Cesan te Laertes Patron, Casa Laertes

Cesan is an aging patriarch, white haired, distinguished, and just on the verge of senility.  He has had the presence of mind to appoint his younger cousin Micelano as Mantatario, to represent the Casa in Consejo and look after the political and civic interests of the Casa.  He has been Patron for over forty years, and has ensured Casa Laertes' continued leadership in the Acuerto tel Jarro, and in the Consejo in general.  Laertes is commonly accounted as first among the Casas Crantas, and Cesan's leadership has been a key element in the Casa's prosperity.
Cesan isn't particularly talented in any specific area - there are several members of the Casa more capable than he in any given area.  Cesan's strength has been in recognizing his limitations, and making the most of the talents of all the members of the Casa.  Cesan recognized Viviana's talents early on, when she was a young woman, and mentored her through her current apointment as Volsator.  Likewise, Alejantro owes his highly influential position to Cesan's discerning eye.
People outside the Casa are just beginning to consider a Casa Laertes without Cesan at the helm, and are somewhat disquieted about the prospect (even among his enemies).  Micelano is the odds-on favorite to succeed Cesan, but a growing minority are speculating about Viviana as an alternate heir.  Cesan has not made his wishes known, and most members of the Casa are mute on this subject.

 
Alejantro te Jyleses Timisoarase Vicilano, Casa Laertes
Alejantro is a ruthless and conniving plotter who is utterly loyal to Casa Laertes and to Patron Cesan.  Born into a very minor and relatively poor branch of the Jyleses family located in Timisoara, Alejantro possessed a rare spark of magical talent for his family, and a chance meeting with one of the Casa's sortilejiotores resulted in a Casa endowment to study at the Colejio te Sortilejio in the city.  Alejantro graduated with distinguished recommendations from his provesores and fellow escolaros.  Cesan directed that he serve on several trading missions to various lands, and assigned a personal servant named Inesa to Alejantro.  Inesa, half Merochasan, half Itasu, was actually one of the Casa's spies.  Alejantro soon figured this out (as Cesan had expected him to), and learned the art of spying from an acomplished expert.  Inesa was killed several years later under mysterious circumstances, and Alejantro suspected Casa Vincentio was behind the act.  He has harbored a desire for vengeance against Casa Vincentio ever since.  Although the two Casas are traditional opponents, Alejantro's hatred of the other Casa, while not blind, has tended to aggravate the competition into lethal action more than once.  Alejantro tries to keep the best interests of Casa Laertes in mind, and so far, he has managed to emerge victorious in the ongoing struggle.  The question now on some people's minds is: who will he support for Patron after Cesan?

 
Micelano Sutilo te Laertes Mantatario, Casa Laertes
Micelano, called Sutilo ("slim") by close friends and many family members, is a middle aged man of unassuming appearance, somewhat portly, and full of energy.  His dynamic, charismatic leadership has fashioned the Acuerto tel Jarro into the leading faction in the Consejo.  Early in his tenure as Mantatario, Micelano forged a tentative but enduring alliance with Casa Solinus and the Acuerto tel Ria, and has effectively managed that alliance to achieve all the major policy decisions that Casa Laertes sought in the last few years.  He has brokered the resources of his Casa and its allies in creative and sometimes risky deals.  The results have been very favorable for all concerned so far.  If Micelano succeeds as Patron, Casa Laertes stands to reap the political rewards of his efforts for years to come.

 
Viviana Cicini Projijosa Volsator, Casa Laertes
When Viviana married into Casa Laertes (her husband, Ernesto, manages the Casa's warehouses in the Puerto Tulce), she was expected to assist her husband and bear good children for the Casa.  She expected more, and has managed to achieve everything she has set out to do so far.  As Volsator for the Casa, Viviana controls almost all of the finances and trading activity for the Casa (only the budgets for the Tropas and Alejantro's activities are separate from her control).  The Casa has prospered greatly from her keen commercial instincts.  She has been a subtle opponent of Micelano's political alliance with Casa Solinus, however, because she feels that Solinus is getting the far better deal in the bargain.  She feels a somewhat irrational sense of outrage that the hard-won profits she is bringing in are, as she would put it, being "tossed into the sewer" to further Micelano's political ends.  However, she realizes that Micelano's efforts have the full blessing of Cesan, and many other members of the Casa.  Thus, she mutes her anger and only hinders Micelano in subtle, deniable ways.

 
Cevreto Luis Narenes Capitane te'os Tropas te Casa Laertes
Cevreto is in many ways the Scion of the Narenes family.  The grandson of the Patro Honroso (Honored Father, the senior member of the Narenes branch of Casa Laertes), Cevreto was trained from an early age to the responsibilities of a senior member of Casa Laertes.  He shocked his family at the age of 17 by running away and joining a Pelosian mercenary unit.  He managed to elude agents of the Casa for almost three years (a fact that Alejantro both resents and respects) before they found him and carried him bodily back to Merochas.  Cesan, recognizing that the lad's spirit and talents would be wasted if he was forced into a position he did not want, arranged for the young scion to receive a commission in the Marinos Civicos, with the understanding that after a short period of service, Cevreto would return to the Casa's service.  Cevreto earned a reputation as a courageous and cunning fighter in several minor conflicts, including one tour of service as teniente of a ship complement off the coast of Zur and Ixtas.  Cesan arranged with Alejantro to have Cevreto "bump into" a lovely young debutante of Casa Consalo during a port call, and Cevreto soon resigned his commission and joined the Tropas te Casa Laertes, the better to woo the young lady.  Three years later, he is the Capitane, responsible with Alejantro for the security of the Casa.