House Lem is the most isolationist of the houses. Most of its members belong to pure Lemmite covenants (e.g. Westmarch, Ambulator Caeruleus and Sol Caerulius, Argutator Purpureus and Quintus Opacus), and Lemmites who belong to mixed house covenants are viewed with some contempt by pure house Lemmites (see Lemmite Diaspora). Lem, the founder of the house, wrote a series of (color coded) abstruse and esoteric magical texts over the course of his life, and his descendents are devoted to the interpretation of these works above all else. Multiple schools of interpretation of the texts have developed over time, with a substantial degree of hostility between the various schools. Over the history of the Order, the schools have been Brellynite, Circulan, Gravite, Westmarchite, Linguan, Imbrian, and Purpurean.
To those outside the house, the notable characteristics of Lemmites are their love of fancy costumes, their stand-offishness, and their incomprehensability. They are also known for their love of internecine fueds, and for having initiated the Elenorean Purge.
The Brellynites vanished with their covenant during the Elenorean Purge 150 years ago, and little is known of their theories of interpretation (although the terms Hardness and Whiteness, and the use of 15 puzzles, were central to their work).
The Circulans are the oldest surviving faction, and were the largest faction for a very long time (although they have fallen into internal fueds and disrepute since the Lemmite Seance). Circulanism is marked by strong heirarchies within their covenants and a focus on mystical experiences derived from and based on the books of Lem, rahter than a focus on careful reading of the books of Lem themselves. Circulans are extremely concerned with studying under particular great masters, and maintain master-student relationships beyond apprenticeship.
Gravite Lemmitism, which arose during the same period as Brellyn and Circulan lemmitism, was devoted to gravitas and to close and careful readings of the texts. Early in its history, it suffered a schism and split into the Linguan and Westmarchite branches. Westmarchites take an extremely expansive view of the importance of the Books of Lem, insisting that all legitimate spells are contained (hidden) within the Books, and that therefore spontaneous magic must be rejected. The Linguans agree that all legitimate magic is contained with the Books of Lem, but they believe that the Books of Lem are a more expansive set than just those books written by Lem. Instead, they consider each new copy to have the potential to be a new book of Lem, and are obsessively interested in lacunae and copyist's errors within the text. They view spontaneous magic as being tied to this expansive quality of the set of potential books of Lem, and therefore view it as acceptible. The Linguans were nearly entirely exstinguished after the Lemmite Seance, which was arranged to ask Lem to settle the Linguan-Westmarchite dispute, and which resulted in the eventual death (within a year and a day) of everyone present. ALmost all of the surviving Linguans either sought refuge and conversion to Imbrianism, or became diaspora Lemmites. Recently, the last two remaining Linguans (who had been hermits for many years) have started to try to convert the remaining former Linguans and their descendents.
Imbrian Lemmitism is a recently developed school which attempts to synthesize the virtues of the other schools. It received a huge boost after its main covenant became the place of refuge for survivors of the Lemmite Seance, and it is now the largest Lemmite school.
Purpurean Lemmitism is a very young offshoot of Imbrianism (although it also has converts from several other schools. It is marked by a devotion to mockery and humour as routes to mystical knowledge.
The mages of Quintus Opacus are not generally considered a school as such, but they are definitely a distinct branch of Lemmitism, and they may shortly increase their visability.
