Estate of Alyssenne

Welcome to the Empire of the Covenant! In this federal empire, tensions are increasing between the Light and Dark political factions. Light Lady Annabelle is the target of the Leader of the Dark faction and in order to gain allies to protect her, she starts Courtship Rituals to make suitors compete for her hand—but then the Dark Lord joins in. Come read about Annabelle's Courtship and her world!
Introduction to the story | Lady Annabelle Alyssenne | The imperial nobility | Novel upcoming

General information

Pronounciation
Alyssenne Type
Geopolitical, Estate Capital
Laldémie Politics
Light, the founder of the Light faction and its previous leader Political leader
Lady Annabelle Alyssenne Government System
Monarchy Governing bodies
The lady who is advised by her councillors, the Masters' house and the Representatives' house Colour
Turquoise blue Crest
The Alyssenne flower, found in the Dark Forest in the Alyssenne Estate

History

The Estate of Alyssenne is several millennia old. The exact date of its foundation is not know. It is thought that the family that would become the House of Alyssenne was already living where the Estate currently stands a long time before that. Since the beginning, the House of Alyssenne has had friendly relations with its neighbour, the Estate of Lyrienne, which is at least as old as it is. Together, both Houses have fought against their Southern and Northern neighbours, and they have managed to old a large territory with constant border over a very long period of time. Over time, both Houses have had several mariage alliances together and their line-gifts have started to mix to a degree rarely seen in the empire, with both Houses developing each other's line-gift as a second minor one. Through their alliance, the House Alyssenne and Lyrienne have pacified the Southern half of the continent located between the steppes of the Haut Plateau and the Issone Mountains, gathering all the other Southern Estates in a loose confederation and placing them under their protection. Both Houses have also lead a series of wars that have repelled invasion attempts from the Southern Kingdoms. However, their biggest struggle was the long protracted war they lead against the alliance of the Northern Estates lead by the House of Arianie. When the war finally ended with the creation of the federal empire, the House of Alyssenne and Lyrienne drifted apart, each forming its own political faction despite maintaining friendly relations with each other. The Alyssenne became the leader of the Light - which has always been mostly formed of Northern Estates, their former enemies - while the Lyrienne lead the Dark - majorly Southern Estates. In the last few generations, the relations between the House of Alyssenne and Lyrienne have deteriorated up to the point that Lord Véridice Lyrienne was suspected of murdering Lord Matthieu Alyssenne and Lady-Consort Joséphine Alyssenne, and did murder Lord Justinien Alyssenne and Lady-Consort Léonie Alyssenne. It is well known in the empire that he is now looking to finish what he has started by completely destroying House Alyssenne with the death of Lady Annabelle Alyssenne.

Demography

The Estate represents roughly 1/45 of the total population of the empire. Its total population is 56 millions individuals and its population density is 56 individuals/km² (145 individuals/miles²).

Power levels	Number of individuals	Percentage of the population
Non-magicals	5.6 millions	10%
Practically non-magicals	11.2 millions	20%
Rest of the population	38.5 millions	~70%
Crafters	625k	1.12% (higher percentage than in the rest of the empire)
Local/low nobility	33k	0.06% (higher percentage than in the rest of the empire)
High nobility	1	0.000,002%

Geography

The size of the Estate is 1,000,000 km² (356,102 miles²).

Types of terrains	Surface area
Arable land	76%
Wilderness	23%
Cities/towns/villages	1%

Types of settlements	Number
Cities	5 (biggest city with 140k inhabitants, second biggest city with 70k inhabitants)
Towns	84
Villages	the rest of the settlements

Notable locations

Dark Forest

On the East of the Estate lies the Dark Forest, a region where magic went out of control and affected the vegetations and wild life and that is still dangerous to travel. It is home to many interesting plants and animals filled with magic and which can be a source of raw materials for crafting. Among those plants are the flowers that gave the emblems for the House of Alysenne and the House of Lyrienne, the Alyssenne flowers and the Lyrienne apple trees. A river cross the forest and is an important trade route despite giving onto the East coast of the empire and a sea filled with gigantic and aggressive sea creatures.

The Black Forest by AmélieIS

Family group, by AmélieIS

Beryl lake

On the North West, the Estate is bordered by the Beryl lake and its system of rivers. The river coast is lined by manufactures on the Alyssenne side.

The Beryl Lake, by AmélieIS with Piqsels

The swamp

On the West, a big swamp separates the Estates of Alyssenne and Lyrienne. Just like the Dark Forest, it is a dangerous place where powerful magic went out of control, and traces of it can still be felt.

The swamp between the Estates of Alyssenne and Lyrienne, picture 2, by Michael Gaida on Pixabay

The road in the swamp between the Estates of Alyssenne and Lyrienne, picture 3, by Anja on Pixabay

The swamp between the Estates of Alyssenne and Lyrienne, picture 4, by Kanenori on Pixabay

The Issone mountains

In the South, the Estate is bordered by a big chain of mountains. The mountains have long served as a protection against invaders. Some of the mountains are in fact volcanoes whose eruptions can be partly controlled by the Houses of Alyssenne and Lyrienne through rituals and their line-gift. It is also where many mineral resources can be harvested for crafting.

One of the volcano of the Issone Mountains, by Ben Turnbull on Unsplash

Laldémie

The capital city of the Estate. The Alyssenne manor is located there. The town is renown for its beautiful architecture, with a focus on marble glass and gilding.

The Alyssenne Manor

The place where the ruler of the Estate lives with their family. The ballroom of the Alyssenne manor is very famous for the very dangerous Alyssenne flowers that floats under its crystal floor.

Annabelle Alyssenne and Véridice Lyrienne during her Courtship Rituals by AmélieIS

Weltane

A small town by the Dark forest.

Neighbours

On the West of the Estate is the Estate of Lyrienne. The House of Lyrienne is Dark and an old ally of the House of Alyssenne, however it has recently turned into a bitter enemy. One the North is a series of smaller Estates, including the Estate of Dinarie which is lead by a Light House who has had overall friendly relationships with House Alyssenne. Another Northern neighbour is the Estate of Irinalesse. The House of Irinalesse is allied with the House of Alyssenne and the current lord, Lord Nathanaël Irinalesse, has previously been a ward of House Alyssenne.

List of characters from the Alyssenne Estate

The Alyssenniens:

Members of the House of Alyssenne, including Lady Annabelle Alyssenne and her family;

Members of the low nobility of the Estate, including Sieur Adrien Nolane;

Commoners, including Goodwoman Béatrice Watron and Goodman Florian Sélinon.

Map

The Empire of the Covenant is a millennia-old federal empire spread over a whole continent and gathering around 600 independent Estates. Those are ruled by powerful mages, lords and ladies who are the Heads of their Houses and who are linked to the ancestral magic of their Lands. Estates are divided by their affilitation with the Light or Dark political factions. See Geography, Climate and Demography of the Empire and Political Organisation of the Empire.

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