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House of Neraka
Overview
The House of Neraka, known also as the House of Fire, is one of the three Houses of Gaia. Its animal sign is that of the Hellhound, its elemental focus Fire, with a secondary focus on Light. "Pride, Passion, and Freedom" is not only the House's motto, but also words the members of Neraka live by - even to a fault.
This House seems to pride itself on specialization, and there are known to be at least 5 clans within the House that all pass down their specific skills. To mention a few, there are known to be those who specialize in illusion, flame weaponry, and flame golems.
The House of Neraka is the easternmost of the three houses, headed by Club lux. He refuses to accept any title, but in hushed tones throughout Gaia he is known as the Devil of Neraka*, and more openly as the House's Protector.
"A long time ago, the rise of magical users led to conflict in Gaia as people began to hoard different magics. Some learned the ways, most were violently consumed by the powers they sought to control. In time, three came together, Ordek, Neraka, and Aether, and put an end to the conflict. The great tornado of fire and water brought an end to the chaos. Afterwards, the realm was divided. The three houses, Ordek, charged with guarding water, Neraka, charged with guarding the flame, Aether, charged with guarding the wind, and those with no house. The territories of the three households were established and remain to this day.
And together, the three houses further declared the entrance to Gaia to be sacred. A place of perpetual neutral ground, no matter what conflicts may erupt in time, however serious or petty. That it would be watched over, and that the safety of Gaia would be forever secured." - The History of Gaia's Houses
Not much is known about the House of Neraka by anyone outside of its membership, who are known to be very standoffish and have not given much insight. What little has been learned from them can sometimes be contradictory or cryptic at times, and may even be purposefully wrong to confuse outsiders to further conceal the inner workings of the House. What is known for sure is that the House has a strict hierarchy, but it is unknown whether that is based on physical strength, magical power, or some other form of prowess, as all of these have been referenced by the House's members. The true age of the House - of either its existence as an order or physically - is also unknown, but it has been rumored to have existed since the formation of the island itself. It has also been rumored, although never to the member's faces, that even the members of the House do not know its history. It is possible that it is known only to a chosen few who are the most loyal and powerful, but it may be just as likely that no one knows, or even that its members don't consider it important due to one of their oldest and most well known tenets: to live in the moment and never look back.
Just as with the House's history, there is very little truly understood about the House's leadership consists of. Some say that the leadership aside from the Protector of the House changes frequently, while others say that it has seen no change for a decade due to the uncontested strength the leaders possess and their loyalty to the House itself. What is known is that any member of the House may have their position replaced if they lose a trial by combat, even the Protector, and that these trials happen frequently, which may be why many members are seen with scars on their rare appearances outside of their homes.
The Ritual of Cleansing Flames
As with all the Houses of Gaia, most members do not have innate magical abilities, or they have very limited abilities if they do. The source of their power comes from what they call the Immortal Pyre, a fire deep in the caves of Gaia's mountains. It is said that, when a member first is considered worthy of its power, they are brought down into the tunnels followed by a crowd of many other members (the sound of this part of the ceremony can be heard for miles due to the acoustics of the caves) where they then recite a pledge to their House and, after swearing on the purity of Fire (which to the House's members is the closest thing to true divinity) they announce to the House their true motivation for possessing these powers. Whether or not the House's members believe them or agree with their motivation, the member then enters the Pyre to be judged by it. If they survive the Pyre*, they are imbued with the magic of the House, and then all members who find fault with their motivations or find their stated motivations to be false have the chance to challenge the member to a trial by combat, with the winner choosing whether or not to invoke one of the ritual's allowed punishments: banishment from the House, or denial of the Pyre for up to three lunar cycles. Once this ceremony has been completed, the new members may then visit the Pyre at their own discretion at any time to replenish their magic, which begins to fade after a lunar cycle without entering the Pyre's presence and ceases completely if the member forsakes the House of Neraka or if they do not enter the Pyre's presence for two to three lunar cycles.
Let it be known that many of these beliefs are contrived from other things that are known about the House, or are not confirmed but have been learned in part or in whole from members of the House
What matters is what happens in the moment, not your past
All people (even non-members) have the right to do whatever makes them happy, as long as it doesn't interfere with the same right of another person
Fire is cleansing and pure
Passion, Pride, and Freedom - like Fire - only cause harm when mishandled
Because Fire is pure, it shall be used to test the purity of Neraka's members
The restriction of freedom beyond what is absolutely necessary is tyranny, and tyrants deserve to burn
The Immortal Pyre will burn the impure, just as the element of Fire itself shall eventually burn away all impurity
Footnotes
*This name seems to be derived from the man's fighting style, where his is said to craft himself an armor of fire which gives him the appearance of a fiery devil. It also may be due to the rumors that he controls and/or consorts with demons, or perhaps just from his demeanor
*There have been no recorded deaths to the Immortal Pyre, but it is believed to be possible, and the lack of a record of the event's occurrence does not rule out the possibility it has happened many times, as many members of the House cease contact with the outside world even if they have survived the ritual.
