MendiKu

House of the Dusk, The Thuja House

History                                                                                                                                                                       HOME

MendiKu is the youngest of Tow’s noble houses - a mere 262 years old - but its history is colorful nevertheless.  The real story of the MendiKu family begins some 40 years prior to its establishment of Blood Nobility - MendiKu is the only noble family in the Southlands that began not as one family, but two.

In the beginning, two common families of Tow took counsel together and drew up an agreement.  The Pact of the Leaf, as it came to be called, was a trade agreement by which the family Mendiri (dominant in the business of thuja trade) and the family Kunan (superior in the art of thuja cultivation) would work together and gently phase competition out of the elven marketplace.

The Family Mendiri

“Shrewdness, and courtesy.  Our two hands.”

The family Mendiri was almost certainly the younger of the two families that would later become the MendiKu, but no one can say precisely how young they were.  Meticulous genealogical records never ranked among their concerns.  What brought the Mendiri to their eventual wealth - and never failed to put the gloss of delight in their eyes - was mainly three things: cleverness, risk and the joys of the moment.

First and foremost, the Mendiri were merchants.  Intelligent, practical and incurably gregarious, the typical Mendiri woman or man was well-known and liked in the markets of Tow.  Their shrewdness made them formidable traders, while their capacity to set aside the cool calculations of business planning for certain momentary delights made them popular social company.  They were fearless of the new, and often took radical approaches to sales.  A story persists of a lovely and expectant Mendiri woman who playfully offered to name the babe after their best customer of the season.  At season’s end, the infant entered the world to be swaddled in the finest silk and nursed to a private harper - such was the influx of wealth from the ruse.

This capacity for adventure had another side: the thrill-seeking love of risk.  The Mendiri were notorious gamblers, both in business and pleasure, and were especially fond of games where the rules are made up as one goes.  Yet their gaming was intelligent; they seldom indulged in the herb or the vine to the point of impairment, and practicality usually prevented them from over-wagering.  The unobservant inevitably attributed their fortunes to luck, but in truth, the role of that fickle mistress was minor in the Mendiri’s gradual rise in society. 

Although the Mendiri originally dealt in several crops, notably those for the herbal dying of garments and the making of rope, they eventually came to deal exclusively in thuja.  Being commoners, they had no House colors; but often wore bright golden colors to market, joking amongst themselves that the beauty of it attracted those under the influence to their wares.

The Family Kunan

HOME

“Good things come out of the blue.”

The family Kunan, in contrast, was known to be an old family, well-documented for commoners.  This was due entirely to their own efforts; there was a focused spiritual aspect to the Kunan (the influence of thuja throughout their lives), and they put much store by the age of things.  Their lineage is recorded, with few generations left empty.  This weighty journal is kept today in the MendiKu private archives.

Unlike the family Mendiri, the Kunan were specialists from the beginning: horticulturalists, growing thuja crops to the exclusion of all else; it was not long before specialty brought them to mastery.  However, like the Mendiri, the rise of Kunan was a long and at times arduous road.  It was not until the later years that common folk could afford regular consumption of the leaf; for generations it was sold almost entirely to the Jai Chen and nobility.  Perhaps ironically, it would not be until the herb had found its way into the regular habits of commoners that the Empire would choose to recognize the family for its contributions through noble title. 

As the Mendiri were tied to the things of society, so the Kunan were tied to the things of the wilderness.  The lands on which their crops thrived were tame, but members of the family partook of their own medicine often, and with singular pleasure, in the Forest.  Indeed, some Kunan were known to disappear for months at a time, to return wild-eyed but silent.  The Forest was a second home, a crossroads between this world and the next, wherein (some would whisper) the Kunan were entrusted by the spirits with strange secrets.  Such secrets, if indeed they were given, the family kept to themselves - with the questionable exception of a few stories passed down through the generations.  One such tale mentions a Kunan woman, Unari, who in the throes of thuja foretold that the family would one day come to greatness through strife among brothers, and peace between lovers.  Such a thing would indeed come to pass. 

Like the black earth, the Kunan were languid and sensual in nature.  Their family was usually a large one.  The need to feed and clothe the many products of their promiscuous behavior, combined with regular thuja donations to the Empire (which typically found their way to the Jai Chen compound), kept the family poorer in liquid assets than the Mendiri.  They were, however, strong in land and rich in spirituality - and well-known to be so.

The Pact of the Leaf

The elder couples (Kethas and Laela Mendiri, Ruis and Oonaun Kunan) met and, together with their clerks, drew up a formal alliance of the families.  It was agreed that the two families would deal only in thuja and its accessories, and would limit their line of supply (Kunan selling only to Mendiri, and Mendiri buying only from Kunan).  The Kunan were to provide the cultivation of the herb for Mendiri front-end sales.  Donations, such as those of Kunan to the Empire, and the migration of individuals to unrelated fields, remained acceptable.  Also, with their alliance securely sealed, there was little need for political intermarriage between the two families.  Since outside unions would benefit each family the more, unions between Kunan and Mendiri became frowned upon.

Both families lowered their prices temporarily in a move to edge out competition.  And, slowly but surely, it worked.  By the year _, the last struggling rival family folded; the Mendiri and Kunan had secured their monopoly.

The Granting of Title                                                                                                                                                                         HOME

After several years the Mendiri and Kunan had each come to hold a moderate wealth, and significant social clout, in the communities of the Southlands.  An influential Jai Chen named Het Quelirian, long-time client of the families, became active in the cause of titling the Kunan for Blood Nobility.  Although he was not the first to suggest that the ongoing thuja donations of the Kunan to the Empire were gracious and should be rewarded, he was the first to maintain that the Kunan, with their abundance of shamans and closeness to the Forest, set excellent spiritual examples for the common citizens.  He was a success in his persuasions, and the formal announcement arrived - the family Kunan were to receive title and all the social benefits thereof.  A ceremony would be held whereby they would arrive as a family and depart as a House: House Kunan, the 6^th and lowest-ranked House of the Empire.

Needless to say, the announcement created quite a stir among the Mendiri.  With an abruptness uncharacteristic of the family, Elder Edorin Mendiri, illegitimate brother to the Elder Hanas Kunan, shut the doors of shop and house and withdrew the family within.  In consternation the Kunan sought counsel with them and were refused; rumors quickly spread that Edorin plotted some discredit to the Kunan, whereby they would lose their elevation and possibly more.  Dark with fury, Hanas began arrangements to annul the long-lived Pact.  At the same moment as he sat down with clerks and books, however, another Kunan was responding to the news, in a manner of which he was quite unaware...

Emora Kunan was a shaman of the family, Hanas’ young granddaughter.  Lovely of face and sympathetic of spirit, she had for years freely given of her magickal talents to the community and was much endeared to the populace.  There was only one person, though, who had wholly taken her heart: Derid Mendiri, a talented durin of that family who labored in service of House Nicolo.  On this day she leapt most nimbly from her window and went unremarked to his, where he was housed with the durins of Nicolo.  She was admitted within.

When Derid heard the news he took Emora’s hand in his own and led her to his mentor, Lord Marcus Nicolo, where he strolled along the House promenade. 

“This soon-to-be Lady and I would be mated,” he told Marcus, “and our families would unite against us and against each other in long-lived bitterness.  The gates will shut on the road to visions, as the smoke shop shuts and thuja withers on the vine.  What shall we do?”

The Lord Nicolo thought a moment, and said, “Bring not your two selves, but your two families, to union.”  Then he continued on his walk.

When Derid and Emora arrived at first the Mendiri, then the Kunan homes they were admitted freely.  Together they delivered the ultimatum: join as one family, under one name and roof, and prosper in a life of shared and granted title.  Elsewise divide completely, risk poverty through lost alliance, and lose also one son and daughter to rebellious union.

To learn which the families chose, one need look no further than the beautiful, present-day MendiKu estate, with its silvery pools and heavy-laiden fruit trees.  The families did indeed join, and a surname was invented that reflected their individual pasts.  Of Derid it is said that he took the daughter of his mentor to mate; of Emora, that she chose for herself a spiritual life of celibacy.

The Years of the Flowering                                                                                                                                                       

HOME

With the added support and wealth of the family Mendiri, it was judged that the new House MendiKu should take its place among the nobles at 5^th ranking instead of 6^th (much to the displeasure of House Nae).  They chose noble colors to represent themselves: gold, for the Mendiri trade practices; and black, like that of the earth from which the Kunan of old pulled the herb.  Among the upper levels of society the family earned the nickname House of the Dusk, as the dusk is the dark blue of thuja visions, and more importantly, a venerated time of revelry.  To the commoners they became, more simply, The Thuja House.

After the granting of title, the wealth of the family - already moderate - grew at a rapid rate.  After a generation they expanded their trade selection to include a number of other intoxicants, balking only at the sale of alcohol, which many among them considered impure.

It was around the time of this increase that they first drew the academical interest of House Sole.  Etias Sole, a great scholar of the family, recognized the tremendous botanical skills of the MendiKu, and together with his daughter Isara sought the company of a few skilled MendiKu family members for the purpose of furthering recorded knowledge of this art and science.  The MendiKu involved (a brother and sister, Annun and Aluina) graciously complied, engaging the scholars in lengthy discussions at the MendiKu estate that were truly a mix of work and pleasure.  It is said that one night was passed in the study of each intoxicant: the early evening for talk of its growth and properties, and the rest of the night for its sampling.  Of course, a few details - vital not to the growth of each substance, but to the growth of a truly exceptional strand of it - may have been  skipped... but what matter?  A considerable body of knowledge was written, and the Sole were shown the best hospitality.  It evidently made an impression on them, for shortly thereafter did Isara lay claim to Annun MendiKu as mate, and not Etias, nor any other, had a word to say against it.  Since then the Houses of Sole and MendiKu have shared - while not an alliance - certainly pleasant, amiable relations.  On occasion, cordial dinners are still held at one estate or the other, where the spiritual aspect of the MendiKu is complimented by the learned conversation of the Sole.

In contrast to this is the House Kondei, which between the years _ and _ executed a series of manuevers which, while minor in harm and scope, chafed at the MendiKu family.  Pointing to a mere few of the Jai Chen whose love of the herb was over average, they claimed that the use of thuja among Royal Mages was excessive, and compromised the safety of the Empire.  The SunJin decreed that the donation of thuja given by the MendiKu to the Empire each year not exceed a quarter-bushel; the remainder would be given as a requisite tax in coin.  A year elapsed, and the Kondei revisited the problem, suggesting the donation limit had not affected usage, and the SunJin again decreed in their favor: the Jai Chen may not consume more than two rolled smokes a day, except on special occasions.  Immediately following this, House Kondei tried to enforce far stricter regulations on their own House employees - banning the use of the herb altogether, for the security and efficiency of the household.  When the staff numbers took a sharp and immediate dive, they were forced to rescind the ban.  The rule for Jai Chen relaxed to three smokes a day a year later.

Like the Kondei, House Nae has never engaged in open hostility towards the MendiKu, but has been known to act - impersonally - to their disadvantage.  On three occasions they have been caught with curious “errors” in their accounting which would have left deficits in MendiKu bank accounts had they gone unnoticed.  With formal apologies have the Nae corrected these errors, which they termed accidental - but they are since watched closely by the MendiKu.

In total, however, the setbacks to House MendiKu since receiving title have been small.  The House has, quite simply, flourished, and it is believed they surpass a few of the Houses above them in wealth, though not status.  They have come to term the years since the ennobling as the Years of the Flowering, thusly, and these continue into the present.  Let us turn, then, to modern times, and look at House MendiKu as it is today.

Culture

HOME

General

The taboo on intermarriage between Mendiri and Kunan since the Pact of the Leaf, and especially since the joining of the families, has allowed for two separate lineages to continue within the House today: those who are descended from the Mendiri, and those who trace their parentage to the Kunan.  And today, though the family has one name and listing of assets, two subcultures are alive and well within the House. 

Familial pride, and respect to history, has a subtle but persistent affect on present MendiKu family members.  Granted, the union of the old families has created some crossover.  There are Mendiri descendents who wander in solitude, and Kunan-born, for example, with a passion for gambling.  There are also the very rare members with no traits of either old family.  However, most members are typical of their direct familial ancestors.  The Kunan family line, for instance, still produces an abundance of shamans, for some reason.

The majority of the family, also, go by the shared surname (ie. Ruis MendiKu).  A few members - and the Kunan descendents, with their facility for secrecy, are particularly fond of this - choose instead some bastardization of their old family name to call themselves, such as Nan (Kunan shortened), Irid (Mendiri shortened to diri, and spelled backwards), or Ukanli (Kunan shortened and scrambled, with additional letters).  Their quirkiness thus expressed, they may then live covertly, with no apparent association to the family as a whole - or they may remain overt and assume it as a middle or pen name.  It is forbidden, however, to call oneself Kunan or Mendiri as any part of one’s name.  In fact, the family history is seldom spoken of with those outside.  Those days are past, and despite quirks and individualities, unity comes first in modern times.

This tendency to live covertly is, most of the time, merely an eccentricity: the desire of some thuja-laiden Kunan descendents to wander anonymously - perhaps in the Forest - as they did in old times.  The MendiKu view it as a harmless expression of their spirituality.  At times, though, the practice has been used for another purpose: eyes and ears.  MendiKu is still, it must be remembered, half a family of ennobled merchants.  It has benefited them on occasion to seek knowledge of market trends they may not have learned otherwise.  No family member, however, speaks of this side of things.

Dress

The typical MendiKu harbors an extreme fondness for high-grade silk.  The delightful sensation to drug-enhanced touch is something few forget.  Most MendiKu can tell at a glance just how fine a given silk is, and covet the best like precious heirlooms.  Family members may dress in reds and blacks, to honor their family colors.  Women of the family wear a House signet pendant and or a ring, and men a ring: both are wrought from silver with a ruby encircled by interlocking vines.  Merchant employees of the House dress now in rainbow hues, the better to attract patrons of mind-altering substance.

Matings                                                                                                                                                                                        

HOME

The taking of mates by family members is only occasionally an arranged affair.  Members are encouraged to take other nobles into their affections, but unions with law-abiding commoners of fair prospect are not overly discouraged.  In an effort to keep the size of the family down, bastard children are seldom recognized.  If they are raised by the family, they are released or hired as employees on coming of age.  Only if a bastard was conceived by a partner of status does he or she stand a chance of carrying the MendiKu name.

Leadership and Special Roles

HOME

The Elders (Head of House, Advisor, and One other so defined)

Political needs at the time of the union of families required a formal balance of power in the newly-founded House.  The Elder couples of the Mendiri and Kunan gathered for mutual counsel on the matter, and decided that all four should lead the new family into the future.  This arrangement persists into the present.

MendiKu is governed by the chosen Elder couple or individual of each lineage.  Elders are selected by the descendents of their line, usually on the basis of being the oldest members still of sound mind.  If an unmated or widowed elf is chosen Elder, he or she shall govern alone of that lineage.  If a mated couple is selected, they shall stand side by side.

House MendiKu, accordingly, is led by two to four Elders at any given time.  All Elders are equal in status, with one exception: in times of two or four Elders, one among them is selected by all family members to act as Counsellor.  The Counsellor is accorded equal status with the other Elders until such a time as a disagreement may occur between them where both sides are evenly matched.  In this instance alone, the Counsellor has final say.  If there are three Elders, no Counsellor is chosen and the majority rules.

It is on the Elders to determine the course of actions affecting the House as a whole.  No other family member has the authority to, for instance, alter the shop prices on thuja, or strike up an alliance with another House.  The Elders themselves do not make such decisions individually unless circumstances are dire.

In all things, the word of an Elder is law for the family and staff.  This is irregardless of their heritage or yours.  To act against their wishes is to risk disinheritment and a disgraceful release from the House, at the least.

The Master/Mistress of Trade

This person is in charge of the day-to-day business affairs of the House.  As such, they must oversee the accuracy of accounting, minor trade negotiations, the supply and storage of goods, and the promotion of product that ensures an increase in sales.  He or she is also responsible for the observation of market trends, and the reporting of major concerns or proposals to the Elders.

This Master or Mistress is selected by the Elders for the merits of a sharp mind and an easy, approachable diplomatic style.  It is possible for a highly-regarded and trusted commoner - a lifetime employee of the House - to be elected to this role, but that is rare.

Some major decisions involve communications with parties outside the House, and for these talks, the Master or Mistress is often chosen to negotiate.  If the nature of the topic is particularly delicate or specific, the Elders may choose another for the role at their discretion.

The Master/Mistress of Crops

This person is in charge of the day-to-day care of MendiKu crops, as well as the productivity of the few crafters employed by the House for the making of pipes and other accessories.  It is his or her responsibility to ensure that all House products are of superior quality, in good supply, and ready for shipment to its shops once harvested or crafted.  This individual usually resides at the Harvest House to be as close as possible to field operations.

The Master or Mistress of Crops is selected by the Elders for the merits of product knowledge, patience and attention to detail.  It is possible for a highly-regarded and trusted commoner - a lifetime employee of the House - to be elected to this role, but that is rare.

The Lord/Lady of Ceremonies

From time to time, House MendiKu gives its popularity a boost (and potentially swells the number of substance addicts) with a grand party designed to please and impress the masses from every station of life.  It is the duty of the Lord or Lady of Ceremonies to oversee these sporadic events, from the first preparations to the last sweep of the clean-up broom.  In addition to the gathering of food, drink and intoxicants for consumption, he or she must see to the invitations, decorations, collection and bestowing of knick-knacks for gifts or prizes, announcement and greeting of honored guests, entertainment, peace-keeping, lodging arrangements (if necessary), and the subsequent restoration of the estate to its pristine condition.

On those occasions when the House is asked (or volunteers) to oversee the entertainment at public festivals or other events, this Lord or Lady must organize the talent and play the good host, announcing each act as it appears.

The Lord or Lady of Ceremonies is selected by the Elders primarily for the merit of personal charm and flamboyance, and secondarily for good organizational skills.  It is not possible for a commoner to attain this position.

The Lord/Lady of Archives

House MendiKu maintains a body of recorded knowledge dating from the earliest days of the family Kunan to the present.  While far lesser than the library of the venerable House Sole, it is nonetheless significant, and receives meticulous care.  It is the charge of the Lord or Lady of Archives to oversee the preservation of ancient materials, and the addition of new ones.  It is also his or her task to retrieve recordings from the archives as requested by individuals authorized to see them.  This Lord or Lady is often a prolific writer, though the choice of subject matter among those who have held this role has varied considerably.

The clandestine nature of certain information kept by the House bestows this role with a secretive air.  While this Lord or Lady need take no pains to hide the practice of writing, he or she will not speak of holding this authoritive position, nor of any business pertaining to it, with those outside the family (including employees).  Nor will any family member do so, that no individual be risked unnecessarily for captive interrogation by hostile parties.

The Lord or Lady of Archives is selected by the Elders for the merits of writing ability, secrecy and attention to detail.  It is not possible for a commoner to attain this position.

Outline of the Present Roles

Head of House: Lord Maluchae MendiKu

Elder:  Lord Orval MendiKu

Master of Trade:  Lady Adora Reid MendiKu 

Master of Crops:  Lady Abigail Melinda MendiKu

Lord/Lady of Ceremonies:  Lady Haifa MendiKu

Lady of Archives:  Lord Stouvil MendiKu

Head of Security: Lord Lite Beacon MendiKu

Staff

Rather than paying exorbitant wages, MendiKu family members make it a practice to treat employees civilly - even at times with informal friendliness - and to offer sporadic rewards for good performance.  That the work is meaningful and environment courteous tends to bring a loyal, fun-loving staff to the table, one that promotes the ethic the family strives for.  In addition to pay, most employees receive such a quantity of thuja as they may desire for personal use - the positive affect of this on morale should not be underestimated.

HOME

House Staff

The House staff includes those employed in service of individual nobles and the estate: bodyguards, estate guards, House clerks, cooks, launderers, cleaners, and so on.  The family, with its botanical love and expertise, does most of its own gardening, but many other jobs are available.  The House Steward (called so regardless of gender) is in charge of all House staff and the day-to-day functioning of the estate.  In times of party preparations, this authority is shared with the Lord or Lady of Ceremonies.  The Lord or Lady of Archives makes use of some clerks as he or she sees fit.

Field Staff

The Field staff includes, essentially, everyone not in the House staff.  These positions range from field hands working the crops to the merchants and clerks of the shops.  Most of these report to the Master/Mistress of Crops, or to that of Trade.

Holdings

HOME

The Estates

The MendiKu main estate is located in the noble quarters.  It houses a lush grove, and so-called Herbarium, where a great variety of plantlife is tended by the botanically-minded among the family.  A smoking den and small guest house are among those facilities located off the grove.  Servants have their own quarters, which include a dormitory, and a sitting room for their own dining and leisure.  The Steward’s private quarters can be found nearby.

The central point of the estate is a grand hall, which is colorful and sweet-scented from an abundance of flowers refreshed every handful of days.  One of the visual marvels of the estate is the front hall, with its beautiful mosaics that display natural scenes in precise detail.  East of it lies the private sitting room of the Mendiri-line Elders, which they have graciously opened to all family members for use (but not to servants).  House staff - with the exception of the Steward and an employee he appoints for cleaning - are forbidden to enter the second floor; this is reserved for family use alone.

The family owns three other estates.  One, called the Harvestry House, is described below.  The other two are country estates: one in the Forest, and the other more distant across the lake.

The Land

The House owns vast, soil-rich land for crops in the farming community northwest of Tow’s city streets - more lands in sum than any other House, save for House Nicolo.  All the herbal (and animal) intoxicants it sells are nursed here with meticulous care.  In recent years a small portion of the land has been set aside by the Elders for the cultivation of colorful and strong-smelling flowers.  There has been some speculation as to the purpose of this.

Also present on the land is an estate known as the Harvestry House.  It is here that the preparation of herbs occurs prior to shipment; it is also the residence of field hands and specialists and, not surprisingly, the Master or Mistress of Crops.

The Shops                                                                                                                                                                                            

HOME

House MendiKu holds shops in the park and in the common quarter of Tow, they hold a small shop in Saelonna and a very large shop in Schae.  At present, another is in the planning, and may one day be found in a quiet, as yet undisclosed, location.  It may include a clinic maintained by House shamans.

Trade

One of the reasons for House MendiKu’s success in recent years is their abiding appreciation of the power of goodwill.  Family members - especially those of Mendiri lineage - understand the use of honey to draw the flies.  The House is a great supporter of all festivals and parties.  The favorite, of course, is the gawdy Festival of the Ancients, when the Empire purchases considerable quantities of intoxicants for public consumption.  MendiKu freely contributes a small percentage of this amount to the pool, and sometimes sees to the provision of entertainment - in music, storytelling or the like - for the populace.  In addition, the House gives any number of parties at their estate throughout the year.  Attendance at such events generally falls into one of three categories: nobles (all persons of status) only, nobles and any commoners they wish to invite only, or open invite to all.  The latter parties, in particular, have increased the popularity of the House among commoners.  They are expensive and held only as needs require.

At all times it must be remembered that leisure leads to indulgence, and indulgence leads to sales.  Therefore must a MendiKu promote leisurely indulgence in all peoples outside the House.  By the MendiKu belief, derived from the Mendiri practices of old, this is best done simply: by being good company, and by a genuine desire to share the pleasures of the sacred thing called life.

Created by Ezrie

Added to and edited by Alaire