The Red House

One of the unofficial and illegal "guilds" of Ba Sing Se. The Red House and its district is the only place in the city where one can trade their hard earned Yuans for the pleasures of the flesh. Here sex trafficking is more or less legal and any one can come to the Scarlet District to have a good time as long as they follow the Red Queen's laws. Most would think that a guild of prostitutes would be an easy target for the triads but they are completely untouchable. No guild or organization legal or other wise is able to interfere with the Red House's business. This is in part due to them having dirt on all of the individuals who come to their district to procure their services. Many high ranking officials of other guilds have been know to frequent the Scarlet Districts pleasure houses and all the workers know to keep their eyes and ears open so that many of the cities secrets fall into the Red Queen's lap. The other reason is that many fear the Red Queen as people that cross her never live to regret it.

=Membership and Daily Life= The Red House has two types of members courtesans and guardsmen. The courtesans are the ones who actually work the sex trade picking up customers in the streets of the Scarlet District or working in the various pleasure houses. Courtesans can be both men and women to sate the needs of all kinds of patrons. Unlike in other brothels the courtesans of the Red House all choose to work their. None are taken from their homes or the streets to join or are tricked into their position. The Red Queen teaches her courtesans that their job is not a shameful position and their is great honor and power in some one who is an instrument of pleasure. This imbues them with a sense of dignity and pride and it is not uncommon that if a courtesan is treated poorly by a patron then he or she will throw them out for disrespecting them. If the patron refuses to leave or does not pay for his time then he has to deal with the Red Queen's guardsmen. Guardsmen are the savage protectors of the courtesans and the enforcers of order in the Scarlet District. The Red Queen recruits them from gangs of the lawless zone, it doesn't mater how brutal or uneducated they are as long as they can follow her orders. Like the courtesans the Red Queen tries to instill a sense of pride for their work in her guardsman. She teaches them that they are more then just hired thugs they are protectors of the weak and innocent and that their is great honor in what they do. Many of the guardsman were just street punks with no direction in their life who no one would give a chance to. So because she gives them the opportunity they lacked their entire lives they follow the Red Queen with an almost religious fervor. The Red House makes no distinction between nations or benders anyone with the qualities they seek may join. However most of their members are from the lawless zones or the poor neighborhoods of Ba Sing Se. Their are a few runaways from the ten great guilds that do join from time to time for various reasons.

=Guild Hall: Benihime, the Crimson Keep= The Red Queen's palace it is the largest and most lavish building in the Scarlet District. It lies directly in the center of the district. Like the Ba Sing Se of old the Scarlet district is divided into three rings, the outer ring is the largest and has the most common and cheep facilities and courtesans. The middle ring is more up class and a dress code is enforced to keep out the rabble and those who can not afford the more expensive pleasure houses. The center ring is the most extravagant and the smallest of the thee rings. All of the establishments within it requires an appointment and it is very difficult to be admitted into the center ring at all usually it requires an enormous bribe to the gate guardsman. The Crimson Keep itself usually has an enormous line of patrons waiting for a chance to get in every night. The services within are said to be greater then any other in the entire city. But what most come to see is the Red Queen herself.

=Guild Master: The Red Queen, Hong Sheng= Born an Air Acolyte at the Urban Air temple Hong Sheng ran away at the age of sixteen when she grew tired of the monotonous life of peace and chastity. Back then all the red light districts belonged to the triads and the women unfortunate enough to work for them were treated very poorly. Hong Sheng due to her beauty and skill was placed in the most prestigious of all the pleasure houses. And lived a privileged life of luxury, she enjoyed her life and her line of work but hated the way the other women were treated by the triads. So she left, it is unknown how she escaped the triad's clutches but witnesses say that she simply walked out on the night of a full moon. A year later Hong Sheng returned with an army of lawless zone gang members and overwhelmed the triad members who controlled the area and drove them out. She then took over the sex trade, and created a monopoly on it. No one sells sex for money in Ba Sing Se with out Hong Sheng's permission and if they do they are assimilated into her organization or destroyed. Despite her title only being a nickname the Red Queen acts in a royal and regal manner. She presides over her "court" of pleasures like a monarch and her word means law in the Scarlett District. All of her followers are deeply grateful to her for liberating them from the triads and for giving their lives dignity and respect. Unless one of her employees displease or disrespect her Hong Sheng is generally kind to those that are under her protection. However she is incredibly self absorbed and arrogant and looks down on anyone who isn't a part of the Red House. She enjoys toying with those that come to her seeking pleasure, healing or favors. And any that seek to win her favor should be warned that her time is expensive and a night with her or a healing session costs more money then most men make in their entire lives. However Hong Sheng sometimes demands irregular payments in return for her services. Like assassinations, debt collection or retrieving items for her. Hong Sheng is the most powerful healer in the entire city and rumor has it she is the most powerful water bender as well. She uses a strange red liquid when healing and fighting, its exact composition is unknown but it heals more effectively then water and can be compressed and sharpened more then regular water. Some accuse the Red Queen of witch craft or blood bending as she is able to force her will on others to the point where they are powerless to resist her commands. It is unlikely that this is blood bending as that is an extremely rare and illegal skill that is almost impossible to use when their isn't a full moon. But few would put it past Hong Sheng to know the most taboo skill in the world.

=Guild Champion: Sir Rothess, The Vermilion Knight= Formally one of the most feared gang leaders in the lawless district Rothess and his gang was recruited by the Red Queen to be the enforcers for her unofficial guild. A brutal man, before joining the Red House he ruled the streets of the lawless zone with violence and an iron fist. After her escape from the triads Hong Sheng, encountered Rothess and his gang and convinced them to work for her. It is unknown how she was able to turn a rabid beast like Rothess into her personal guard dog but their are a variety of rumors about it. Some say that she defeated his entire gang or manipulated him through blackmail. Most suspect that she just seduced him, but neither of them have ever elaborated on what happened. Rothess has mellowed out some since joining the Red House, but he will still rip apart or burn alive anyone who crosses his mistress. He cares for the members of his original gang but is pretty indifferent to the weaker guardsmen working for the Red House. If someone kills one of the lesser guardsmen he tends to be more impressed then angry but will still avenge them as they are a part of the Red House. Rothess is kind and and respectful to the courtesans but tends to treat his fellow guardsmen like dirt and frequently insults them when they fail to live up to his and the Red Queen's standards. Rothess is a dangerous opponent to face in battle his fire bending is extremely strong and is powered by his inner rage making it extra intense and destructive. He wears spiked knuckle dusters and is proficient in hand to hand combat. His rage is such that even if he is successfully chi blocked he can still move and fight without severe hindrance. When he slips into a rage frenzy only the Red Queen is able to get him to calm down. Though she has made Rothess try to control his anger when fighting so he does not burn down her district or kill one of her employees.

=Guild Steward: Kina the Scarlet Seneschal= She is the Red Queen's loyal assistant, manager and apprentice. While Hong Sheng spends her nights in lavish luxury it is Kina who runs the day to day operations of the guild and is in charge of the courtesans. The amount of work that the Red Queen makes her do to keep the guild afloat is enormous but Kina doesn't mind and never loses her cheerful attitude no matter what strange or strenuous tasks is asked of her. She is fiercely loyal to Hong Sheng possibly more so then anyone else and will immediately turns hostel on someone that shows even the slightest contempt for her mistress. While Kina is very kind and helpful person she is incredibly possessive of her position as seneschal. And will sabotage or destroy anyone that attempts to take her job (even if they have no actual intention of doing so). Despite this she is usually the member of the guild that is the least likely to kill a stranger or to extort money from them. The exact reason she follows the Red Queen so fervently is unknown but it is rumored that she was once nothing more then a slave to a powerful triad boss, who treated her terribly. And that despite it not being in her best interest Hong Sheng destroyed the boss's gang and killed him just to free Kina. The only people who know the exact details are Hong Sheng, Rothess and Kina and none of them talk about it. As it is a part of her duties to keep the common rabble away from her mistress Kina has become a powerful earth bender and can even metal bend to a certain extent though does so rarely. She is able to rip apart and resemble the marble floors of the Red Keep easily and has been known to defeat enemies quickly and brutally. Her physical strength is also very high for a woman of her size and she can throw grown men twice her size out of windows (this is not so unusual as most earth benders posses above average strength). While she rarely metal bends Kina does keep a gold plated metal whip on her person and is very accurate with the weapon. It is also loaded with a variety of hidden traps and weapons some of which are very deadly. Like most things in the Red House Kina is like a beautiful flower that conceals a deadly viper beneath its petals.