House of Blood and Salt – Part I
The Western Dominion had no single crown, no solitary emperor. Instead, it thrived — or endured — under the sway of twelve noble clans, each ancient enough to claim descent from the First Sealing War, each powerful enough to shape the fate of nations with a whisper.
They were not mere houses. They were pillars — of magic, of bloodline, of control. The common folk of the Dominion often said: "The stars guide the night, and the Twelve guide the world."
And now… they had all turned their gaze toward Indra.
1. House Velnaris — The Blood Architects
Known for their mastery of bloodbinding sorcery, the Velnaris wielded power through ritual sacrifice and ancestral ink. Their stronghold, Crimson Spire, was a cathedral of veins — literally grown from blood-infused bonewood and living stone.
Matriarch: Lady Syren Velnaris, known as the Red Whisper.
They see Indra as a vessel of wild power… something to be bled and bound.
2. House Drayven — The Silver Hounds
Warriors bred and raised like wolves. Drayven children spar with blades before they can walk. Their armor is forged from fallen stars, and their warbeasts are bio-forged with sigil-blood.
Warlord: Eirik Drayven, bound by oath to hunt anomalies.
They view Indra as prey. A storm to break beneath fang and steel.
3. House Vaelcynth — The Oracles of Ash
Blind seers who read futures in ash, bone, and shattered timelines. They live in the Isle of Shrouds, where no truth is linear.
High Oracle: Ileara the Pale, whose body is cracked like porcelain.
They've seen Indra before — in dreams where he becomes a Reforger, a god… or a destroyer.
4. House Nyroth — The Flame Eaters
Pyromancers who can consume and weaponize any elemental fire, including cursed flame. Their heirloom, the Ashbrand, can burn through time-laced wards.
Head: Baron Kael Nyroth, arrogant and ambitious.
They wish to capture Indra's essence and ignite a second Sigil War — under their banner.
5. House Sylquinn — The Hollow Court
Politicians, charmers, and assassins. They use illusion, influence, and venom as weapons. Their palace, Gilded Hollow, exists half in dreamspace.
Mistress: Cyrane Sylquinn, silver-tongued and poisonous in beauty.
To them, Indra is a symbol — dangerous if uncontrolled, priceless if manipulated.
6. House Thornevale — The Bone Harvesters
Necromancers who raise legions from ancient wars. They're guardians of death — both feared and respected.
Patriarch: Mortanus Thornevale, whose heart stopped beating 200 years ago.
They are interested in Indra's sealed essence — especially the 99 sigils etched into his soul. Some say one of them once belonged to their ancestor.
7. House Zevril — The Sky Lords
Dominators of aerial supremacy, they command floating citadels and sky-serpents bred from cloud wyrms.
Leader: High Prince Theros Zevril, vain and obsessed with dominance.
They see Indra as a destabilizing force. One that must be weathered or erased.
8. House Morrakai — The Deep Court
Silent, aquatic mages who live beneath the Sapphire Trenches. Their warriors wield pressure magic and abyssal charms.
Queen: Delyra of the Drowned, draped in living kelp and bioluminescent gems.
They seek Indra for his link to the storm, which influences tides and currents — ancient secrets lie below the seas, and Indra may awaken them.
9. House Xarthos — The Steelbinders
Forgers of arcane tech — fusing machinery with magic. Their legions wear sigil-bound exosuits powered by soul-cores.
Director: Magnus Xarthos, a calculating mind obsessed with war efficiency.
To them, Indra is a potential weapon. A prototype. They want to dissect his sigilwork — or replicate it.
10. House Elarin — The Moon Daughters
An all-female lineage that commands lunar and dream-based magic. Masters of deception and serenity — and the only clan to remain neutral during past wars.
Matron: Selene Elarin, rumored to have spoken to the moon itself.
They believe Indra may be the one who breaks the Dreamlock, a mysterious prophecy sealed within the moonlight archives.
11. House Bravemourn — The Storm Reapers
Exiled cousins of the main clans, wielders of corrupted weather magic. Once guardians of the Stormline until betrayed during the Skyfire Purge.
Leader: No current official ruler, but rumors speak of a forgotten prince returning…
They recognize Indra as a kin of Bramha — and some seek vengeance, while others whisper loyalty.
12. House Aurentis — The Crownless Kings
Once rulers of the West, now fragmented. Still possess the largest archive of pre-Sigil magic, and control over the mysterious Golden Flame.
Regent: None. The throne sits empty… awaiting a worthy claimant.
They believe Indra could either restore the West to unity — or be its final downfall.
In the sanctum of the Twelve, as word spread of Indra defeating the Void Revenant and awakening forbidden seals, the sigil-flames across the map of the Dominion began to pulse.
One by one…
Each house stirred.
Each weapon was drawn — metaphorically or not.
And across the realm of shattered stars and fractured legacies…
A storm was rising.