House Bede
House Bede is one of the most storied noble families in all of Emicara. They have ruled by all accounts justly and fairly over the people of the Shin Empire for centuries, and their members are known to be proud immortals, a contributor to the Shinist religion that dominates the Empire. The Bedes are not particularly numerous and most are hundreds of years old. They have remained in isolation over the past two hundred years, and the last one was seen in public at the announcement of the closure of the Empire in 999 AF, leading some to believe that they may be dead or deep in hiding.
Public Agenda
House Bede has always stood for mass education and advancement of technology. They have focused on the building of infrastructure in addition to new schools and universities to help the Shin people be the most learned in all of Emicara. They have also maintained a long hostility towards the Jakonian Empire and spent numerous centuries engaged in either covert activities or open warfare against the Jakonians and their expansion, with varying degrees of success.
Assets
The resources of House Bede are the resources of the Shin Empire. The Bedes are so interconnected and intertwined with the government and the religion of the empire that it's nearly impossible to separate them. Individuals within the house wield extensive power, both from their own training as scholars, wizards, and warriors, but also from the wealth that their positions provide both from faith and commerce.
History
The origins of House Bede are shrouded in mystery, although the names of the Eternal Empress' parents are known. The family is said to have been raised in a land distant to the Shin Empire, where the Empress' parents carved out an utopia from the wilderness after the collapse of the Nameless Empire. According to family legends, it is believed that the ancestors of the Bedes were specialist warriors in the command of the Nameless Empire, soaring through the very heavens themselves to wage war on the nation's enemies, regardless of the planes they may have resided upon. They were therefore well suited to positions of leadership, commanding the forces that would help preserve some tradition and technology of the world past.
It was during the time of the Bedes' first nation that the wayward daughter of the queen found herself kidnapped and eventually adventuring. She traveled with a man known only to history as the "Traveler" one of several immortals scattered throughout Emicara. When she eventually returned to her family, she brought with her the gift of immortality to those of her family. Although they could still be slain in battle, they were given new health and rejuvenation, bringing prosperity and stability to the family as they struggled to rebuild civilization. To this day, all Bedes are still immortals.
Unfortunately, the Bedes had enemies, and Jayne Bede, the founder of the family line was slain when their utopia was invaded and conquered by a foul enemy. The identity of this enemy has been kept from the public, but when the Bedes arrived in the Apps with their retinue, they were well armed and hardened from combat. The Bedes conquered out the land that would form the Shin Empire. The family ruled the lands directly and harshly, overthrowing the despots who had been there before, and bringing about a new order. The creation of the Shin Empire was a melding of the ideals of the Bedes with the cultures that had already begun to emerge in the depths of the Apps.
The Bedes put their decades of knowledge and expertise to good use, turning the Shin Empire into a fortified citadel in Emicara, and constantly looked abroad to avoid any possible threats. They led the Shin nobly for centuries, but eventually began to disappear from public. The first of the Bedes began vanishing from the public eye at the beginning of the tenth century. The Eternal Empress made her last demonstration in 943 AF, and the last Bede was seen in public when the closure of Shin borders was announced in 999. No one is certain of the status of the family, if they are alive or dead, or even if they are still ruling the empire from behind the bureaucracy.
Stars Shine Upon Those Who Endure
Founding Date
34 AF
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Family Leader
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Comments