House Verditius
One of the oldest Houses of the original Order of Hermes, House Verditius fell out of favor during the seventeenth century, eking out an existence among the rabble of Ex Miscellanea.
Since the Avatar Storm, however, an alliance with the younger mages of House Thig have lead to a reinvigoration and restoration of the House as one of the Great Houses of Hermes.
Paradigm
Lord Verditius was not the most powerful mage within the Order, but one of the most competent enchanters and wonder-makers. Verditius magic is time consuming and intricate, requiring hours, days, or even months of preparation. Each component (of which there are many) has to be just so, requiring intense phases of preparation for each spell and each created artifact. This focus on detail, however, ensured that House Verditius never really learned to experiment with magic in the way the other Houses did, resulting in numerous of their former priced inventions to become obsolete. With the union with House Thig, Verditius has discovered a new field of expertise: Information technology. Applying their mode of thought to the modern expressions, House Verditius has accepted that Information and Technology are, in itself, unchanging, with only their expression adapting to conform the current age. Through Knowledge, a craftsman could elevate the ordinary and base into something sublime and wonderful, granting magic permanence in the world. Numerous Iron Children work to bring modern technologies into their purview, reinterpreting them according to Hermetic principles and utilizing their potential.
In addition to the Order's specialty Sphere of Forces, House Verditius also specialises in Matter and Correspondence. Prime is also important to them as it allows the permanent enchantment of artifacts. None of the other Spheres are particularly favoured or disfavoured, as the spells and weavings that a Verditius might want to bind to an object can be extremely varied.
History
Lord Verditius heeded the call of Bonisagus and Trianoma and was one of the Founders of the Order of Hermes. Venerable and ancient, the House cultivated an image of aloofness, staying out of Hermetic politics in order to focus solely on their craft. Most preferred to isolate themselves in Horizon realms and special Sancta, than facing the world outside. During their apprenticeships, however, each Verditius was obliged to travel the world to gather ingredients for his masters use. During one of these occasions, a young Verditius, Lorenzo Golo, discovered the Kitab Al-Alacir in 1171. He left his House to found House Golo, dedicated to the study of the tome he had discovered, and later left the Order in its entirety to focus solely on the book.
With the shifting Consensus, House Verditius became more and more isolated. Since they had next to no political clout, the House had little influence on the Order during the time of the Grand Convoctaion. Due to the new emnity with the Order of Reason, the craft of House Verditius was viewed with suspicion. During the Industrial Revolution in the 1600s, Hermetic Masters accused House Verditius of complicity with the enemy. The House was censured and 'demoted' to House Ex Miscellanea. Numerous members defected, joining the Order of Reason out of spite. Their influence later aided the formation of the Sons of Ether. [1]
The remaining members of the House practiced their old arts, becoming little more than glorified toymakers whose inventions had little use for mages in the world dominated by a technocratic Consensus. Known among the Order for their sardonicism, cynicism, pride and seclusiveness, House Verditius seemed to have been consigned to an existence on the side-lines.
Culture
House Verditius are the Order's wonder-crafters. When the Order was first founded, it was mages from Verditius who crafted the Hermetics' magical swords and dragon-summoning amulets. As science advanced Verditius failed to keep up and most of their magical artifacts fell prey to Disbelief, rendering them useless. Now, with the addition of "fresh blood" from House Thig, House Verditius is turning it's knowledge to creating enchanted guns, magical computers and mystical vehicles.
