A Survey of House Leadership Titles
We know just enough about each house and its founders that I think there might be some threads to pull at in terms of what different house titles say about the house intends of its leadership, or some other interesting observation – in some cases, not a lot, but I’d say enough that there’s enough for me to play with and gnaw on like a naughty cat who should not be chewing embroidery thread.
re: The Second - sorry for hijacking this but I reread As Yet Unsent lately and I had Feelings about it
I had the impression that the Second House were THE leaders of the Cohort. Judith’s father is not just “an” admiral; he’s “Fleet Admiral” which I think implies he leads the entire Empire fleet. (By contrast, Sarpedon is ‘Admiral Sarpedon’ only; plus Ianthe talks about Judith possibly being ransomed to her father in NtN like he’d be such a big deal that every Blood of Eden cell probably knows who he is and that’s why they bothered keeping Judith alive). Judith joins the Cohort and goes through the ranks like everyone else, but from As Yet Unset it’s clear she’s being groomed for command and possibly fast-tracked through the ranks – it doesn’t seem to be a question of if, but when.Wild assumption on inheritance: we know the Ninth is odd in being led by an unbroken line of descendants. Because of this, I think it’s likely that the Second heirship isn’t automatically granted through bloodline, and relatives / apprentices can be adopted into the ruling family (see how Abigail and Magnus don’t have children but aren’t stressed about producing necromantic heirs because they have other relatives). I’m guessing this because John’s Empire seems to be run on nepotism but not necessarily bloodlines, and because while being somebody’s kids can probably get you pretty high up in their military hierarchy, they wouldn’t actually give the top spot to someone who isn’t deserving. Also the vaguely Latin-ish vibe to the House names reminds me of how widespread adoption was among the Romans, often of adults for political purposes. Also Judith is extremely dutiful and driven – most of it is just how she is, but I think she has a chip on her shoulders about having to prove she is worth of the role of future leader of the military House (and by implication the Cohort).