"How far have I gone?"
HOUSE CALIS
"HEARKEN OUR WORDS, OR BEFELL TO OUR WHIM"
"HEARKEN OUR WORDS, OR BEFELL TO OUR WHIM"
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent:To establish House Calis as a prominent noble family with a dual legacy of public loyalty to the Old Republic, now Galactic Alliance and secret allegiance to the Sith Empire. This submission highlights their historical duplicity, decline, and current resurgence under Serina and Dominic Calis.
Image Credit:
[X] (The image was created by a Reddit User and is inspired by the Elder Scrolls Logo)
Canon:
N/A
Permissions:
N/A
Links:
Serina Calis
[X]Reicher Vax [X]
Dominic Calis [X]
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organization Name:House Calis
Classification:
Noble House
Affiliation:
- Calis-Vax Family (VIA: Dominic Calis
Serina Calis
Reicher Vax )
- Galactic Alliance (VIA: Dominic Calis )
- Sith Empire (VIA: Reicher Vax )
A black dragon set against a crimson background. The dragon symbolizes strength, ambition, and the enduring legacy of the family, while the red background signifies power and determination.
Unknown to anyone but the core members of the family, this symbol came to Serina Calis in what she describes as a dream.
Description:
House Calis is an ancient and influential noble family with a storied history stretching back to the era of the Old Republic. Known for their ambition, discipline, and adaptability, they have survived countless galactic upheavals through a combination of shrewd diplomacy, military prowess, and calculated alliances. Publicly staunch supporters of the Galactic Alliance, they secretly funneled resources and intelligence to the Sith Empire during the Old Republic era, playing both sides of the galactic conflict to secure their position. Their fortunes waned significantly over the centuries until Serina and Dominic's father, a shrewd gambler turned industrialist, bought his way into the family, reviving its prominence. With the sudden deaths of their parents in a tragic speeder crash, Dominic became Patriarch but remains preoccupied with his naval career, leaving Serina to lead the family from the shadows.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Headquarters:- The Calis Residence, located on Chandrila, an ancient ancestral estate blending luxury and militaristic practicality.
- Chandrila:
- House Calis wields significant influence on their home planet, particularly within its political elite.
- Known for their subterfuge, sponsoring of military academies, vast wealth and economic ventures, they maintain a prominent yet discreet presence.
- Polis Massa:
- House Calis, through Reicher Vax’s governorship, controls Polis Massa.
- Servacos II:
- Holds a majority of the planet's spice production through military conquest.
- House Calis Guard: An elite unit serving as the family’s personal protectors.
- Servacos II Mines: Churn out vast amounts of wealth for the family.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Hierarchy:Patriarch/Matriarch
- Position Description: The official head of House Calis, responsible for maintaining the family's legacy, overseeing its major decisions, and acting as the public face of the family.
- Current Role: Dominic Calis (Patriarch), though preoccupied with his naval career, leaves much of the family's day-to-day leadership to Serina.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Representing the family in official capacities, such as alliances and public appearances.
- Making final decisions on matters of governance, wealth distribution, and political alliances.
- Balancing the family's public loyalty to the Galactic Alliance with its covert ties to the Sith Empire.
De Facto Leader
- Position Description: The true power behind the throne, managing the family's intricate web of secrets, alliances, and operations.
- Current Role: Serina Calis.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Strategizing long-term plans for the family's resurgence and dominance.
- Managing covert operations, including alliances with Sith forces and overseeing clandestine wealth generation.
- Ensuring unity within the family and quelling internal dissent.
- Acting as a shadow diplomat to negotiate secret treaties and business ventures.
Heirs and Key Members
- Position Description: Trusted family members with direct roles in governance, military leadership, or enterprise management. They are the future of House Calis, groomed to uphold and expand its influence.
- Current Members:
- Reicher Vax: Sith Governor and military officer. His position ensures House Calis' foothold in the Sith Empire.
- Serina Calis (Dual Role): While serving as the de facto leader, Serina also acts as the visionary driving the family's internal and external ambitions.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Overseeing key planetary holdings like Polis Massa and Servacos II.
- Expanding the family's influence in their respective domains (military, governance, economy).
- Acting as liaisons between House Calis and external factions, including Sith and Galactic Alliance representatives.
Advisors and Retainers
- Position Description: Loyal confidants and skilled professionals who provide expertise, manage the family's enterprises, and handle daily operations.
- Roles and Responsibilities:
- Strategic Advisors: Experts in politics, military strategy, and business who provide counsel to the leadership.
- Financial Overseers: Ensure the smooth operation of family-owned businesses, including the Servacos II Mines and other ventures.
- Stewards and Administrators: Manage the Calis Residence on Chandrila, maintain the estate's prestige, and ensure seamless day-to-day operations.
- Espionage Specialists: Handle intelligence gathering, counterintelligence, and covert sabotage of rival factions.
House Calis Guard
- Position Description: The elite military force sworn to protect the family and enforce its will.
Trusted Outer Circle
- Position Description: Non-family allies and associates who are deeply loyal to House Calis, often rewarded with wealth, protection, or power in return for their service.
- Key Roles:
- Political Allies: Senators, governors, or influential figures aligned with the family's goals.
- Corporate Partners: Leaders of industries and businesses tied to the family's economic ventures.
- Mercenaries and Freelancers: Hired specialists for specific tasks, from smuggling to artifact retrieval.
- Responsibilities:
- Expanding the family's influence within their respective spheres.
- Assisting in public or covert initiatives that benefit House Calis.
- Membership is exclusive to the bloodline or by marriage (rare and highly scrutinized).
- Exceptional loyalty and skill are required for retainers and allies.
- For retainers, an oath of loyalty and an intensive vetting process ensure alignment with the family's interests.
1. Discipline and Hierarchy
- Strict Expectations: Members and retainers are expected to maintain a high level of discipline in their roles, reflecting the family's military roots and noble stature.
- Clear Chain of Command: Everyone knows their place in the hierarchy. Orders flow from the top, and questioning leadership is rare and risky.
- Regimented Lifestyle: Daily life is structured around tasks and duties, with little tolerance for frivolity. Even downtime is expected to serve a purpose, such as improving skills or fostering alliances.
2. Ambition and Competition
- Incentivized Success: Ambition is seen as a virtue. Members and retainers who exceed expectations are handsomely rewarded with privileges, influence, and resources.
- Internal Rivalry: Healthy competition is encouraged, particularly among heirs and key members, to drive innovation and strengthen the family. However, Serina enforces strict boundaries to prevent destructive infighting.
- Meritocratic Tendencies: While bloodline is essential, skill and results determine one's standing. Non-family members can rise to positions of prominence through exceptional loyalty and ability.
3. Loyalty and Unity
- Family First Mentality: Every decision and action must serve the interests of House Calis. Loyalty to the family supersedes personal desires or external relationships.
- Trust as a Currency: Trust is not given freely, even within the family. Every member and retainer must prove their dedication repeatedly, fostering a climate of vigilance.
- Ceremonial Reinforcement: Rituals and traditions, such as annual family gatherings and oaths of allegiance, reinforce the family's unity and shared purpose.
4. Fear and Secrecy
- Zero Tolerance for Betrayal: Disloyalty, insubordination, or failure to protect the family's secrets is met with severe consequences, ranging from banishment to death.
- Culture of Secrecy: Members are trained from a young age to keep the family's true dealings hidden. Even among close allies, the full extent of the family's operations is never disclosed.
- Whispered Rumors: The family thrives on controlled misinformation, even among its own members. Not everyone knows the full scope of the family's plans, creating an atmosphere of intrigue.
5. Tradition and Legacy
- Reverence for Ancestry: The deeds of past Calis leaders are celebrated and serve as examples for current generations. Tales of their cunning and ambition are passed down as inspiration.
- Symbolism: The black dragon insignia is a constant reminder of the family's strength, resilience, and legacy. Members are expected to honor and embody the traits it represents.
- Evolving Vision: While traditions are respected, Serina and Dominic encourage innovation and adaptability to ensure the family's survival and resurgence in a changing galaxy.
6. Controlled Rivalry
- Serina's Calculated Oversight: Serina fosters competition among family members, retainers, and even trusted allies, believing that ambition sharpens loyalty and effectiveness. However, she maintains strict control to prevent damaging power struggles.
- Dominic's Subtle Influence: Dominic's occasional presence adds balance, as he represents the family's honor and public image. His focus on military discipline tempers the more cutthroat aspects of internal competition.
7. Rewards and Consequences
- Lavish Rewards for Success: Those who achieve exceptional results are granted access to wealth, power, and prestige. This extends to both family members and loyal retainers.
- Swift Punishments for Failure: Mistakes are rarely forgiven, and repeated failure is seen as an irredeemable weakness. Punishments range from demotion to exile, ensuring accountability.
- Allies: Admired for their strategic genius, cultural sophistication, and contributions to galactic politics and military affairs.
- Enemies: Feared for their ruthlessness, unyielding ambition, and the shadowy methods they employ to maintain power.
- General Galactic Public: Regarded by anyone with an mediocre understanding of Galactic History with at least some respect.
- A black dragon sigil worn as a ring, amulet, or insignia, marking loyalty to House Calis.
- Nothing is left unshared.
- The family’s interests and legacy are paramount.
- Secrecy is vital; internal matters must never be exposed to outsiders.
- Strength and discipline are virtues; weakness is a liability.
- All members and allies must serve the family’s vision of galactic prominence.
- Dominion: Expand the family’s influence in politics, commerce, and military affairs.
- Preservation: Maintain and enhance the family’s legacy, reputation, and power.
- Unity: Align the divided allegiances of its members to secure a singular vision.
MEMBERS
- Serina Calis: Visionary leader and shadowed ruler of House Calis.
- Dominic Calis: Naval officer and strategist, officially the Patriarch but preoccupied with his duties in the Galactic Alliance.
- Reicher Vax: Sith Governor and Lieutenant, wielding power within the Sith Empire.
- House Calis Guard: Elite warriors sworn to protect the family.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
House Calis traces its lineage back to the Old Republic, with its origins steeped in duplicity. Publicly celebrated as staunch defenders of the Galactic Alliance, the family secretly aligned themselves with the Sith Empire, funneling resources, intelligence, and strategic aid during the galactic conflicts of Revan and Malak’s time. This dual allegiance was a calculated gamble that allowed House Calis to accumulate vast wealth and political influence, ensuring their survival and relevance through the Republic’s victories and the Sith’s resurgence. They became masterful at playing both sides, a dangerous game that defined their legacy for generations.However, the family’s fortunes began to decline as galactic politics evolved. The Republic’s consolidation and the Sith’s eventual fragmentation left House Calis exposed. Their covert dealings, once a source of power, became liabilities as rival factions unearthed their duplicity. By the modern era, their influence had waned significantly, and the once-proud name of Calis faded into obscurity. The family’s salvation came under the leadership of a bold and shrewd gambler who bought his way into the bloodline. Though not born of noble heritage, his cunning business acumen and strategic alliances reinvigorated the house. His marriage into the family restored their wealth and standing, and his ambition set the stage for a new era of prominence.
Tragically, his and his wife’s lives were cut short in a suspicious speeder crash, leaving their children, Dominic and Serina, as heirs. Dominic, the elder sibling, ascended to the role of Patriarch, but his responsibilities as a naval officer and his commitment to the Galactic Alliance left him little time to focus on the house’s affairs. The true leadership fell to Serina Calis, whose sharp intellect, cunning, and mastery of intrigue positioned her as the family’s de facto head. Operating from the shadows, Serina took on the monumental task of navigating galactic politics, securing new alliances, and quietly reclaiming the family’s influence.
Today, House Calis stands as a paradox: a noble house with a storied history of loyalty and betrayal, resilience and decline. Under Serina’s guidance, the family weaves its way back into prominence, leveraging its dark legacy and ambitions for galactic dominance. Her methods, though veiled in secrecy, reflect the same calculated duplicity that once defined the house, ensuring that House Calis remains a force to be reckoned with in the ever-shifting power dynamics of the galaxy.
Chandrila, renowned throughout the galaxy for its deeply rooted democratic traditions and egalitarian principles, is an unlikely home for a noble family like House Calis. The planet's culture emphasizes governance by elected representatives and the fair distribution of power, leaving little room for hereditary aristocracy or dynastic rule. Yet, House Calis has managed to endure as Chandrila's only significant noble family, an anomaly both tolerated and scrutinized by the planet's democratic society.
The Persistence of House Calis on Chandrila
Historical Roots and Tolerance
House Calis traces its presence on Chandrila back to the era of the Old Republic, when they were instrumental in aiding the planet's defense and development. Their contributions to Chandrila's infrastructure, education, and economy won them favor among the populace. Even during the tumultuous periods of galactic conflict, the family remained steadfast in presenting themselves as protectors of Chandrila's values, carefully crafting an image of benevolence and service.Despite Chandrila's general disdain for aristocratic privilege, House Calis managed to maintain their position through calculated generosity and public works, funding institutions such as schools, libraries, and public gardens. They emphasized their role as stewards of the planet's prosperity rather than as traditional rulers, framing their wealth and influence as tools for the betterment of all Chandrilans.
Democratic Apprehension and Limits
The tolerance for House Calis is born as much from pragmatic acceptance as from genuine admiration. While many Chandrilans view the family's enduring nobility as an affront to their democratic ideals, others recognize that House Calis wields resources and connections that benefit the planet on the galactic stage. Their support for elected officials and sponsorship of democratic initiatives have further ingratiated them to the population, allowing them to exist as a peculiar but accepted exception to Chandrila's norms.Even so, House Calis operates under constant scrutiny. Any action perceived as undermining Chandrila's democracy risks swift public backlash. The family walks a fine line between leveraging their influence and maintaining the goodwill that has allowed them to endure.
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