Rebel House
We need a place to gather, to collect our thoughts, and to plan our actions. A safe space where we can sit and let our minds run free, without worry of a knife to the back.
~Alorhaine, 1st rebel Leader
History
The rebel House in Jiy has been around for as long as the rebellion. The idea for a safe harbor came from Alorhaine's advisor and bodyguard Lerant, who took inspiration from the Jils hidden temple and the buildings that housed the Jiy city guard.
Those buildings, commonly referred to as a House, had everything that a unit needed; money, weapons, armor, forms, and whatnot. Lerant saw a need for a similar set-up, especially since the newly formed rebellion had so little. Keeping all they had in one place, where everyone could access resources, was important.
1st rebel House
The first House was in a half-destroyed mansion in the remains of Brightside. Once a gilded neighborhood of wealthy merchants, the Dentherion invaders obliterated it due to its proximity to the royal palace. Once the remaining traders moved across the river and into districts where empire supporters lived, Brightside was for the taking.
Lerant claimed the mansion, and his guards made certain other desperate people knew it. It only took a few weeks before the nosy went about their way, unwilling to tangle with the ex-royal guards and their tempers.
Free to create a safe space, Alorhaine left the upper stories as they were, but turned the basement into a rebel safehouse. She repaired furniture, patched walls, and created a meeting room to hatch plans. She even designed a hidden storeroom for traditional weapons and armor, and the stolen tech they filched from the traitors who sucked up to their new masters.
Only a select few outside Alorhaine, her guards, and advisors knew of the House's existence. Alorhaine, after all, was the sole survivor of the Jilvaynan royal family, and if Dentheria realized she lived, they would tear Jiy apart to find her.
In the general chaos after the Dentherion victory, no one asked questions about who lived where and why. The House's inhabitants quietly went about their days without snoops digging into their business.
When the Dentherions' puppet king came too close to capturing Alorhaine, Lerant decided they needed to move to Coriy, a safer city whose loyalty sat with Jilvayna, not the empire. They did not abandon the House, however. A young, eager rebel named Meral took charge and continued rebel presence in the capital.
Eventually the rebels needed a larger abode. Meral hunted for another building, found one in the abandoned royal court mansions, and moved the fledgling organization there. She set a precedent, and rebels moved to new buildings when the need arose. Sometimes rebel growth influenced a change of venue, sometimes a rebel decline, but one thing remained constant; the House was a safe place for rebels to congregate.
Abbehan, who took over as the Jiy rebel Leader in 632 DE, had gone through two moves of the House due to palace raids. After many discussions, he decided to repurpose the new House into an apartment complex, only the residents would be rebels. The Jiy agents would have a single place to live, get missions, and recuperate. While rebels did not have to live in the mansion, many did because of the cheap rent and free food.
The Modern House
After the palace raided the mansion-turned-apartment building (events at the beginning of Ambercaast), the Jiy rebels needed a place to land. This was especially important, as the Jilvayna rebel Leader, Faelan, and his Blue Council, had moved from Coriy to Jiy and needed a safe space to reside.
Patch had the answer. He inherited a Grey Streets estate from his uncle, and the run-down mansion and its lands would provide the perfect cover for the rebel leadership.
As one among many similar Wrendle abodes which housed noble family embarrassments and stubborn elders who refused to give up familial lands, people going to and fro at all times of day would not seem so odd. Set up guard patrols, claim an elderly lord resided there, and no one would bother them.
Unfortunately for the rebels, much like similar Wrendle neighborhood abodes, the mansion needed a lot of remodeling to become a place the council could reside and conduct business.
Patch poured the money he made from chasing into the reconstruction, and built additions like escape routes and tech storage rooms. Within a matter of weeks, the rebels had a working headquarters with running (if undrinkable) water, a plethora of cushy furniture, and a basement that concealed illegal tech.
Redesigned upper floors became bedrooms for the Blue Council and guestrooms for visitors. Meeting rooms, lounges and the kitchen were on the main floor, with training rooms in the basement and weapons practice areas scattered around the exterior. A guesthouse on the western side of the estate became the dignitary quarters for khentauree, and the overgrown, adjacent gardens became terron wallows.
Interior of new House before remodel
The exterior needs a little work
The Jiy rebel House listens to all audio that the Wolf Collaborate rebellions apprehend or intercept. Faelan is usually the one stuck in the second story audio room, listening to the droning of agents and commanders.
Beneath the mansion, a series of cells adjacent to a Minq-run underground tunnel passage house rebel and syndicate detainees. As a special favor to the Minq Underboss, Shara, Faelan keeps high-class prisoners there.
Interesting article. I love learning about how they adapted the building for their new needs.
Thanks :) It's not always been the case, but they are adaptable now. It will serve them well.