Great Houses of Opia

The Houses that rule Opia.

Background

Houses

House Miyabi

House of Pala

A House whose history is filled with military actions and service. A member of House Pala has always been at the head of the military, or close to it. They follow a proud military tradition, proof that even the Noble Houses of Opia serve the people. They take military discipline and honor very seriously, as they are normally among the most loyal to Opia, or so the rumors and stories about them go.
As expected of such, their members find employment and power in the military industrial complex. Their daughters marry high ranking officers, or become weapons and military hardware manufacturers. Their sons join the military, often granted a high rank, always fresh out of Officer School. The Elite Starfighter pilots of the Opian Military are named after House Pala. The Paladins. As such, all male members of House Pala are referred to as 'The Paladins', until they don't make it as a starfighter pilot. However so far, it's only happened twice in their history.
The Branches of House Pala tend to become intelligence agents or otherwise spies, doing the necessary but less honorable aspects of war, and keeping a tight leash on Opia's security. They are no less respected among the House than their 'ace pilot' cousins, but they tend not to be able to benefit in the advantages of a prestigious House in the general population. After all, well known spies are terrible at their jobs.

House of Nowo

The so-called Lords of Light, the House of Nowo has long been associated with bleeding edge technology. Small investments in technological and scholarly pursuit have led the House of Nowo into the Space age and beyond. Currently a major shareholder in most droid manufacturing, design and distribution industries, Nowo Technologies & Robotics is one of the foremost manufacturer of utility, service and combat droids in the Galactic Republic. Due to this, the heads of House Nowo hold quite a bit of sway with Trade concerns, and private and planetary companies. Think of them as influential lobbyists in more than a few systems.
Historically, the lords of House Nowo have been at the forefront of developing technology to assist with quality of life in Opia. Due to this, they are well respected and well known to almost every native, and anyone with any business sense in Opia knows that they'll have to deal with them at some point. While generally helpful and well-meaning in regards to Opia's well-being, the Lords of House Nowo have always supported the isolationist policies of Opia, being some of the main backers of the expensive passport, and always vying for just a bit more public support, in a way that makes it seem like they want more political power and a louder voice in Opian politics.
This perception is absolutely correct. The current Lord of Light, Ino-Chi Nowo, has been very active in all spheres of Opian interest, as well as in the Galactic Republic. He has alwasy made arrangements to marry into House Trepes, through their direct heir, Reina, which would easily double his influence in Opia. Technology and Power under the control of a true 'Power Couple'.

House Members & Subjects

Lord of Light Head of House Nowo Ino-Chi Nowo	House of Nowo Bodyguard Glem Akam	Nowo Employee Researcher Gar Legrand

House of Heinrich

The self-titled Sultans of Spice, the members of House Heinrich are and have been some of the most potent Spice merchants, gatherers and controllers in Opia's history, or so they would have you believe. The members of the House of Heinrich started as one of many families whose lands were plentiful with Spice, but between them and their neighbors and competitors, there was a fair market for the selling of Spice. Varying quality shifted with the sands, after all. For quite some time, there was a balance.
But the Barons at the time did not care much for this balance. Baron Vin-Ken Heinrich decided he needed more opulence, and more Spice. He began an aggressive, multi-generational campaign to destroy or otherwise annex his competition. At first through cajoling and legitimate business practices. Offering better technology and equipment in exchange for a better cut; sending extra workers for a share of the profit since they could farm more together; and other such things.
But before long, friendly cooperation for additional profits made the House of Heinrich even richer, and that's when they played dirty. Vin-Ken married his sons, nephews and daughters into other Spice Miners' families, and adding their fortune to the House's own, he arranged for them to then forcefully buy out their other competitors. It wasn't always easy, but living long past his time on various life support machines, and what he claimed were the healing powers of the Heinrich Spice, Vin-Ken made sure to get the biggest cut of the Spice Trade under his control, before he died.
His family followed his lead. Baron after Baron continued this aggressive expansion, always via political marriages or blackmail, hiding any foul play. Eventually, assassinations started happening, and only through the interference of the Royal Family did this not turn into a full blown Spice War. By the time the monarchy got involved, the House of Heinrich had their own private army. A tense 'ceasefire' was signed, a treaty between the families of Spice merchants, and the aggressive expansions stopped. For a time, anyways. The House of Heinrich has never abandoned their goals; they just became a lot more subtle about it.
Marrying into traders, shippers, buying out contracts, and even causing mishaps to other Spice Merchants, the House of Heinrich controls the biggest portion of the Spice trade on Opia. Almost 20%. This is, of course, not enough for the seemingly naturally ambitious Heinrich Barons, but growing from 3% to six times that amount has given them unnatural wealth and ruthless ambition. The goal of House Heinrich is to have so much financial power that their political weight will be far, far larger than any other House, and stands as the only House that grew from 'commoners' of Spice Trade.