Great House Ital Tek
One of nine current Great Houses, charged by Astralshaper to manage all aspects of Transmutation, from handling and harvesting to particulate bonding. While Great House Ital Tek is infamously known to be a loyalist regime to the Meridian that strives for everlasting peace within Her empire, they owe their origins to the opposite. In distant history, they stood as the final frontier against the Meridian's domination of the world and the right-hand of the rival @Kynynta Sutheoss: a resurrected green dragon flight that aligned with the apocalyptic @Dreamers. In the wake of ruin, the spiritualist Kobolds under their dead prophet, @Rulko, formed a federation right under the watch of Astralshaper, uniting the surviving remnants of the Old World that resented the idea of Empire. Despite their inferior infrastructure and organization, they proved to be a competitive adversary through sheer force of will and desperate enough to resort to the use of Ancient weapons of war in their cause against eternal night. They aligned with many forgotten species, such as the sanded remains of the long dead in the far deserts and technically-savvy dog-like keepers of a civilization deceased. Despite a kobold's outward disposition and appearance, they demonstrated a keen aptitude for diplomacy, bringing to bear their unassuming and agreeable nature like a tool of war, uniting the unalike in a sudden burst of counter-imperialism. Popular and cunning by nature, but ultimately a failure, being unable to economically sustain the extended conflict with the Meridian of Stars' Eternal despite their amassed sympathy throughout the realm.
After the @Dreamers and the @Kynynta were defeated and the federation disbanded, the Kobolds fought tooth and nail for their continued independence, and with notable success. The kobolds were incapable of matching the Meridian head-on, while the latter was unable to breach the occupied and distant Ancient fortresses the kobolds nested in. In a peculiar turn of events, Astralshaper offered the rebel kobolds total amnesty in exchange for their subservience; they graciously accepted. This shocked the Meridian, though not because of their recent incorporation of the kobold resistance, but rather their goddess's unusual decision to immediately grant them Great House status, though tied to exorbitant reparations. And thus, Great House Ital Tek - named after their capital fortress - was born by the turn of R.99 Great House Ital Tek was met with resentment by the other Great Houses, seeing them as undeserving of their coveted status as a Great House and were initially subject to some harassment. To everyone's surprise, the kobolds proved to be incredibly loyal servants to Astralshaper, seeing to the rampant industrialization and reckless harvesting of valuable resources to repay their debts to the Meridian. Their government reflects their shortcomings as a race, hosting an administration that is entirely dysfunctional and incapable, existing in a pitiful state of perpetual anarchy. The police-state Constabulary body was founded to keep the many kobold warlords in line and productive, suppressing opinion and the few upstarts that arise. Despite the bleak and oppressive government, the dragonkin race is rather satisfied with their lot and purpose in life, though the same can't be said of most of the other subservient species in Ital Tek, responding poorly to the cruel treatment posed by their own House as well as other Houses. However, like Great House Melide, subordinate houses under Ital Tek possess an unusual political immunity, with many other Houses regardless of alignment coming to the aid of the useful kobolds if they were attacked, as they are the sole reason for the readily available and cheap resources and labor the Meridian desperately requires. They are however generally forbidden from forming paramilitaries beyond the Great Houses's Militia in exchange for neutrality. And, also unlike other Great Houses, Contributary Houses of Ital Tek are official subjects to Ital Tek, and claim no form of independence as part of their forgotten treaty with Astralshaper; inversely, every other Great House is disallowed from officially "owning" another House.
Historically, many houses deferred their hard-labor to Ital Tek due to their unusual position outside the law, of which they readily accepted with glee; from mining and farming to sewage maintenance, they earned a reputation for being a cheap race without standards. They were unshakably content with being used and abused by others, as they found purpose within the empire as low-income workers, never reaching for higher living wages. Diligent and innovative, they quickly brought the Meridian up to speed, inciting a technological arms-race with the other Great Houses as they delved into the field of Transmutation. No one to this day comes close to the ingenuity of Great House Ital Tek, grandfathering their position as the premier source of raw resourcing and refinement, no matter the school of magic. They are lauded for their advancements in Applied Thaumatics, discovering the utility of Quicksilver and Salt as catalysts in particulate bonding and Transmutation. With that, they pioneered complex particulate bonding through the invention of their Transmutation Engines: impressive facilities dedicated to the purification and bonding of arcane particulate into useful spells and substances that can be imbued into machines. Despite their name, these engines can be calibrated to handle the unique quirks and dangers of every school of magic, though can only ever be specialized in one.
They have since repaid their dues in full to the Meridian of Stars' Eternal, though continue to be faithful servants to Astralshaper so that they may savor the security it brings, despite the other Great Houses continuing to enforce their eternal servitude even after paying their debts. Consequently, they are not very receptive to the recent insubordination of the other Great Houses, and they struggle to remain a neutral power. That is not to say they have not made their stance clear: should any one organization threaten the peace, Great House Ital Tek will rise to its defense without hesitation. They have also appreciated the care of being apart of Great House Orax's Mob, seeing the noble Abjuration House as an allied force of good in the wake of the chaos consuming their beloved empire. Ital Tek does not like participating in conflict, but with a military only second in size to the Legion, they are not afraid to field their retrofitted mining equipment as weapons of war in the event their coveted peace is compromised. Under Great House Ital Tek, there are three subsidiary Major Houses:
After the @Dreamers and the @Kynynta were defeated and the federation disbanded, the Kobolds fought tooth and nail for their continued independence, and with notable success. The kobolds were incapable of matching the Meridian head-on, while the latter was unable to breach the occupied and distant Ancient fortresses the kobolds nested in. In a peculiar turn of events, Astralshaper offered the rebel kobolds total amnesty in exchange for their subservience; they graciously accepted. This shocked the Meridian, though not because of their recent incorporation of the kobold resistance, but rather their goddess's unusual decision to immediately grant them Great House status, though tied to exorbitant reparations. And thus, Great House Ital Tek - named after their capital fortress - was born by the turn of R.99 Great House Ital Tek was met with resentment by the other Great Houses, seeing them as undeserving of their coveted status as a Great House and were initially subject to some harassment. To everyone's surprise, the kobolds proved to be incredibly loyal servants to Astralshaper, seeing to the rampant industrialization and reckless harvesting of valuable resources to repay their debts to the Meridian. Their government reflects their shortcomings as a race, hosting an administration that is entirely dysfunctional and incapable, existing in a pitiful state of perpetual anarchy. The police-state Constabulary body was founded to keep the many kobold warlords in line and productive, suppressing opinion and the few upstarts that arise. Despite the bleak and oppressive government, the dragonkin race is rather satisfied with their lot and purpose in life, though the same can't be said of most of the other subservient species in Ital Tek, responding poorly to the cruel treatment posed by their own House as well as other Houses. However, like Great House Melide, subordinate houses under Ital Tek possess an unusual political immunity, with many other Houses regardless of alignment coming to the aid of the useful kobolds if they were attacked, as they are the sole reason for the readily available and cheap resources and labor the Meridian desperately requires. They are however generally forbidden from forming paramilitaries beyond the Great Houses's Militia in exchange for neutrality. And, also unlike other Great Houses, Contributary Houses of Ital Tek are official subjects to Ital Tek, and claim no form of independence as part of their forgotten treaty with Astralshaper; inversely, every other Great House is disallowed from officially "owning" another House.
Historically, many houses deferred their hard-labor to Ital Tek due to their unusual position outside the law, of which they readily accepted with glee; from mining and farming to sewage maintenance, they earned a reputation for being a cheap race without standards. They were unshakably content with being used and abused by others, as they found purpose within the empire as low-income workers, never reaching for higher living wages. Diligent and innovative, they quickly brought the Meridian up to speed, inciting a technological arms-race with the other Great Houses as they delved into the field of Transmutation. No one to this day comes close to the ingenuity of Great House Ital Tek, grandfathering their position as the premier source of raw resourcing and refinement, no matter the school of magic. They are lauded for their advancements in Applied Thaumatics, discovering the utility of Quicksilver and Salt as catalysts in particulate bonding and Transmutation. With that, they pioneered complex particulate bonding through the invention of their Transmutation Engines: impressive facilities dedicated to the purification and bonding of arcane particulate into useful spells and substances that can be imbued into machines. Despite their name, these engines can be calibrated to handle the unique quirks and dangers of every school of magic, though can only ever be specialized in one.
They have since repaid their dues in full to the Meridian of Stars' Eternal, though continue to be faithful servants to Astralshaper so that they may savor the security it brings, despite the other Great Houses continuing to enforce their eternal servitude even after paying their debts. Consequently, they are not very receptive to the recent insubordination of the other Great Houses, and they struggle to remain a neutral power. That is not to say they have not made their stance clear: should any one organization threaten the peace, Great House Ital Tek will rise to its defense without hesitation. They have also appreciated the care of being apart of Great House Orax's Mob, seeing the noble Abjuration House as an allied force of good in the wake of the chaos consuming their beloved empire. Ital Tek does not like participating in conflict, but with a military only second in size to the Legion, they are not afraid to field their retrofitted mining equipment as weapons of war in the event their coveted peace is compromised. Under Great House Ital Tek, there are three subsidiary Major Houses:
House Tier Nine
A very loyal House that specialized in field harvesting and refining, hosting the largest fleet of mining vehicles in the entirety of the Meridian that also double as their state military.House Reconstika
A very loyal House that is tasked with the mass fabrication of replacement parts for Tier Nine's mining fleets in addition to common mechanisms used in heavy industrial equipment such as that with manufactories and transmutation engines.House DR2
A very loyal House that offers services in indiscriminate particulate compression for every Great House, collecting quite the income to bolster the whole of Ital Tek.Structure
The Great House of Ital Tek is without contest the most convoluted and bloated in their administration, hosting several governing bodies that conflict and occupy similar roles, yet with some overshadowing others. In short and in their simplest definitions, the Constabulary is considered the most influential supervision for the time being, overseeing the protection of Ital Tek assets from piratical opportunists and their own, commanding the sole dedicated military presence within the Great House that are equipped to deal with only riots. Next in line of legitimacy, the Partisan Confabs and Chamber Body is a civilian collection of aligned Veneracies and Minor Houses that make up the whole of Ital Tek, debating endlessly in establishing the quotas, interpreting the demands of the market, and figuring out how to topple the Constabulary. Below them is Tier Zero: an elite organization of Ital Tek's special operations divisions, headed by the Blast Corps. whom forced their way into political relevance, occupying the same role as the Partisan Confabs and Chamber Body, though completely circumvents their authorization to execute their plans. Finally, the Contributarian Committee is a council of an indeterminate number of representatives from the Major Houses, collaborating on meeting the demands set for by the Veneracies and Ital Tek as a whole. All four of these governing bodies are officially equal in footing, though each constantly vie for absolute authority, for the one that rules uncontested commands the Great House as a whole; if there is contest on who truly reigns for the rotation, the Great House will cease to function in its entirety, with each Contributarian House becoming independent members for a short while as their overlord breaks down from the inside.
Crushing, Grinding, Slashing, Never broken. Hacking, Rending, Tearing, Never broken.
Founding Date
99
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Demonym
Tekkan
Leader
Parent Organization
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