wild Powers," have since come to have their own significance in the world, with four (thus far) eventually being called as new Houses and a fifth serving as the basis for the line of succession through the Blood Royal.
House Powers
- House of Earth
- House of Heavens
- House of Flame
- House of Seas
- House of Flight
- House of Toath
- House of Demons
- House of Beasts
- House of Artifice
- House of Witches
- House of Speakers
- House of Creation
- House of Illusion
- House of Sight
- House of Minds
- House of Souls
Other Powers
King's Power
Wild Power
The Nature of the Houses
House Power
A House is many things. In its simplest manifestation, a House is the Power it represents. Traditionally, each House's power is described as a form of control over some aspect of the world. As stated by Kate Wilson, each House power was well understood, their roads well traveled. Though each user of House Power draws from the same source, different methods of applying power are common. These alternate methods of utilizing power are commonly known as paths. Each path opens a method of using the Power in a way that's understood by members of a House, and even, arguably, the Houses themselves.
Typically, Houses may have three "main paths," or ways of using power that are highly intuitive. These paths are defined by the Houses' Lords and High Lords. It is believed that a House may only have three paths at a time, and that the paths, style, and even personality of the House are defined by both its current officers and any previous House Face and/or Avatar. Though the main paths generally offer the most intuitive uses of a House Power, they are by no means considered the only ways to use a power. Additionally, a House that is particularly small or tightly controlled may have less than three main paths.
Houses as Gaean Entities
While being a member of a House does mean having access to its Power, House membership goes beyond this. Each House is considered an entity in and of itself, much in keeping with the Gaean nature of the world itself. Similar to the various House paths, each House seems to have its own style and personality. To go against the nature of the House can, in certain circumstances, be considered treason. The nature of a House is considered to be derived over time by its members, with long-standing traditions being nearly impossible to change. It is likely that the higher officers of a House will inevitably influence its nature, but the only known way to quickly and drastically alter a House is by "going Face."
What this nature means is hotly debated in the city. It is considered both a question of metaphysics and in some circles, religion. Whether the Houses truly represent Divine beings like those belonging to Marist and Ronish faiths is unknown.
Being Called
As Kate Wilson alludes to above, an individual's Power often serves as the core of their identity; however, this relationship is not quite as straightforward as might be suggested by the quote. Not all those who have the capacity to use a power are "called" to its House at Gathering time; among the Fewk, it is far more common to remain among the uncalled, those who stand behind the Called in the assembly of the House. On the other hand, in theory, "all Blood are Called." While membership in one House is most common, there are also those who hold Power in multiple Houses; called, oddly enough, "multi-House," this phenomenon is uncommon among the Blood, and rare among the Fewk. The vast majority of those with multiple Powers must choose one as their "principal" identity, and it is to this House that they are Called; in the metaphysical way of the world, it seems that those who remain uncalled to a House cannot influence its nature regardless of their strength in the power. On the other hand, those lucky few with dual-House status, Called to two (or more) distinct Houses, seem to have a metaphysical "pull" in both Houses.
It is also possible for someone who was previously Called, or would have been Called, to resist the Calling. By all accounts, this is a difficult and even painful process; the pull of the Gathering is very strong, such that few are able to resist showing up, and once there, an individual's Calling holds such power that often the first few steps are taken without conscious effort. The effect that successful resistance has on the nature of the House is unknown.
Social Influence of the Houses
Each House, in the Metaphysical sense, is centered on the City, just as the House buildings also rest in the City. The degree that the Houses themselves affect the politics of the Crown and the City is hard to determine. It is unknown how the City was run before the Black Avatars, but it's believed that the Crown Monarch was a creation of the Blood, as a result of the arrival of King's Power. Currently, the Houses are sworn to the Crown, with the Crown likewise sworn to the Houses. The Heads of House(?) serve in official functions as House representatives, but the degree of separation between the High as people and their roles as House officers can't be easily defined.
Beyond the City, much of the World is divided into House Lands; places that are historically strong in House Power, were ruled by a House, and/or were habituated by those with affiliations to a House. These lands tend to reflect the nature of the House that rules them. Common to such places are those who have an inherent relation to a House. Locks of a particular House frequent such places, and House Fewk can be quite common as well, such the Tweaks of the Tweaklands and the Wind-Riders of Cloinfar.
Recent Changes
With the arrival of the Blood, the dynamic of the Houses has begun to change. The most obvious of these changes is the arrival of Wild Power, and through them the formation of new Houses, and the prominence of King's Power and the Blood Royal.
House Positions
Each House has the potential for four tiers of officers: seven Travelers (abbreviated Tr), five Lords/Ladies (L), three High Lords/Ladies (HL), and one Avatar. Particularly among the smaller Houses, these positions are rarely entirely filled; the post of Avatar, in particular, is not one common to all Houses, though it is necessary for the establishment of a new House. Additionally, each House has an appointed Chatelane (male) or Chatelaine (female), Champion, and Steward, each with duties to the House and the Crown.
Throughout the world's history, several Houses have also gained a "Face," best understood as an individual's giving themselves up to the House and thereby endowing it with some of their personality and spirit. Historically, this has been the "end" sought by several notable long-termers.
The Gathering
An in-depth description of the event can be found on the Gathering page.
The order of each House - officers and "Called" - is established at the Gathering. The first called to each House, if they are of at least Lord/Lady standing, receives the title of "Head," with the next becoming the "Second." Under normal circumstances, it is these individuals - in almost all cases, at this point, the High Lords/Ladies - who stand at the center of the House's affairs and conduct necessary business.
Frequency of Power
The distribution of Power in the population varies considerably across the world. Among the Blood, coming away from your Naming with no known Power (House or otherwise) is practically seen as a disability; by definition, "all Blood are Called." Nonetheless, the rate of "no-House" among the Blood remains something like one in ten.
For the Fewk, on the other hand, odds of emerging with a Power vary dramatically depending on circumstances; for those who come from Powered families, in close contact with Blood, the odds are perhaps two out of three. On the other hand, among "country Folk," who may go their whole lives without even meeting a Blood, the odds of turning up with Power might be one out of a hundred.