[Sponsor/PCRC Member] = Apologist
House Nur-Memmot
A house of contradictions, Nur-Memmot is characterised by its members' stern and unforgiving nature; even while its charitable donations and public works outweigh the combined efforts of the rest of the hive.
Personal acts of extravagance are frowned-upon, though public acts of good are well looked-upon; particularly if the donor acts anonymously. As a result, the guildhalls and public spaces of Nur-Memmot districts are amongst the most inspiring and beautiful in the hive.
Personal acts of extravagance are frowned-upon, though public acts of good are well looked-upon; particularly if the donor acts anonymously. As a result, the guildhalls and public spaces of Nur-Memmot districts are amongst the most inspiring and beautiful in the hive.
Philosophies and main duties
Member of House Nur-Memmot are typically inward-looking, reactionary and studious. The house is arbitrated by the Descendant Senate, a group of Nur-Memmites with gene-markers that can be traced back to the Saint himself. While worship of the God-Emperor is enforced across the hive as a whole by both the Ecclesiarchy and Arbites (though many inhabitants, and even whole houses, pay little more than lip service), religion forms a central role in the day-to-day life of all members of House Nur-Memmot. Indeed, most members following a semi-religious lifestyle that aims to emulate the humble, penurious lifestyle of the martyr Saint Memmot, whom they see as a personal intercessionary figure.
Nur-Memmites – or 'nurms', to use the derogatory slang other hivers use – are thus expected to act thoughtfully, quietly and frugally; virtues that lend themselves well to unglamorous work like nuisance removal, sewerage and maintenance. In addition, the house regards the acquisition, handling or even sight of personal wealth to be troubling. With wealth frowned-upon within the house, most of its members give generously to collections and donations, in addition to paying a tithe to the House of fifteen per cent of their meagre earnings. As a result, the House as a whole is surprisingly wealthy, despite the poorly-paid or humble roles its members typically hold.
These characteristics have certain benefits for the hive as a whole, as Nur-Memmites are generally regarded as trustworthy (if dreary and sanctimonious) regarding financial matters. Nur-Memmites holdings are thus based around the twin pillars of public services and economics (while wealth is sinful, that entrusted to you must be made to work as hard as possible).
The House operates a standing army known as the Holy Orderlies of Memmot, but these are poorly-equipped and led compared with the other houses' PDFs – the Church's disapproving stance on personal ownership and responsibility means their warriors make poor leaders and insist on communal storage of weapons and equipment.
Its indentured gangs form a vital role in the defence of the House's holdings, as they offer a safe place for Nur-Memmites to exhibit and anonymously unleash their inner desires. Nur-Memmite gangers thus tend to fall into one of two types; studiously reactionary types who dress drably in rags; and more expressive members, who wear flamboyant masks to hide their identity. Thanks to this latter type of ganger (and clandestine sponsorship from the House coffers), Nur-Memmite gangs are able to operate on a fair playing field with their richer rivals.
Nur-Memmites – or 'nurms', to use the derogatory slang other hivers use – are thus expected to act thoughtfully, quietly and frugally; virtues that lend themselves well to unglamorous work like nuisance removal, sewerage and maintenance. In addition, the house regards the acquisition, handling or even sight of personal wealth to be troubling. With wealth frowned-upon within the house, most of its members give generously to collections and donations, in addition to paying a tithe to the House of fifteen per cent of their meagre earnings. As a result, the House as a whole is surprisingly wealthy, despite the poorly-paid or humble roles its members typically hold.
These characteristics have certain benefits for the hive as a whole, as Nur-Memmites are generally regarded as trustworthy (if dreary and sanctimonious) regarding financial matters. Nur-Memmites holdings are thus based around the twin pillars of public services and economics (while wealth is sinful, that entrusted to you must be made to work as hard as possible).
The House operates a standing army known as the Holy Orderlies of Memmot, but these are poorly-equipped and led compared with the other houses' PDFs – the Church's disapproving stance on personal ownership and responsibility means their warriors make poor leaders and insist on communal storage of weapons and equipment.
Its indentured gangs form a vital role in the defence of the House's holdings, as they offer a safe place for Nur-Memmites to exhibit and anonymously unleash their inner desires. Nur-Memmite gangers thus tend to fall into one of two types; studiously reactionary types who dress drably in rags; and more expressive members, who wear flamboyant masks to hide their identity. Thanks to this latter type of ganger (and clandestine sponsorship from the House coffers), Nur-Memmite gangs are able to operate on a fair playing field with their richer rivals.
Major holdings
The House strongholds, and the Descendant Senate itself are based around the impoverished Uro Bloc region, far from both hiveskin and the Gens, though the members' roles as cleaners, public maintenance workers and the like means that small enclaves of Nur-Memmites can be found dotted throughout the hive – sometimes quite literally: Nurm-flues is generally understood slang for pipes and shafts; a reference both to the House's role in maintaining both major and minor passageways in the hive, and the unpleasant discovery that a Nur-Memmite has emerged from a pipe when you thought you were alone.
A notable exception to the reach of the House is in regions above the Vocal Sea, where to see a Nur-Memmite is a rare thing indeed. Shunning the conspicuous wealth of the above-ground region, House Nur-Memmot has few holdings beyond a few embassies and business apartments here. House representatives in the Spyres are noticeably uncomfortable. Similarly, the more technically-minded regions of the Liminals and the pompous Widder Habs offer little to the House.
The Church of Nur-Memmot has a very strong presence in the Hagtowns, where Saint Nur-Memmot himself is enshrined.
The Church of Nur-Memmot has a very strong presence in the Hagtowns, where Saint Nur-Memmot himself is enshrined.
History
A minor Saint of the sector, Saint Memmot of Tel Alaf is remembered as a vocal critic of the corruption of the Church. While not as well-known as Oltiman or Palious, whose martyrdoms are celebrated across the sector, Memmot hold a special place in the Spinther subsector, particularly the worlds of the Smelts, whose populations admire his plain-speaking and willingness to descend to the common masses, or 'stinking throne-forsaken proles', as he preferred to say. He was martyred and is enshrined on Golgotham.
The protocols of the Anchorite Abbeys of Tel Alaf, into which Memmot was born, insisted on its thin population of monks taking a periodic vow of silence and withdrawal from the temporal world. The period was lifelong, or until the monk died in the airless deserts of Tel Alaf – usually fifteen minutes or so.
Memmot was the first and sole member of an unique breakaway sect that came to be known as the Tumultuous Socialites, single-handedly creating a bold religious innovation that acted as a counterpart to the traditional isolationist practices of the planet. Far from withdrawing quietly to the desert, as the Abbot commanded, Memmot turned expectation on its head, by deliberately seeking the busiest places, bellowing his own creed, loudly and increasingly desperately to anyone who would listen.
He was, of course, ordered to be executed by forced Anchoritism through the nearest airlock, but miraculously survived the airless deserts of Tel Alaf with nothing except a pressure suit, a weeks' supply of oxygen and a nearby heavily-provisioned shuttle.
Pursued by the militant arm of the Monks of Tel Alaf, Memmot found his way from planet to planet, preaching a unique take on the Imperial Creed that praised self-determination, and had a number of mildly heretical commandments that mostly revolved around priestly pre-eminence (the deference owed a priest was determined solely by the relative distance they stood from you), and had a unique take on how to treat persecuted members of the priesthood (viz. giving them all your worldly goods).
Memmot encouraged an austere existence of self-reflection and charity – for his followers, at least – and lived for a number of years spreading his creed around the Smelts before he was finally apprehended by the Monks of Tel Alaf near his undercover retreat above a bordello in Hive Confronsis. He died as he lived, screaming incomprehensibly at the top of his lungs.
Following the usual period of mourning for a priest, his followers moved to clear out his cell, where the second of his miracles was declared; for the penniless Mammut had caused not just his own apartment, but those adjoining, to be filled with treasures beyond counting. His canonisation was confirmed scant years later, after over three dozen young acolytes proved to be related by blood to the celibate priest. After close examination, lasting nearly seven minutes, the Sector Ecclesiarch declared Mammut to be sanctified.
Over the following centuries, those young acolytes were able to establish and build a dynasty that grew to become an important power player in the affairs of Hive Confronsis. Its members are proud of their lineage, and the Church of Memmot continues to enjoy an important role in the hive as a whole – the sight (and sound) of its preachers on street corners throughout the underhive is well-known, and contributes significantly to the daily number of hive-wide martyrdoms.
The protocols of the Anchorite Abbeys of Tel Alaf, into which Memmot was born, insisted on its thin population of monks taking a periodic vow of silence and withdrawal from the temporal world. The period was lifelong, or until the monk died in the airless deserts of Tel Alaf – usually fifteen minutes or so.
Memmot was the first and sole member of an unique breakaway sect that came to be known as the Tumultuous Socialites, single-handedly creating a bold religious innovation that acted as a counterpart to the traditional isolationist practices of the planet. Far from withdrawing quietly to the desert, as the Abbot commanded, Memmot turned expectation on its head, by deliberately seeking the busiest places, bellowing his own creed, loudly and increasingly desperately to anyone who would listen.
He was, of course, ordered to be executed by forced Anchoritism through the nearest airlock, but miraculously survived the airless deserts of Tel Alaf with nothing except a pressure suit, a weeks' supply of oxygen and a nearby heavily-provisioned shuttle.
Pursued by the militant arm of the Monks of Tel Alaf, Memmot found his way from planet to planet, preaching a unique take on the Imperial Creed that praised self-determination, and had a number of mildly heretical commandments that mostly revolved around priestly pre-eminence (the deference owed a priest was determined solely by the relative distance they stood from you), and had a unique take on how to treat persecuted members of the priesthood (viz. giving them all your worldly goods).
Memmot encouraged an austere existence of self-reflection and charity – for his followers, at least – and lived for a number of years spreading his creed around the Smelts before he was finally apprehended by the Monks of Tel Alaf near his undercover retreat above a bordello in Hive Confronsis. He died as he lived, screaming incomprehensibly at the top of his lungs.
Following the usual period of mourning for a priest, his followers moved to clear out his cell, where the second of his miracles was declared; for the penniless Mammut had caused not just his own apartment, but those adjoining, to be filled with treasures beyond counting. His canonisation was confirmed scant years later, after over three dozen young acolytes proved to be related by blood to the celibate priest. After close examination, lasting nearly seven minutes, the Sector Ecclesiarch declared Mammut to be sanctified.
Over the following centuries, those young acolytes were able to establish and build a dynasty that grew to become an important power player in the affairs of Hive Confronsis. Its members are proud of their lineage, and the Church of Memmot continues to enjoy an important role in the hive as a whole – the sight (and sound) of its preachers on street corners throughout the underhive is well-known, and contributes significantly to the daily number of hive-wide martyrdoms.
Known house-sponsored gangs
- Seven Sons of the Piston
- Tangletown Supers
- Colostomy Avenue Brawl
- Redteeth
- The Order of Water IV
- Whistling Sheers
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