WIP [b]Faction Name:[/b] Great House Grindéhook [b]Faction leader(s): [/b] Her Undisputed Excellency Katarine Valacious Pauline Hildegaard von Grindéhook, first of her name, Ducal Regent, by right of birth Countess of all Odros and Margravine of Garyth-on-Valyrius, lawfully elected Protector of the Realm. [Hider=CS] Countess von Grindéhook collaborated closely with the Grand Duke in his early years and increasingly shouldered the burdens of leadership as his mental abilities continued their steady decline. She was elected Ducal Regent by the Sector Diet fifteen years ago in a contentious and acrimonious election, and was named Protector of the Realm after leading the defense of the Bur Hina System against a major barbarian incursion eleven years before the present day. Honorable and proud, she is a skilled naval commander and strategist and has fine political instincts, but her military mind and bearing gives her a tendency towards heavy handedness. She commands the loyalty of the powerful Ducal Navy and of the Ducal Intelligence Ministry, which operates interior espionage and secret police activity across the seven systems. While she is respected by many and feared by some, the Countess is loved by few. Many reformers and radicals see her as a conservative autocrat, while reactionaries are suspicious of her reformist tendencies and of the power she has concentrated in her own hands. [/Hider] His Illustriousness Volkmar von Grindéhook, Lord High Admiral of the Ducal Fleet [Hider=CS] [/Hider] Vydious Pallansour [Hider=CS] [/Hider] [b]System(s):[/b] Throne [b]Planet(s)/Territories:[/b] Odros (de jure), Cathedra, Xaxus, Far Valyrius (de facto, this planet is officially sworn to House Kesselbrood) [b]Sentient Species Governed:[/b] Humans, Gn'Mok, Vakeshi, Nirkyne (others TBD) [b]Faction Desc:[/b] The most powerful Great House in the Seven Systems, House Grindéhook and its vassals dominate the mighty Ducal Navy, primarily because their home planet, the fortress world of Odros, boasts ancient, Imperial-era orbital shipyards capable of reproducing the archeo-tech that is the key to the navy’s continued power. Countess von Grindéhook has ruled the Seven Systems for fifteen years as Ducal Regent, and consolidated tremendous power into the hands of her House and its allies. The planets nominally sworn to the Grand Duke himself- Far Valyrius, Cathedra, and Xaxus-have increasingly come under the domination of the Regent’s House. Historically, the House has defended the feudal arrangements of the Grand Duchy, since, thanks to its own dominance of the military, it benefits from the diffuse and decentralized power structure- which keeps potential rivals divided. Even before Countess von Grindehook assumed the Regency, the House was a close ally of the Kesselbrood dynasty, who depended heavily on House Grindehook support to maintain their position. [b]Government type:[/b] Feudal Hereditary Aristocracy [b]Military Capabilities:[/b] Extensive. The military power of House Grindéhook is the key to its current political ascendency. Almost all of the Ducal Fleet is loyal to the Regent, including those elements under the command of Great House Mandelbaum in the Celestine System, who are traditional allies of the Grindéhooks. Naval assets based in the Throne system number about one thousand ships, including around three hundred archeo-tech ships-of-the-line: heavy cruisers and carriers. The Grindehook fleet boasts three Imperial capital ships: one Imperatrix Class battlecarriers- the Regent’s flagship [i]Ancestral Right[/i]- and two Hadrius Class battleships. These millenia-old ships, each over ten kilometers long, are capable of independently engaging entire fleets, and are the core of the Navy’s might. Naval power is not limited to the ships based in Throne, since the Navy maintains orbital fortresses, bases and resupply depots in all Seven Systems, out of which it operates substantial battlegroups. The Navy, and House Grindéhook by extension, also commands the loyalty of the Gn’Mok, a xenos warrior people who have served the Navy as elite shocktroops and marines since the collapse of the Imperium. The Navy also maintains considerable ground forces, though these are of very mixed composition and quality, and many are mercenary forces. [b]Relations with Other Factions:[/b] Great House Mandelbaum: Historically close allies. Both houses dominate the Navy. Great House Threulard: Historic rivals. House Regius: TBD (the Regent would want them as close allies) PropheTech: TBD (the Regent would want to court the megacorp as close allies) Great House Wander: TBD (the Regent would want them as close allies) RWU: TBD Great House Asryaa: Wary tolerance. EXALT: TBD The Opal Convectorate: The Regent considers the Convectorate enemies of the state and fugitives from justice. The Ralirim: Wary tolerance.