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Kellehendros -> RE: Isle of Dracos - OOC (1/30/2014 23:29:20)
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Just want to post my interest here. I'm looking at Riverhold and making plans. I'm going to be busy tomorrow, but I'm hoping to have things together and update this post Saturday with the details for your approval, barring someone pipping me to the post and submitting something.
Edit: Right, here we are. Sorry for the slight delay, but it is still Saturday, so I hope you'll pardon. The wall is below.
Name: Aurena Vance
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Titles: Lady Regent of Riverhold, Viscountess of Kal Haven, Warden of Rivers, Mistress of Grain
The sigil of House Vance is a red fox. Aurena's personal arms are a gules fox courant over a trio of grain sheaves, or on vert (Which is to say, a red fox in full chase over three golden sheaves of grain, on a field of green). House Vance's words are This Endures.
Aurena:
Aurena stands at the tall end the scale for women, just a hair under five feet and eleven inches in height. She has the slender, graceful frame of a noblewoman whose life has been troubled by no task more difficult than the wielding of a pair of knitting needles or a quill. Her eyes are a deep emerald green, like fresh, healthy grass, and her hair cascades down her to the middle of her back in curling, amber waves.
Always impeccably dressed, Aurena favors modest skirts and dresses that flatter her figure without being overly revealing. A self-confident and learned woman, she does not feel the need to display herself. That being said, no woman's arsenal is complete without a few artfully revealing numbers. As Aurena will point out, men fight with swords and armor, but a woman's swords are words, and a woman's armor is courtly dress.
An only child, Aurena married into the Vance family. Her maiden name is Therein. The Thereins are an old family, who once held Riverhold as their own. They were toppled in a bloodless coup by House Vance approximately four centuries ago. There was bad blood between the Houses, but a series of marriage alliances over the years reconciled the Houses somewhat, if not completely.
The last Lord of Riverhold was Kenned Vance, a man who was as fiery and passionate as his wife is cool and collected. The pair made a good match, at least in the ruling of Riverhold. Kenned was devoted to his wife, and even though the two were very different, she loved him in return. Aurena had a moderating effect on Kenned's fiery spirit, and she managed to temper many of his rash impulses. If there is one complaint that can be levied against her by her subjects, it is that the Lady Regent of Riverhold is very concerned with propriety and precedent. She has a methodical, detail-oriented mind, and may want for mercy.
Aurena surprises most men, who write her off because of her sex as merely a courtly ornament. Since the death of her husband six years ago she has taken up the regency of Riverhold until the maturity of her son. She is widely read on a great number of subjects, and has manged the affairs of Riverhold with dignity and aplomb, silencing her critics, and increasing the wealth and holdings of House Vance.
House Vance
Lord Kenned Vance (Deceased) - Kenned was killed in a training accident, whilst working with the Royal Chargers. The second son of his family, he advanced into the inheritance of Riverhold upon the death of his older brother due to an outbreak of black pox. The disease ravaged the Riverhold, taking Kenned's younger sister and mother as well. As previously mentioned, the man had a fiery temper, and in many ways was well suited to being commander of the guard, a position he would have held had his brother lived to inherit lordship of Riverhold. He was not particularly well-loved by the smallfolk, but thanks to the effect Aurena had upon him, he became rather more popular after their marriage.
Lady Regent Aurena Vance - The betrothal of Aurena and Kenned occurred when Aurena was twelve. The two were married when Aurena was twenty. The unusual delay to the consummation of the marriage pact was due to the outbreak of the black pox that swept through the Riverhold. The pair had difficulty conceiving, perhaps due to a mild case of the disease that Aurena suffered, and Kenned's tragic death meant there was little time for him to know his offspring. Eight years ago Aurena gave birth to twins, Rowena and Kored.
Kored Vance - Firstborn son of Aurena and Kenned Vance. Kored and his twin sister strongly resemble their father, sharing his straight, fine dark hair and blue eyes. That being said, Kored takes after his mother in temperament. Reserved and possessed of a quiet intelligence, Kored is grave for an eight-year old boy. Like his mother, he often keeps his own counsel. Kored had little chance to know his father, but he is being groomed and trained to one day take rulership of Riverhold.
Rowena Vance - Secondborn of the twins, Rowena inherited her father's temperament. She is fierce and somewhat wild, given to flights of fancy. She can be precocious and charming when she wishes, but most chance of manipulation or subterfuge on her part is ruined by her desire to have her way immediately. While she is still young, her mother struggles to try and tame Rowena's independent streak, in the hope that one day her unruly daughter will be an eligible lady who can make a good marriage for the House.
Notable Vassals, and Aurena's Council of Dukes:
Duke Hereth Therein - Ruler of Kasidan, and Aurena's father. The sigil of House Therein is a sheaf of grain or on vert (Which is to say, a golden sheaf on a field of green). Relations between Aurena and her father are somewhat strained, as Hereth feels his daughter should defer more to the Council of Dukes, which he heads. A staunch traditionalist, he wishes to see his daughter married again, preferably to a scion of a House sworn to House Therein.
Duke Petrick Morn - Ruler of Canor, and suitor of Aurena. The sigil of House Morn is an or stag rampant attired argent on vert (Which is to say, a golden stag with silver rack, rearing on a field of green). Petrick oversees the trade port of Canor, and since the death of Kenned has been doing his best to woo Aurena in a bid to take control of Riverhold.
Duke Ermen Thorpe, Duchess Kamara Thorpe - Rulers of Gentleaf. The sigil of House Thorpe is sable destriers combatant on argent (Which is to say, two black warhorses rearing, face-to-face on a field of silver). Bad blood exists between Aurena and Kamara. The women are of an age, and were both considered as potential matches for Kenned. Kenned's father chose Aurena, and though the two girls were both young, it was a slight that Kamara never forgot. Relations between the two are cool at best, and thankfully Ermen handles most of the business dealings in Gentleaf.
Laewin - Scholar and treasurer of House Vance, an old man who has served the family for years. Laewin is knowledgeable on a wide-range of matters, and serves on Aurena's Council despite holding no noble rank of his own. The dukes generally deride him as an up-jumped commoner, but Laewin knows Riverhold and its daily workings as well or better than any noble.
Damascus - Head of the noble guard, secretly Aurena's paramour. Damascus is a career soldier, having worked his way up through the ranks to his current position as leader of the Royal Chargers through hard work and exemplary talent. Aurena hand-picked him for the position shortly after Kenned's death, much to the surprise and consternation of Riverhold's nobility. The Chargers are generally lead by a scion of a noble house, and installing a commoner into the position was perceived as an insult. Nevertheless, in his four-year tenure as leader of the Royal Chargers, Damascus has overhauled the system of training and outfitting for Riverhold's forces, forcing his detractors to admit that perhaps Aurena knew what she was doing after all. For his personal arms, Damascus has taken a gules lion rampant guardant on vert (Which is to say, a red lion rearing, with its head turned toward the viewer, on a field of green).
Gerris - Tapped by Damascus shortly after he took command of the Royal Chargers, and by extension the forces of Riverhold, Gerris is a man of later years, studied and learned in the ways of science. Generally eschewing tradition and precedent as superstitious and nonsensical, it is Gerris whose ideas, implemented by Damascus, have helped improve the efficacy of Riverhold's forces. From careful mathematical instruction, natural philosophy, and selective breeding, to standardized training regimens, rigorous development testing, and merit-based promotion, Gerris' ideas have created waves. They have also created backlash from the noble houses, forcing Damascus, and by extension Aurena, to play a careful balance between old and new methods.
Armed forces:
Riverhold's forces play to the strengths of the hold itself. With the prevalence and availability of good breeding stocks and ample supplies, the hold fields some of the best cavalry on the island. Of note are the famed Royal Chargers that make up the noble guard. Divided into five detachments of one hundred men, the majority of the Chargers (four hundred men) are trained and horsed as heavy melee cavalry. Heavily armed and armored, the cataphracts of Riverhold are a fearsome sight to behold, and a terror to receive a charge from. The remaining detachment are light horse, trained as messengers and skirmishing cavalry adept at screening marches, moving quickly, and harassing enemy positions and supply lines.
Cavalry in all varieties is a natural specialty of Riverhold, but cavalry alone does not win battles. Riverhold's infantry forces are mainly pikes, backed by glaives and lochaber axes. Foot are generally supplemented by heavy corps of sword- or axemen. At range, the forces of Riverhold use the crossbow, which may be slower to fire than the bow, but is generally easier to use. The crossbow supplies power in a compact frame, and generally requires less maintenance and training than the bow. Massed crossbow volleys are just as deadly as bows, and you don't have to train a man for years before he can reliably hit something with one.
Since Damascus began his overhaul of Riverhold's forces, he has, at Gerris' advice, created a dedicated siege corps. The fledgling force has yet to be tested in any real combat, but has acquitted itself well in several demonstrations thus far.
Dragon:
The Egg of Riverhold has yet to hatch. It holds its place in the House Vance reliquary, an egg of ruby red, like a polished gemstone, lined with veins of green. In the past months, the veins have begun to pulse with a slow, green light.
Riverhold:
The Riverhold, blessed as it is by the great rivers that give it its name, is a fertile land, providing rich farming and good pasturage. The river valleys yield bountiful harvests, the lakes team with fish, and the forests provide wild game. Riverhold is the breadbasket of the island, and due to its prominent position on the western edge of the island, proves a good port for ships sailing to and from the western lands to trade. The pastures of Riverhold also provide good feed and land for the breeding of horses, and the coursers and destriers that came out of the Riverhold are widely praised.
As a result, House Vance enjoys a great degree of wealth. Perhaps not so much as that which is prised from the ground by the Lords of Gemhold, but Aurena has manged her House well, stocking House Vance's treasury with gold, and its storehouses with grain and trade goods. The people of Riverhold are hardworking and generally cheerful, and thought there are some who grumble that the Lady Regent asks a great deal of them, and some think the taxes too high, even objectors will, grudgingly, admit that Aurena has done well and ruled fairly.
Settlements of note include:
Canor - The trade port and gateway to the western lands, Canor is Riverhold's harbor. Shipbuilding is not a major industry in Riverhold. Most vessels built in the hold are barges and transports, designed to move large quantities of materials up and down the rivers. Riverhold has few of the trees required for solid ship-building, and Canor exists more to provide a place for the easy loading and off-loading of trade ships than for the creation of those ships themselves, though it serves well enough as a stopping point for basic repairs.
Gentleaf - Known best for the livestock faire that takes over the settlement once a year, Gentleaf guards the lower ford of the Adlos, standing watch over the river and the royal road that follows it. The road runs between Redriver, Bremming, and Kasidan, while the ford provides access to the Vale of Delet, where the herders and breeders of Riverhold raise and train their famed horses.
Kasidan - Home to House Therein, and once capital of Riverhold, Kasidan is the major trade hub of the hold. Situated at the crossing point of two royal roads (those leading to Bremming, Stonegully, Redriver, and Kal Haven), and watching over the upper ford of the Adlos, Kasidan is a natural stopping-off point for trade caravans moving in and out of the Riverhold. The citadel of Therein's Grasp perches on the hill at the center of the sprawling city, brooding behind its old and crumbling curtain wall. With the fortune of its masters, the citadel waned and crumbled over time, being overshadowed by the rising star of Kal Haven and House Vance to the south and west. Aurena commissioned teams of builders to begin restoration of the old citadel a year ago, supplementing House Therein's efforts with House Vance funding. Whether she looks to restore the glory of her former House's abode, or is simply interested in strengthening the city's defensive bastion, is open to debate.
Kal Haven - Capital of the Riverhold, Kal Haven is a walled city founded by House Vance. Well located at the intersection of the royal roads leading to the three great cities of the Riverhold, and with secure access to the Adlos, House Vance used their position to act as brokers between various interests within Riverhold, gathering power, wealth, and influence over the years, and eventually coming to control the Riverhold itself. Aurena has updated and maintained the castle and city defenses over the years, and though the city proper has spilled out beyond the initial cordon wall, she has made sure that there is plenty of space between the castle wall and the city, and enough open space between the cordon wall inside and out to make an assault on the city a nasty proposition.
History
Riverhold's history, prior to the coming of the Dragonriders, was torn with strife and blood. The natural resources of the land were extremely attractive, and no small number of warlords and would-be conquerors squabbled over the land. Naturally, everything changed with the coming of Dracos. One by one, warlords and petty kings fell before the overwhelming power of dragons.
The peace was short lived. The corruption and decadence of the Dragonriders, the abuses of their power, incensed the people, and they rose up in rebellion against Dracos. In the Riverhold, House Tanith rose first, slaying Dracos' minions and officials, and driving them out of their lands. The Tanith Rebellion might have been crushed, had the Dragonriders but heeded the warnings and pleadings of the king's men (those loyal to the Dragon Throne). Had retribution been swift and sure, the Riverhold might have been quieted. But they simply laughed off the rebellion of a handful of farmers, and when House Tanith crushed the token force dispatched to remind the rebellious House of their place, the other Houses of Riverhold rose.
War flashed across the Riverhold, spreading like fire through a drought-striken field, overwhelming the king's men, and doing what had seemed so impossible only generations before. The rival Houses of Riverhold united against the Dragonriders. Veretex, the Dragonrider dispatched by Dracos to deal with the insurrection, was dismayed to find that the "farmer rabble" he had expected to sweep away was actually an alliance of the Houses of Riverhold. The fractious Houses that had so easily fallen to the Dragonriders when squabbling amongst themselves were no easy dragon-feast when united, and they were no longer overawed by the great dragons, for their mortality been shown already in the insurrections on other parts of the island.
Afraid for his life, but more afraid by far to return to Dracos in defeat, Veretex fought like a demon, unleashing every depredation and atrocity in his power, but the Riverhold would not be denied. Colat Tanith slew Veretex in single combat atop the back of the Dragonrider's own dead dragon, Goltharax, though Colat's death of the wounds he suffered only hours later proved the end of his House. The Houses of Riverhold raised their scorched and tattered banners, and marched east along the Bremming road, uniting with the other insurrectionists to invest Dragonhold Keep.
After the downfall of Dracos, the Houses of Riverhold formed an uneasy alliance headed by House Therein. At first the alliance was a necessity, for the devastation wrought by Veretex, not to mention the rebels themselves, was so great that the remaining Houses must of necessity pool their resources, or face individual extinction at the hands of bandit lords and ill-fortune. Over the years the alliance frayed, and the Houses fell to bickering amongst themselves, fighting petty wars and waging meaningless feuds.
And then Taran Kalzar came, with his dragon eggs. If there was anything that could revive the alliance of the Houses of the Riverhold, even after years of infighting, it was the possibility of another Dracos upon the Dragon Throne. But old wounds had opened, and even though the Houses swore themselves to a new and greater alliance, they fought divided, squabbling over right of leadership, and Kalzar's forces smashed the alliance army to flinders, scattering the survivors. Then Kalzar made a greater victory, gathering the surviving lords of the Riverhold Houses together, and expounding to them his purpose. Kalzar meant to unite the isle, as did Dracos before him, but this union would be based not upon the fearsome might of dragons, but upon the mutual friendship of House Kalzar with ruling families in each hold.
Despite their suspicions, the Houses of Riverhold could not suffer another such defeat as the one Kalzar had dealt them. The Riverhold bent the knee, and House Therein received from Kalzar the Egg of the Riverhold. Years, decades, and centuries passed, and for the greater part Riverhold prospered under the rule of House Kalzar, the peace broken by such scuffles and squabbles as seem inevitable under the rule of all noble Houses.
Some six hundred years past, a foolish scion of House Therein made a deal with a scion of House Vance, giving up the Egg of Riverhold in exchange for some petty trade agreement. The egg, after all, was nothing but a curiosity. There had been no dragons on the isle for generations. Perhaps the egg was a token of good fortune, however, for over the next two centuries House Therein's fortunes began to wane, until four hundred years past when House Vance usurped rulership of the Riverhold through a combination of influence, gold, and sly maneuvering.
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