Dynasty Codex

A directive of the dynasty's highest order, attested jointly by the wax seals of three houses layered one upon another on a single document. Once the wax is complete, it is a command that cannot be defied.

In this dynasty, stripping away a surname is a punishment. Those so stripped, together with their whole branch, are called the Eighth Branch — ranked outside, after, and beneath the Seven Great Houses.

The rite by which new students enter the Academy. Every heir receives a house register cut with his branch, his station, and his allotment. What the descendant of the Eighth Branch receives, stripped of his surname, is a blank register.

The school where the heirs of the Seven Great Houses study together, and the place in the capital thickest with hostages, betrothals, and assassinations. Its crest bears seven rings, and the topmost of them is empty.

The seven noble houses that monopolize cursed blood, each holding one power and each bearing one price: Hourshift works time, Whitescript holds memory, Duskcandle comes near death, Starcrown reads the stars, Mirrorcourt makes doubles, Vowkey binds by contract, Bloodflame kindles fire with blood.

The magic of the Seven Great Houses, running in the bloodline and passing by inheritance. To rouse it requires a medium, and it has never once come without a price.