HOUSE OF PERL
memento sumptus
Est. 1822
At Hartsboro Estate
Territory: East and Northeast
Hartsboro Estate, located in Connecticut, was originally the operating Headquarters of the Order’s governing body: the Upper Cabinet. In 1822, on the heel of the Sorting Years, to support the development of the Order’s growing member numbers, Upper established a formalized magic-studying system using a boarding school model. Members would continue in the débutante tradition, which had been in practice since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, but be organized into Houses and territories. Houses would be overseen by a Headmistress.
The Upper Cabinet relocated their Headquarters and commissioned its first House: House of Perl, naming Beatrice Perl inaugural Headmistress. At the time, Beatrice had been serving in the Cabinet. Before agreeing to sign on, she insisted that the seat of the House pass down in family lineage by the matriarch. Upper agreed, and so it remains. The House of Perl sigil is a cracked column.
HOUSE OF MARIONNE
Est. 1874
At Chateau Soleil
Territory: Southern
House of Marionne was the second established House of the Order, as their numbers swelled with more and more showing a propensity for magic. The origins of the philosophies that shaped House of Marionne are rooted in the Era of Indulgence.
After the fall of Yaäuper Rea Universitas, the Silent Years followed. Formal magical education had come to a screeching halt as it was forced to shift to underground. It is said generations of magical people lost their magic because of sparse access to training, study, and development until a lowly but studious Order member, Loken Delosu, was sought out by King George I of England. He was courting Loken’s affections, as he’d heard rumors his family dabbled in sun magic. George was at a long-standing war with the French and wanted any edge he could get. Around that same time, King Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” heard of George’s interest in Loken and sent his own parties to sway Loken. Louis, being a man of abundance, showered gifts and hospitality at the feet of Loken and his family, his friends, anyone he knew in exchange for one thing—his company.
King Louis XIV was incredibly ambitious and eventually pressed Loken directly to know more about magic, but Loken refused. He held to the age-old tenet that magic should be kept far away from government. Louis beheaded him. The Order was divided on how to feel about the French and English years of courtship. But the years dabbling in French culture had left its mark evident in House of Marionne’s architecture, culture, traditions, and art. The Upper Cabinet commissioned Claudette Marionne as inaugural Headmistress. The House of Marionne sigil is a fleur-de-lis.
HOUSE OF DUNCAN
Est. 1875
At Wigonshire Estate
Territory: West & Midwest[*]
House of Duncan was established on the heels of House of Marionne at the urging of Upper Cabinet members who were rumored to favor House of Perl’s Dysiian influences. The House was intended to be a replica in culture and architecture of House of Perl but located in Colorado. The estate’s inaugural Headmistress was Maisie Duncan. In 1938, an explosion in the Midwest killed thousands of Unmarked. The news reported that the accident was the result of an industrial explosion. However, House of Duncan, whose new Headmistress was experimenting with using toushana to mine gold, was behind the tragedy. The dark magic she’d been illegally using spiraled out of control, and twenty-three hundred barrels of kor elixir leaked into an oil shipment being transported west. The result was catastrophic. The Upper Cabinet shut down the House immediately and required each within its territories to reapply. Most were denied on grounds of distrust. Maisie Duncan was publicly beheaded, a rare but symbolically vicious act at the time. The House of Duncan sigil was a scale and darkened sun.
HOUSE OF AMBROSE
Est. 1877
At Dlaminaugh Estate
Territory: Northwest & parts of the Midwest
House of Ambrose, nestled in the tallest peaks of central Idaho, was the fourth established House of the Order. Its inaugural Headmistress was Caera Ambrose, a well-known member of the Order who had built her reputation on leading efforts to push the bounds of understood magic. Her views were seen as outlandish, but she received the votes needed from the Upper Cabinet. Caera’s ancestors were immigrants to America with a strained and hostile history with Europeans. Thus, Dlaminaugh Estate was erected as a neo-Gothic replica of Yaäuper Rea Universitas and commissioned to be the first House in the Order that defined itself as distinctly separate from European influence. Caera desired to usher forward a generation of débutants who would be known for their supreme intellect, not ostentatious shows of wealth. The House of Ambrose sigil is three yew leaves intertwined.
HOUSE OF ORALIA
Est. 1942
At Begonia Terrace
Territory: West & parts of the Midwest
House of Oralia was the fifth and final established House, located in northern California. Donya Oralia was its inaugural Headmistress. Her grandmother had been a candidate for Uppership but was ultimately passed over because of her progressive views on women’s rights at the time. In 1942, House of Oralia was commissioned by a slim majority vote as the world was engrossed in World War II. They are known for using magic as a means of artistic expression and enjoyment, believing magic serves the wielder and not the other way around. The House of Oralia sigil is two smudged dollops of paint.
