House Truniss
History
House Truniss proudly remembers its days as the Imperial House and the fact that it was Sarrelon Truniss who originally launched the Great Exploration. This unified the many confused and barely civilised cultures of the planets of the now strong Empire and they do not consider it pompous to say, without him, there would be no Empire today.
Despite the generous appearance of the House, giving power to those who became the leaders of the five Noble Houses, there has always been a strong belief that those of SarrelonŐs blood are exclusively destined for greatness. It thus came as a great shock to the House as a whole to see the other five houses rise up against them when Lystra took the decision to overthrow Randall Truniss III. To this day, House Machello are regarded with a certain distaste, as they were considered loyal through and through by Truniss at the time of the Revolution. Although their honour cannot be doubted, their decision has not been forgotten. House Truniss was left with relatively few major planetary holdings following its removal from the Imperial seat of power, and although it has been working for the last three centuries to redress this balance, it has only recently become equal to the others in terms of planetary resources.
The House, left as it was in the hands of the ambitious yet rather weak Ameda Truniss, searched for answers as to how such a miscalculation could have been made. It could not be argued that the way the Empire had been run, with the Emperor conferring with their advisors, the Heads of the five families, was the only fair way to exist. And yet Randall Truniss III had strayed from that path. The conclusion reached was that his greed and overzelousness had arisen from the blood; his mother Deena Pitir Ditix was from a relatively minor family and had married into the House under the protest of some traditionalists. This fall from greatness has shown them to be right, and Ameda thusly ordered that the most prominent Historicals in the House plot out and decipher those who were currently fit to carry on the bloodline of Sarrelon Truniss.
Once these lists had been finalised, Ameda decreed that those who were deemed worthy should not sully their blood further by mixing with those from outside. This has been followed for ten generations now. The only recorded instance of its disregard was nearly 100 years ago, when Koel Truniss fell in love with a young woman from House Karpeer. He went against the advice of his family and left the House in order to marry. Summarily his name was stricken from the records and his children are not considered to be part of the House. It has also been the case that even promising Technologists and Chirurgeons from House Truniss do not rise in the ranks of their guilds, as to do so would remove their name from them, at great disapproval from the House. There are however, many Historicals and Psychics among the later generations.
House traditions and celebrations are strongly supported and upheld within the whole House. Arranged marriages are the norm, often organised at birth, especially those of the Noble House. Each year there is a day of mourning to recall when the house fell from grace, this being the day when Randall III ordered Farron Lystra stripped of his assets. All young children are taught that this is a reminder that those who have much should not be greedy, and donations of time and money are made on this day to those less fortunate. Also, there are three days of festivities to remember the formation of the Empire and the great deeds of the First Emperor Sarrelon. The religion of the lower classes tends to revolve around worship to an Emperor of Those Who Came Before, and some say that Sarrelon was a descendant of this original Emperor. While the Noble House does not generally follow the patterns and rituals of worship its people employ, many believe that Sarrelon was a unique and truly great man, and that is the reason his bloodline must be preserved.
The upbringing of those of noble blood is necessarily strict, if they are to be leaders, they must be suitably prepared, in both political knowledge and understanding, and in whatever field in which they excel. Abilities beyond governorship (which is almost taken for granted) are strongly supported, as it is hard to be truly unique on such a closely linked family. From an early age, great things are expected, and laziness if not tolerated, but few object, as only the best tutors are hired by the noble House and members are rewarded fairly and generously according to their achievements.
The central planet of Sarra is where those of the primary bloodline reside and where affairs of House governance are conducted. As with house leadership, planetary governorship in the House is inherited, and with most Noble House marriages being kept within the true bloodline, individuals often hold more than one planet.
Recent History
Following the Holann war, House Truniss moved quickly to expand their reach through the former Holann empire. This proved only moderately successful. The unity of the House gave them an advantage in organisation, but having suffered under the despotic rule of the Holann, the population of many of the new planets proved wary of the strict rule of the Truniss. This forced the Truniss to take a more open approach to the new planets. Conversely, within their traditional planets, the House underwent a period of introspection. In the decades to follow, House Truniss became more opaque to outside scrutiny, with power being concentrated in the central bloodlines.
With the death of Poll Truniss not long after the Holann war, Jarol Truniss and Jaren Truniss took joint lead of the House in a rather unusual arrangement. To the surprise of some, Jarol proved a capable and determined leader in internal matters. Jaren took a more public role, dealing with many of the external dealings of the House.
Amelia Sosa Truniss married Jaren Truniss, and both were the high profile representatives of the House for years. However, as time passed, they gradually withdrew dropped out of the public eye. Rumours emerging from the House indicated a concentration on Psi development. Darker rumours hinted at odd branches of the bloodline, kept secret from the rest of the Empire.
Darval Truniss continued to expand the Cult of Ascension with support from Jaren, making it one of the most influential religions amongst the Truniss. However, the prominence of the Cult has caused tension with the Technologists absorbed into the House. The influlence of the Cult spread far beyond the House, and has generally improved the reputation of the Truniss throughout the Empire.
In a surprise move, Jarol recently gave more independence to the individual planetary governors. There is still speculation as to the reason for this. Some say it is to give more plausible deniability to the House leadership. With the importance placed on family ties, the House still maintains more control than they may admit.
The House Today
Jarol Truniss is becoming frail, but is still clinging to power. Jaren Truniss has not been seen in public in some time.
The House remains proud of it's heritage, and confident of its abilities.