The Five Merchant Families of Gax
The Free City of Gax is not ruled by a crown, council, or creed.
It is ruled by five merchant families, whose wealth, violence, secrets, and favors shape the city more surely than any law. Every contract, war, assassination, or magical breakthrough in Gax can be traced—eventually—back to one of these houses.
They compete openly, sabotage quietly, and cooperate only when annihilation is the alternative.
Together, they are known simply as The Five.
House Chevalier
Trade: Weapons, Military Contracts, Arcane Warfare
Crest: A golden lion rampant on deep blue
Reputation: Honor with teeth
House Chevalier supplies armies and wizardly battalions alike. Their foundries produce enchanted arms, siege engines, and spell-channeling armor. Their private academies train battle-mages who sell loyalty by contract.
They speak endlessly of honor and codes—then redefine both when profit demands it.
Chevalier prefers wars they can win, and sells weapons to both sides to ensure they do.
House Ceillini
Trade: Illicit Goods, Vice, Gambling, Smuggling
Crest: A silver branch on green
Reputation: Polite, patient, poisonous
Ceillini does not conquer markets—it corrupts them.
They control gambling dens, narcotics routes, forbidden luxuries, and black-market trade across Gax and beyond. Their ledgers are immaculate; their morality nonexistent.
Ceillini prefers long games. They are rarely seen at the center of scandals, yet almost always profit from them.
If something is illegal, addictive, or shameful—Ceillini already owns it.
House Chang
Trade: Magic, Artifacts, Relics, Esoteric Knowledge
Crest: A green dragon on amber
Reputation: Enlightened and terrifying
House Chang traffics in magic itself.
They buy, sell, study, and hoard artifacts—ancient and modern. Their vaults contain relics that should not exist and spells that should not be remembered. They fund expeditions into ruins, observatories, and forbidden sites.
Chang claims neutrality.
No one believes them.
Their scholars smile politely while deciding which truths should be buried.
House Bruce
Trade: Assassination, Mercenaries, “Problem Resolution”
Crest: A blue serpent on red
Reputation: Professional silence
House Bruce does not sell goods.
They sell outcomes.
Their assassins, spies, and mercenary companies are among the most reliable—and ruthless—in the world. Contracts are binding, prices are final, and betrayal is met with extinction.
Bruce rarely speaks in public councils. When they do, others listen.
If Bruce is involved, someone will die—and it will be tidy.
House O’Malley
Trade: Finance, Infrastructure, Arbitration
Crest: A golden triquetra on green
Reputation: Smiling knives behind the ledger
House O’Malley appears benign.
They manage banks, trade routes, warehouses, shipping contracts, and civic works. They host negotiations, underwrite expeditions, and “keep the peace” between the other families.
In truth, O’Malley profits from everyone’s conflict.
They are the glue holding Gax together—and the pressure point that could shatter it.
Balance of Power
The Five exist in a permanent cold war:
- Chevalier needs Chang’s enchantments
- Chang fears Bruce’s knives
- Bruce relies on Ceillini’s silence
- Ceillini launders through O’Malley
- O’Malley watches all of them
None can move openly against another without risking total collapse.
And so the city endures—rich, violent, and waiting.
Common Saying in Gax
“There are five ways to die in this city.
Pick the family you offend.”