House Thorvald
Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:17 am
Homeworld: Ipyr (Omega Lyrae)
Status: House Major
Crest & Colours: hammer standing on its head; indigo and yellow
Head: Earl Memnon Thorvald
Heirs: Ariana Thorvald, but it's complicated
Main exports: metals, rare earths, hydrocarbons, polymers, alloys, blades, spaceship components
Current Allies: Richese, Taligari
Current Frenemies: Corrino, Atreides, Ix
Current Enemies: Harkonnen, Uchan, Londine*
Position:
House Thorvald is an old house, though their claims of hailing back to the times of the League of Nobles are disputed. Their apocryphal founder was Ubar Thorvald. It's still old enough though to have experienced all kinds of fortunes and certainly carries a reputation in the Landsraad: of impetuousness, tempestuousness, ruthlessness, defiant streak and an unending thirst for grandeur. The Thorvalds have long been giving the Imperium troubles and crises whenever they feel their position as one of the foremost Houses Major has been slipping. They do not shy away from threat of use of force, boasting fleets at times second only to those of the Imperium (though always by a wide margin). At a significant financial cost they also maintain a War College on Ipyr, with Mentats on the teaching staff, providing the Earl with cadres and advice to carry out unpredictable, unorthodox tactics drawing upon guerilla warfare. This acts as a powerful deterrent against enemies - the guarantee that House Thorvald will have an insidious way to hit them where it hurts.
They are not rabid dogs, however; they usually know how to play the political game in the Landsraad, riding on the moods among other nobles, seeking coalitions to bring pressure either on their enemies or on the Emperor himself. Playing high stakes games have led to diverse outcomes in the past, with the Corrinos seeking to appease House Thorvald or to censure it, depending on circumstances. During his reign, Shaddam IV has tried both, first making Earl Memnon his brother-in-law by marrying his sister Firenza Thorvald, only to see her removed after a year to make way for his newest wife Aricatha.
At this point Earl Memnon is quite openly resentful of the Corrinos, for what makes him a prime suspect of being involved with the seditious Noble Commonwealth, but he remains buoyed by Landsraad support, justified in his grudge. Still, the Earl hasn't tipped his hand yet by making any of trademark bold moves of his forebears, being unusually distanced from the politics of the day, as if letting Duke Atreides to have full attention of the Golden Lion Throne, perhaps knowing from experience where it eventually leads...
House Thorvald has its set of domestic problems. Earl Memnon came to power in a succession war against his elder brother. The conflict was brief but very brutal, with both Thorvalds doing their skilful worst unto each other. It has left deep scars amid populations of Thorvald-held planets, making Memnon's victory bittersweet and his struggle for legitimacy and loyalty of subjects a challenge defining his reign. To consolidate his authority, he had to seek a strong alliance and found one in House Taligari. But this forced him to sideline his eldest son Bomilcar who he had with a concubine and make his first child born into marriage, Ariana, his official heir. He also took custody of his brother's only daughter, Fabrizia. Over the years, there have been many assassination attempts at any and all potential heirs in Memnon's household, making it a viper's nest, rife with paranoia, in which every young Thorvald has mastered ways to appear innocent, even us the attempts have taken their toll on them, physical, mental, or both. It is rumoured that Ariana has developed a melange problem.
Closer ties with House Corrino through marriage was briefly a stabilising factor. Shaddam IV's initial idea of throwing a wrench into the coalition of Thorvald, Taligari and Richese, which looked a lot like an alliance of resentment for his depredations during the Great Spice War, by making Memnon his brother-in-law, backfired over the Emperor's marital reshuffles. With the relationship in choppy waters, it isn't unlikely that the Corrino have a hand in cultivating Thorvald internal troubles. And yet, the Corrino play a complex game with push and pull with the Thorvalds, having allowed Bomilcar to take part in the CHOAM audit and the House Major benefit in the aftermath by securing an economic foothold on Arrakis. It helps Thorvald case that there is bad blood between them and the Londines, whose gadfly leader Rajiv Londine has long been a thorn in Shaddam's side in the Landsraad.
House Thorvald governs a collection of cool worlds, mostly on the outer end of habitability. Of them, Ipyr is the largest and the most temperate, with open, only partially glaciated oceans, ice rolling down from spiny mountain ranges crisscrossing the landscape. Others, like Galicia, and Jericha, governed by vassal Houses Minor, are wilder and harsher. They provide Landsraad votes nonetheless. The Thorvalds are satisfied with those kinds of fiefs, having long specialised in cryomining, being able to make steady profits on mineral riches others wouldn't know how to extract. In fact, Ipyr is not their first homeworld, the initial one got depleted and purposefully forgotten to not mar the story of their mining acumen and Butlerian pedigree. The current homeworld has been treated with more sense, and before its ecosystem would collapse, the mining has moved to the system's asteroid belts. Their main processing centre in Ipyr's orbit, called Heighforge, has grown over the years from their main shipyard to be an industrial-commercial entrepot, assuming gravimetric size of a moon that could alter tides on Ipyr itself.
Over milliennia, the domestic supply of raw materials has also allowed the Thorvalds to become mostly self-sufficient in military procurement. Yet, dependence on food imports makes them wary of antagonising houses governing agri-worlds like Atreides or Mutelli, but they have no qualms about waging economic warfare on fellow mining and heavy industry powerhouses like Uchan and Harkonnen, or even mandating kinetic hostilities.
Technology-wise, House Thorvald rarely seeks an innovative edge. Their closely guarded tech is tried and tested, relying on human craftsmanship more than on mechanised processes, and Thorvald products are known for sturdiness and durability. They have been losing some ground due to low sophistication, especially to those who don't shy away from employing Ixian tech. Marrying one of the daughters of Ilban Richese by Memnon's father was a good call, but it carried opportunity costs. Richesian expertise, reimbursed in wide access to raw materials, has been invaluable in expanding Heighforge, especially after they rechannelled their energies there after the demise of Richesian own artificial moon Korona. But the promise of commercial synergies that would help their respective economies recover against challenges from stiff competition have gone only so far. House Richese has fallen into a tech slump in recent decades and has been losing ground to Ix in CHOAM, and the Thorvald with them. But just as the loss of siridar governorship of Arrakis to the Harkonnen marked a downward shift in Richesian fortunes, the recent acquistion of water mining rights on the spice planet by House Thorvald may be a positive inflection point. This may or may not change the otherwise stable and complementary dynamic of the Thorvald-Richese relationship. It's not free of other irritants though. To Richesian chagrin, House Thorvald sells raw materials to Ix.
In the end, however, House Thorvald is rather entrenched in its ways of doing things and doesn't respond well to any disruption of the core features of their identity, in manufacturing or otherwise. In a rather distant past they once held siridar governorship over Arrakis but they didn't do well, maladjusted to governing a world so different from theirs. Even so, Thorvald mining professionals sometimes end up on spice mining contracts, and they are no strangers to some presence on Arrakis, being the primary suppliers of coal and crude to House Harkonnen.
Culture:
Thorvald worlds know slavery, but most of the work is done by free men, with strong family traditions of passing expertise from generation to generation, especially in more traditional crafts like smithing their high quality blades. The population is quite eclectic and superstitious, though generally very skeptical toward religious fervour of any kind. Cold climates and open spaces shape people who are gruff, opinionated and fiercely independent, hardy warriors and prospectors, and so Earl Memnon's leadership must be charismatic and based on personal qualities, something he lacks among groups of population, especially on Galicia, that stood with his brother and still see him as usurper and kinslayer. Galician ruler, Lord Colus of the Dueva House Minor, whose about-face contributed to Memnon's victory in the civil war, has been having his hands full keeping the brewing resistance under tabs.
Actually, Earl is an imperial designation; domestically, Thorvald rulers are 'Jarls'. Their aggressive policies are at least in part dictated by the need to satisfy their subjects' belligerence, whose measure of worth is 'besting' the opponents in some way, preferably with fierce competitiveness, and violence. They are also people not bothered by holding contradictory opinions: they generally hate the Harkonnen, but they love their ales and the Bjondax whale furs from Lankiveil and sell the Harkonnen a lot of their mineral wealth; they have contempt for farming planets, but they are very appreciative of fine foodstfuffs they purchase from them; they envy technological sophistication of other industrial houses but they don't want to adopt it; they cherish unspoilt nature but they spoil it without mercy the moment they discover any mineral wealth underneath. They're difficult to govern, but easy to convince to act on whatever grudge or bias they may be holding.
---
* This description provides the state of affairs in the weeks between the falls of House Verdun and House Londine.
Status: House Major
Crest & Colours: hammer standing on its head; indigo and yellow
Head: Earl Memnon Thorvald
Heirs: Ariana Thorvald, but it's complicated
Main exports: metals, rare earths, hydrocarbons, polymers, alloys, blades, spaceship components
Current Allies: Richese, Taligari
Current Frenemies: Corrino, Atreides, Ix
Current Enemies: Harkonnen, Uchan, Londine*
Position:
House Thorvald is an old house, though their claims of hailing back to the times of the League of Nobles are disputed. Their apocryphal founder was Ubar Thorvald. It's still old enough though to have experienced all kinds of fortunes and certainly carries a reputation in the Landsraad: of impetuousness, tempestuousness, ruthlessness, defiant streak and an unending thirst for grandeur. The Thorvalds have long been giving the Imperium troubles and crises whenever they feel their position as one of the foremost Houses Major has been slipping. They do not shy away from threat of use of force, boasting fleets at times second only to those of the Imperium (though always by a wide margin). At a significant financial cost they also maintain a War College on Ipyr, with Mentats on the teaching staff, providing the Earl with cadres and advice to carry out unpredictable, unorthodox tactics drawing upon guerilla warfare. This acts as a powerful deterrent against enemies - the guarantee that House Thorvald will have an insidious way to hit them where it hurts.
They are not rabid dogs, however; they usually know how to play the political game in the Landsraad, riding on the moods among other nobles, seeking coalitions to bring pressure either on their enemies or on the Emperor himself. Playing high stakes games have led to diverse outcomes in the past, with the Corrinos seeking to appease House Thorvald or to censure it, depending on circumstances. During his reign, Shaddam IV has tried both, first making Earl Memnon his brother-in-law by marrying his sister Firenza Thorvald, only to see her removed after a year to make way for his newest wife Aricatha.
At this point Earl Memnon is quite openly resentful of the Corrinos, for what makes him a prime suspect of being involved with the seditious Noble Commonwealth, but he remains buoyed by Landsraad support, justified in his grudge. Still, the Earl hasn't tipped his hand yet by making any of trademark bold moves of his forebears, being unusually distanced from the politics of the day, as if letting Duke Atreides to have full attention of the Golden Lion Throne, perhaps knowing from experience where it eventually leads...
House Thorvald has its set of domestic problems. Earl Memnon came to power in a succession war against his elder brother. The conflict was brief but very brutal, with both Thorvalds doing their skilful worst unto each other. It has left deep scars amid populations of Thorvald-held planets, making Memnon's victory bittersweet and his struggle for legitimacy and loyalty of subjects a challenge defining his reign. To consolidate his authority, he had to seek a strong alliance and found one in House Taligari. But this forced him to sideline his eldest son Bomilcar who he had with a concubine and make his first child born into marriage, Ariana, his official heir. He also took custody of his brother's only daughter, Fabrizia. Over the years, there have been many assassination attempts at any and all potential heirs in Memnon's household, making it a viper's nest, rife with paranoia, in which every young Thorvald has mastered ways to appear innocent, even us the attempts have taken their toll on them, physical, mental, or both. It is rumoured that Ariana has developed a melange problem.
Closer ties with House Corrino through marriage was briefly a stabilising factor. Shaddam IV's initial idea of throwing a wrench into the coalition of Thorvald, Taligari and Richese, which looked a lot like an alliance of resentment for his depredations during the Great Spice War, by making Memnon his brother-in-law, backfired over the Emperor's marital reshuffles. With the relationship in choppy waters, it isn't unlikely that the Corrino have a hand in cultivating Thorvald internal troubles. And yet, the Corrino play a complex game with push and pull with the Thorvalds, having allowed Bomilcar to take part in the CHOAM audit and the House Major benefit in the aftermath by securing an economic foothold on Arrakis. It helps Thorvald case that there is bad blood between them and the Londines, whose gadfly leader Rajiv Londine has long been a thorn in Shaddam's side in the Landsraad.
House Thorvald governs a collection of cool worlds, mostly on the outer end of habitability. Of them, Ipyr is the largest and the most temperate, with open, only partially glaciated oceans, ice rolling down from spiny mountain ranges crisscrossing the landscape. Others, like Galicia, and Jericha, governed by vassal Houses Minor, are wilder and harsher. They provide Landsraad votes nonetheless. The Thorvalds are satisfied with those kinds of fiefs, having long specialised in cryomining, being able to make steady profits on mineral riches others wouldn't know how to extract. In fact, Ipyr is not their first homeworld, the initial one got depleted and purposefully forgotten to not mar the story of their mining acumen and Butlerian pedigree. The current homeworld has been treated with more sense, and before its ecosystem would collapse, the mining has moved to the system's asteroid belts. Their main processing centre in Ipyr's orbit, called Heighforge, has grown over the years from their main shipyard to be an industrial-commercial entrepot, assuming gravimetric size of a moon that could alter tides on Ipyr itself.
Over milliennia, the domestic supply of raw materials has also allowed the Thorvalds to become mostly self-sufficient in military procurement. Yet, dependence on food imports makes them wary of antagonising houses governing agri-worlds like Atreides or Mutelli, but they have no qualms about waging economic warfare on fellow mining and heavy industry powerhouses like Uchan and Harkonnen, or even mandating kinetic hostilities.
Technology-wise, House Thorvald rarely seeks an innovative edge. Their closely guarded tech is tried and tested, relying on human craftsmanship more than on mechanised processes, and Thorvald products are known for sturdiness and durability. They have been losing some ground due to low sophistication, especially to those who don't shy away from employing Ixian tech. Marrying one of the daughters of Ilban Richese by Memnon's father was a good call, but it carried opportunity costs. Richesian expertise, reimbursed in wide access to raw materials, has been invaluable in expanding Heighforge, especially after they rechannelled their energies there after the demise of Richesian own artificial moon Korona. But the promise of commercial synergies that would help their respective economies recover against challenges from stiff competition have gone only so far. House Richese has fallen into a tech slump in recent decades and has been losing ground to Ix in CHOAM, and the Thorvald with them. But just as the loss of siridar governorship of Arrakis to the Harkonnen marked a downward shift in Richesian fortunes, the recent acquistion of water mining rights on the spice planet by House Thorvald may be a positive inflection point. This may or may not change the otherwise stable and complementary dynamic of the Thorvald-Richese relationship. It's not free of other irritants though. To Richesian chagrin, House Thorvald sells raw materials to Ix.
In the end, however, House Thorvald is rather entrenched in its ways of doing things and doesn't respond well to any disruption of the core features of their identity, in manufacturing or otherwise. In a rather distant past they once held siridar governorship over Arrakis but they didn't do well, maladjusted to governing a world so different from theirs. Even so, Thorvald mining professionals sometimes end up on spice mining contracts, and they are no strangers to some presence on Arrakis, being the primary suppliers of coal and crude to House Harkonnen.
Culture:
Thorvald worlds know slavery, but most of the work is done by free men, with strong family traditions of passing expertise from generation to generation, especially in more traditional crafts like smithing their high quality blades. The population is quite eclectic and superstitious, though generally very skeptical toward religious fervour of any kind. Cold climates and open spaces shape people who are gruff, opinionated and fiercely independent, hardy warriors and prospectors, and so Earl Memnon's leadership must be charismatic and based on personal qualities, something he lacks among groups of population, especially on Galicia, that stood with his brother and still see him as usurper and kinslayer. Galician ruler, Lord Colus of the Dueva House Minor, whose about-face contributed to Memnon's victory in the civil war, has been having his hands full keeping the brewing resistance under tabs.
Actually, Earl is an imperial designation; domestically, Thorvald rulers are 'Jarls'. Their aggressive policies are at least in part dictated by the need to satisfy their subjects' belligerence, whose measure of worth is 'besting' the opponents in some way, preferably with fierce competitiveness, and violence. They are also people not bothered by holding contradictory opinions: they generally hate the Harkonnen, but they love their ales and the Bjondax whale furs from Lankiveil and sell the Harkonnen a lot of their mineral wealth; they have contempt for farming planets, but they are very appreciative of fine foodstfuffs they purchase from them; they envy technological sophistication of other industrial houses but they don't want to adopt it; they cherish unspoilt nature but they spoil it without mercy the moment they discover any mineral wealth underneath. They're difficult to govern, but easy to convince to act on whatever grudge or bias they may be holding.
---
* This description provides the state of affairs in the weeks between the falls of House Verdun and House Londine.