Starfield:House Va'ruun

House Va'ruun was founded by the passengers of a colony ship that departed New Atlantis and disappeared in 2190. During the colony ship's voyage, one of the passengers, Jinan Va'ruun, claimed to have communed with a celestial being known as the Great Serpent during a grav jump, and was told to prepare for the eventual encircling or "Shrouding" of the universe by the Serpent. What exactly happened after that is unclear, but in 2230, House Va'ruun emerged as a fully-formed government and culture with Jinan serving as its leader and prophet, and it made contact with the United Colonies and Freestar Collective. At first, it appeared that House Va'ruun's only interest was to peacefully spread its religion, but in 2240 it abruptly launched an all-out war on all other inhabitants of the Settled Systems, the Serpent's Crusade. After years of conflict and the slaughter of thousands of UC, Freestar, and independent colonists, Jinan died in 2263 and was succeeded by his son, Jarek Va'ruun, who sued for peace with the other factions. House Va'ruun subsequently built an embassy in New Atlantis and attempted to rehabilitate its reputation among the Settled Systems' other peoples, but distrust remained. In 2311, after the Colony War between the UC and Freestar was concluded with the Armistice, House Va'ruun ratified the Armistice as a third, neutral signatory and then withdrew to its home territory, starting a period of seclusion. The only remaining members of House Va'ruun still in the Settled Systems as of 2330 are various spies keeping tabs on the other factions, and numerous disavowed heretics known as Va'ruun Zealots.

The extent of House Va'ruun's territory is a closely-guarded secret. While it is known that the capital Dazra lies on a planet named Va'ruun'kai, the star system where Va'ruun'kai is located is unknown. The Serpentis System contains a guaranteed encounter with House Va'ruun Zealots, suggesting it may be part of their claimed territory.

To learn more of House Va'ruun and their history, see the lore article.

Government and Politics
House Va'ruun is a theocratic monarchy, ruled by the descendants of Jinan Va'ruun and the cult of the Great Serpent. House Va'ruun agents report to a body known as the High Council. One of the highest ranks in the priesthood is that of Gravid.

House Va'ruun has gone through three phases of foreign policy. Under Jinan, it was belligerent, ultimately resulting in the Serpent's Crusade. Under Jinan's heir Jarek, House Va'ruun became more diplomatic, openly attempting to build bridges with the UC and Freestar Collective, in spite of considerable opposition and mistrust. Ultimately, these efforts at diplomacy failed, and shortly after the signing of the Armistice, House Va'ruun recalled all of its agents and diplomats to Va'ruun'kai. Ever since, it has remained in extreme isolation, interacting with the rest of the Settled Systems only through espionage. House Va'ruun keeps the location of Va'ruun'kai a closely guarded secret - only a handful of pilots know the coordinates. Even Va'ruun spies are unaware of their homeworld's location - their only contact with the High Council is through their handlers.

Trivia

 * Emil Pagliarulo has the logo of House Va'ruun tattooed on his wrist.
 * Datamined files from the game indicate Va'ruun'kai is the planet Serpentis IV in the Serpentis system. In the current version of the game, Serpentis IV does not bear any trace of the city of Dazra, or any other indication that it is the Va'ruun homeworld.
 * An unused, but blank, map marker for Dazra also exists in the game's files. The filename indicates the location as one of the major cities in the game.