Houses Majors/Minors

[Elrood IX]

House Bellarusso

Home Planet: Alpha Patheron

House Type: Major

C.H.O.A.M. Holdings: Fisheries, Mining Warehouses

Ruler: Lord Dominic Bellarusso IV

Family Ascension: Lady Dominique Bellarusso

House Colors/Crest: Dark Blue and Gold, with a lion and two doves

Known Family Members:

Dominic Bellarusso: 95
Angelina Bellarusso: 50

History:
House Bellarusso can be traced all the way back to the days of the Butlerian Jihad when Antonio Bellarusso was a General and a prime fighter in the last battle … the Battle of Corrin. Upon Count Sheuset Ecevit ascension to the throne he adopted the name Corrino and thus became House Corrino. As what was in Emperor Sheuset’s power to bestow gifts upon his faithful solders, he gave to Antonio Bellarusso the noble title of Lord and also gave to him the planet Alpha Patheron in Sirus 4 sector to rule. House Bellarusso have amassed great wealth over their many centuries of rule thorough their underwater mining of fire opals and their fisheries. The planetary rulers were kind and just and treated each subject fairly and at the same time commanded fierce loyalty in those that they ruled over. Thus came their motto “For the Nation, anything, anywhere” Today House Bellarusso is ruled by Lord Dominic Bellarusso IV, he has no heir-designate except for his daughter Dominique Bellarusso.

[Elisha Montague]

House Montague[/b]

Home Planet: Allanor

House Type: Major

C.H.O.A.M. Holdings: various industrial and manufacturing facilities

Ruler: Robert Montague (Siridar Duke of Allanor)

Family Ascension: Frederick Montague is next in line, followed by five daughters

House Colors/Crest: three gold diamonds on a blue field

Known Family Members:

Duke Robert Montague, 65
Duchess Francesca Montague, 58
Emma Montague, 36
Isabelle Novebruns (née Montague), 31
Frederick Montague, 27
Sara Montague, 25
Karina Montague, 23
Elisha Montague, 21

History:
Like House Atreides and many other families the Montagues claim to trace their ancestry back to the earliest days of Old Terra. Their modern history begins just after the Battle of Corrin, when the first Padisha Emperor granted planetary fiefdoms to his most outstanding generals and commanders. One such was William Montague, who was given the planet Allanor to rule in the name of the Emperor.Allanor itself has an interesting history of its own as it was one of the earliest settlements made by humans back in the beginnings of interstellar travel. Long established as an industrial base it eventually came under the domination of the Thinking Machines and was a major center in the machine-dominated part of the universe. Following the Butlerian Jihad the planet was cleansed of the hated robots, but much of its industrial capacity remained intact. The first Duke Montague was quick to turn this to his advantage by establishing firm links with the secretive technocats of Ix. In exchange for signing strict non-disclosure agreements, Allanor became a facility for the manufacutre of Ixian devices under license. This left the Ixians free to focus on research and development while their allies provided the industrial muscle to back it up. Although a firm believer in Butlerian principles, William was smart enough to adopt a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with the Ixians and the Allanoreans never looked too closely into the workings of the devices they assembled. House Montague does very nicely out of it's cut of the profits on the Ixian equipment it builds. Although not as polluted as Giedi Prime, Allanor nonetheless bears the scars of centuries of industrial development and fertile land is at a premium. The planet imports the vast bulk of its food and material requirments while exporting technology products. The weather is cool and wet, but rarely extreme.The Montagues themselves are a reserved and aristocratic family, much in the mold of the Corrinos who originally sponsored them. Firmly loyal to the throne, House Montague is distinguished but a lacking in the fame and glory that make others such as the Atreides stand out in the Landsraad. Although only slightly more privy than most to the innermost secrets of the reclusive Ixians, relations between House Montague and their best customers remain strong. They have no enemies to speak of, and although the Harkonnens in particular are considered rivals in the field of industrial manufacturing, relations have never degenerated to the point of hostility.

[Lilith Piacevole]

House Piacevole


Home Planet: Livorno Decimus

House Type: Major (recent)

C.H.O.A.M. Holdings: industry, manufacturing (particularly military equipment), banking

Ruler: Viscount Daniel Piacevole

Family Ascension: 8 year old Titus, Heir Apparent (son of the Viscount and his bound concubine Perenelle)

House Colors/Crest: A golden Phoenix on a red background



Known Family Members:

Viscount Daniel Piacevole, 62

Viscountess Marie-Suzanne Piacevole, 58

Angela Piacevole, 24

Lilith Piacevole, 24

Titus Piacevole, 8

Lady Perenelle Livell, bound concubine of the Viscount, 27

History: The origins of House Piacevole are but a minor footnote in the history of the Imperium, long-faded from the memory of most citizens. The man considered to have been the founder, Geoffrey Piacevole, owned a number of military equipment manufacturing facilities on Livorno Decimus with a subsidiary on Kaitain, which Emperor Fredhrick XVII had been known to favour throughout his reign, both for their quality and Geoffrey's reliability. After a minor expedition on Gansireed where the mere presence of Imperial forces was more or less able to quiet down a few inconvenient uprisings, the Emperor awarded his favourite associate the rank of House Minor in a moment of generosity, and thus House Piacevole was born. It wasn't until sixty years afterwards that Geoffrey's grandson managed to amass enough funds and influence to make his way into the Landsraad, a couple of CHOAM directories already in his pocket; six years later, the family was granted siridarship of Livorno Decimus. Indeed, some members of the Piacevole family consider this to be the true origin of their House.

What they lack in nobility, the Piacevoles certainly make up in ambition and business acumen. They are the businessmen, the bureaucrats, those with a talent for seeing opportunity where others would see only barren ground. Throughout the years, their methods of amassing wealth have been numerous (and, some say, not all legit), though their primary source of revenue remains their planetary (and inter-planetary) military manufacturing facilities. There are also whispers of impressive quantities of melange the family is reputed to hoard, but of this mythical stockpile no traces have ever been found – clever bookkeeping is one of the family's long-honed skills.

The Piacevoles have been aspiring to Great House status for generation, but it was Jeffrey (incidentally, bearing a modern version of the name Geoffrey), father of the current Viscount, who began making preparations. He passed away before he could complete his goal but his son Daniel proved no less determined. He saw his chance in the marriage to Marie-Suzanne Bakal, the only daughter of an old and prestigious Great House fallen on hard times.

Fifteen years later, following negotiations, Daniel was elevated to the rank of Viscount, and House Piacevole thus became one of the Imperium's Major families. For this reason, the necessity of producing a male heir was more pressing than ever and the Viscount increasingly frustrated with his wife's inability to produce one. He did not dare a divorce because of the potential scandal, deciding instead to obtain a legal concubine who would provide him with the heir he needed. To his surprise, Marie-Suzanne did not object, but it was agreed between them that their marriage would henceforth be reduced to a convenience, and the two of them would lead completely separate lives apart from when it was required of them to play the part of husband and wife for the public eye. A year later, Perenelle Livell gave birth to a son named Titus and who is, for the time-being, Heir Apparent to House Piacevole.