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| Acheron + | The March of Aviaron's Peak is centered around the castle from which it derives its name, overlooking a pass that enters into Nightgold territory. The castle is built into the mountain itself, and boasts a vast network of tunnels that stretch for many miles, which local legend claims was built by dwarves. Many of the structures inside the tunnel system seem to be built to a smaller scale, supporting these legends, but the castle itself is ancient in design, and to a more typical scale. Founded after the end of House Aviaron during the Silent War, House Acheron now rules Aviaron's Peak from the Glacial Fortress, where iron and steel flows as easily as gold and silver. Replaced the Aviarons that ended with the destruction of Aron Nightgold's line. + |
| Argento + | The Argentos have ruled the island of Nilanza off the southern coast of the mainland for some time. Though their ignominious start centuries ago as little more than landed pirates is far from the grand past they'd like to impress on their Lyceum peers, the Argentos are, perhaps, a halting compromise between the lusty raiders of the island chains to the east and the pampered merchants to their west. Sharing the straits with neighbor-over-the-water Caith, the island of Nilanza and the Argentos have long profited from collecting tolls from merchants passing through and wishing to avoid the shav-infested waters further south. Historically known to be ruthless corsairs, Argentos of recent generations have become far more sophisticated in their raids. They are often compared to the southern storms of Lyceum - stormy, unreadable and mercurial - though they belie any label affixed to them. The sea is the source of their bread and butter, between teeming fishing grounds around the island, the prosperous shipping lanes, and the plentiful lumber for the shipyards in Nilanza proper. + |
| Ashford + | House Ashford has long stood the test of time, one of the earliest houses to pledge their fealty to House Grayson. Situated in the dense forests south of Arx, the adventurous Ashfords maintain an ancient network of manned watch stations high in the trees to warn of marauding shavs or other unwelcome visitors long before they can make themselves a threat. + |
B | |
| Bisland + | The oldest and most steadfast of House Grayson's vassals, it is said that no ruling Duke or Duchess of House Bisland has ever betrayed the trust of their liege lord. From their seat at Pridehall, the powerful ducal house often acts as House Grayson's strong right hand in war and has done much to keep the threat of shavs or other great houses contained through the centuries. + |
| Blackram + | A folk oft described as 'tall as the Red Mountains of their march', the titans of House Blackram are a hardy, pragmatic house that has stood for generations as the vanguard against the worst scourges of Abandoned raiders or northern invaders. Practical, fierce, and famously tall as they are stubborn, the men of House Blackram tend to tower over the other men of the Compact, with the average of them seeming to be a full foot taller than most of the men of Arvum giving rise to legends of having giants blood from the days of the Reckoning. Though known for their capability as skirmishers, their true strength lies in their powerful and intensely disciplined formations of pikemen backed by the giant nobles of House Blackram making ruthless use of greatswords to devastating effect. They operate with a degree of independence unknown in other houses as they hold the outer marches of the Telmarch for House Valardin and the Duke of Telmar, with folklore often praising the laconic humility of the Blackrams- in one example, one Marquis of House Blackram smashed a surprise attack by a shav horde and reported it with famous brevity as, "Shav invasion, six unified clans. Five thousand strong. We won. Perhaps a score escaped. Oathlands are safe." While terrifyingly impressive warriors, the Blackrams are renowned for being slow to anger and stalwart, and would prefer to be the peaceful Shepherd Kings of the Oathland borders than ever at war. + |
| Blanchard + | Loyal vassals to house Wyrmguard, House Blanchard is mostly known for producing some of the finest cavalry in Arvum and for taming horses and training horsemen. It is said that about a quarter of the western warhorses come from the County of Chevalle and a common jest is that anyone born with the blood of House Blanchard must surely be part horse, due to their gifts with the beasts. + |
| Byrne/Reflection + | The County of Cedar Vale had not been paying their dues following the Silence. Lord Gailin Stonewood was sent off to investigate the cause with a platoon of Stonewoods troops. Once there he discovered they had been killed by a local Abandoned coalition. This upset him immensely and he went into battle with those Crownland Shavs coming out victorious in the end. Given his bravery and finding the truth, Gailin claimed the county back in the name of Stonewood and under the Vassalage of Bisland. Upon his return from his ‘aggressive negotiations’ and reclaiming of the County; Marquis Malesh named him Count Gailin Fireviper of Cedar Vale - Fireviper being a name originating with a local viper known for an excruciating venomous bite. This forked the main Stonewood line to replace the nobility of Cedar Vale that was lost. Years later Count Gailin married Lady Mikani Redreef on his deathbed. While they were in contract negotiations before his fatal injuries, Mikani was already poised to take her position as Countess of Cedar Vale. To allow for mourning; Marquis Malesh Stonewood delayed his proclamation of Mikani’s elevation to Countess. During that time Mikani researched the old family that was housed at the old Cinder Estate. The name Byrne was uncovered. Unable to feel like the true Countess of Fireviper without Gailin - Mikani took the name of Byrne in memory of the House that was there before. The Countess found love again and eventually married out, and the title passed to Marquis Malesh Stonewood's younger brother, Graham. In October 1015, Graham and a hundred of his men were found slaughtered after failing to return from patrol, and being without an heir of his own, the title of Countess passed to his cousin Lady Lyra Byrne. + |
C | |
| Crovane/Reflection + | Centuries ago, the noble Proudwoods of the Gray Forest were slaughtered to a man by Abandoned hordes. The leader of the barbarous coalition asserted himself and suppressed his fellows in the wake, pledging loyalty to the crown through force of arms; thus were the prodigal Crovanes, the Axemen, raised to nobility. In the years since, they have maintained a firm hold on power and scandalously close ties to the Abandoned, serving as a bulwark on the mountains and developing relations with their Thraxian neighbors. House Crovane is known most for its exotic black lumbers and mineral wealth, and the deeply traditional (some say wild) character of its people. + |
D | |
| Darkwater + | While not the largest of houses, these longtime vassals of House Thrax have long been the terror of the Mourning Isles, keeping the seaborne Abandoned in check who dare to stray in the waters under the dominion of Thrax. While officially House Darkwater has renounced piracy against any civilized house of the Compact centuries ago and respects the passage of shipping from the Lyceum, many of the other houses remain dubious of the explanation that vessels are sometimes lost due to 'shav attacks' as they pass by the Darkwater Reach. + |
| Deepwood + | Devastated by the Deepwood Massacre that left only Marquessa Samantha Deepwood alive, the ancient Grayson vassal house has since rebuilt and still controls significant holdings on the dangerous borderlands of the Gray Forest. + |
F | |
| Fidante + | While the city-state of Tor enjoys the same infamy among Arvum as the rest of the Lyceum, House Fidante's close proximity to the Oathlands and loose ties with House Valardin have in recent years grudgingly won the reputation for honorable behavior among many of its doubters. As arguably the most powerful vassal house of House Velenosa, House Fidante acts as a bulwark against any potential aggression from the westlands and would be the first thrust into conflict with House Valardin despite their ties. + |
G | |
| Gilden + | An old but small house from the lowest rung of the nobility, House Gilden has controlled the modest Barony of Caith for generations. While the House Gilden's holdings are as every bit as modest as most baronies are compared to the great houses, they still possess all the privileges of their rank and are positioned to carve a greater position for themselves among the Lyceum and the Peerage of Arvum as a whole. + |
| Grayson + | Arguably the most powerful house and without a doubt the proudest, House Grayson has ever justification for their pride. As the founders of the Compact and overwhelming majority of the kings and queens of the Compact of Arvum, they have long grown accustomed to ruling each of the other four great houses as their vassals. For that alone, they might be the proudest, but their greatest heroes are not those who saved the realm from the Reckoning- no, it is the woman who five hundred years ago reunited the Compact once more and shattered the power of the sylv'alfar, Queen Alarice the Great. Most of the culture of Arvum has been dictated by the dominance of Grayson mores throughout the centuries, and Arx has been treated more as a possession than an equal ground between the houses. For House Grayson, few see any reason this state of affairs should change. + |
| Greenmarch + | One of the youngest houses in the Compact, the shavs of the Greenmarch clan bent the knee and joined House Valardin as vassals to House Telmar through a combination of marriages- Princess Marian into House Valardin, and the new Marquis Marius Greenmarch to Duke Arn's daughter Lady Simone. The new prodigals have hardly surrendered their proud past of a thousand years of successful resistance to Valardinian incursion into the Greenwood. Legends claim that a thousand years ago, the last King of Sanctum banished Marcus Greenwood from his court for arguing that the Oathlands needed to rally against the demonic threat. Abandoned by the rest of the Oathlands, the Greenmarchers say that they held the Greenwood alone against the tide of darkness and they owed the Compact nothing. + |
| Grimhall + | Though the name 'Grimhall' is said to come from a bastardization of Grihem the Explorer, a legendary figure who led the Arvani to the bountiful isle in the Mourning Sea now known as Grihem's Point, much of the house's bloody history has justified a dark cloud at the mention of its name. While a handful of Dukes of Grimhall have been respected, or even loved, the majority have attempted to 'out-Thrax the Thraxians' by demonstrating a callous brutality of their vassals and attempting to rule through fear. Rivals of House Tyde, the destruction of that ancient house did very little to restrain the violent excesses from House Grimhall. + |
H | |
| Halfshav + | Halfshav, a young house a mere few generations old, was founded with a great King Of the Shavs bent the knee to the Prince of Farhaven after a combined force of a dozen clans of the Abandoned was crushed in a battle to decide the fate of the North. After more than a century of living under Redrain rule, they still bloodfeuds with a number of Abandoned tribes that refused to yield and ties with many peaceable ones. + |
| Hawkmour + | Hawkmour rules from Falcon Watch, the Hawkmour family seat south of Tor and near a mirror across the bay from Southport. The Hawkmour's are loyal vassals of House Fidante, with the marriage of the current Marquis's uncle Connal to one of the Duke's sisters establishing a tight bond, the fosterage of a grand-daughter, Runa, in turn back to Fidante working to further tighten the bonds of friendship there. Although the records are largely lost, there's a belief that House Hawkmour was a cadet branch of Malvici that split off many centuries ago, explaining the similarities in their sigils. + |
I | |
| Igniseri + | Igniseri rules from Castle Granato amidst the olive groves of Granato. The Marquesa Emeritus, Emisilia Igniseri, is the mother of the ruling Marquis, Vincere Igniseri, and she serves as castellan and agent of her sons upon the lands. House Igniseri was once held in higher esteem among the houses of marquis's rank across the Lyceum, but the Marquesa's rule was troubled and unsubtle and marked with death. Her reputation was not what it could have been, and she lost several husbands to death, including one whose death seemed readily laid at her door. + |
| Inverno + | Historically, Inverno has had a strained relationship with its liege house Argento. As Argento got comfortable in Nilanza, many of the corsairs loyal to the family bristled at the softening that seemed to accompany their growing legitimacy, blades set down in favor of trade agreements. Whether the marquis meant to placate his rivals or inspire a revolt he was sure he could quell, he bestowed the arid, unforgiving island of Caina upon one of his more vocal opponents, Gregario Inverno. Most did not expect House Inverno to thrive upon the island so ill-favored by the tradewinds, the rocky terrain unsuitable for either growing or building, and yet the house has persisted through stubbornness and self-reliance. Recent generations have worked to bridge the gap between vassal and liege, though most speculate that their bonding has been built upon illegal and illicit activities. House Inverno refutes the rumors that the county is rife with pirates, maintaining that they are loyal and law-abiding, that their people are fishermen and mercenaries, hard folks who know how to survive. Their fishing industry isn't strong enough to support the growth Caina's seen of late. With the conquest of House Argento's Nilanza, Inverno bent the knee to Duchess Belladonna Pravus and Nilanza's new Marquessa, Lianne. The Countess Nicia was installed to oversee Caina but has since abdicated to marry into House Laurent, leaving the new Count Donato Inverno as ruler of Caina. In 1012 AR, House Inverno followed Pravus when the latter was elevated to become a great house, joining them in their conquest of the Saffron Chain. + |
K | |
| Kennex + | A clear departure from traditional Thrax values. House Kennex started as a commoner family, a long line of Admirals and Captains who served in the Thrax navy. They were granted a title and a hold after removing a particularly irritating group of shav pirates from a piece of Thrax territory. Being so far removed from the bulk of Thrax territory, House Kennex grew into something quite different. Progressive, strong, loyal, and integral to ship building efforts. It continues to be the Thrax vassal with the lowest thrall population + |
L | |
| Lyonesse + | Dating back to six decades before the time of Alarice the Great, House Lyonesse sprang up due to their military service and deeds performed in service to the Great House of Valardin. What began as a household with a rich future, eventually began to decline within recent history. The last few generations of the Lyonesse family have suffered from a bout of misfortune and ill luck. They maintain their pride and commitment to their oaths, despite being a family on the edge of twilight. The next few generations could decide whether the name fades from existence or overcomes their streak of bad luck and flourish. As a result of House Valardin's reaching down and lifting their name up from that of a simple outpost commander to oversee a March, the family possesses a strong loyalty and bond to the Valardin, through the duchy of Laurent. + |
M | |
| Magnotta + | In the winter of 1007, House Malvici set out to do their part to turn the isles against the Dark Reflection of Mangata and towards the Compact. Through diplomatic efforts and a strong military force, the people of the Cyrto Islands bent the knee to House Malvici. Duchess Calypso Malvici entrusted this new county to the hands of newlyweds Lord Artorius and Lady Melinda, making them Count and Countess of this strategic island cluster in the Lycean Sea. They took the name Magnotta to honor the Goddess of the Wind and Sea. With a new people to look over and a new family to establish, they kept a watch on the southernmost reaches of Arvus, acting as the Watch Tower of the Compact's southern holdings. In 1013 however, Artorius, for reasons unknown though rumored to have been related to the divorce from Lady Melinda, abdicated and requested Lord Domonico Malvici to take his place. The new Count Domonico Magnotta has both been followed by several further flung Malvici family members changing their names and allegience to the small House as well as having fostered new bonds with the Prodigals sworn to the House. Only three years later, in 1016, through unfortunate circumstances and natural causes, both Domonico and his wife Aahana passed away. Artorius stepped forward to reclaim what Duchess Calypso had once bestowed upon him in trust, with the support of House Malvici. Retaining the mantle of Count, Artorius has made it clear the traditions of the old blood of Malvici will remain strong in Magnotta. '''By Sea and Sky.''' + |
| Malvici + | According to legend, House Malvici's ancestor was a brilliant general during the Reckoning, a master of deceptive warfare whose small army's distractions, feints, and traps delayed the demons' advance on Arx. Historically, House Malvici has fielded a larger standing army and a larger, better-trained militia than its competitors in the Lyceum and been unafraid to use them. The family that believes in making its own luck avoids leaving anything to chance. Although the records are largely lost, there's a belief that House Hawkmour was a cadet branch of Malvici that split off many centuries ago, explaining the similarities in their sigils. + |
N | |
| Navegant + | House Navegant has slowly become defined by its single holding, the island village of Escuma. It is highly defensible but lacking in land mass for expansion and is rich in the common, necessary resources for sustaining life but holds no conspicuous material wealth. In holding to this touchstone, Navegant has developed a reputation for conservativism, patience and stubbornness. Militarily, they are not quite the picture of roving Thraxian militarism but maintain a strong fleet presence within their own bailiwick. They could fairly be said to be a nettle that would be disproportionately painful to grasp in hand than the benefit to be gained from the holding rather than a wildfire threatening to consume all in their path. + |
| Nightgold + | Clans of the Abandoned have long lived in the mountains, warring over access to rich deposits of gold and other rare metals. While the Prince of Farhaven marched on the North, a group of enterprising Abandoned overthrew the region's reigning Shav King and bent the knee after the bloody coup, saving countless lives by swearing fealty instead of engaging in battle. After several generations under Redrain rule, the mountain men continue the long tradition of mining the Northern mountains, supplying rare metals to much of Arvum. + |
P | |
| Pravus + | Few houses have as dark a reputation as House Pravus and that is precisely how they like it. Few scandals ever do them any significant harm, as it is only to be expected from libertines, and the house clearly decided a long time ago it was better to be feared than loved. The occasional ruler of House Pravus will attempt to reform their name, but most simply embrace how they are perceived- a dangerously cunning house that will stop at nothing to achieve their own ends. + |
R | |
| Ravenseye + | The Ravenseye tribe has had a long history of friendship with the Blackwoods, often assisting them in issues along the coast and seas in dealing with other tribes of Abandon, as well as raiders and pillagers that would seek to plunder further inland. With their strong friendship, the Stormcrows bent the knee to their friends and cousins joining them in their service to the Crovanes and Redrain. Continuing their task that they had been doing for several years now, but instead, it was not just for their friends, but Liege Lord and the Compact, itself now. But now Redrain has a vassal house that can serve as its own navy or at the very least a solid start of one. + |
| Redrain + | The youngest of the five great houses traces its heritage to the start of the Reckoning, when the barbarian queen Valeria united the warring northern tribes and defeated the dread White Legion of the demonic host at the Battle of Redrain Field before marching south to join the Compact at Arx. House Redrain tenaciously clings to many of the unique customs of the North despite frequent pressure from the southern houses, and has a reputation for barbarism and wanton behavior that is often extremely exaggerated. While many of Redrain's nobles (and especially its vassals) look more like shavs in their leathers and pelts than the refined and courtly nobles of the south, some deliberately cultivate the image of being crude and unrefined to be consistently underestimated in the dangerous political waters of Arx. + |
| Redreef/Reflection + | In the aftermath of the brutal carnage of a sea battle amidst the reefs, the barony was carved out and gifted to a newly ennobled retainer of then Count Darkwater. Already an old soldier at the time his barony was formed, he had a passel of children already with which to populate his fleet, and the new Redreef noble-shipmasters swarmed over the isles of the barony, Developing a reputation for bluff heartiness and an incisive stubbornness, the Redreefs were fierce and loyal men who spent more time on the sea than off it, with a fierce tradition of thralls and prizes taken on the water rather than for paltry monetary debts. Over the decades, they married well from elsewhere in the Isles, and grew their reputation for being warlike and feisty. When the last baron's daughter Ember Redreef showed herself a true leader by dint of blood and sweat, she and her sister and their loyal retainers began a force for progressiveness, allied with other strong young voices in the Darkwater and beyond. But always, House Redreef has been true to those fierce roots. + |
| Riven + | The old Twins that used to guard the fork of the river south of the Deepwood were a staid house of history and tradition, and the new one is very new, forged in blood and uncertainty. When the Deepwoods were slaughtered, many of the old Twainfort house, the Twainforts, died at the swords of the Abandoned. The new Countess, all of 17 years old, met in secret with the leader of a tribal group of deserters that felt something was strange about the slaughter and refused to follow their leaders into battle. Countess Mia Riven betrothed herself to Thesarin, leader of the deserters, and passionately defended this position to the Bislands, warding the Marquesa of Deepwood, and to the Graysons. Two years later, she made good her promise to marry him and made him her Count, and absorbed his prodigal tribesmen into her house to fill out the ranks of her soldiery. Thesarin and Mia rule now as a pair, stalwart behind their sworn liege, and uniquely situated to take on the challenges to the Compact with the lore and history of Thesarin's former tribesmen behind them. + |
| Rubino-Zaffria + | House Rubino is known for being ruthless players of the game, if such a thing can be notable within the Lyceum houses. While they usually have the means to help their neighbors, they never forget a debt owed to them and always come calling for payment. They are not a well-liked house, but they're respected within the Lyceum. Zaffria, led by Duke Marco, rules from Crowned Hill still, so called by the scattering of granite rocks around their castle that can be called a 'crown' if one is feeling artistic. They are known for being witty, surprisingly charming vassals of Velenosa and have often had family serving in various positions to their liege house for many years. The current family, however, only consists of Duke Marco and his wife Odelle, with their only child Sylphie. And, of course, various cousins and off shoots of the main branch. + |
S | |
| Saik + | Blessed with the title of nobility, if not ostentatious wealth or large land holdings. The truth is, they're rather poor, even if the stretch of property they maintain is quaint, even idyllic. Considering that they are a Lycene House, it may come as a surprise to some that the Saiks are not, in point of fact, a fashion-crazed, plot-hungry, conspirator-loving family amidst a sea of such (according to all rumor) that exists within Lyceum. Indeed, by and large, the Saiks are content with what they have. Which is to say, food, serfs, and relative wealth. Why risk losing a good thing? + |
| Seliki + | House Seliki's ancestry is rooted in the potential of making something from nothing. Founded by former thralls generations ago, they were granted the land by House Deepwood with the understanding that if they can defend it and make something of it, they had earned it. So they did. When thralls manage to safely make the distance between the Maelstrom and the shore, it is House Seliki that is the first to welcome them and help them integrate into their newfound freedom. They take their duties as guardians of the shore quite seriously, and while they also tend to be industrious, in most other matters they are very relaxed. They save the burdens of stress and anxiety for when they are called for to use that energy for the task at hand. They can often seem almost too relaxed when it comes to those who don't understand their point of view, but when the time comes for seriousness, whether in matters of politics, war, or industry, their focus is razor sharp. + |
| Stahlben/Reflection + | The Stahlben clan was, until very recently, one of the Shav’arvani clans most isolated from Arvum, known to the Compact only in vague tales of bone-wearing warriors to the far north. For centuries it had ruled from the Bonespire, the last mountain before the endless white of the Everwinter. Determined defenders of their homeland, they’ve fought against other Abandoned with little contact from the Compact, their wary gaze turned North rather than South. The clan’s power waned in the aftermath of the Silent War, its numbers depleted from the heavy fighting it led, alone, against an undying foe. With new threats rising, the Stahlben, in a bid to survive lest they fall alone, bent the knee to Sanna. Now a county sworn under the Compact, there’s been little time to change their savage ways, much less spread the Faith’s teachings in so remote a part of the world. Yet times are changing, and even the eternal Stahlben must change with it. Warriors and spiritualists, the Stahlben’s recent addition to the Compact have seen them export various metals, pelts as well as stone and bone crafts. + |
| Stonewood/Reflection + | One of the somewhat newer and though rather steadfast of House Bisland's vassals, it is said that no ruling Marquis or Marquessa of House Stonewood has ever betrayed the trust of their liege lord. From their seat at Stonehearth, the powerful march house often acts as House Bisland's strong right hand in economic commerce and has done much to keep things quite lucrative for the ducal. + |
T | |
| Telmar + | House Telmar, the traditional strong right hand of House Valardin, has long held the most dangerous lands bordering the North. While in recent centuries the long running feuds between House Valardin and House Redrain have rarely resulted in wars, the Telmarch remains the primary road to the heart of Valardin territories and the one point that shav hordes are forced to attack if they wish to move into the Oathlands in force. It is said that no Telmar duke has ever ruled without at least once being forced into battle. + |
| Thrax + | After the complete destruction of House Marin during the Reckoning, it did not take much time for House Thrax to assert their dominance over the Saffron Chain and all of the Mourning Isles and claim all of the isles in the eastern seas as their own. Warlike and aggressive, the seaborn reavers of House Thrax have warred against every other great house in the Compact at some time or another, and even staged a violent overthrow of House Grayson during the Crownbreaker Wars for the short-lived Thrax Dynasty. However little House Thrax is liked, they command respect and fear due to their overwhelming power at sea, which in turn has made them traditional allies of House Velenosa due to the latter's great degree of seaborne shipping. + |
V | |
| Valardin + | Widely considered to be the creators of chivalric ideals and the font of the Faith of the Pantheon, House Valardin has long been seen as paragons of knightly virtue. While the proud and honorable western house eschews the political machinations favored by their rivals in the Lyceum, they nonetheless are a constant force in the Assembly of Peers and through Arx. While not every member of House Valardin meets the high bar set by their ideals, most of the house and all of its vassals strive to be remembered in honor. + |
| Velenosa + | The city-states of the Lyceum are far more fractious and treacherous than any other vassals in the whole of Arvum and could never be expected to follow a leader that is not clever, powerful and capable. House Velenosa has spent centuries ensuring they fulfill every requirement and more. While not every Grand Duke of the Lyceum has been from House Velenosa, the vast majority of the leaders of the Lyceum have come from the sly southern foxes. It is a credit to the talent and skill of House Velenosa's nobles that despite the Lyceum has a whole being an ending intrigue of manipulation, far more other nobles are willing to trust Velenosa than other Lycene houses. Their word, once given, is very rarely broken- they have honor, even if it is of an exceptionally dangerous variety. + |
