House Solaris
“Power endures in the shadows of the obvious.”
House Solaris is one of the Imperium’s oldest patrician lineages, a noble family Rifted into Exilum Novum intact and already versed in the arts of Roman governance. While most families rose through merit or service after the Rift, the Solarii arrived with status, education, and a senatorial pedigree that positioned them immediately within the emerging leadership of Novaium. Their founder, Senator Quintus Solaris, exercised a steadying influence during the chaotic first years, helping forge the administrative structures that would one day become the backbone of Imperial governance.
Unlike houses renowned for martial prowess, mystical aptitude, or frontier vigilance, the power of House Solaris lies in political agility. They have survived centuries of upheaval, succession crises, and shifting alliances through careful manoeuvring rather than open assertion. Their name has become synonymous with subtle influence: the softly spoken recommendation, the flawlessly drafted legislation, the bureaucrat placed in precisely the right office at precisely the right moment.
A unique and defining trait of the family is the complete absence of magical ability within its bloodline. No Solaris child has ever shown arcane aptitude or divine calling — a fact viewed alternately as a curiosity, a blessing, or a curse. The family itself treats this trait with pragmatic pride, seeing it as an anchor that keeps them grounded in the mortal and material world. Where other houses chase magical prodigies or boast arcane lineage, the Solarii excel in the quiet, necessary, unglamorous machinery of governance.
Their influence today is vast but understated. Solaris scions populate offices across the Imperium — tax magistrates, scribes, legal interpreters, census officials, provincial administrators. They are the invisible architects of the Empire’s daily function, proving again and again that while power may begin on the battlefield or in ritual halls, it is maintained in the corridors of administration.
Culture
House Solaris embraces a culture of discipline, bureaucracy, and intellectual restraint. They prioritise education over extravagance, political caution over glory, and family continuity over personal ambition. Children are raised to believe that the Solarii survive not because they dominate, but because they endure. Each generation is trained in rhetoric, law, economics, and procedural governance — the tools with which Solaris influence is quietly maintained.
The absence of magical ability has shaped their identity. While other houses celebrate rare arcane births, the Solarii valorise mundane excellence — the prestige of mastering complexity without relying on supernatural gifts. A Solaris child is taught early that their mind, not their lineage, is their greatest asset. This creates a culture of sharp debate, sound judgement, and meticulous work habits.
Their social customs emphasise modesty and precision. Feasts are orderly affairs, speeches measured and clear, and records meticulously kept. They dress elegantly but conservatively, preferring symbolism that evokes stability rather than splendour. Among themselves, they cultivate loyalty through mentorship rather than affection, binding each generation to the next through shared responsibility.
Outside observers often underestimate them due to their lack of magical glamour or martial spectacle. This suits the Solarii perfectly. Their strength lies in being overlooked until a signature appears, a vote turns, or a posting quietly goes to a Solaris-backed official — and by then the work is already done.
Assets
House Solaris does not command vast armies, forges, or frontier lands. Their assets reflect their focus on governance and influence:
The Solaris Mandatum Halls
Their ancestral compound in Novaium, located near the administrative districts, serves as both residence and bureaucratic training centre. Its chambers are lined with scrolls, legal precedents, census records, and early Rift-era senatorial decrees.
Provincial Bureaus
The house maintains small administrative estates across several provinces — particularly in Solaria and Malaqu — each functioning as a hub for Solaris-trained officials serving in local government.
Census & Ledger Rights
Through longstanding contracts, Solaris notaries oversee portions of the Empire’s census, revenue projection, trade audits, and bureaucratic compliance. These rights grant steady income and deep insight into the Empire’s demographics and economy.
Political Networks
Their greatest intangible asset is their web of bureaucratic placements: clerks, registrars, archivists, provincial auditors, and legislative advisors. Many Imperial officials owe their career beginnings to Solaris sponsorship.
Libraries & Legal Archives
The family maintains one of the largest private collections of legal texts, constitutional commentary, and early Riftean administrative documents outside the Senate.
Their wealth is moderate, but their access is unparalleled.
History
House Solaris entered Exilum Novum at the very moment of the Rift, carried along with the Roman settlement that formed the seed of Novaium. Their founder, Senator Quintus Solaris, had been presiding over regional governance in the original Roman world when the celestial catastrophe uprooted town and legion alike. His transition into the new world was seamless: with the early settlers desperate for structure, he became one of the most trusted civic authorities.
He is credited with drafting some of the earliest proto-laws of the Imperium, including administrative guidelines, taxation frameworks, and dispute-resolution mechanisms. Though the Empire would outgrow these early documents, their spirit remains embedded in the bureaucratic culture Quintus helped establish.
In 14 NE, recognising the stabilising effect of the family’s administrative skill, the Senate formally elevated the Solaris line into noble status. Ever since, they have remained a fixture in Imperial governance. During times of crisis, Solaris scribes ensured the continuity of state records; during wartime, Solaris administrators coordinated supply chains; during arcane upheavals, they preserved the legal and procedural backbone of the realm.
The family has never produced a general of particular renown or an Arcanist of great power, yet their influence is felt everywhere — in tax ledgers, in legal doctrine, in the reliable functioning of government offices. Through quiet competence and political dexterity, they have endured every political tide.
Infrastructure
Solarian infrastructure is elegant, practical, and designed for administration rather than grandeur.
The Solaris Mandatum Halls (Novaium)
A multi-wing compound of stone and marble, housing archives, council chambers, training rooms for young bureaucrats, and the private residences of senior family members. Its architecture favours symmetry, clarity, and order — a physical embodiment of the Solaris mindset.
Provincial Registries
Satellite estates in Solaria, Malaqu, and the central heartlands serve as bureaucratic outposts, equipped with record-rooms, scriptoriums, and regional dispatch offices.
The Ledger Vault
A subterranean archive beneath the Mandatum Halls containing centuries of administrative records, economic histories, and legal documents preserved meticulously from humid seasons and political disruption.
Auditor’s Hall
A dedicated building in Novaium where Solaris-appointed officials train in numerical analysis, trade oversight, taxation calculation, and legislative compliance.
Courier Stations
Strategically placed throughout the Empire, ensuring rapid movement of records and decrees — a network built originally to counteract the chaos of early Rift-era communication breakdowns.
Everything they build serves the same purpose: to sustain the Empire’s continuity.
Comments