It is Siadas, 22nd of the Month of Cinder, in the year 95

The Five Great Houses

Daramos

Tzukyn

Galasaar

Kitzra

Ritan

"Blessed be those who honour the Twenty-One."

- Common Daramos Priestly saying

The Great House Daramos

The Great House of Daramos, The First House, sits at the centre of The Dominion of the Great Houses, its capital, Acrabera, is the former seat of power which the Empress and Emperor ruled from.

It is said in their history, it was the Empress and Emperor who bestowed upon them the responsibility to shepherd The Dominion into the future. It is a task which no true heir of the Great House has shied away from, and one which even the commoners of Daramos have taken upon themselves to be a part of.

The mission for House Daramos has put it on a collision course with the other Great Houses over the centuries. Some of these incidents have been bitter feuds, and while Daramos tries to avoid open warfare, with those it has deemed too dangerous, it has on occasion embroiled itself in actions that have earned it a darker reputation.

In spite of this, House Daramos is still held up by many in common belief to be the most fair and just of all the Houses, though the Daramos family itself has a more mixed reputation. Those members often form the backbone of any concentrated effort to change the status quo in the other Great Houses or the Dominion as a whole should it improve the lives of Elves and benefit The Dominion.

The current leader of House Daramos is Idran Daramos. He is renowned as a kind and gentle Elf, who has dedicated a lot of his time and resources to fighting against Humanity to preserve The Dominion

History: House Daramos

It was Kalduin Daramos who became the first Patriarch of the Great House of Daramos. He was known at the time for his ability to temper and reason with the Emperor and his resilience against the charms and wrath of the Empress. Often holding them to such a high standard, that the two endeavoured to reach it, as Daramos descendants love to claim.

Kalduin was the first to be granted a seat among the Great Houses. When he was, he was given the immense task of acting as custodian over the seat of Dominion power, Acrabera. During the bestowment ceremony, it was highlighted that Kalduin's strong core would be a salient beacon to all as The Dominion's future was solidified into the Great Houses structure, upon the event of the Empress and Emperor's departure.

Much of the common understanding of what Soletera did is often lost in myths and legends, the feats ascribed to them are beyond belief to many Elves and they are more often than not dismissed as fairy tales. Increasingly the accounts written during the Dark Age of after are becoming rarer to find and trust.

To House Daramos, the war with House Soletera first started with the assassination of Matriarch Balsya Daramos. History views her as a wise, temperate and venerable Elf who was brutally and publicly stabbed until dead by agents of the Sixth House as she spoke during a ceremony where she spoke of the virtues of The Dominion in Acrabera.

What followed was a torrent of civil unrest and violence that is recorded to have sprang out of nowhere. Often likened to mass-hysteria, The Great House of Daramos was crippled within days.

Settlements descended into a chaotic display of wanton violence or lapsed in their collective sanity to begin gibbering about creatures unseen and beasts of such disastrous grandeur. The nobility and commoners alike tried to reestablish order in this era of anarchy, but their efforts were further stifled. The Sixth House unleashed a torrent of ferocious beasts across the land that made travel extremely dangerous. Communication, food supplies and general travel soon outside of settlements soon became far too perilous for normal usage.

For years this malaise of hysteria tormented the House, and carving out areas of safety took months of brutal warfare. Eventually, two years after the death of Balsya, House Daramos seemed to be finally making a comeback. The savage warbands were being culled and routes were being reopened.

The celebrations that took place at this moment were soured within days as the Tyrant, Gentara Soletera, was sighted entering Daramos lands. She was at the head of a host of Sixth House men at arms, peasantry forced to fight, her own sect of zealots and the alchemical beasts that plunged Daramos into this dark age. - Each settlement she happened upon was given an ultimatum, join or be sacrificed. Many did initially attempt to resist, and many were killed. As her army swept through the land, it swelled with those too afraid to stand against her so stood with her.

Her march to Acrabera took over a year as in her way were a number of stalwart fortresses and fortifications that greatly slowed her down. But each did fall, and her march continued. When she reached the capital, she delivered the same ultimatum as she gave all others, and she was rejected. And so the city was besieged.

Acrabera was unlike many other Elven cities. It was far grander, larger and had numerous fortifications and bastions defending it. It took months for The Tyrant’s army to break through the first wall, and months more to take the streets and then the Eastern Hill Bastion. However, it wasn't until her force breached the Palace of Ciel did it grind to a halt. The Palace was turned into a killing ground that proved too effective for Gentara to ignore and allow her underlings to constantly fail. She joined the fray with her zealots and battled through the Palace, killing numerous members of House Daramos in the process. Accounts say that, during the battle while she tortured Anrazus Daramos - A young Seventh Cultist - by using Aether infused alchemy to mutate him there and then. She was struck by an electrified shard of silver. Some stories indicate a fight took place and she was impaled, others that she was struck from afar. In either case, it is mentioned that Captain Merodak, as though the Four Eyed King himself intervened and bestowed his grace on the Captain, granted him the power to fell Gentara.

It is unknown if she was struck down for good, as her body is never accounted for. But the loss of their leader led to a swift collapse in her army. Those that were forced to join Soletera began to butcher their oppressors. Very few were captured as most fled or preferred death over defeat.

House Daramos went on to rally against Soletera and drove them out. They then pursued them further, meeting with House Galasar in the process, until Soletera ceased to resist and all that was left were defeated soldiers. The losses Daramos incurred and their eventual victory over the Sixth House has fueled the myth that they fought the worst of it and mostly defeated Soletera alone.

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Algard Daramos is one of the most controversial figures in the past few centuries originating from House Daramos. As The Honoured Patriarch, he was instrumental in the banning of slavery of Elvenkind in the Dominion that had become commonplace since the Dark Age.

Slavery proliferated as it became a common punishment for crimes committed, some nobles became too keen to use it as a means to accrue more wealth or a larger labour force. Many slaves at the time were descendants from those who had betrayed their Houses and sided with the Sixth House either out of desperation or ambition. Some were direct descendants of the Sixth itself and its cities. Trying to capitalise on this trade, House Galasaar began enslaving Komanali captives which inflamed tensions and sparked several conflicts. In many cases they were traded to House Kitzra, specifically to Kitzra’s Permanent Workforce Guild run by Ghurzo Kitzra, who then sold them onto House Ritan and Tzukyn.

Algard’s campaign against the practice saw him lock horns with various cadet branches of the other houses, even going as far as sending Daramos Seventh Cultists into House Galasaar lands to humiliate noncompliant Galasaar-aligned nobles. His tactics often did him no favours as they were particularly blunt and lacked all grace his Great House was known for. Those of his family and House that agreed with him, set about in their methods to convince and lead the other Houses into a better future and often acted to ‘clean up’ the fallout Algard created.

There was one however, who proved to be a constant source of enragement for Algard and often undid progress that he or his family made in stamping out slavery. Ghurzo saw the actions of House Daramos as directly trying to undermine his business, and as more nobles across the Dominion began to side with Algard and Daramos, he became more radicalised as the doubt and worrying of his pride and future set in.

The two made a habit of sending their own Seventh Cultists to duel, fight and hold tournaments in grand attempts to humiliate the other side. They did meet a few times, and in these few times they almost fought. One of these times however, Algard stabbed Ghurzo with a fork he snatched from a nearby table. He promised then in an outburst of rage, that Ghurzo will face death for his crimes against his own people and no true Elf would side with such an abomination.

Some months later Ghurzo was found dead, poisoned as he ate his supper. The Dominion came close to the brink of war as many suspected Algard being the culprit. However, it was the announcement from an unlikely ally in the Honoured Matriarch of House Ritan, Koria Ritan, who changed the public discourse by decreeing the end of slavery in her house. House Tzukyn quickly followed suit, then Kitzra, then Galasaar. The assassin was never found and the case was eventually dropped by the Patriarch of Kitzra.

Since then, House Daramos has always been given a suspicious glance as many wondered then and still do, about how far they will go.

Aspects of House Daramos

The Honoured Patriarch/Matriarch

Such a position is given to the leader of House Daramos. They represent their House in the Dominion council and are generally considered the ultimate authority in its own territory.

Succession to this position is given to the chosen heir of the Patriarch or Matriarch before them.

High Lord / Lady

High Lords primarily are used for leaders of cadet branches or subservient houses from the main House. These people typically hold more than one significant city under their rule, or a large tract of land that they are the guardian of. The High Lords sometimes get involved in direct conflict with other cadet branches or subservient houses, even those from other Great Houses.

Minister

Unique within House Daramos are the Ministers. Those who pursue the path of the Twenty-One generally operate outside of the usual political structures of power. They are often found tending courts as advisors, overseeing various temples, churches or tutoring the future of House Daramos. Their skills in oration and philosophy make them excellent partners to a cause, so much so that they are often sought out and petitioned to to receive support from locals of other houses.

Lord / Lady

Although regarded more highly outside of House Daramos, the lords of Daramos often find themselves lower in the hierarchy than the Ministers despite their avoidance of politics. But due to their avoidance of politics this has not caused more problems within the House.

Lords often serve the High Lords and Ladies, or the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of House Daramos directly. Many family members of Daramos occupy the title of Lord too.

Deacons

Deacons are few and far between and entirely unique to House Daramos. Finding fault with the Seventh Cultists due to their strict adherence to their faith, Ministers of Daramos sought out followers of the Eighth to become their champions instead.

The position of a Deacon, originally, was then born to merge the desirable aspects of the Ministers with the needed aspects of the Seventh. Many Deacons hold true to the position’s original intention for its martial need, though more commonly the title is being used to denote a member of the Minister’s retinue instead.

Seventh Cultists (Often referred to as Sir / Dame)

The Seventh Cultists of House Daramos are almost exclusively tied to some noble House within the land. Although they are not known to be as potent as those of House Galasaar or Ritan, they still form the core of the Elven version of ‘Knights’.

Priests

Priests are a common sight in House Daramos, so common in fact there is a saying that there is a priest in the household. In truth, the role of a priest is a highly respected profession within the House and gives many Elves the opportunity to travel and mingle with the other Great Houses to teach and aid those in need. It is through the various priesthoods that Ministers and Deacons are selected.

Priests of the Twenty-One and One

It is only in House Daramos where all of the Twenty-One are represented but The Tower.

Each card has their own palace within the capital, each palace is as grand as they need to be to remain truthful to their representation. The bestowing of priesthoods is a bi-annual ceremony that accompanies a city-wide celebration within Acrabera.

Most priests found in the other Great Houses that have dedicated themselves to their chosen god have either originated from House Daramos or have gone on pilgrimage to one of the palaces in Acrabera. The grand splendour of the city then mixed with the divine eminence of the temple and churches is known to bring the faithful to tears of joy.

House Daramos officially does not recognise the Sixteenth in the common tarot and it exists in a state of perpetual limbo due to its association with the profane house. Despite this, there is a healthy argument over its inclusion owing to the value it can possess should it be better understood. The greatest argument against its inclusion is that no one is aware of where The Tower came from, despite others having origins even if fabled, The Sixteenth does not.

The Inquirers & The Daramos Archive

In the aftermath of the war against the Sixth House, House Daramos commissioned an inquiry into the causes of the war and to discover what sent one of the Great Houses on such a dark path. Initial expectations were for a report to be produced within a year, but the more they looked the more they discovered. The Inquirers were instituted after their first compiled report, which when presented gave House Daramos all the reason it needed to pursue the investigation further. The organisation discovered a litany of profane documents and experimentations which fused the aether with alchemy and then again with flesh and blood. These reports spoke of dark deeds done for the desires of dangerous deities, and explained the notion of the demonic.

Since this inception the Inquirers have looked further afield to seek out the Sixth House’s influence among their kin. In the earliest days they were gladly welcomed and hailed as heroes. But in the many centuries since their birth their presence has often left a sour taste as the memory of the Sixth fades. They have become closely associated with Justice and often are active worshippers of XI.

All of the evidence that the Inquirers have gathered, the papers of experiments, the missives and messages. Plots, schemes and anything thought touched by Soletera has been locked away in the Daramos archive. A venerable fortress prison of the esoteric and profane.

While followers of the Eighth can be found throughout all of the Houses, it is only in House Daramos are these followers elevated to a status similar to that of the Seventh Cultists. Although not as politically active, nor individually unique, the Champions of the Eighth have become a common sight to be led by a Deacon and accompany Ministers about their business.

They have a particularly sour relationship with the Seventh Cultists, most often because those of the Seventh find them as imitators and making a mockery of their role in Elven society.

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"Only a fool trusts in fate when ambition shapes the future."

A House Tzukyn sentiment.

The Great House Tzukyn

The Great House of Tzukyn, the Second House, self-referred to as the Enlightened House.They are one of the most controversial houses in The Dominion, and have an affinity with discovery and trying to understand the world around them and the world that came before them.

In Elven their capital city is known as Khiel, but over the years they have preferred to refer to it by its much more ancient Precursor name. Zipactonen. The Elves of Tzukyn have adopted this name more readily in a shift of attitude to imagine themselves as more venerable than their forebears who first occupied the settlement.

Khiel is a city built upon and within the foundations of another city, through the centuries as more discoveries are made, the sheer vastness of these Precursor ruins reveals more insights and wonders. Although Khiel is currently not the largest settlement in the Dominion, House Tzukyn maintains that what it sits upon is the greatest city in all of Awenasa.

Matriarch Terilnennilna Tzukyn is the current leader of House Tzukyn. She is known to be a generous benefactor to the scientific arts and the pursuit of knowledge, and so far her reign has seen greater freedoms for the professors and nobles for their research and experimentations which has drawn suspicious eyes from House Daramos.

History: House Tzukyn

Varinlya Tzukyn was chosen as the second to be given the Mantle of the Great Houses. She was selected to see that the Dominion of the Elves burned bright and lit a path forward for its future. These words went on to inspire the great scientific pursuits of the House.

Varinlya herself was an avid follower of The Four-Eyed King, and she is believed to have mentioned to the Empress and Emperor that The Magician had great plans for them. In her tenure on their council and as an advisor her opinion and wisdom was greatly coveted. House Tzukyn often likes to classify her as the Prime Advisor on the council, the first before the rest.

House Tzukyn was the last House to come under the grip of House Soletera, at least as far as they were aware at the time. The signs began slowly, and appeared more to be related to the typical rivalries and petty infighting the House had become custom too.

A series of accidental deaths, sparks of violent attacks in the streets and suspicious disappearances predated the revelation that came. Matriarch Shelvirnys at the time seemed notably absent in such a time when the house needed strong leadership.

While the incidents of violence, injuries, and disappearance continued, it was the very obvious assassination attempt of Zonec that threw the House into a much wider mode of panic. Zonec was known to have been taken under the wing of Gentara Soletera to treat his Aetheric condition which straddled him with madness.

He eventually ‘escaped’ and fled to Tzukyn where he prophesied the descent into madness of the Sixth House. He attempted, in many frantic ventures, to warn anyone who would listen about the coming apocalypse brought by them.

It was around this time that Shelvirnys Tzukyn had reappeared to take control of the situation. Blaming a variety of nobles and their Houses for the petty rivalries that had gotten out of control, and accusing them of destabilising the House, she laid the groundwork for further dissent.

Anarchy slowly began to grip the House and its lands. Nobles began pointing fingers at each other, claiming them for the chaos being caused, while those named by Shelvirnys were excised out of Khiel by their sneering peers. This state of disharmony lasted for months, and grew worse, no matter how many turned against their own.

Many nobles started to band together into their own factions to protect each other from the machinations of other factions. Some even flew further into madness and betrayed their own factions.Eventually, a number of these factions who were more coherent announced their desire to cede from House Tzukyn and take their lands to House Soletera.

This act was appalling to many nobles still loyal to their house. And what's worse is Matriarch Shelvirnys did not just allow it, but encouraged more to abandon the house.

With this act, those who saw themselves as in the grace of sanity believed that the Matriarch was being manipulated by the Sixth House. Many family members of House Tzukyn joined with elements of the nobility and the populace to resist the Matriarch's madness.Vama, Kaelath and Traeder Tzukyn rallied more to the cause to resist their mother, becoming a beacon of hope to return to the House to normalcy.

Commander Tarhun crossed the divide with her veterans behind her. She made haste to the City of Khiel and sent scouts before her. She was made aware of the reign of chaos that cemented itself across the city, but also of the possible resistance that fought against the madness of Shelvirnys. Her journey to reach the capital was fraught with danger as the countryside had been overrun by the same beasts that swarmed the land in House Kitzra, but there they ran wild and unhindered.

Commander Tarhun eventually met with the sons and daughter of Shelvirnys, they devised a plan to take an ultimatum to the Matriarch and end the madness once and for all. The group had their loyalists cause a distraction across the city while they infiltrated the Tzukyn Palace. While they navigated the palace to find the Matriarch, they stumbled into various rooms where they found nobles who had disappeared but instead had been imprisoned, many of themerribly exhausted while others had been tortured.

The group pressed on further, deeper they travelled into the Palace until they came upon the central study where they thought the Matriarch should be. They stealthily dispatched the guards barring entry before entering to confront the head of House Tzukyn.

Inside the room there were half a dozen disciple seeming figures surrounding the figure of the Matriarch, and a few guards at the far sides of the room. A moment of silence befell the room before Vama Tzukyn launched into a desperate plea with the Matriarch to come to her senses. The Matriarch's response was to offer Vama a hysterical laugh and mocked her outlandishness.

Vama and Kaelath found in that moment that their mother had become utterly unlike herself; though had little time to think on it, as the traitorous Traeder Tzukyn seized the opportunity to plunge a dagger into the back of Vama’s skull. It was later revealed that this was not Trader at all, but rather Thahvin Soletera, abusing Aether to disguise herself. A battle ensued in that room, wherein Kaelath nearly died, but fortunately Commander Tahun was able to save his life. He plunged a shard of electrified silver into Thahvin’s heart, ending the violence.

Thahvin’s death sent an eventual shockwave through the Sixth House followers within the city, some fled while others needed to be hunted down and disposed of. Many wanted revenge upon finding out about House Soletera’s treachery, which was promised to them once they wrestled back control of their homeland. Kaelath Tzukyn succeeded Shelvirnys as head of the Great House, and he lived a long life despite being permanently crippled during the fight.

Raneiva And Faforei

Rivalries in House Tzukyn are not uncommon, but few become so deadly as to be worth mentioning. One such rivalry involves Raneiva and Faforei. A renowned tale in House Tzukyn of two professors who endlessly attempted to undermine and usurp the glory of the other. Should they ever spend more than ten seconds in a room with each other, then they fought. Not just with words but also with violence. Unfortunately for them both, they were not actually fighters nor built for fighting, so when they did fight it was often pitiful to behold.

Eventually, their fighting took a dire turn when they opted to use inventions to try and establish who was better. Usually, these were never truly practical and often had the element of intimidation and their successes varied from invention to invention. All of them ended up confiscated by House Tzukyn Arbiters. - That was until one fight that they had ended disastrously for Faforei. Raneiva created a new type of acid she named ‘Rot Purger’, and during one of their fights doused Faforei in the face with it. Her flesh slowly corroded away, then her bone and then her organs. Having murdered a fellow professor, the Arbiters arrested Raneiva and confiscated all of her inventions for research. - What happened to her after that is a matter of speculation.

Yarel Fadebel

A controversial figure in the history of House Tzukyn, and one of its more notable scandals. The story of Yarel is etched into the physique of the professors of House Tzukyn, and to call someone a ‘Fadebel’ is commonly used to refer to an idea being reckless or dedicated.

Yarel was the last known heir of his family, he did not intertwine himself with any romance and maintained a few select choices of friends. His parents had left him a fortune and a business. He used the fortune to fund his research, and offloaded the business to a manager who ran it in his stead.

Yarel is partially famous for his contribution to the understanding of the various properties of alchemical components, potions, concoctions and their strength. Yarel’s Compendium, Volumes 1-4, are often required reading for anyone interested in the art of Alchemy. However, when he published volume 5 it started to raise questions regarding how he came to discover what he knew, so much so that House Tzukyn itself began to pay attention to the Professor

Volume 5 contained descriptions, at length, the effects of certain alchemical compounds on animals. Both their short term and long term use. It included a short, but alarming, section on some of the effects on Elves. The controversy made the compendium sell even more.

When Volume 6 rolled around, House Tzukyn Arbiters launched an investigation into him and unearthed what he had been doing. Using criminals that had been supplied to him by Kitzra, likely through the debt labour mechanism, he used them as live test subjects. Many of them were in poor condition, a number had died, few seemed fine.

In a rare moment of House Tzukyn stifling the scientific pursuit, they shut down Yarel and confiscated his research. They went even as far as banning his 6th volume but faced severe backlash from their own nobility. House Tzukyn eventually backed down and allowed the distribution of all volumes, with new copies of volume 5 and 6 coming with a warning from the Arbiters of conducting unethical research.

Yarel was eventually released from House Tzukyn custody, and re-entered the world as a local celebrity. He was invited to various discussions, lectures and talks regarding his research which he continued to do throughout the remainder of his life. Although he is known to have wanted to take to his study once more, the Arbiters had him under close watch. A condition of his release was to not conduct any more research on live subjects for his compendiums.

Aspects of House Tzukyn

The Honoured Patriarch / Matriarch

The Head of House Tzukyn is the Honoured Patriarch or Matriarch, they wield significant power within the house and often come with an air of dreadful authority for the power they wield. Their position is somewhat dramatised by the fact that local nobles do not generally keep Seventh Cultists on retainer, making the Patriarch or Matriarch typically the most well-equipped in the region for any kind of violence.

High Lord / Lady

Tzukyn High Lords and Ladies are often elevated from the Lords and Ladies of the nobility as a reward for great merit to the scholarly pursuits of the House. There are three chosen specifically to guide each of the three universities and more to steer various pursuits of the house. Such as delving into the history of the Precursors.

Arbiter

The position of Arbiter is one of great power and responsibility. House Tzukyn bestows this rank upon Professors, Lords and Ladies who show great loyalty to the House and are entrusted to ‘police’ the research and experimentations undertaken by various individuals of Khiel and within House lands.

Lord / Lady

The Lords and Ladies of House Tzukyn occupy the status of bloodline nobles, but also are commonly astute professors in their own right. Rarely will one be without a background or expertise from one of the great rivaling universities.

Professor

A professor is a common title in House Tzukyn, and it is one that has a unique meaning within the house. It notes that the individual has substantial knowledge and at least one area of expertise.

Seventh Cultist (Often referred to as Sir / Dame)

Although a common sight in the other houses, Seven Cultists within House Tzukyn are far more rare as martial might is much less respected than mental acumen. Although with wealthier individuals they can be found to guard individuals, protect their estates and champion their cause in contests against their rivals.

Precursors

An important facet to the modern House Tzukyn is the Precursors. Little is known about who they were and the full extent of the civilisation is shrouded in mystery. House Tzukyn has taken the most steps to study the ruins of these ancients and to decipher the past that involved them.

Over the centuries the ideal of a society with infinite knowledge and capability has been infused with the idea of the Precursors, so much so that it is not uncommon for the adoption of words believed to be names of the Elves from the Great House as they try to emulate their vision of this lost civilisation.

Tzukyn Arbiters

The House Tzukyn Arbiters were created to, on the face of it, keep their house in check with the experiments and research that they do. Many suspect they were created to keep House Daramos happy, while others believe the Arbiters were created for Tzukyn’s own selfish interest to dismantle inter-house rivals.

In either case, the Arbiters are known to investigate those whose fame or infamy rises too high and draws too much suspicion. Nobles of the House have realised they can weaponise this organisation by laying false rumours about the works of their rivals, thereby triggering an investigation that can damage their reputation and research. To combat this potential, the Arbiters do not often launch their initial investigations publically, and opt to ‘wait and see’ rather than be too proactive in their task.

Arbiters are known to imprison and confiscate the work of Elves, regardless of their status, should they be in violation of House Tzukyn laws. Their works are locked away in the Tzukyn vaults and, depending on the nature of the person imprisoned or their work, they will be permitted to work for House Tzukyn should they seek to continue their research at all. Otherwise they will be placed into a cell.

The Three Universities

The University of Wisdom and Knowledge, The Erudite University and The University of Scholarly Intelligence make up the big three schools of House Tzukyn. Each one often competes with the other to provide the greatest array of subjects, expertise and grandeur. They often make it a selling point for not just the quality of their professors, but the celebrity status of them too.

It is not uncommon for students at these universities to come from across Awenasa, and then be enraptured by the competitive nature of these institutions and magnanimity of their professors as they endlessly aim to prove to have more knowledge than their rival schools.

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The Annual Feuds

House Tzukyn is no stranger to the proclivity of Elves for feuding one another. In fact, feuds are so plentiful and passionate in their lands that the typical manner of dealing with them, that being the hiring of Seventh Cultists, is too expensive. They would be needed far too often, and as a result, only those who can afford to keep them on retainer will go this route. The rest make do in other ways.

Those without access to Seventh Cultists to fight on their behalf have been given a space to battle their rivals through the Annual Feuds. Essentially a grand game of wits that takes place over the course of a week each year in which any rivals gain the opportunity to publicly humiliate the other. - This rarely resolves the rivalry, and has only become an entertaining occasion for those uninvolved.

Many of the games of wit involve strategic thinking, engineering problem solving, or psychologically outsmarting their opponent. They are known to run a variety of card games, wargames, puzzles to solve, and the grandest of them all, a race to invent something to resolve a specific problem. - In the case of the latter, House Tzukyn will often hire the rival and their invention should it prove promising.

Scandals & Alchemy

House Tzukyn is no stranger to scandals, in fact they are so common that if there is not at least one per week, then it is considered an unproductive week. Most scandals will be relating to minor ethical ‘issues’ surrounding the work of the Houses’ Lords, Ladies and Professors. Despite most of them, in some manner, being morally questionable in their pursuits, they appear to engage in a contest of throwing often and viciously enough to protect themselves from the ire of others.

Most controversially, the study of Alchemy is where many scandals originate. But it is perhaps House Tzukyn’s best known asset. The most renowned and learned scholars of Alchemy originate from House Tzukyn, and it maintains itself with the foremost expertise in its craft.

Treatment of the Great Plague

The Great Plague that ravaged the Dominion took some time to get to House Tzukyn, but when it did it had devastating effects on Khiel who were ill-prepared for something so deadly. Many of the greatest minds of the time were lost as it tore through the city, with many considering it the end of the House through its devastation.

Nirnmaefa Nehav, a professor of alchemy within House Tzkyn, saw the early onset of the disease and attempted to make a cure for it. She was, however, not quick enough to stem its spread but did concoct a brew that reduced the impact of the plague. She took her creation to House Tzukyn, who then created more of the brew to distribute across the House. They eventually brought Kitzra into the fold and began selling the concoction across Awenasa.

Professor Nehav continued her work to try and find an outright cure for the illness, but she never succeeded. Her work is famed throughout the houses for having saved many lives, although mostly of those who could afford the Tzukyn potion. She received various awards of merit, honours and financing for her future endeavours. Her celebrity status often masked the true limitations of what she made, and gave birth to a differing legend.

House Tzukyn and Professor Nehav, in the popular mindset, are often regarded to have cured the Great Plague. The rumour goes further to state that they eradicated it all together

"Humaity will know now, and forever, they will not win. This is our land, our Galasaar!"

- War Cry of Esarsen Galasaar

The Great House Galasaar

The Great House of Galasaar, The Third House, is the largest house in terms of the land it covers and is renowned across The Dominion for producing some of the fiercest Seventh Cultists among all the Great Houses. Equally famous, however, is its long standing rivalry with House Ritan. House Galasaar has also gained a dull reputation as being the poorest House, not in terms of coin but rather in terms of its cultural splendour and stability. This has led to many minor nobles mocking the Great House in public only to then be faced with a Feud of Honour.

Despite these feuds, many speak disparagingly of the House behind closed doors, often with a healthy serving of bitterness over the risk of doing so. Elves of House Galasaar are simply regarded as poor company to be around.

Yinresse is the seat of House Galasaar and the further north capital city of the Dominion. Once it was no more than a popular trading town; it has, over the centuries and conflicts, been fortified, expanded and fortified again. Yinresse is no stranger to the dangers of the wild north and has become a veritable labyrinth of streets, alleys, secret tunnels and killzones to make any siege extremely costly. Much like its people, it prioritises prowess over personality.

The current leader of House Galasar is Gellandra III Galasaar. She ascended to the position after her father, Esarsen Galasaar, lost the favour of his subjects after losing to Dumanon and stepped down. Gellandra has a fiery reputation and is rumoured to encourage Galasaar nobles to undermine Dumanon’s foothold in Awenasa and to even give unstated approval to make life difficult for them.

History: House Galasaar

House Galasaars founding owes itself to the Great General, Eberan Galasaar. He is often stylised as being the equal to, or superior of the Emperor when it comes to military strategy or martial ability. Whenever he is prominently displayed in Galasaar lands, it is often in the midst of glorious combat or great triumph.

He is known for being a close friend to the Emperor, having known and been by his side since long before the tales of the Emperor began. He is known to have made a habit of offering practical guidance by walking the Empress and Emperor through the consequences of their undertakings or decrees, and even took the same approach to the advisors.

House Galasaar’s war against the Sixth House started before any other, but they had little notion of what they were dealing with while it was in its infant stages.

In the west, a peasant by the name of Zandbraas has taken up arms against his local lord, Barvor Natha. House Galasaar was no stranger to minor unrest or peasants commiting banditry, so when Lord Natha requested aid from his liege, Lady Dilris Galasaar, High Lord of the Western Reaches, against what was presumed a rabble, it was whole-heartedly declined and he was mocked for it.

Over the course of the next month, Zandbraas’ revolt still had not been put down and instead was growing into a much larger problem. He and his rebels had travelled from village to village, town to town, and managed to convince large portions of the populations where he went to join him in his mission to free the common people. - His uprising had even beaten Lord Natha in battle and forced him to retreat.

Lady Dilris, seeing the situation was quickly spiralling out of control, summoned her Seventh Cultists and a number of veterans to accompany her on putting down the unrest and to reprimand Lord Natha for his incompetence. - She first travelled to Lord Barvor Natha to rally what he had left before moving on.

Natha postrated himself in front of Dilris, begged for her forgiveness and offered all his remaining supplies and Seventh Cultists to use against Zandbraas. Taken back by his honesty and humility, she instead permitted him to accompany her to strike down the upstart.

That night while still encamped, Zandbraas and his companions launched a night raid against the Galasaar forces. They rushed towards those in positions of leadership and the nobles to capture or kill them. Dilris was, to her shock, confronted in her own tent by peasant bandits who had come for her. Her bodyguard engaged in a struggle with the mod while Lord Natha aided her escape. - During her attempt, the good Lord Barvor Natha led her directly into the jaw of Zandbraas. It was at this moment she realised she had been betrayed.

News of the death of Dilris Galasaar reached Yinresse some time later, where the then Patriarch of House Galasaar, Darador Galasaar, was stricken with grief. At this point Zandbraas and Lord Barvor Natha had swept up more support from the west. Zandbraas even convinced many other nobles to join his cause as he managed to enrapture their ambitions and desires for something new and greater.

It was at this point that the beasts of Soletera were unleashed into the eastern reaches of House Galasaar, swallowing up whatever forces could have been used to aid in putting down this revolt. Darador Galasaar summoned what forces he had to gather in Yinresse, but before they could muster, Zandbraas and his force arrived.

A two-month long siege occurred with Zandbraas convincing the local population to turn against House Galasaar and even convincing some of the nobility to do the same. With their aid, he was let into the walls of Yinresse and his men flooded the streets. Anyone who did not swear loyalty to Zandbraas there and then were beaten senseless, imprisoned or killed. Darador managed to escape the wrath of the mob, and fled east into the now ravaged land of mutated beasts.

While Zandbraas claimed victory over House Galasaar, instituting himself as the new head of House Galasaar, he also revealed his true House, Soletera. He promised a new age, a better age, would be coming to all who followed him as he prepared to root out the remainder of the once great Galasaar.

Darador’s retreat from Yinresse nearly broke his spirit, to have lost so much in such a short time. What family he had left was with him, along with his retinue, and the land before him was plagued by unholy beasts. The situation was extremely dire, but if not for an unlikely saviour in Commander Perendi, Galasaar might have been lost forever. - Perendi has been fighting against the beasts since their arrival, and had accumulated a growing number of loyal supporters of House Galasaar to aid the capital before it was lost. Instead she found the Honourable Patriarch forced from his home.

Perendi re-ignited Darador’s spirits, and that of his men. Encouraging them to resist what had befallen them and orchestrated their fighting force to adopt adaptive guerilla warfare. This style of fighting proved useful against Zandbraas and his supporters as neither seemed capable of effectively fighting back. After months of this conflict, Zandbraas became more and more tyrannical as a ruler as Darador not only remained alive but started to claw victory from the jaws of defeat. Eventually, he called on aid from House Soletera to bring him reinforcements.

Perendi’s scouts made her aware of this developing problem, and with Darador’s permission she fed Zandbraas intelligence enough that it would goad him from behind the walls of Yinresse. - Her plan worked and he sallied out. His intention was to join with reinforcement from House Soletera and then crush what remained of Darador’s resistance.

Instead, he was lured into a trap and ambushed by Darador’s army. Zandbraas himself charged at Darador to end the war once and for all. His charge was so brazen, he made himself a perfect target for a silver shard that pierced his gut.

Zandbraas bled out on that battlefield, and his forces quickly evaporated once they were aware. Many of those trapped under his thumb pledged themselves to Darador again, although the Galasaar Patriarch was hesitant about their true loyalty, he needed to make ready to fight the incoming reinforcements. - House Galasaar then clashed with the Sixth House reinforcements, routing them with some ease, before returning to claim his throne in Yinresse.

The whole affair took over three years, and by the end of it Darador was faced with the task of bringing House Soletera to justice for their crimes. Their campaign against the Sixth House was made easier when they encountered an army from House Daramos with the same intentions as them.

Although not the first, and certainly not the last episode of unrest and inter-house conflict escalating out of control for House Galasaar. Barthanil’s Rebellion is by far the most famous rebellion since the Dark Age for how closely it nearly succeeded and inglorious its end was.

His rebellion began after the death of Laekas Galasaar, who was childless, and the squabbling between his three siblings over who should inherit the throne. The contenders were Bodaen the Blind, who wasn’t physically blind but was otherwise mentally impaired, and her two brothers, Lothanil and Laerendil who were seen as more favourable. However, both of them were not of ‘good Galasaar stock’ and spent much of their time in Anra enjoying themselves. Each of them tried to curry favour with the Galasaar nobles and none of them managed to carry enough to legitimise themselves.

Eventually, High Lord Barthanil Salmos, contested all their claims to the throne and put himself forward to seize it. His own Lords and Ladies fervently supported him, and many other Galasaaar numbers waited on the sidelines to see how the claim developed before choosing a side.

From his home in Ulthbaxthira, he marched from city to city on the way to Yinresse to collect support from the local nobility. His first mistake came when Bodaen approached Barthanil in private with a proposal of marriage to her, which he rejected. Bodaen, angered by the rejection and her ambition now in ruin attacked him, In the fight Bodaen was killed and Barthanil attempted to cover up the event.

Lothendil and Laeranil both span the story as Barthanil murdering their sister, using it to stain his good name and honour in such a masterful way that they must have been tutored well in such matters in Anra. His second mistake was besieging Yinresse without a long-term plan on how to defeat the city.

The first year of the siege was the most eventful, with the initial clash against the walls and the first breach after months allowing the attackers in. Morale took a blow when they were eventually pushed back out of the city, which became a recurring event each time they charged in. By the second year support for Barthanil was waning, but he pulled a victory through the mire after defeating Laeranil in a duel atop the walls of Yinresse. Laeranil would later die of infection from his wounds; his loss gave Barthanil the boost of morale that he needed.

The third year is what truly sealed the rebellion’s fate as Lothendil was now the only legitimate heir remaining and he had no intention of making the same mistake as his brother. He remained steadfast and allowed Barthanil to bleed himself against the walls and in the streets of Yinresse. As more nobles began to side with Lothendil, others began to resign their support for Barthanil. Eventually, he had too few soldiers remaining to maintain the siege and retreated. - Forever staining his legacy as a failure.

Lothendil eventually ascended to the Honoured Patriarch of House Galasaar, and pardoned most of those who fought against him. Barthanil was exiled from Galasaar as were his immediate family. His land was redistributed among loyal supporters of Lothendil.

Barthanil and his family were found dead two years later in their new home in Kitzra after being involved in illicit gang related activity. So the official record states.

Marquis Decred Balcree is the name of the Imperial that declared war upon House Galasaar. His reason, as he noted in his message to Esarsen Galasaar, was that the House had repeatedly engaged in violent activity against Imperial subjects, presented themselves barbarically and refused diplomatic negotiations.

There were conflicts between Galasaar Elves and Dumanon, but both sides had a hand in their cause. Diplomatic meetings were rejected because the Marquis wanted to speak to the Honoured Patriarch directly, in New Hartham, and would not have it any other way. The manner of barbarism is still open for debate.

Baron Decred’s war on Galasaar was drawn out owing to the geographical conditions he faced. But the army he brought proved time and time again to be the undoing of the ways of war that House Galasaar fought under. The mixture of Realm Knights, veteran soldiers and the human ways of war and pressure from the Komanali and Banen’Rhûn proved too big of an obstacle. Seeing his Great House be slowly consumed by these human invaders was a nightmare come true, until Marquis Decred offered peace.

House Galasaar was forced to pay a large sum of coin in silver to the Marquis, along with confirming the loss of lands around Havresse and Ynnrae, now known as Fort Balcree, as well as a number of other villages and towns. Marquis Decred has since made Fort Balcree his home.

Aspects of House Galasaar

The Honoured Patriarch/Matriarch

The position of leading House Galasaar is often given to the oldest child of the current reigning ruler and is passed down generation after generation. Due to House Galasaar’s geographical circumstance the amount of real power they have differs from ruler to ruler and from generation to generation

High Lord/Lady

The position of High Lord or High Lady is the highest noble title one can ascend to without becoming the Honoured Patriarch. The High Lords are responsible for the collection of taxes and the administration of justice within their territory, as well as managing the Lords and Ladies that live within it.

Unlike other Houses, Galasaar High Lords have more freedom and leeway to do as they please. They tend to be much farther from the capital of Galasaar and are notoriously stubborn to the ways of change demanded by the Patriarch.

This autonomy can be seen to be one of the core reasons for Galasaar’s frequent unrest and revolts, and partially why, despite its size, it appears more limited than it should be.

Lord General

The Lord General is the title given to the leader of the Galasaar Rangers. They sit on the advisory Council to advise the Patriarch and are given a station above that of the Lords and Ladies so that they cannot be commanded from their duties.

Lord/Lady

A hereditary title that established the bearer as one who holds land and serves a High Lord or the Patriarch directly. It is also bestowed upon unlanded individuals should they prove themselves to a High Lord or the Patriarch. In this instance they are known as an ‘Errant Lord’, and until they are landed it is not a hereditary title.

Ranger Captain

The Ranger Captains are selected by the Lord General, and under them there are between one and 9 Rangers currently active on a particular operation or maintaining watch over an important target, group or noble family.

Seventh Cultist (Often referred to as Sir / Dame)

The Seventh Cultists of House Galasaar are some of the most widely renowned as the best in the Dominion. They are far less showy, prideful in a particular weapon, or fighting style than House Ritan. Instead they prize trophies, significant enemies defeated and monsters slain.

They often think themselves far more deadly and dangerous than their House Ritan counter-parts.

Justice in Galasaar

Justice in Galasaar is often seen as harsh to near brutal. They always err on the side of being more punishing than not as a means to discourage further crime taking place. The reason for this is due to long-term problems with banditry and outlaws, along with unrest and revolts that are more common within House Galasaar than elsewhere.

More recently, House Galasaar has been more eager to issue labour as punishment. More specifically, the nobility in Galasaar issue has begun issuing this punishment more and then providing the ‘criminals’ to the Khizran Labour Exchange Guild as means to pay off their crime. - The situation has caught House Daramos’ interest because they believe Galasaar Nobles are over eager to sentence this punishment because they are paying off their debts to Kitzra through it.

Lodges of the Seventh

Unique to Galasaar, and comprised of most of the Seventh Cultists outside of private retainers, are the various Lodges of the Seventh. These are scattered around the House’s lands and are of varying size and prestidge.

These Lodges supply its members with contracts, and each Seventh Cultist part of the lodge could be considered a mercenary. The Lodges live and die by the reputation of their individual members and often play an active part in ‘selling’ the legends of the lodge. The Seventh Cultists who make up these lodges are usually battle-hardened fighters, capable of combating bandits, outlaws, Komanlai, Banen’Rhûn and monsters. They often take trophies or mementos of their victories and individual members are known to even have their own ‘fans’ as tales of their deeds carry across Galasaar.

Despite actively portraying themselves as folk heroes, and soaking up the fame and glory showered upon them. Many will not take any job unless they are contracted to and are known to reject jobs should they suspect the employer is unable to pay.

Many lodges were hired during the war against Dumanon and the losses they experienced were heavy. While many died in the war or were injured, these unfortunate events are often overshadowed (purposefully) by tales of Lodge heroes and heroines prevailing over Dumanon.

Lodge members often feud bitterly with the Custodes over sharing a similar role but undertaking it very differently.

Feuds of Honour

Feuds of Honour are a mechanism for nobles of House Galasaar to humiliate and put down those who have acted against the interests of the House or have besmirched its reputation. It is far more encompassing than the more common contests or tournaments that most nobles engage in, and it can best be described as common thuggery targeting the particular noble family until they make a public apology for their transgressions.

Although the actions taken by the Seventh Cultists who engage in this behaviour for nobles of House Galasaar are greatly overstepping what is generally acceptable, they have mostly gotten away with it as all they ask is for an apology rather than anything more severe or costly.

Galasaar Rangers

In the aftermath of Barthanil’s Rebellion the Rangers were formed by Lothendil Galasaar to always have ‘competent fighters’ loyal to House Galasaar without having to hold themselves to the expectations of the god Triumph. Many nobles took this to mean that Lothendil had created them as no more than bodyguards and his personal errand runners, but he always still seemed to keep Seventh Cultist close at hand.

In reality, the Seventh Cultists were not replaced by the Galasaar Rangers, rather they became an option for the head of Galasaar to combat and act without needing to do so officially. Most of their work is done in secret and in terms of gathering information, building networks, and when ordered, to strike at enemies of Galasaar.

Many have begun to speculate that the Rangers engage in espionage, sabotage, extortion and intimidation tactics both inside Galasaar and outside of it. Some suggest that they have even gone as far as taking part in assassination attempts. Very few have any evidence to back up these claims.

"Gold and grain. The true measure of power."

A House Kitzra sentiment

The Great House Kitzra

The Great House of Kitzra, The Fourth House, sometimes satirically referred to as Mighty Kitzra, but more commonly referred to as ‘The Guild’ by those with a healthy serving of apprehension to say its full name. They are the Dominion’s house of grand merchants, of grand wealth, of grand displays and grand art. They are as much a mark of trade and of quality as they are their own distinct house.

The port city of Anra is the seat of power for Kitzra, this port is the most active harbour in all of the Dominion and more riches flow through it than any other city in Awenasa. Despite being relatively small in size compared to the other Great Houses, Kitza has arguably the most influence of any of them because of the simple, fundamental power of coin.

The influence of this Great House comes in two parts:

The first is the great displays of art, beauty, festivals and wealth it is known for. Those who visit Anra are so bombarded with such delights of splendour that many Elves describe the experience as being marooned in a fairytale.

The second forms the great core and backbone of the House. Its myriad of Guilds that carry its Mark of Trade, the Seals of Business it issues that bind contracts under Kitzra Courts, the network of warehouses, ports, trading posts established across the Dominion only usable by its valued Guild members, to its increasingly important bank branches that remove the potential loss of coin from highway robberies.

The current leader of House Kitzra is Alimela Kitzra. She has a mixed reputation due to her encouragement of deepening ties between Gallia and House Kitzra, while many are repulsed by the idea, others are far more open-minded about humanity as a whole. She still maintains the well known Kitzran acumen for business, and has been a great benefit for the house diplomatically.

History: House Kitzra

Andalrin Kitzra is known to history as a handsome and magnificent Elf. This version of him is even accepted wildly outside the territory of his Great House. He is said to have managed to charm his way into the court of the Empress and Emperor and seduced so many women across Awenasa that half of Elven-kind are his descendants. While the latter is often disputed, the former is often hailed to be a common trait of the Fourth House.Interestingly, his likeness is often used for cards such as the King of Coins in an Elven God-Cards deck.

Although he was fourth to be bestowed the responsibility of founding a Great House, he was already well placed to do so from his service within the court of the Empress and Emperor. In the ceremony that granted him and his descendants their status, the Divine Duo highlighted his many successes in peacefully bringing in more Elves into the Dominion and charged him with ensuring the continued prosperity of their realm.

Mutated beasts of Soletera were unleashed against Kitzra in the opening salvo of the war. As the creatures swept across the territory of the house, forcing the Elves to flee to safety behind the walled settlements, large groups of Sixth House cultists blended in with those who fled and infiltrated the cities.

With the fields and roads growing more dangerous, communication and trade between the cities became more difficult. A month after the beasts invaded, Soletera finally revealed its intention - to burn through Kitzra’s core and assume dominion over the House.

A flurry of violent riots sprang up across Kitzra, each spurred on to mask the various raids enacted by the infiltrators at the same time. These raids each targeted influential merchants, nobles, rich individuals or buildings known to hold wealth.

Soletera succeeded in many of its aims to plunder the wealth of Kitzra, and to eliminate many of the important figures that would stand against it. But it failed to dominate Anra, the seat of power for Kitzra - to speed up the domination of the city, Kavra Soletera revealed herself to the city. She declared her intention, her desire, she described what was going to happen now that she had already infiltrated the walls of Anra. She made an offer to the Lords of Kitrza to willingly bow, serve and be rewarded, or to fear the night and every flicker of darkness.

After she had announced her presence, it is said a storm of clouds formed in the sky above Anra, cloaking everyone in darkness and rain for the next nine months. This period, known as the Long Night, saw a mass wave of assassinations, brutal murders, flourishing gang wars and great fires that threatened to charr the entire city.

Kavra Soletera plunged her finger deep into the city, carving out her own kingdom within its walls and using the wealth she had plundered to entice loyal Kitzrans over to her side. She unleashed assassins, thugs and mutated beasts against those who did not comply and nearly brought the city to ruin.

Against her, Matriarch Minaya Kitzra swayed many of her lords and ladies to stand loyal, steadfast and resist the Tyrant. She was aided by The Silver Spear, Varmen Kitzra, and Commander Tarhun.

The Silver Spear has become a near-mythical symbol to House Kitzra, he occupies the greatest status of all Seventh Cultists to have existed and his battles in the streets of Anra are legendary. He is credited with holding the Lower Guild Lane against repeated assaults by gangs, beasts and disciples of Soletera for over two months. His most famous battle during this time saw him defeat three traitorous Seventh Cultists: Huralan The Illustrious, Caedis Dawn and The Ivory Shield, also known as Garria Kitzra, all in one day.

Commander Tarhun came to the aid of Minaya weeks after Soletera began their attacks and before Kavra made herself known. She aided the city and the Great House, working her way up to be granted an audience with Kavra. History is deaf to what happened in the meeting, but since then she was given a large degree of trust and command over the Kitzran defence. She organised counter-assassination attempts and gangs to rival those in the pocket of Kavra. She matched the Tyrant of the Sixth House almost blow for blow as though she knew what what the Tyrant was intending to do.

In the end, Kavra’s lack of progress in capturing the city despite being within its walls and having her own domain within it forced her into more aggressive moves. She threw everything she could at the defenders, leaving herself open to Commander Tarhun and The Silver Spear to make a daring bid to sever the head of the snake.

Varmen Kitzra, The Silver Spear, laid down his life to ensure victory for his house. In the final struggle against Karva, he threw himself at the Tyrant, grappling her to prevent her escape while Commander Tarhun threw a shard of electrified silver impaling and killing them both.

Her death was followed by a near immediate breaking of the storm that loomed over the city. The storm’s disappearance signalled those loyal to the Sixth House that they had lost and without a moment to waste they clamoured to escape. Many were cut down in the attempt, and any traitors were summarily rounded up and brutally killed or became captives for the rest of their lives.

Commander Tarhun gathered what forces could be spared from Anra and rode out to free the other cities. Some resisted more than others, stubborn traitors refusing to see that they had already lost, but their populations rose up against them and overthrew their ‘temporary’ rulers.

Kitzra were once more free - for the most part. Although many beasts lingered, and brigands lurked in the countryside, no great nor terrible force from Soletera stepped foot once more unto Kitzran land. Commander Tarhun convinced Minaya to allow her to take a small force to House Tzukyn, to help them defeat agents of Soletera and bring their forces into the fold to push back against the Sixth House.

During the onset of The Sixth House’s plans to raid and pillage Kitzra for its wealth while throwing it into the same dark age as the other houses. Agents of Soletera met their match and subsequent end as they breached the Manor of Garhil Kitzra.

Garhil was infamous at the time for his paranoia and his dislike of his children. He believed they wanted to take all his wealth, and were just waiting for him to die for their inheritance. His paranoia was so strong that he stored his wealth within a vault in his home and built a veritable labyrinth of deadly traps to keep them away from it. Most people at the time did not believe these rumours, and evidently neither did the Soletera agents.

He had fortified his vault to an incredible degree, but not only that, he made his entire manor a death trap of elaborate mechanisms meant to kill or maim any intruder who wandered further than the ‘allotted’ guest rooms. The servants of the Sixth who tried to navigate his manor, to kidnap him or his wife, or to find the vault, were met with rods of metal thrust into their ankles, arrows shot out of walls, and fake floors which when trodden on revealed a pit with pikes. That is to name just a few of the traps of legend - one might imagine not all of them were even discovered!

Among the Kitzran nobles and merchants, the name of Ghurzo Kitzra was infamous for his defence of slavery and his excessive lifestyle. This lifestyle was afforded to him because he was the Guildmaster of Kitzra’s Permanent Workforce Guild. Despite being a controversial figure within Kitzra for his renowned abrasive and boarish attitude, was a good friend to have. He lacked the soft touch of his family and more often than not was found to be disagreeable, though his business acumen was second to none. - He even took on consultancy as a side-hobby, to aid those businesses less fortunate than him.

Although not outwardly stated, there is a reason that many did not come to his defence in the public spats between him and Algard Daramos, the Patriarch of House Daramos. Most of his kin knew it was bad business plain and simple; many resented his conduct for how it stained the reputation of the House. Regardless, he had strong allies and friends within Kitzra, bringing in a great deal of wealth and influence to the Great House.

Algard and Ghurzo often aggravated each other, poking and prodding, sending Seventh Cultists to try and humiliate each other’s houses and hosting contests and tournaments to display the skills those close to the other lacked. Following a rather public furious rage against Algard, the Daramos Patriarch promised him death.

When Ghurzo was found dead, poisoned by an assassin a month later, everyone was quick to look to Algard Daramos as the culprit. Murmurs were abound within Kitzra of how to respond to the heinous attack against the House. Words of greater conflict were harkened to within The Kitzra Council and it appeared as the two Great Houses were on the brink of war

When the Honoured Matriarch of House Ritan, Koria Ritan, declared the ban the use of slavery, House Tzukyn shortly followed suit and The Kitzra Council was now much less willing to risk a war with the favour of the Great Houses swinging against them.

Aspects of House Kitzra

The Honoured Patriarch / Matriarch

The highest authority in the Great House of Kitzra and the only title among the leaders of the Dominion where there is a vote to decide who succeeds. Those of the rank of Patrician or higher are afforded the luxury of being able to vote for any member of House Kitzra they wish to take the position.

While campaigning to become the Patriarch or Matriarch is forbidden, those members of House Kitzra who wish to make themselves known and voted for often start attending the sessions of The Kitzra Council to curry favour with their business acumen, skills in reasoning and wit.

Kitzra Prince / Princess

Although not formally recognised as a position in the hierarchy of House Kitzra, the term ‘Prince’ or ‘Princess’ of Kitzra is often used by the nobility and merchants to describe a particular ‘echelon’ of their society who has accumulated great wealth and influence.

In any given generation, you can count on one hand the few who reach this status.

High Lord / Lady

The position of High Lord or Lady is granted to particular families for multiple generations of support towards House Kitzra. And traditionally is given to the most influential and wealthy member of that family at the time, who is also one of the Patricians. Like the rank of Patriarch, that house is granted the honour to elect the successors to the position from their own kin.

This position is also commonly held by Kitzra family members, and such successions can become quite bitter.

The greatest boon from holding the title is that, instead of one vote that the Patricians get, they receive ten votes when casting their favour in the succession of the Great House or within the Council.

Patrician (Referred to as ‘Honourable Merchant Lords or Ladies)

The Patrician is a highly prized position within Kitzra. To become one, the candidate must first have been a Mogul for seven years, and then be recommended to join the ranks by two currently sitting Patricians. Their name is put forward to The Council Committee and then a background check is performed. Should the candidate prove to be agreeable, they are made an offer to join the ranks of the Patricians with a hefty price-tag attached.

Patricians are the first rank among the hierarchy of Kitzra that are able to attend and vote in The Kitzra Council.

Mogul

The title of Mogul of Kitzra is one of the greatest achievements of any guildmaster or business owners throughout the Dominion. It is essentially the stamp of assurance given by The Registry that confirms the individual as a legitimate guildsman, it adds their own Mark of Trade to the Kitzra Registry and permits them to use the Kitzran Seal along with it.

To become a Mogul, the individual must pay a hefty sum of coins to The Registry and go through an application process to be confirmed. Once they have been, they need to pay a bi-annual sum to maintain their station of a Mogul.

Seventh Cultists (Often referred to as Sir / Dame)

The Seventh Cult within Kitzra is not as highly valued as it is among some peer-houses, but there is a strong core owing to the legendary figures such as The Silver Spear.

Many will work as retainers for the Patricians and Moguls, in which they will usually hand a handful kept on to represent their interests in any contests and tournaments.

The Kitzra Council

The Kitzra Council is one of the most powerful structures of nobles and wealthy individuals in the Dominion. It is made up of all of the members of House Kitzra, along with the most influential and wealthy individuals who reside and own their allegiance to the house.

The Council often convenes to discuss matters of contract, trade and business. To air concerns and sometimes grievances against one another or other houses. Most importantly to decide a successor to ascend to lead the Great House.

The Grand Hall of the Great Kitzra Council, more commonly referred to as The Hall, resides in the Anra Palace that acts as the centre of all administrative affairs of the Great House. Words spoken, arguments made and opinions voiced in The Hall are closely guarded and kept secret. Very few will ever know what is said when the council is in session and speaking of these sessions to those not permitted entry is a punishable offence.

The punishment is always the same for this violation, the removal of all privileges, the rescinding of the Mark of Trade and the expulsion from the House.

The Registry & Mark of Trade

The Registry is not only a list of guilds and companies that are associated with House Kitzra, but it is also an office to ensure quality and reputation of the Great House. Its main duty is the issuance and management of the Marks of Trade, a unique writ it can bestow upon merchants as a sign of quality and assurance of legitimacy in the eyes of the Great House.

The Mark of Trade ascension is highly sought by any Elf seeking to be viewed as a legitimate guild or company owner. It permits them to brand or stamp on their products the Kitzra Seal along with their unique mark and number. Any holder of the Mark can be found listed in The Registry and copies of this list are held within all large branches of the Kitzra banks.

Without such a mark, many fail to find business beyond their local areas.

The Accumulators Guild, Blackridge & Koha

The Accumulators Guild, more commonly known as Blackridge, is the official branch of Kitzra that sends out ‘officers’ to collect on debts owed to the House. It has branched out further and services more than just the Kitra and its guilds, but will also sell its services to nobles from other houses as well.

It is well known for its efficiency and ‘fairness’ when dealing with late payers and those who can pay but timing is an issue. However, the fairness fades when one cannot pay back their debts. In the case of the latter, those in debt are often ‘referred’ to the Labour Exchange Guild.

Its common name, Blackridge, has become its colloquial term owing to the Blackridge Beast that is used as the guild's insignia. This was chosen in honour of Koha, the legendary Blackridge Beast pet of Andalrin Kitzra, she accompanied him where-ever he went and despite her appearance was known to be a friendly and loving creature.

The Labour Exchange Guild

In the years following the Great Plague, many of the Great Houses faced a severe labour shortage that greatly stifled their recovery. House Ritan specifically was desperately in need of manual labour to tend the array of farms that now lay untended. Zorva Kitzra, who was adopted into the Great House for this ingenious idea, proposed a managed way to redistribute labour from around the Dominion to address the shortages across it. Starting with the seasonal work in the farm fields.

The Labour Exchange Guild was created to facilitate the movement of a workforce around the Dominion for a fee, or in many cases allowing nobles to incur debt with the guild. The need for a workforce was great, and extended beyond just farms. More and more requests were made of the guild for a workforce, and to meet the demand they expanded who they ‘hired’.

‘Working off a debt’ was common practice across the Dominion, but with the Labour Exchange Guild they adopted a policy of allowing a labour debt owed to another, to be given to the guild as means to pay off that debt. This change led to an increase in the available workforce, but not all of them were willing for such travel to far-flung houses. This problem was ignored mostly, as the needs of the Dominion were held to be more important than home-sickness.

The need for labour however only grew, and many nobles became reliant on loans from Kitzra to pay their own taxes and servants. But also became reliant on the guild for the workforce they needed. This circular spiral encouraged nobles across the Dominion to put more of their ‘subjects’ into their debt, to then move them onto the Labour Exchange Guild to pay off their debts. Eventually, nobles started introducing prisoners into the system, then as punishment for crimes, began sentencing Elves to penal labour with the guild.

This system has given Kitra an even large degree of wealth, but more importantly influence through debt over nobles of the other houses. Although the population since the Great Plague is steadily recovering, the debt system that has developed since remains strong.

A Price for Anything

A common saying within Kitzra, ‘A Price for Anything’ has become an unofficial mantra for the Great House as they always see a possible exchange to be made, a mutual agreement for the benefit of all parties involved.

Within the Great House, almost any crime can either be served as a labour debt or as a fine. Those with the ability to pay, will pick a fine. Those without the ability to pay, but have assets in people often offer them up to the Labour Exchange Guild to pay off their debts. And the poorest of the House will inevitably choose a labour debt.

While the common, and otherwise uneducated, perception of Kitzra is that it has all the money and therefore influence,n reality, its greatest strength is its ability to engage with individuals of prominence, give them what they want, be it wealth, exotic items or experiences, and in return grant favours to the Guild. This system of influence ensures the security of operations of the House from unwanted muscling in on its business and gives them an open and approachable reputation as problem solvers.

Unlike what happened between Dumanon and Galasaar and between Asturias and Ritan, the meeting between Gallia and Kitzra was far less bloodied.

Although some conflict flared up in those initial years of exposure, when Gallia lost a swathe of its territories to Dumanon its policy in the New World changed. The Kingdom approached Kitzra with the offer of a partnership, one which increased the flow of trade between the two and gave Kitzra access to Old World training, tactics and weapons of war.

Ironically, some of Kitzra sees the deal it has made with Gallia as the means to save The Dominion from Humanity. Often stylising themselves as the Dominion’s saviours as they spread Gallian military doctrine, strategy, firearms to Galasaar, Tsukyn and Ritan. To further strengthen the relationship, Gallia has also dispatched military attaches to the Elven realms to boost their ability to fight back. Though these have since been recalled from House Ritan.

"Those bastard Asturian dogs will pay with their lives!"

- Caentyr Ritan

The Great House Ritan

The Fifth House, The Great House Ritan. Sometimes stylised as Ritan the Magnificent or Glorious Ritan by their own more zealous nobles and commonly referred to as ‘That House’ by those who have reason to resent it. House Ritan has a long history of grandeur in how it presents itself to the other houses, while maintaining a soft veil of splendid isolation from the rest of the worries and concerns of The Dominion.

The primary capital of Ritan is Cygnus, named after The Sun. However, it holds two more cities that are often treated as the capitals of Ritan. That being Celka, named after The Moon, and Ciel, named after The Star. The Celestial Cities, as they’re known, make up the most important cities of the Dominion, in the view of House Ritan. With Acrabera being a respectable fourth.

The current ruler of House Ritan is Surayan Ritan. He is the youngest Elf to ever succeed the throne in the History of House Ritan, and he does so at a time of great strife within the house. His father, Caentyr Ritan, died from festering wounds suffered at the hands of the Kingdom of Asturias many months ago. This has left a large responsibility for him to fill while his own nobles will be attempting to guide him in their most preferred direction.

Surayan Ritan is known for his boisterous nature and is rumoured to be ‘quite fond of the ladies’, more so than someone of his standing ought to be.

History: House Ritan

Rieharia Ritan, known as the Mother of Ritan, founded the Great House after being bestowed the fifth custodianship of the Three Celestial Houses and the region around them. She earned the nickname as ‘The Heir’ owing to the various duties she was entrusted with and how much authority she spoke with. Despite many of the Elves at the time, and even her peers, coming to revere the Empress and Emperor, she held firm to her commitment to The Sun, The Moon and The Star.

Before it became evident that House Soletera had betrayed the Dominion, The Sixth House was currently undertaking a ‘Great Contest’ against House Ritan. In honour of the fifth anniversary of Matriarch Ashesa Ritan’s marriage to Benetharal Soletera, The head of the Sixth House, Yarvoros, issued a challenge months prior, to establish who of the two houses processes the greatest warriors. Such a declaration made many nobles in Ritan laugh out loud as Soletera was far from known for its warriors. But nonetheless, the contest was accepted.

House Soletera generously proposed to conduct the event in House Ritan, and Ritan agreed - over the next few months Soletera began moving its people and equipment into House Ritan and setting up various buildings to house their champions.

As the day of the event drew closer, larger and larger crowds gathered around the main stadium and the secondary stadiums to catch a glimpse of these bouts. Many Ritan Nobles wanted to see Soletera crushed for their insolence, while the sentiment was reversed for the long trodden on peasantry.

The first day of the contest was filled with astounding moments. Ritan were not going to so easily beat the champions of Soletera as for every great victory they claimed, a shocking defeat was soon to follow. Ashesa Ritan and Benetharal Soletera both remained at the main stadium through the entire first day event. Ashesa was noted to have experienced a large range of emotions, seeing her champions victorious and defeated. While Benetharal was noted to have cheered his wife on, and consoled her when Ritan lost a fight.

The following two days were the same, great victories and great defeats made their mark on these games as more and more attention was drawn to them. Everyone tried to figure out how Soletera was hiding so many champions without anyone noticing. This was the greatest topic at the time, until the first death. A champion of the Sixth House struck one of Ritan’s best in the skull with a large maul. The snapping of bone was said to have echoed across the stadium before a trail of blood and a lifeless body collapsed to the ground. Ashesa was devastated by the event, brought to tears as the one who had been accidentally killed was a known good friend of hers, Elror Beclus. Benetharal was there to console her again when it happened.

The following days saw more and more deaths, until many nobles and commoners began to suspect that House Soletera were intentionally killing House Ritan’s best. Benertharal denied such an accusation firmly, and urged Ashesa to keep the games going for the good of Ritan’s honour. Despite her reservations, she agreed, and what followed was more blood that shouldn’t be spilled. The champions of Ritan stopped trying to hold back in the bouts, and started to severely injure or kill the champions of Soletera. Ashesa Ritan was known to often be on the edge of her seat as the threat of death was now so common. Benetharal is said to have enjoyed how much his wife ‘got into’ the games as the reason he encouraged the continuation.

It was not until a rather impressive duel, between one of Ritan’s pike masters fighting off against Soletera’s axe champion that something foul was afoot. Soletera’s champion was defeated, but instead of letting him lay defeated on the ground the Ritan champion pulled off his opponent's helmet to spit in his face. When he did so he was greeted with a ghastly pale face with blackened eyes. - A horrific sight, and one that immediately led to the Ritan champion accusing Soletera of cheating.

As Soletera’s game was slowly unraveling as the crowd turned against them,Benetharal is said to have addressed the crowd. Thanking them for a wonderful time, and an opportunity to showcase Soletera’s strength. He then bid them their last farewell. A moment later mutated beasts stormed the stadium and began slaughtering the crowd, champions and guards alike. As Ashesa was stunned by sheer shock, Benetharal is said to have embraced her with a deep chuckle before suffocating the Matriarch.

Benetharal then assumed control over House Ritan, the first Soleteran to claim it. As the news spread across the House many rejected the news, and the declaration. Many were dumbstruck by what had just happened and few realised in the moment that they had just lost a significant amount of their best fighters in the contest which the Sixth House turned into a bloodbath.

As the Tyrant Benetharal reached across the house to solidify his control, battled against any who opposed him, and was on the brink of completing his conquest, his ambition was stopped dead in its tracks by his own flesh and blood, Tyendil Soletera, his son who now stylised himself as Tyendil Ritan. Those who had yet to submit to Benetharal rallied around Tyendil and his new-found ally, Grand Master Azadal, who had gathered a great troop of warriors and champions to the cause.

Tyendil Ritan, along with his faithful advisor Azadal, waged a unrelenting war against his father to reclaim what was lost and to rid his lands of the mutated beasts that now stalked it. Bit by bit, Ritan was being clawed back and Benertharal’s conquest was being usurped. It was not enough, Tyendil was likely to lose either momentum or manpower before the vastness of Ritan could be reclaimed. After taking counsel with Azadal, he instead chose to challenge his father to a duel. - Benetharal is known to have been delighted as such a prospect.

In the outskirts of the city of Celka their battle would be fought, father against son, Soletera against Ritan. Many crowded around to watch the highly anticipated battle, nobles came to watch with all their finaries and commoners came for the entertainment too. Before the opening bout began, Tyendil asked his father a series of questions; why did he kill his mother, why was he doing this and why did he betray everything. Benetharal is noted to have laughed at it all before thrusting himself into the fray, as if none of it was serious at all.

The bout was fast and furious 12, with Benetharal clearly being the much better fighter than his son but intentionally dragging out the event and savouring the agony he was causing. While being delighted with himself and the situation, Benetharal often slipped and was struck once or twice, nothing to worry about. However, something took a firm grip over Benetharal whilst he stood gloating over his son. In that moment was an opening that his son gladly took as he plunged his sword deep into his father’s gut.

Benetharal was stunned. The nobles were stunned. The commoners were stunned and the Disciples of Soletera were mortified. The betrayer stumbled back and fell down, in complete shock or unable to speak. Paralysed by a blow or the event or something else that prevented him from doing much of anything. The Tyrant was now, well and truly defeated and the crowd around declared a victor in short order. The Soleteran loyalist quickly made their exit from the contest.

Grand Master Azadal congratulated Tyendil for his victory after he spoke the last few words to his father. Turning to face the crowd he promised vengeance against the foul Sixth House for the era of darkness they brought.

Azadal stayed with Benetharal for a moment, and to ensure he died, he summoned an electrified shard of silver and plunged it into the Tyrant’s heart.

Tyendil went on to free his lands of the mutated beasts and then led his veterans with Azadal at his side to take vengeance upon House Soletera.

Aspects of House Ritan

The Honoured Patriarch / Matriarch

The Ruler of Ritan, sometimes referred to as ‘The Heir’ in honour of their founder. The position is hereditary and comes with almost absolute authority over the House. Despite a number of attempts to make the rule more lax, the Heir has always, officially, been the victor and put down every revolt it faced. Noble or otherwise.

High Lord / Lady

The High Lords of Ritan often own large chunks of territory containing a significant amount of farmlands. Many of them and the lords below them have grown rich from the produce trade with the other Houses.

Grand Master

A Grand Master is an honoured position that immediately grants the bearer the authority over Lords of House Ritan. It is bestowed by ‘The Heir’ themselves and where they go they represent the Great House.

Grand Masters are recognised by Ritan often for their expertise in combat and their ability to draw out the best of their pupils. It is not uncommon for a Grand Master to be a particular Elf who has seen many of their former pupils become Masters themselves.

The Grand Masters are often those who represent House Ritan outside of the House in various tournaments and contests.

Lord / Lady

A hereditary title passed through the generations. The Lords and Ladies of House Ritan can be of various different stocks, but most are owners of fertile farmlands that they manage on behalf of ‘The Heir’ directly, or one of the High Lords or Ladies.

Master

An honorary title that is bestowed upon Seventh Cultists in recognition of their dedication to their craft. Be it their skill with a particular weapon, a fighting form, or their strategic mind, all are qualifications that can grant them the title. - Most often, future Masters are seen competing in The Ritan Games.

Seventh Cultist (Often referred to as Sir / Dame)

Although not held up as one of the ‘core’ gods of House Ritan, the house does make ample use of Seventh Cultists and the nobility employs a large number of them as a means to contest each other rather than other Houses.

Imperius Solitude

House Ritan is renowned for its neglectful attitude towards the greater Dominion whole. For much of its history it has kept to itself, its noble avoiding bonds outside of the house and avoiding getting involved with any affair that does not involve House Ritan itself. This solitude had only been broken a number of times, and typically it is to send out Seventh Cultists to take part in only the grandest of contests across The Dominion to represent the house as a whole.

The rivalry with House Galasaar stemmed from these contests, where it was often Seventh Cultists of both houses reaching the final stages of whatever contest and battling it out. Although Ritan often won where it was a ‘noble’ contest, Galasaar often succeeded where it was not.

Although Ritan’s official stance is to stay ‘Ill-temperedly neutral’, it does not prevent various nobles from other houses trying to ply their charisma and skills to get them involved in some grand scheme or another. And while some nobles have fallen out of step with House Ritan’s official stance, they can come to expect challenges to their honour from their peers. - Seventh Cultists will often be dispatched to test and temper the ambitions of those expanding their horizons outside Ritan without explicit approval of ‘The Heir’.

Precursors

Many nobles of House Ritan in their bid to expand their horizons have been approached by House Tzukyn regarding the many ruins and ancient cities which lie within House Ritan territory. Although allowing in Tzukyn was, at first, controversial, it has in the centuries since become accepted. The discoveries relating to the Precursors has given the nobility of Ritan a fondness of the ancients, and like Tzukyn, started to adopt names and elements of the ancient culture to differentiate themselves from the rest of their house or other Great Houses

Agricultural Giant

House Ritan’s ability to maintain a certain level of self-isolation can be attributed to its wealth of fertile farmlands that spread across its territory. The best producers of foodstuffs are the Lords and Ladies of Ritan, and they have grown rich from the sale of their goods to the other Houses.

House Kitzra is known to give House Ritan lucrative deals to be the sole distributor of the food of House Ritan. Many nobles have taken Kitzra up on such a deal, while an equal number reject such an idea and rather sell their goods to the first merchants that arrive at the various ports. - Except making a point to snub representatives of House Kitzra to prevent them monopolising the export.

The Ritan Games

The Bi-Annual Games of Glorious Ritan are highly anticipated events with 3 weeks to a month of scheduled events, contests and tournaments where Seventh Cultists from across the Dominion gather to prove their strength and topple any opponent put in front of them.

The games generally aim to test contestants against other contestants, but also involve large-scale team battles, obstacle courses, and games of great wit and cunning. Since the tragedy in their past, this is perhaps the most rigidly planned and rigorously monitored event in all of the Dominion - though all that is well-hidden behind gilding.

War with Asturias

House Ritan’s war with Asturias has been one long fumbling disaster after another. Ritan’s highly trained and disciplined Seventh Cultists had little experience with the realities of Human warfare and were sorely unprepared for the way in which the Kingdom of Asturia conducted it.

The key factors were easily identified and correcting them was a hard-driven goal that took more time than Ritan hoped. Their own armoured warriors sought to battle alone, challenge the enemy to duels, and seek the most glorious fight they could manage. In almost every instance this was a recipe for defeat, and many lost their lives before structural reforms were made.

Despite these reforms, the Elves were not accustomed to fighting in this manner. This style of combat was often reserved for the peasantry among them, to fight in huddled masses, and it became a bitter swallow to be forced to relearn their ways of war or face being conquered by Humanity. In Elven snobbery, they oft say that Asturians fight like a swarm of rats, overwhelming the fine pedigree of Ritan due to numbers more than skill.

Author: Hokan

Contributions by: Hugh-Gi-Oh & Afric & Oakbug

Page Created by: Hokan