The House is a private casino conglomerate and criminal empire founded in the United States by the late and notorious Cain House. Publicly, they operated a chain franchise of luxury casinos and resorts, branding themselves as the crown jewel of mid-century entertainment. Privately, they were one of the largest and most influential organized crime syndicates in modern history, with operations extending into corporate, political, and even federal institutions.
Origins (1940s - 1970s)
The House began as a family-run casino venture established by penguin-Therian Cain House, a charismatic gambler and oppurtunist. Seeing the growing post-War demand for entertainment with his own ulterior motives to line his pockets by any means necessary, he opened his first casino in Reno, Nevada around the 1940s. Cain’s casinos were famously rigged, yet grew a staunch cult following amongst his clientele, thanks to his natural charm, clever business strategies, and exploitation of gambling habits, setting a gold standard for future casino enterprises by the time he expanded into Las Vegas. Under Cain’s management, the House grew rapidly throughout the 50s and ’60s, his casinos doubling as hubs for money laundering and extortion.
By the early ’70s, Cain’s influence reached national prominence, and his once-humble business venture became an empire built on greed and riddled with corruption. At its peak, the House not only controlled vast stretches of the gambling industry with casino hotels and resorts, but also bought up swaths of real estate, media, and financial institutions across the country.
Death of Cain House (1974)
In 1974, the House empire suffered a devastating tragedy. Its flagship Vegas location and main headquarters–an infamous high-rise commonly referred to as The Den–was mysteriously and suddenly consumed in a massive fire, where Cain, most of his upper circle, and dozens of patrons and other faculty perished. While circumstances remain unproven, official reports speculate an electrical failure, though some evidence points to a possible arson attack from a rival mob, likely spurred out of fear of Cain’s growing lust for power and wealth across the country. However, eyewitnesses at the scene of the tragedy claim they only saw one winged Therian enter the building before the fire broke out. One of the survivors from the burning cited “divine justice” and failed to elaborate further.
Following the incident, the empire fractured. Many surviving members and leaders went into hiding, while the name “House” became synonymous with scandal and ruin. For almost a decade after the incident at The Den, and with dwindling activity and profits from the remaining independently running locations, it seemed uncertain whether the House would survive, let alone recover to its former strength.
The Heir (1980s - 2000s)
Unbeknownst then to the public, Cain’s biological son, whose full identity remains unknown, inherited what remained of his father’s empire. The Heir, or Heir House by other crime circles, had reportedly grown bitter and resentful over the years, literally living under his father’s shadow and constantly being neglected in favor of econmic pursuits. Unlike Cain, Heir ruled not through charisma and influence but through fear and control. Obsessed with building his own legacy from the ashes of his father’s legacy, his methods were colder, more covert, and, brutal, yet no less oppurtunistic as his father. Operating from the shadows, he abandoned the House’s public casino front and rebuilt its network through coercion, blackmail, psychological manipulation.
After securing leadership over the fractured House and forcing key members out of hiding and under his rule by the 80s, The Heir shifted the syndicate’s focus toward corporate infiltration—embedding House loyalists within banks, media networks, and real estate firms nationwide. Eventually, even law enforcement agencies and political campaigns were funded under House payroll.
When the earliest Electi came to adult maturity by the early 90s, The Heir saw an oppurtunity to maintain power and security over their new empire, by instilling fear into his opposition and competitors with the exploitation of Third Anomaly paranoia. The House quickly turned to kidnapping and trafficking Electi, and coercing them into service—either as assassins, loan sharks, or indentured agents operating under synthetic loyalty contracts. Heir’s illegal operations spread across state lines and into some parts of Canada and Mexico, backed by shell corporations and private security firms run by exploited Electi.
Collapse & Legacy (2000s - Present)
By the late 2000s, the House’s lucrative activities amid the Great Recession drew the attention of a covert private military group known as the Peacekeepers, who specialized in dismantling organized Electi exploitation networks. Funded through defense and intelligence contracts, they systematically conducted black operations against groups like the House, assassinating or capturing major ringleaders and key figureheads across the country. Their actions were publicly disavowed by federal intelligence agencies, but inspired the launch of a small nationwide campaign against Electi abuse and organized trafficking rings. By the turn of the 2020s, most of the House’s financial arms collapsed, forcing the Heir back into hiding.
Today, fragments of the House’s network continue to run independent casinos, shell companies, and private gambling clubs, often as fronts for illicit business or Electi scouting operations. Rumors persist that Heir House is not only alive but active, directing operations from the shadows and seeking the one(s) responsible for Cain’s assassination. Some speculate the Heir had produced a descendant of his own, though these claims are widely unproven. What little has survived of House records, however, was reports of the Heir’s interest in the founding of the Electi Rehabilitation Academy, along with plans to locate the school and plant informants into enrollment.