Noble Houses
sworn themselves to the Unseelie Court, and one stands alone, an earth-bound House, that stayed in the Waking Lands during the long Interregnum, and mixed its blood with mortal lines as the commoners did. Learn the history and traditions of these proud lines here...
House Dougal House Eiluned House Fiona House Gwydion House Liam
"Dream on of war, of vengeances and terrors,
My soul! Though we writhe in these teeth: Ah! Fall,
Republics of this world! Emperors,
Regiments, Colonies, Nations, all!
Who will stir up whirlwinds of furious fire
If we do not, and those whom we call brothers?
Join us, Romantic friends! Forget all others!
And never will we work, O waves of fire!"
-Arthur Rimbaud
"What Do We Care, My Heart"
Most Sidhe who hear the name House Balor regard it as little more than a jest, a cruel joke designed to aggravate Traditionalist Sidhe. House Balor derrives its name from a powerful Fomorian king named Balor of the Evil Eye, whose gaze could destroy his enemies. Most Sidhe who recall Balor's name believe that the Sidhe of House Balor intend nothing more than to aggravate the Seelie with a reference to one of their ancient enemies. House Balor have no intention of dissuading them from this erroenous notion.
In truth, House Balor believe their founder was Lugh of the Long Arm, the half-Sidhe, half-Fomorian grandson of Balor himself, and a hero of the Sidhe in the wars against the Fomorian Courts. Thus, the Sidhe of House Balor believe that they are the true kings of the Dreaming; their blood is that of Fomorian and Sidhe intermingled, and they laugh at the claims of House Gwydion, or even their own allies among Houses Ailil and Leanhaun. Just as Lugh slew his own grandfather, House Balor believes it is their destiny to triumph over the Sidhe of the Seelie Court and take their rightful place as rulers of the fae. In their vision of the world, all other Houses will pay tribute to House Balor, the sons of the twin lines of Fomorian and Shining Host Kings, and thus the only true fae with the right to call themselves "noble."
More than any other House, the Sidhe of House Balor believe that Winter is almost upon the world. Remembering the First Winter, they believe that only the strong will survive, and see themselves in active competition with the other Sidhe Houses, and even each other, for ultimate control when Winter comes. Without a strong hand to lead them, the fae will surely perish. House Balor fully intends to set itself up as overlords of humans and Kithain alike, demanding tribute and guiding the waking lands and the Dreaming through Winter with an iron fist.
Until this goal can be reached, the fae of House Balor cultivate allies among the Unseelie Court, both commoner and Sidhe. Additionally, these Sidhe are always on the look-out for Prodigal races who can be converted to their cause; already they have found allies among several shapeshifter species, especially a twisted race of werewolves who call themselves Black Spiral Dancers. House Balor forms alliances with a number of murderous, dark, and twisted spiritual organizations and supernatural races; many whisper that chimera of Nightmare are found commonly in the council-chambers, and even the beds, of thise House.
Certainly, some of these rumors are true. House Balor maintains active links to the creatures called Thallain, the grotesque and often disturbed fae born of Nightmare. Some of these are twisted mockeries of other Kiths, while others are creatures totally unique, unlike anything else in the Dreaming. House Balor engages in active programs designed to foster Thallain and Black Spiral Dancer (werewolf) crossbreeding with the Sidhe of their House, in the hopes of producing stronger Kinain, and thus better stock to draw their own numbers from. They would be even stronger if their associations with the Spiral Dancers did not occasionally draw the fire of the other werewolf tribes, and send unwanted attention from the shapeshifters to their doors.
At their worst, House Balor are insane tyrants, desperate to seize control of mortal and fae worlds alike and grind them beneath their boot. Others, however, point to a proud history of betrayal in the past of House Balor; some optimists claim that just as Lugh drew upon his Fomorian and Sidhe magicks to destroy Balor, so is it likely that the Sidhe of House Balor form alliances with dark creatures only to betray them one day. Many insist that their convuluted geneaology cannot help but force them to knife their current allies in the back, and that, should Winter ever come, they will be staunch allies of the Seelie Court, secret infiltrators of the Nightmare camp.
The combination of Sidhe and Fomorian blood produces strange effects in the character of House Balor. All of them posses some sort of deformity as a result of their Fomorian heritage, and such deformities are not always simply physical. A number of Balor-Sidhe are simply mentally warped, with bizarre habits, phobias, and compulsions. Still others bear a much more spiritual scar; it is not unheard of for Sidhe of House Balor to cast a monstrous and misshapen shadow, or for the sound of their voice to cause babies to cry out and animals to bristle. Thankfully, no member of this House has exhibited powers such as Balor himself, whose one heavy-lidded eye could annihilate all he looked at.
One of the major goals of House Balor is to find a way to empower the "challenges" they have been granted, the deformities created by the mixture of Fomorian and Sidhe blood, with the supernatural power the Fomorians once possessed. So far, success has been minimal at best. However, research into the nature of the Thallain and other Nightmare creatures may yet bear fruit for this Winter House.
For now the Sidhe of House Balor are content to plot with the Unseelie Court, forming alliances wherever they can among Kithain, Gallain, and Prodigals. While whispers link the Shadow Court to the Sidhe of House Balor, it seems as if the two organizations each have their own agenda. Many Sidhe of House Balor masquerade as members of House Eiluned or Dougal, worming their way into the Seelie Court. Most of them regard the Seelie Court as weak, and constantly probe and test it for opportunities to strike at it. Many members of House Balor enjoy politics, and are masters of treachery, though their flair for the dramatic tends to unmask them before too long, another example of their unhidable flaws, perhaps. Many of them are quite decadent and debauched, and demand total obessiance from their vassals.
House Boon
As a result of their Fomorian heritage, Sidhe of House Balor are surprisingly resistant to iron. Cold iron still causes them some discomfort, but they take no penalty from being in contact with it, and it does not inflict Aggravated Wounds on them when weilded as a weapon, nor do they gaint a point of Banality when struck with it. This allows them to carry and utilize iron weapons without any penalty, and at a distinct advantage to any who draw such weapons against them. If slain by an iron weapon, however, they are Undone as any normal changeling.
House Flaw
Members of this House are marked by their blood; all of them possess some sort of deformity, whether physical, emotional, pyschological, or even mystical. These deformities can be hidden only to a small extent by clothing, magicks, or other means. In the end, the deformed feature always attracts attention, and a sense of eeriness will fill the viewer as he fixates on this abberation. Some members of the House are quite vain about their deformitiies, while others wear them as marks or honor. Even Unenchanted beings will be able to tell that something is wrong with members of this House. "Dream on of war, of vengeances and terrors,
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