Editing Chaos Rising:What is a House

A Major House is more then just its ruling family. It is state on its own.

Each Major House has its own Court and its own laws. So the Laws of the Courts of Chaos come first.

Major Houses reign over several shadows, some of them or parts of them forming their Ways. All of the Major House have at last on Primal Plane among their Ways.

They have retainers, staff member that work in the Ways, soldier, residents of their shadows, demons serving them.

The Royal House also holds this kind of Power. All the Ways and Shadows of the extinct House were given over to the King of Chaos.

A Minor Houses does not have an own Court, they have Residents in the Courts of Chaos and hold powers over one shadow or sometimes over several shadows, given to them by the Sovereign. They also do not have their own Laws and have to follow the Laws of the Courts of Chaos.

The Shadows near the Courts drift around, drifting into the Black Zone, drifting inside the Black Zone, to the Courts and back and so on. Shadows that do not have a Black Zone Treaty are free for the taking.

And that is how Houses enlarge their Power Base.

Adding a Shadow to the Power Base of a House is a time consuming effort, not every shadow dweller is overly excited to become subject to a Lord of Chaos.

Wars have to be lead, permanent pathways have to be established, the shadow has to be connected permanently to the Courts, preventing it from drifting way.

For Minor Houses, having no Logrus, this is more difficult but still doable with the means of Magic.

Several Minor House have aggressively enlarged their power base during the reign of Swayvill.