The Seven Houses

Political masters obsessed with bloodline purity. They wrote the laws every House lives under, and they enforce them without apology. To the Dominion, a House's worth is measured in the clarity of its blood, and nothing is watched more closely than a bloodline gone impure.

Sigil: a laurel wreath crossed with a scepter

Feral and territorial, the Ferroz answer to instinct before decree. Theirs is the oldest blood in the city, closest to whatever a vampyre was before politics gave it manners. They are the House every other House hopes never to need.

Sigil: a snarling wolf's head

Beauty is their currency and their weapon. The Velmarq command the art world, high society, and the desires of anyone foolish enough to look too long. Behind every gallery opening and every masquerade in the city, there is a Velmarq deciding who gets to be seen.

Sigil: a single rose

Psychic, prophetic, unstable. What sets the Gifted apart is not a talent but a burden, visions that shape what's coming and slowly unravel the mind carrying them. Every gift has its price, and the Gifted are still paying theirs.

Sigil: a crescent moon

Masters of blood sorcery and rites older than the city itself, the Corvaris remember what everyone else has been made to forget. Knowledge is their House's true bloodline, passed down, guarded, and occasionally weaponized.

Sigil: a chalice beside an open grimoire

Anarchic and impatient, the Ashvane have no use for the old order and even less patience for anyone still defending it. Every generation, someone predicts the Ashvane will finally break the balance for good. So far, the balance has held. So far.

Sigil: a broken chain

Contracted killers, led by tradition by an outsider to their own ranks. The Serathe serve no House, only the contract, and the contract is always fulfilled. Being asked to lead them is not an honor most would want, and even fewer are offered.

Sigil: two crossed daggers