House Vernius
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House Vernius is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They are featured in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
According to Dune: House Atreides, the family crest of House Vernius is a purple-and-copper helix.
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[edit] History of House Vernius
[edit] Origins
At the time of the Prelude to Dune series, House Vernius is one of the great houses of the Imperium, the feudal interstellar empire that forms the backdrop to the Dune novels. This house is the ruling power on the planet Ix. The main industry on Ix is the production of machines that continuously test the bounds of the precepts set down by the Butlerian Jihad. The rival of House Vernius is House Richese, which also specializes in machinery, but doesn't create controversial machinery. The strongest ally of House Vernius is House Atreides; their friendship began when the Earl Dominic Vernius and Duke Paulus Atreides fought together in the Ecaz Revolt around 10,130 A.G.
Dominic Vernius had been a military ally to 80th Padishah Emperor Elrood Corrino IX in the Ecazi rebellion, around the time Elrood's concubine Shando Balut gave birth to the Emperor's illegitimate son (who was named Tyros Reffa, and secretly adopted by House Taligari). Dominic and Shando subsequently fell in love; tired of Shando but not knowing of her relationship with Dominic, Elrood granted her request to be released from his service. Dominic and Shando were soon married in 10,138 A.G., and Elrood was furious. Dominic and Shando would later have two children together, Rhombur and Kailea.
Dominic recounted the situation in Dune: House Atreides:
But it was there that Dominic had met Shando, one of the Emperor's many concubines. At the time, Elrood had been married to no one ... The Emperor continued to keep a retinue of beautiful women, though primarily to maintain appearances, since he rarely took Shando or any of his other concubines to bed ... Dangerously, Dominic and Shando had fallen in love, but had kept their relationship secret for many months. It was clear that Elrood had lost interest in her after five years, and when she asked to be freed from service and to leave the Imperial Court, Elrood — though perplexed — had complied ... Elrood, of course, would never take her as his wife ... As soon as she was freed from Imperial service, Dominic Vernius married her, and they had completed their vows with minimal pomp and ceremony, but airtight legality ... Upon hearing that someone else wanted her, Elrood's male pride suddenly made him change his mind — but it was too late. He had resented Dominic ever since, feeling like a cuckold, paranoid about what bedroom secrets Shando might be sharing with her husband.
Elrood himself recalled Shando in Dune: House Atreides:
In his mind's eye Elrood envisioned the lovely Shando, and recalled their most intimate moments together, decades ago ... For two years she had been his favorite concubine ... Small-boned and petite, she had a fragile porcelain-doll appearance, which she had cultivated during her years on Kaitain; but Elrood also knew she had a commonsense strength and resiliency deep inside her ... Being a commoner, however, Shando simply wasn't suitable for him to marry. It had not even been an option. The heads of royal Houses rarely wed their concubines, and an Emperor never did. Dashing young Dominic, with his wiles and flattery, had gotten Shando to talk herself free, to trick Elrood, and then had spirited her away to Ix, where he had married her in secret ... Everything according to law. Despite his petty jealousies, Elrood couldn't claim Shando had been adulterous, not by any legal standard.
[edit] Prelude to Dune
House Vernius welcomed the young Leto Atreides I, son of Duke Paulus, to Ix to study politics with Dominic and Shando's son Prince Rhombur. They also hoped for a match between Leto and their daughter, Kailea.
Leto had this impression of Shando in Dune: House Atreides:
Her finely chiseled features, delicately pointed nose, and creamy skin suffused her appearance with a regal beauty that would have shone through even the most drab of garments. She looked slight and delicate at first glance, but carried a toughness and resilience about her.
Years later in 10,154 A.G., Elrood was coaxed by Tleilaxu Master Ajidica to fund a research program on artificial spice, called Project Amal. House Vernius' homeworld of Ix seemed the perfect location, owing to the presence of science pavilions and the substantial income from their Spacing Guild heighliner production. Elrood had no qualms about displacing and possibly destroying Dominic and his family, whom he felt had humiliated him.
The Tleilaxu were able to create an uprising in the suboid working class, which quickly overwhelmed the complacent Vernius forces. House Vernius went renegade, and the two heirs to the Vernius fief escaped due to a small rescue contingent created by Duke Paulus, who granted them sanctuary on Caladan with House Atreides.
Prince Rhombur Vernius sent limited aid to the resistance on Ix, but the presence of the Emperor's Sardaukar made any assistance difficult to render. Dominic went into hiding on the planets Arrakis and Salusa Secundus, but was discovered on Arrakis by Sardaukar. The base he was residing at was assaulted, and in order to take down as many Sardaukar with him as he could, he ignited a stone burner, a forbidden atomic weapon that he was planning to use to destroy the planet Kaitain, location of the Imperial throne.
Years earlier, Lady Shando was located on Bela Tegeuse by the Sardaukar and brutally executed. Eventually, Prince Rhombur began to show more of an interest in aiding his people. His sister Kailea Vernius became the concubine of Leto, now Duke Atreides, and bore him an heir, Victor. The Duke hoped to secure a political marriage, and so was unable to wed Kailea and secure her son's place as an heir. An assassination attempt on the Duke devised by Kailea inadvertently killed Victor, and severely injured both Duke Leto and her brother Rhombur. Though Rhombur survived, his body was rendered an almost lifeless lump. Kailea killed herself after hearing the news of her son's death.
Suk Doctor Wellington Yueh was hired by Duke Leto to give Rhombur Vernius cybernetic body part replacements. After recovering, he was able to draft a plan for re-taking his lost homeworld, relying upon the Atreides army and the downtrodden Ixians. The Tleilaxu quickly failed in their defense and lost all of their research on the artificial spice. The Ixian ambassador was able to preserve a sperm sample from Rhombur's dead half-brother, Tyros Reffa, to secure an heir for the recovered House Vernius.
In Dune: House Atreides it is mentioned that certain Monet and Gauguin paintings are owned by House Vernius, and hang in the Grand Palais at Ix.
[edit] Vernius family tree
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House Vernius |
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Earl Dominic Vernius d. 10,174 A.G. |
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Lady Shando Balut Vernius |
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Elrood Corrino IX 9,999 - 10,156 A.G. |
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| Rhombur Vernius |
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Tessia |
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Kailea Vernius d. 10,174 A.G. |
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Leto Atreides I |
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Tyros Reffa d. 10,175 A.G. |
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Victor Atreides 10,168 - 10,174 A.G. |
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