House of the Steel Lotus

●Classification: Specialist House
●Specialization: [Wet Jobs] [Sabotage] [Subterfuge] [Espionage] [Shadow Work]
●Leader: Sumatra
●Notable Eidolons: Disco-Viper, Medusa, Lugash, Ren
●Overview:
Though not a founding House, the House of the Steel Lotus was quick to follow and has never wavered from its specialization in shadow work. Regarded as a perfectionist in professionalism, its Eidolons are cold, calculated, and above all, professional. Whether cyber crime, assassination, or any other job, if you need it done discreetly with no chance of blowback, then it is harder to find a better choice than the House of the Steel Lotus, as long as you can afford them.

Rise of the Fallen Tiger Prince:
Son to the syndicate lord of the Golden Seal, Sumatra was born into all the infamy and intrigue that the gold spoon of syndicate royalty had to offer. He was the prince to the Golden Seal throne, the only son of the Tiger Lord, and therefore had a target on his back since before he emerged from the gilded vat that birthed him. A perfect genetic specimen, forged from the genes of his father and his father’s nine wives. He was destined for nefarious greatness, that is, until the coup of Lowtooth. The spymaster of Sumatra’s father, Lowtooth, was from a long line of secret police for the West African piracy guilds, before they were merged and consumed by the Golden Seal. Lowtooth’s family was instrumental in the merger, and his betrayal of the Tiger Lord was felt around the world.

The end of Sumatra’s story should have been on the night of his father’s 135th birthday, when an elite squad of Eidolon assassins infiltrated the Singapore palace. With perfect precision and brutality, the assassins executed every person within the palace, including all family members of the Tiger Lord and his nine wives. Sumatra was no exception; his body was dismembered into several pieces, and his EMS memory drive was destroyed by the assassin’s katana. Yet by some miracle, the world-renowned medical scientists of Samsara Medical’s elite medicine division were able to salvage enough of the memory construct to resurrect Sumatra. His body was sutured and salvaged over a months-long process of regrowing organic material and replacing it with cybernetics. When Sumatra emerged from the vat, the obligation of his medical team had been accomplished, and his contract thereafter ended. He was alone in the world, without a crypt to his name, with a fractured personality construct and a boiling hate within his gut.

Despite the deck stacked against him, Sumatra found his way as a Ronin, working the streets of the many Southeast Asian cities during the War Within the Woods. As his skill for shadow work grew, so too did his legend, and as the first Houses emerged, he quickly realized a path back to the top; the House of the Steel Lotus was born.

From its inception, there was no room for error. Sumatra instilled the strictest degree of perfectionism and professionalism into the hearts and minds of his Eidolons. There was little grace for Eidolons who failed within the House of the Steel Lotus, a harsh sentiment, but one that has led to the survival of the House amongst its many competitors. The House of the Steel Lotus is a House of exceptionalism and fluid grace in the arts of shadow work; its premium service therein has made it one of the wealthiest Houses.

Sumatra, over time, withdrew from public appearances and even House affairs, until his presence disappeared into the shadows. There are rumors that he died or finally went mad from his schizoid construct, but others believe that he had always wanted it this way. Sumatra, silently ruling out of sight of all, an untouchable myth secretly pulling the strings of his house.