Within the ranks of the Empire’s elite, there are two kinds of lords: Sith lords, and noble lords. Some such nobility were taken in from planets conquered, rewarded and bred into the general population, but by far the majority of them are descended from past Darths. Indeed, the right to coin one’s family a House is reserved strictly for those families.

While these families exercise limited power over the politics of the Empire without also gaining power within the hierarchy of the Sith, they are commonly known for their deep pockets and lavish estates. Indeed, some of Kaas City’s most popular public gardens and varied museums are in fact owned by a House, and are only open due to the graciousness of their leaders.

It is also common for members of noble Houses to be of high rank within the Sith Empire - generally through a mixture of expensive life-long training before admittance to an Academy and careful alchemical alteration of their offspring to ensure their potential, with unconfirmed reports of some Houses going so far as to bribe their offsprings’ way to power.

Irregardless, the noble Houses are a long-standing and well-respected part of the empire, providing the average Sith an easy way to track the descendants of powerful Darths - and therefore see who might be the most promising of the next generation - as well as demanding respect for their historical establishment of some of the Empire’s most beloved public attractions.

While Houses generally use the terms ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ to describe their leaders (and their leader’s spouse), they are not to be confused with the rank of Lord of the Sith. As such, it is common to refer to the House’s leader by the title ‘Narwityr’ and their spouse as ‘Narwitaryr’, regardless of gender identity - differentiating between ‘Ari’, used to refer to a Lord of the Sith. This also assists in distinguishing Houses when two heirs are married - They are both Narwityr of their house, and Narwitaryr of their spouse’s house. Heirs are referred to by the title of Xivus before they inherit, with all other children referred to by the title of Taral.