House Vilas-Lobo
The Birth of House Vilas-Lobo
House Vilas-Lobo draws its bloodline back to House Lobos-Reais an old Terran bloodline that has long drawn its blood from the Southern Europan Hives on the north-western peninsular ridges of the Mid-Terranean Dust Basin and the Hives of Hy Brasil surrounded by the petrified corpse of the long-dead jungles of that region. Few in the family could point back to an exact age, but there are records of the bloodline as far back as the creation of the Imperium and the family carefully maintains this heritage.
Though its millennia of history has earned it considerable political power, the strength of the Lobos-Reais is built on flesh and slavery. Though it relies upon human misery as much as any slaver in the Imperium it is said that the House has long kept mutant and abhuman helots as the workforces for its various subsidiary operations and is particularly talented in cultivating and breeding such genestock - such is the strength of this reputation and its bonds with the Magi-Biologis of the Martian Cult, that many Houses buy their labourers from bloodlines cultivated by House Lobos-Reais.
It was this that drew Jacinta Durovera to the Cadet-House of this Ancient Bloodline - House Vilas-Lobo, when she was mustering her forces for the Prosperitas Crusade. Though the backing of Terra meant she had the forces of the Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum at her disposal, the former Rogue Trader was well aware that she had been given a handful of expeditionary forces by her masters, and reached into her own pockets to finance an expansion of her forces. This led to her entering into a agreement with the Vilas-Lobo branch of House Lobos-Reais, extending an extensive line of credit with them in exchange for vast and somewhat unrealistic promises to the Vilas-Lobo of what awaited them in the Prosperitas Sector.
Whatever her offer, it was enough to convince the masters of the main House to approve the Vilas-Lobo's agreement granting the cadet-branch a chance to establish themselves in this new Sector opening up before them. This marked the birthplace of House Vilas-Lobo within Prosperitas Sector and it has remained one of the most powerful Houses in the Sector Nobility since as legions of Abhuman Helots marched to war with the forces of the Prosperitas Crusade.
This relationship, did not last, what began as an agreement quickly soured as the Vilas-Lobos found the return on their investment from the Crusade too slow, Jacinta had offered the bounty of the first worlds to many of her other allies and creditors. They soon became one of the biggest thorns in her side, withdrawing their abhuman legions at the worst possible moments with demands of payment she was forced to scrabble to meet. This fostered the beginnings of the long-standing hostility that the House maintains with House Durovera to the current day, the Vilas-Lobo still consider the Durovera's unreliable and liars, and the Duroveras them greedy mercenaries.
The House of Jackals
As the Prosperitas Crusade began to offer little returns for the House the Vilas-Lobo began to look for alternative ways to lay claim to the resources they had been promised, on worlds like Bachian IV they used their families longstanding mastery of flesh to seed worlds that could not support unadapted human life with biologically altered and bionically augmented abhuman helots, turning worlds that no other could adapt into profitable enterprises for the House. Perhaps more notoriously it lay claim to failing inhabited worlds conquered by the Crusade, like Korimesta simply to slowly strip them of valuables and resources before, as in Korimesta's case, selling the rule to the planet to another House, just another corpse-world on the path to total collapse as occurred on Korimesta after it rebelled against the robbing of its resources.
This behaviour has earned it the epithet ‘House of Jackals’ for it is said that the Vilas-Lobos will claim any corpse that others are unwilling to claim. This would be a dire insult if the House took offence at such things, but the typical Lobos-Reais Noble is above such things, they enjoy a scandal, considering themselves above such petty concerns as their peers' approval. The ability to survive on inhospitable worlds, is considered a trademark of the Houses attitudes and perseverance.
In recent years the House's relationship with the arcane genetic arts it has prospered from has grown only stronger. In 231.M41, a genophage tailored to the Houses biology ripped through the House, whether sanctioned, carried out by a rival or a botched attempt to wipe out the ruling line and allow another line to take power within the family is unknown for the details of the incident have been rigorously suppressed. But the aftermath's effect on the family was profound - it killed hundreds of the family and many more touched with their blood - those few scions that survived, did so by turning to the same genetic practices they’d performed on abhumans for generations to adapt and survive.
The quest to augment their bodies to survive, brought about significant changes within the mentality of the House, it became the accepted practice that only the fittest survive (leading some to murmur that the survivors were behind the genophage) to this end, House Scions are expected to be able to prove their value to the House, the line of succession is not determined by the Houses leadership but by the strength of the candidates. It is an expectation placed on all scions that the strength of the bloodline is determined by those who can survive - testing and probing the defences of those above you in line is not something underhand but a ritual and formalised practice within the House. Murder is not a sin, but a glorified method by which the House ensures that its line of inheritance is comprised of only the strongest scions of the House a form of deadly ritualised testing of the bloodline.
Because of this drive for strength, few of the House are born through natural means, as most are born from artificial wombs, and heavily tailored to ensure they fill a place and a purpose within the House. But it does not stop here, all Nobles attempt to set cultural trends and remain fashionable, as appearance is everything in an Imperium that is obsessed with pageantry and celebration. House Vilas-Lobo takes that to its furthest logical extreme. This House is known for not only setting fashion trends, but also pushing the envelope of what is acceptable within polite society. To House Lobos-Reais, the body is just another accessory to be changed and modified at a whim, and their Scions discard faces like others discard finery.
The discomfort the House's embrace of geno-manipulation causes the Imperium frequently attracts unwanted attention, but the House has endured several investigations from multiple Imperial institutions into its genetic purity, and, each time, was found to be completely clear of taint. The House thrives on causing a good scandal: after all, being scandalous means being noticed; being noticed means being talked about and being talked about means one’s fame grows and spreads throughout the courts of the Imperium.
Only adding to the controversy is the Houses decision to mingle with the native Ruwwad group in the Prosperitas Sector, while other Houses of their storied connection to a Terran bloodline have quested to remain pure the aftermath of the genophage on the House left them profoundly in need of scions - to this end rather than mingle with a equal or more powerful House, the House turned to the upper classes of the Ruwwadi people in which it saw a great deal of strength, combined with the cultural appreciation for science and medicine amongst the Ruwwad it seemed to the House that such a mingling would only strengthen their line, not thin their blood. This has led to the Houses systematic assimilation of upper societal echelons of the few Ruwwad worlds that survived the loss of Subsector Tenebris to warp storms and furthermore it is more than common to see the family draw its first names from both Ruwwadi and the Iberial roots of the bloodline.
Recent History and Conflicts with House Durovera
In 588.M41 a new 'Dominatus' rose to the head of House Vilas-Lobo, this was Śikārī (Si-ka-ri) Vilas-Lobo - this was not, for once in the history of the Prosperitas Sector, an unexpected change. Śikārī had long been seen to be the obvious inheritor of the rulership when the then-Dominata of the House was no longer able to defend her place, it was only a matter of her faltering. Ironically for a Vilas-Lobo, the previous Dominata was considered a more stable and peaceful creature a firm hand, but a fair one. Śikārī, on the other hand, was always considered something of a monster - one who kept to the Houses 'new' ways fanatically. When Śikārī Vilas-Lobo 'mercefully' slit the throat of his Aunt, it was the beginning of a significant shift in the Houses attitudes.
Rising to power during the rule of the Governor-Warmaster Armelius Durovera Dominatus Śikārī immediately marked himself as an aggressor when his House pressed the Rogue Traders of House Majid seizing control of many of their assets, many violently. This might have resulted in a Civil War in the Prosperitas Sector had House Majid not befallen a terrible betrayal from within and been nearly annihilated to the point it no longer posed any challenge to the Vilas-Lobos. With its biggest rival in the regions it controls tightly in Subsector Secundus gone, the House turned its attention to solidifying its power. The misfortune that claimed House Monforte shortly after the Majids own misfortunes may have been a happy coincidence as it eliminated the second rival to solidify power in the Subsector - but dark rumours that these events were orchestrated in some way by the Househave never been dismissed as they conveniently tell a story that keeps the minor Houses of the Sector wary of ever daring to cross the Vilas-Lobo.
In the the aftermath of Armelius Durovera's 'death' the House only grew more aggressive as the Sector Throne was disputed by one who had turned her back on it, Hermione Durovera. Given the two Houses long-standing grudges with each other it wasn't long before relations between it and House Durovera degraded and since 594.M41 a series of tit-for-tat Toll Wars with its rival House have played out. Though these have subsided with the High Lords' recognition of Hermione's right to the Sector Governorship and the appointment of Warmaster Khan I the tension between the two Houses remains volatile. Rumours began to circulate from mid 594.M41 that the House had made an alliance of sorts with House Ruttyer, backed up with the House of Jackals' choice to grant House Ruttyer a potentially right to execute its claim to the Sector's charter for movement of human and abhuman cargo once held by house Monforte.
Though Hermione Durovera might well control the Throne for now, years of neglect by her forebears in the House have diminished its resources beyond the considerable Rogue Trader fleet she has maintained in her wandering years and she has little roots in the Sector compared to the Vilas-Lobo. The House of the Jackals have made it clear that it is the knife at her throat, and when she falls, they will be there to pick over her corpse.
It is ironic that were Śikārī less of a fanatic devoted to his cause, the two rulers of the Houses might be ironically equals in their ruthless desire. Of course anyone wise can see that the conflict between the two Houses has always been fostered by others playing their historic tensions off against each other, because nobody wants to be under the ruthless heel of a Vilas-Lobo/Durovera alliance.
Notable Nobles of House Vilas-Lobo
Dominatus Śikārī (Si-ka-ri) Vilas-Lobo is the Master of the House of Jackals. Śikārī, like most of the House, has been subject to accusations of genetic subversion since he was first decanted from a Vilas-Lobo genevat. A reclusive figure, raised by his family on the rigs surrounding Bachian IV, Śikārī ascended to the rank of Master of the House in 582.M41 when he killed his predecessor in one of the infamous blood duels of the House, after deeming his predecessor to be weakening the House. Since becoming the leader of the House of Jackals, Śikārī has expanded the House’s interests and fortunes beyond its mining and fleshtrading interests, building an impressive fleet capable of competition with the more trade-focused Houses, and winning lucrative access to the Forges of Naximus Prime, the first Imperial House in five hundred years to successfully do so.
Lord Śikārī is known for being a ruthless creature, a requirement of all Vilas-Lobo Scions should they wish to survive the relentless internal purges of the House, and to date has staved off multiple assassination attempts, including three from his own daughters. With the ongoing civil war between the Houses of the Prosperitas Sector following Hermione Durovera’s coup of her House, Lord Śikārī has been ferocious in asserting power over the trailing regions of Subsector Tertius and Subsector Primus, positioning his House as one of the strongest challengers to House Durovera gaining dominance and taking the title of ‘Dominatus’ in the process.
Governor Mindinha Vilas-Lobo is the Planetary Governor of Bachian IV. Mindinha has struggled against local agitation within the abhuman workforce of the planet. As the sixth Governor of the planet in a decade she is aware of the dangers of controlling the lucrative mining world for her House. Insurgent workers may kill her if she treads wrong; if she fails at her duties it is just as likely that the Master of the House of Jackals will expect her to fall on her sword (quite literally).