House Celephais

History
Even before the Emperor had begun his Great Crusade, the vessels of humanity have travelled to the stars, guided through the warp by Navigators. Though mutants, they are the crucial when it comes to guiding a ship through the Empyrean and have consequently amassed unimaginable wealth and influence.

Great Crusade
Originally a vassal house to the Giroman line, Celephais could only claim few contracts for themselves before and during the Great Crusade. While overshadowed by their lieges, then Novator Albhe constantly worked to gather more and more commissions and slowly building up connections, such as to the fleets of the growing Imperial Administration, the predecessor of the Administratum.

Horus Heresy
When Warmaster Horus renounced his loyalty to the Emperor and led half the Primarchs against the Emperor, Novator Cadelius Giroman placed his loyalties with the traitors, betting on their victory and his House's subsequent rise in power. As their aspirations fell short, their estate was stormed by the forces of their vassal houses. Lead by the Celephais, the Kallikrates and Hulderic invaded the estate, killing those who were once their masters and dividing their holdings between them.

Once the Battle for Terra was over and the Imperium began to take its current shape, the fleets of the Great Scouring were in dire need of Navigators and House Celephais and his allies ready to fulfill this need.

House Purges
Over the next millennia, the other Houses sharing the lineage of the Giromans slowly degraded. Their mutations became more and more prominent until they many of their kin could no longer safely leave their estates for risking to catch the unwanted attention of the Ordo Malleus. As it is custom among the Navigators, the other Houses tended to the problem themselves.

In 104.M35, House Hulderic was the first to fall prey to the men of their kin and their line ended with their 24th Novator, Belenus Doran Hulderic. Their estate and holdings along with their commissions would largely go over into the Celephais' property.

Not even a Millennia later, in the closing years of M35, the Kallikrastes would suffer the same fate, though this time, the Ordo Malleus, lead by Inquisitor Gladstone and accompanied by fanatics opposing the mutants in their midst, were faster. Kallikrates was purged to the last men along with their name in history.

Exodus
The last descendants of Giroman, all eyes turned to Celephais, some fearfully, some eagerly awaiting their fall from grace. Perhaps rightfully, they expected to become a target soon after their cousins, but Novator Meadhra decided to take action before her House would meet its end. Secretly, she spent a large amount of the family wealth to order the construction of a vessel in the forge ring of Mars and sent out secret messages to her subordinates all over the galaxy.

After a period of 5 years, the custom made vessel, baptized Avenna Avis after the first recorded Novator of the House, was finished. Novator Meadhra would not witness its completion anymore however, having since been succeeded by her son, Hesperos Celephais Rivaling Cruisers in size, the Avenna was akin to a spacefaring palace, with private quarters, ballrooms and audience halls comparable to the Celephais home, which would be deconstructed and many of its relics reintegrated into this mighty spaceship. The whole Household, including servants and guards, boarded the Avenna in 024.M36 and left Terra accompanied by a fleet of escorts, taking on the life of Nomads.

In the following millennia, House Celephais traversed the stars, its Navigators found on ships in the Gothic Sector, the Koronus Expanse, the Damocles Gulf and even accompanying missions into the distant Ghoul Stars. Though homeless and removed from the insidious politics on Terra, their reputation and skills grew.

Eressa Calls
Starting in 392.M41 but having been prepared since long before, the Crusade of Warmaster Solar Macharius would bring over 1000 worlds into the Imperium. Many of the countless vessels commanded by Macharius would be guided by Navigators of House Celephais, notably the Light of Wrath, an Oberon Class Battleship sent to the Eressa Sector as part of the first attack wave.

Later, the Celephais would return as part of Warmaster Solon's Armada that recaptured the sector during the Macharian Heresy. Eventually, decreed by Novator Diarmaid Celephais, the House would relocate the Avenna Avis into the southern clusters of Eressa, for now making the sector their home.

House Mutations
The Celephais are known to be exceptionally slim and tall, with long limbs that often feature additional joints. On the rare occasion that they mingle with common humans, they move with an unnatural grace and many have to recall the Navigators' usefulness to justify that the existence of such obvious mutants is tolerated.

House Culture
(coming soon)

Notable Members

 * Albhe Caderyn Celephais
 * Meadhra Ermingard Celephais
 * Hesperos Eadgar Celephais
 * Diarmaid Eliana Celephais