"One for the Emperor, first of us all;
One for his Lyctors, who answered the call;
One for his Saints, who were chosen of old;
One for his Hands, and the swords that they hold." [1]
The First House is the planetary seat of The Emperor of the Nine Houses, The Necrolord Prime. Where the other Eight Houses are full of bustling cities, community centers, and populations of citizens, the First House has not been occupied for over nine thousand years.
History[]
Based on the details and historical texts preserved by the Blood of Eden (especially those found within their naming system), The First House is believed to be the Resurrection of the planet Earth of the Solar System.[2] However, little to no information about pre-Resurrection life exists in The Nine Houses System.
Once a thriving planet of around ten billion inhabitants[2], the First House was destroyed by the Emperor in an attempt to kill a group of trillionaires fleeing the planet. After the destruction of the First, only The Emperor was left alive—until he resurrected Alecto, becoming the first necromancer, and performed The Resurrection.
The Resurrection "did not resurrect every broken thing,"[3] so The Emperor and his followers rebuilt Canaan House from pre-resurrection ruins to be his palace. Canaan House served as a palace, research base, and home to The Emperor and his Lyctors for several hundred years before The Emperor was forced to flee to The Mithraeum.
At present, First House remains a relic of its former glory. Falling slowly into disrepair, Canaan House houses the only inhabitants of the planet—fifty priests and skeleton construct servants[4] left to care for the former palace of God and his Saints. Other ruined cities and temples remain visible above the waterline but are believed to be entirely abandoned.[5]
Atmosphere/Climate[]
The First House is a bright, watery planet, third from Dominicus. It is covered with salty ocean and haloed with clouds. Beneath the smokey-white atmosphere, the planet is covered in cities and temples that have long since been drowned and broken down into ruins.
Upon Gideon Nav's arrival at Canaan House, she described the air as "warm."[5] It occasionally rained.
Locations[]
Canaan House[]
A once resplendent fortress now fallen into disrepair, Canaan House was intended to be The Emperor's palace on The First House, where he could live, work, and watch over the other Houses. It is from within Canaan House that Necromancers and their Cavaliers study the path to Lyctorhood. The original disciples of the Emperor, who would become his Lyctors, stayed in Canaan House for several hundred years before they fled to The Mithraeum.
Characters of the First House[]
References[]
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Dramatis Personae
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 50
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 8
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act IV, Ch. 32
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 7