The House of Chi

The House of Chi is a more recent addition to Amaki society. It was started by a group of Amaki wishing to begin an official schooling program for mages of all types. What started as a small group of a dozen wizards has grown into a large house capable of repelling almost any invasion due to it's vast magical resources.

The school was, and still is, a major landmark in New Babylon. A great, black tower of stone, glowing with magical energy. Housed inside are hundreds of apprenticed Amaki and thousands of house members who teach the apprentices and see to house security and other affairs. The House of Chi holds an incredible amount of magical knowledge and information relating to the rest of the world. The House has several missions, some diplomatic, other exploratory, around the world and is one of the first groups to learn of the empires of Japan and Australia.

Other missions have been sent to Russia, Europe and Africa. All of which have yielded frightening results. A report from Russia described the demon hordes of China and the Khans of Mongolia (see Rifter #6 for information on the Khan's of Mongolia) and what was reported has frightened the House of Chi into silence. Other information gathered from Africa tells of the battle of the Gathering of Heroes against the Four Horsemen and of Pharoh Rama-Set, again, leaving the House of Chi eerily silent. They have released some, but still very little compared to what they do know, about Europe, but refuse to hand over a large portion.

This has led many other Houses to fund spies into the Tower of Chi. None have reported back, causing even greater concern and curiousity.

In reality, the House of Chi knows extensive information about many areas of the world, including Australia and other areas remaining from the scrutiny of the rest of the world. They are aware of the Gargoyle and Brodkil Empires, but only suspect the existence of a third power. They are fully aware of the demons that plague Russia and the warlords that lay claim to the rule. In China, they have seen the unspeakable horrors and the demons that rule the Orient. In Japan, they know of the Oni, and the Republic, but remain ignorant about the Empire as they have not succeeded in placing agents within the Empire's borders. As to Australia, they know of the "Outbackers" and their culture, but have yet to penetrate the walls surrounding Sydney and Melbourne. The Coalition States and the New German Republic are both frightening in their attitudes toward all non-humans. They are quickly becoming as hated as the Cordobans.

The House of Chi is currently led by Ignatius Starlight, a powerful Conjurer. Ignatius is one of the few Amaki to have traveled to North America and studied Conjuration. He is also quite intelligent and tolerant of most. Many believe that this will be his downfall, and likely at the hands of the House of Lunas.. Ignatius tries to recruit apprentices and teachers from all areas of study, including Necromancy and Summoning. The House of Chi tries to keep good relations with all other Houses, but Ignatius is beginning to fall into a mindset that few can be trusted. This is caused by the number of spies that are discovered. Again, this could be his downfall as he is trusting the wrong people (the House of Lunas in particular).

The Tower of Chi is a great landmark in New Babylon. It stands as a solitary, black stone tower in the district of the noble houses. Windows can be seen about the outside, however, the seem to be covered with black and impenetrable to the naked eye. The doors are protected by wards and traps to keep out any unwanted visitors. Traps can also be found throughout the courtyard that surrounds the tower. These traps constantly change locations so it is impossible to memorize one path across. Only members of the House of Chi are able to sense where the traps are located and navigate their way through.

The interior of the tower is impressive, with giant tapestries and works of art from the Amaki homeworld and the pre-Rifts Earth. Libraries can be found on the various levels, however, people wonder how the volumes are held. The room containing the volumes always seem bigger than the floor space of the tower. In reality, the libraries are all dimensional pockets or astral realms created by temporal wizards and astral mages.

House Population

Total Population: 8,900

• • Ley Line Walkers: 34%

• • Warlocks: 12%

• • Biomancers: 8%

• • Bounty Hunters (Infantry Soldiers): 6%

• • Diabolists: 5%

• • Summoners: 5%

• • Necromancers: 4%

• • Techno-Wizards: 4%

• • Duelists: 2%

• Others: 20% (others make up no more than 3% of the total)

Relations with Other Houses

House of the Sphinx: Tension has risen between these two houses has risen recently after an incident involving some Sphinx spies and an attempt to acquire the House of Chi's information on China and Africa. Though Ignatius has not completely broken relations, he no longer allows members of the House of the Sphinx to enter the Tower of Chi.

House of Lunas: Ignatius keeps this house close in order to gain as much mystical knowledge as it can. Unfortunately, his alliance has not yielded much. Still, he allies himself with Kindrago and the House of Lunas frequently when the Cordobans think to launch an offensive or the Larhold attempt to invade.

House of the Leopard: Ignatius admires the House of the Leopard and their psychic ability. This is also what frightens him about the House. He avoids conflict with them, but will not sign any formal agreements, nor will he allow any members of House Leopard into the tower. It is far too easy for them to steal information as it is.

House of the Gear: Ignatius has struck an alliance with the House of the Gear in order to gain Gizmoteer devices, in return allowing the House of the Gear access to Chi's techno-wizards. The alliance has been profitable thus far, but the items are merely being stockpiled at this point. Ignatius has no reason to use them. The House of Chi has recently commissioned a large number of Gizmoteer devices to increase the security of the Tower of Chi.

House of the Crescent Moon: Ignatius is starting to despise this House almost as much as the House of Lunas. The Crescent Moons are constantly attempting to force Ignatius to release the information that is known about China and Africa. The House of Chi keeps up channels between the two Houses, but still refuses to give out any information.

House of Swords: Ignatius views the House of Swords with respect, both for the warriors psychic and combat ability. He is a bit paranoid about the leaders of the House and finds it curious that he continually discovers psychically talented Amaki in the libraries of magic.