Editing House Amaris

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{{InfoBoxHouse
| image               = 
| name                = House Amaris
| titles              = President of the [[Rim Worlds Republic]]
| founded             = 
| died out            = [[2779]]
| affiliation         = [[Rim Worlds Republic]]
| cadet lines         = 
}}
'''House Amaris''', the successor to the Rowe/Durant family, was the dynastic ruling house of the [[Rim Worlds Republic]].  Lords of House Amaris (or related families) ruled the Rim Worlds Republic between [[2463]] and [[2575]], then again from [[2596]] to [[2779]].


==Quote==
{{quote|The universal scholar would be hard pressed to find a worse collection of self-involved, sadistic tyrants than those of House Amaris.  Not only did they damn themselves by their collective hatred of Humanity, but by their actions, they damned us as well.
--passage from ''Black Eagles Stained with Blood: A History of the Amaris Family'', by [[Gordon Ballantre]], Decameron Press, [[Lackhove]], [[2955]]<ref name=Psb52>[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|''The Periphery'']], p. 52</ref>}}

==Origins==
The founding member of House Amaris was [[Terens Amaris]], a [[Terran Hegemony]] intelligence operative investigating an attempt on the life of the [[Director-General]] [[Jacob Cameron]] of the [[Terran Hegemony]].  Terens and her husband, [[David Chi Wong]], subsequently emigrated to the Rim Worlds Republic to continue the investigation, where she befriended and (is believed to have) had a love affair with [[First Consul of the Republic]] [[Heather Durant]].  In [[2463]], the heirless First Consul transferred power to Terens and her descendants.<ref name=TPp21>''The Periphery'', p. 21</ref>

==Traits==

====Common====
Like the previous dynastic ruling house of the Periphery realm, the Rowe/Durant line, House Amaris is noteworthy for its terrible villains and its progressive heroes.  Yet all Amaris lords (on record) between approximately [[2550]] and [[2780]], both enlightened and treacherous, tended towards the traits listed below (traits are listed most common to least common)<ref>[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|''The Periphery'']], pp. 15-19, 21, 23-26, 42-47, 50, 52-57</ref>:

* paranoia
* pragmatism
* arrogance
* jealousy
* resentment
* two-faced behavior
* cunning
* ambition

====Rare====
Though rarer, very villainous members of House Amaris also featured these traits:<ref>[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|''The Periphery'']], pp. 15-16, 45-47, 50, 52-57</ref>
* sadism
* Machiavellian intrigue

====Summary====
With the Amaris ties to the [[Terran Hegemony]], Amaris rulers always maintained (at least a facade of) cordial relations with the Director-General of the Terran court.  It seems implicit that the dual Terran/Apollonian citizenship of Amaris Lords may well have contributed to the problem; the Amaris arrogance may stem from a belief the line is "better" than other Periphery lords and denizens because of this Terran connection, on equal footing with Great Lords of the Inner Sphere.  The fact that the Amaris line was not treated in the same esteem led to quite a bit of jealousy and resentment; this resentment became a festering wound after [[Gregory Amaris]] required [[Star League]] intervention during the [[Reunification War]].

Another trait of the history of the house is violence and instability.  After the [[Reunification War]], only three Republican governments were able to transition bloodlessly or without political intrigue.  Of the three governments that transitioned peacefully, two were essentially regencies.  Even the most powerful Amaris rulers were unable to avoid pressures from within the Apollonian court.  For example, before the [[Amaris Civil War]], [[Stefan Amaris|Stefan "The Usurper's"]] safety was only insured by the cowardice of his contemporaries.


==Ability to Wage War==
Of the Amaris traits, ambition, paranoia and cunning were the deadly combination that led to the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]].  With large expanses of space, and colonization efforts underway in the unexplored Periphery, the armies of the Rim Worlds Republic were able to build and train away from the surveillance of the Inner Sphere.  After the Reunification War, the Amaris line never fully returned property rights to their citizens.  Therefore, the average subject of House Amaris had:

* moderate education
* moderate standard of living (if you work, you are taken care of)
* few possessions
* little freedom

House Amaris also gave lucrative deals to Inner Sphere industries.  With the plethora of foreign businesses, and a lack of personal possessions, subjects of House Amaris were effectively forced their  into fields of moderately skilled labor useful for waging war against the Star League, including defense and clerical work.  Clerical work became quite useful to House Amaris: most clerical workers became Star League administrators, while others worked for the Rim Worlds Republic, maintaining the expansion of the [[Rim Worlds Republic Military]], or covering up the Republican military build-up.

Trained military personnel were also available in surplus.  The [[Rim Royal Guard Act]] - implemented by [[Rim Royal Army]] commanding officer [[Fiona Amaris]] during the [[Selanta Amaris|Selanta regime]] - required all citizens of the Republic to serve the military.  Once retired after a 3-year tour, all citizens were kept in a obligatory military reserve.  The Act was implemented after the [[Cameron Act of 2650]], at least tripling the size of the fighting force the Rims World Republic could field (given short advanced notice).  These factors gave the Republic:

* a very large, moderately trained, technologically sophisticated army
* the ability to maintain a facade of compliance with the Star League
* infiltration of the Star League administration, easing the eventual transition required by Stefan Amaris's ''coup d'etat''

One final factor should not be overlooked.  Early Periphery realms tended to emerge not as dominant players conquering their neighbors (like the [[Successor States]]), rather associations coalescing for mutual benefit.  In the case of the Rim Worlds Republic, this brief expansion was then followed by a period of colonization.  Almost all native citizens of the Republic, and all military units in the Republic, bore only a single national identity.  Though House Amaris might not have been a particularly pleasant ruling house, native Republicans had no other identity, ensuring some loyalty among the Republican Military.

==Family Tree==
Below are family trees for the Rowe/Durant line, and the Amaris/Wong/Siever line of rulers.  Any family members either not mentioned or, in the case of [[Fiona Amaris]], too distantly removed from the throne of the [[Rim Worlds Republic]] are not listed.

===Early ([[2250]] - [[2488]])===
{{familytree/start}}
{{familytree | | | |HWR | | | | | | | | | | | | | |HWR=[[Hector Rowe|Hector Worthington Rowe]]}}
{{familytree | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{familytree | | | |MAR | | | | | | | | | | | |MAR=[[Maxwell Rowe|Maxwell Achilles Rowe]]}}
{{familytree | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{familytree | | | | AB| | | | | | | | | | |AB=[[Arabella Rowe]]|UNK=Unknown}}
{{familytree | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | | | |}}
{{familytree | |MD | |HD |~|TA |v|DW |V|UNK|MD=[[Michael Edward Durant|Michael Durant]]|HD=[[Heather Durant]]|TA=[[Terens Amaris]]|DW=[[David Wong|David Chi Wong]]|UNK=Unknown}}
{{familytree | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |:| |}}
{{familytree | | | | | | | | | | | |AF | |WF|WF='''Wong Family'''|AF='''Amaris Family'''}}
{{familytree | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |:| |}}
{{familytree/end}}

===Late ([[2570]] - [[2779]])===
{{familytree/start}}
{{familytree |WF| | | |AF| | | | | | | | | |SF| | | | |AF='''Amaris Family'''|WF='''Wong Family'''|SF='''Siever Family'''}}
{{familytree |F|A|7| | | |,|^|~|~|V|~|V|~|7|F|~|~|~|%|~|~|~|7| |}}
{{familytree |:| |:| | |GA | | |:| |:| |:|:| | | |:| | | |:|GA=[[Gregory Amaris]]}}
{{familytree |:| |:| | | |!| | | |:| |:| |:|:| | | |:| | | |:|}}
{{familytree |:| |:| | |RA| | |:| |:| |:|:| | | |:| | | |:|RA=[[Richard Amaris]]}}
{{familytree |:| |:| |,|-|^|-|.| |:| |:| |:|:| | | |:| | | |:|}}
{{familytree |:| |:|JA| |AA|:|WA|:|:| | | |:| | | |:|WA=[[Willard Amaris|Willard Amaris (cousin)]]|JA=[[Jeffrey Amaris]]|AA=[[Amanda Amaris]]}}
{{familytree |:| |:| | | | |!| | |:| | | |:|:| | | |:| | | |:|}}
{{familytree |:|GW| | | SA| |TA| |:|JS| |:| | | |:|SA=[[Selanta Amaris]]|JS=[[Jimmy Siever]]|GW=[[George Wong]]|TA=[[Tadeo Amaris|Tadeo Amaris (cousin)]]}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | | |!| | |L|~|~|~|C|:| | |,|^|-|.| |:| |}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | |BA | | | | | |:|:| GS| |CS|:|BA=[[Bertram Amaris]]|GS=[[Gregor Siever|Gregor Siever (cousin)]]|CS=[[Carl Siever|Carl Siever (cousin)]]}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | | |!| | | | | | |:|:| | | | | | | |:|}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | |CA|v|SG| |:|:| | | | | | | |:|CA=[[Cynthia Amaris]]|SG=[[Stefan Gorienko]]}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | | | | |!| | | | |:|:| | | | | | | |:|}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | | | | SA| | | |:|:| | | | | | | |:|SA=[[Stefan Amaris|Stefan "The Usurper" Amaris]]}}
{{familytree |:| | | | | | | | |L|~|V|~|~|J|L|~|~|~|V|~|~|~|J|}}
{{familytree |EW| | | | | | | |EA| | | | | |ES| | |EW='''End of the Wong Family'''|EA='''End of the Amaris Family'''|ES='''End of the Siever Family'''}}
{{familytree/end}}

==Notes==
Though there is a generation-long gap in the lineage [[Richard Thurston-Moray]], also known as '''Stefan Amaris VII''', was a descendant of the real Stefan Amaris through his mistress Shera Moray.<ref name=JC>''Jihad Conspiracies'', p. 16</ref>

'''Star Captain''' [[Dawn Moffat|Dawn]] was cashiered and expelled from [[Clan Steel Viper]] on grounds of a botched attack against [[Cumbres]], because she could not prove her barely believable story that an unknown third party (Stefan Amaris VII's forces) had unexpectedly attacked her raiding party. Threatened with execution should she enter Clan space again, Dawn became a member of [[Duncan's Demons]]. It was she who caught and killed him aboard his [[DropShip]]. Dawn returned to Clan space with the head, presenting it as proof that she had indeed killed the last Amaris. The fact that she was later reinstated as a Clan warrior and even went on to achieve a [[bloodname]] implies that the frozen head did indeed prove her claims to be true, presumably through genetic testing. This implicitly means Thurston-Moray/Stefan Amaris VII was indeed a direct descendant of Stefan Amaris.

==References==
<references />


==Bibliography==
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''


[[Category:Noble Houses|Amaris]]
[[Category:Greater Noble Houses|Amaris]]