Today’s post contains some initial details about the history and culture of House Verge. It is intended as a first step

See part 1 for a broad overview of House Verge and part 2 for a little more detail.

Early History of House Verge

House Verge was not originally a proper noble “house.” Instead, Verge’s core consisted of two minor families, Lawbright and Colttrodder. Lawbright traditionally served some minor barony and was granted knighthood in return. Lawbright didn’t have large numbers nor did it have material resources, but it did have expert tacticians and strategists which greatly benefited the barony for many generations.

On the other hand, Colttrodder was a family consisting of skilled administrators that served a minor viscounty. Coltrodder managed the viscount’s resources well which led to a prosperous viscounty for many generations.

Both families were ambitious but lacked room to grow, and eventually the families they served began to wane. They were on the verge of collapse (pun fully intended, but this was not the inspiration for the name). Some time in the Early Alexian Dynasty, both Colttrodder and Lawbright received a golden opportunity (the puns keep on coming).

Some Akashics had an idea to increase the psionic abilities of Humanity without risking the genetic degradation that would result from too much inbreeding. Recently discovered aliens had psionic abilities. What would happen if the Bene Gesserit Akashic Order managed to create hybrids? What could go wrong? If the experiment failed, they could waste some time and cause some relatively inconsequential families to collapse while gaining useful data. If it succeeded … Lawbright and Colttrodder took the opportunity.

After some trial and error and no small amount of precognition, it was discovered that both families had a strong synergy with latent psychokinesis in Ranathim and could also “suppress” psychic vampirism (was there a connection with early Harrow?). The project was “carefully managed” (as far as that was really feasible) and “highly scientific,” and it produced some interesting results, but it was eventually abandoned some time around the Middle Dynasty. Lawbright and Colttrodder lost their support.

Writer Notes

Verge later conquered and maintained a section of space “deep” in the Umbral Rim, so it needs to have a history of both military and administrative expertise. I also wanted Verge to be relatively minor before swiftly (and some might say recklessly) rising to power. Thus the idea of two original minor families.

The Akashics have to be behind Verge’s hybridization. Akashics love their plots and schemes. Verge needed a little push and a good opportunity.

The Rise and “Fall” of House Verge

Some time after House Elegans conquered the Hydrus Constellation, Colttrodder and Lawbright needed to accomplish something great or face collapse. Somehow, they located a section “deep” (anything past the Hydrus Constellation was considered “deep”) in the Umbral Rim that they could conquer. It was a long shot. Due to Lawbright’s military genius and Colttrodder’s administrative expertise, they succeeded. The commander was granted the title of Marquis, and the two families merged to form House Verge.

Verge’s prominence in the Alexian Empire didn’t last long. The area Verge conquered appeared to be adjacent to the Dark Flow but far enough away that the Dark Flow wouldn’t cause too much trouble. I was surprisingly easy to navigate. In reality, it was akin to an astral whirlpool or a meander that was temporarily easy to travel. Between a change in local hyperdynamics, the loss of the Hydrus Constellation and local uprisings, House Verge was lost to the rest of Humanity.

Writer Notes

House Verge is meant to be ambitious. They went too far and got stuck. Verge isn’t meant to be influential in the modern Alliance but could provide interesting plot hooks.

The Dark Flow and trouble in the Hydrus Constellation were already parts of the setting, so I used them to explain how House Verge got cut off from the rest of Humanity and became “trapped” in the Umbral Rim for a millennium.

Life in the Umbral Rim

This period of House Verge’s history is important. It is what makes House Verge interesting. Today’s post will cover it only briefly. Instead, I will mostly ask questions and speculate for future development.

Demographics

One does not colonize a constellation without a significant amount of immigration. There should be a significant Human (or potentially hybrid) population. No amount of military or administrative capability could possibly allow a new noble house to maintain the constellation without a significant population of ordinary people working the “land.” There is also clearly a significant Ranathim (or hybrid) population. If the constellation is a sort of “astral whirlpool,” it could have all sorts of peoples who got “pulled in” and settled in the area. Gaunt and Keverlings are everywhere in the Umbral Rim, so their presence would not be surprising.

Loroko are unlikely to get along well with House Verge due to Verge’s relationship to Ranathim and psionic abilities but some might reside in the constellation (outsiders might easily mistake Verge for Loroko given their similar appearance). Loroko may be more accepting of Verge if slavery is outlawed or restricted in the constellation.

Slavers and Krokuta are possible. There may be a tension between Verge and the Slaver warlords, but individual Slavers would still be present (the role of slavery in the constellation will likely play a role in their acceptance).

Religion

The Labyrinth is important to the Akashic Mysteries, but the Umbral Rim doesn’t really have physical entrances to the Labyrinth. One possibility is that Verge accesses the Labyrinth through dreams. Verge’s main psionic ability is Psychokinesis and not ESP nor Dream Control, so Verge may rely on Chiva or rare ESPers to fill the Oracle role (they may even have some sort of Akashic sorcery/witchcraft that merges standard Maradonian Akashic Mysteries with Chivare).

There is also likely some sort of influence from the Divine Masks. I expect Verge to have some understanding of Communion.

One other idea I had was to combine the Akashic Mystery Plays with gladiatorial combat. I am not familiar with professional/entertainment wrestling, but religious mystery plays have characters. Perhaps the gladiatorial kayfabe has religious meaning.

Language and Fashion

Realistically, there is no way that House Verge and the Humans in the constellation could “forget” Galactic common due to inability to preserve it, but Lithian is much more common everywhere else. Perhaps Galactic Common is reserved for religious ceremonies (sort of like Latin). Perhaps the common tongue in the constellation is a sort of Pidgin.

I want outsiders with familiarity with Maradonian culture to be able to recognize Maradonian influence in House Verge and the constellation’s Human population, but I don’t want it to be too obvious. I expect the typical fashion to be largely Lithian with a noticeable Maradonian influence. One idea I had was Maradonian style masks (perhaps with Divine Mask symbolism). They may also wear capes/cloaks overtop more minimal clothing typical of Ranathim.

Writer Notes

This section is mostly some initial ideas. It certainly needs more detail and could be a post of its own (perhaps even the next one in the series). I want to know how a Maradonian society would develop trapped in the Umbral Rim for 1000 years.