Factions of the Arcadian Empire of Morshadd
The Imperial House of Morshadd
Leader: Emperor Addrad Nithad
House Colours: Pink, White
At the heart of the Arcadian Empire is the Imperial House, or House Nithad. Deferred to, at least publicly, by each of the other Houses of the Empire, it is more truthfully a first among equals. It does, however, preside over Morshadd, the homeworld of the Licori, and own the impressive starbase in orbit. In addition, the only capital grade ships maintained by the Empire are under the direct control of the Emperor.
The Emperor has considerable power over the Houses and the Empire, however, they are also balanced in many ways, as a thick network of alliances and favours among houses and major institutions make it difficult to act decisively. Acting against the mentats would create too many losers with too few winners to have a feasible chance of success. This is exacerbated when you consider that the key advisers of every noble of note are also mentats, who are protective of their place within society.
Source of: Heavy Fleet Units, Infrastructure, External Diplomacy Assets
The Houses Major
House Kortennon of Gammon
Leader: Baron Sergen Kortennon
House Colours: Orange, Blue
Planet: Gammon (2C)
The brutal and vicious Kortennon have long ruled their estates and provinces with an iron fist and an attitude to labour that would make a Klingon prison warden blanch. The extent of how far the Kortennon may go when extracting the last drop from their subjects is a large part of what started turning the opinion of the Diplomatic Service against the Arcadian Empire in the early days. It was reckoned that any political system that could embrace the Kortennon under its umbrella was not a political system that should be tolerated.
The Kortennon are fierce traditional rivals of the Tartresis, going back to near-mythic times. For as long as has been remembered, there has been a Kortennon, there has been a Tartresis, and there has been enmity. It does not look to be changing any time soon, even though they fight alongside each other for their Emperor.
The Baron Kortennon patronises a number of mentats. In fact, there are few mentats within his land that do not owe their fealty direct to the House. The social pyramid of Gammon contracts sharply and rises high. The Kortennon also have little compunction about forcing people through the process, though careful sureties against disloyalty are of course taken. As a result, the Kortennon have a relatively powerful advantage in full mentats, but this is somewhat countered by their coerced nature.
Source of: Heavy Industry, Engineering Teams
House Tartresis of Calamar
Leader: Duke Lugis Tartresis
House Colours: Green, Black
Planet: Calamar (1D)
The Duke Lugis holds one of the five nominal Ducal titles of Morshadd, but far more importantly, rules one of the Houses Major. The noble Tartresis hold great esteem within Licori society, being widely liked and admired by, basically, all except the Kortennon. They govern well and fairly, but maintain the strongest of the House militaries. They also support a number of smaller colony worlds, and conduct construction of many orbital systems.
The Diplomatic Service feels that the Tartresis, along with the Bene, are the two best options for effecting serious change within Licori society. However, it will be difficult to split the Tartresis off from the Imperial House during a time of war. If war commences, this avenue will likely close.
Source of: Internal Diplomacy Assets, Engineering Teams
House Ixira of Ixaria
Leader: Countess Menach Ixira
House Colours: Silver, Purple
Planet: Ixaria (2D)
The Ixira have many of the pure research mentats of the Licori, and are the House that did the most to inadvertently bring about the war with the Ked Paddah. All of the starship designs used by the Arcadians were designed first and foremost by House Ixira. Vast factories and orbital plants are responsible for many of the warp cores utilised by the Arcadians, and it has been a prime target for the Ked Paddah. Unfortunately, the system is very well protected with minefields, additional outposts, and rumoured superweapons that can overwhelm individual ships.
The Diplomatic Service believes the Ixirans will be by far and away the least receptive to the idea of restricting mentat activity.
Source of: Heavy Industry Assets, Doctrine Assets
House Bene of Gesseria
Leader: Duchess Jerzai Adarr
House Colours: Red, Green
Planet: Gesseria (1E)
Spies, provocateurs, and saboteurs, House Bene are crafty and owe their status as a House Major largely to their ability to manipulate their way into and out of trouble. Though not economically or militarily the mightiest of the Houses, their services are nonetheless used far and wide. The world of Gesseria is a lush Class M planet across most of the surface, but a quirk of the planet's geography makes for a vicious desert region at the equator. Life under the Bene is not as free as it is under the Tartresis, but it is certainly freer than it is under the Kortennon. Traditional roles are passed on among the subjects, in a process that would not be unknown to feudal villagers, even if 'traditional' occupations like electro-plasma joiner or energizer coil technician would be baffling to them.
It is believed by the Diplomatic Service that the Bene are one of the two best candidates to pursue if we wish to orchestrate political change within the Arcadian Empire. However, they warn that we may not like what we end up with; the Bene are very savvy customers.
Source of: Recon Assets, Doctrine Assets
The Houses Minor
A wide variety of smaller houses, mostly planet-bound, also exist. These have little impact on the wider political stage and, while they cannot be totally forgotten, are difficult to specifically target due to their disparate nature. They provide a considerable amount of industrial and economic benefit. They are best able to wield political power when they can agree as part of the Red Cloister, a council of noble houses. However, this is not the most common state of affairs.
Source of: Industrial Assets, Internal Diplomacy Assets, Recon Assets
The Mentats
Mentats are a distinctive feature of Licori society as a whole. This is, in fact, the second attempt of the Arcadians at a space age. They were on the cusp of warp travel when a disaster involving sentient AI destroyed large tracts of the world and solidified power into five major polities: the Imperial House and the four Houses Major. As a result, the Licori, who have a naturally strong pre-disposition to maths, and had already developed a powerful level of genetic manipulation, developed a process to replace AIs, or any computer capable of supporting an AI. As technology developed, the return to the stars forced the Licori to begin to adapt some computers, but these have all been used in extraordinarily strict conditions, including a heavy compartmentalisation.
These new mentats had a red tinge, and operate with a reduced lifespan. Due to their sharply boosted intelligence, they are prized commodities. Mentats do come in various types, depending on how in-depth the process to create them went. The full process produces the classic mentat, the one encountered most frequently by outside forces. This is often done outside of normal channels by particularly gifted people with a drive to see their ideas come to fruition. When a Licori scientist is taken by an theory, they may go down this path, and basically burn away everything but the thirst for knowledge and the legacy of making their mark on science. Lesser versions of the mentat process produce a number of people who provide essential services for the Licori, such as processing the economic equations, managing starfaring processes, and the like. They also serve as highly valued and trusted advisers to the nobles.
These lesser variations on the mentat process dilute the effect, but also dilute the cost, and allow those who undergo them to act for longer.
