House Gaaren

Gokrenxia    Peoples      Myndikin      Dwarves      House Gaaren

Come now, Master Gaaren! Spin us a tale of the road and the turnings of the world!

— At a Tavern in Rolighav

Overview

If ever you've encountered a friendly Dwarven merchant moving their warez along the winding rivers and roads beyond Kungaroun and the Stormbreak Mountains, there's an excellent chance it was a member of the eighth Great House: House Gaaren. Where their Orborin cousins thrive on the adrenaline and risk associated with charging recklessly into the unknown, Gaaren Dwarves are far more content to taste and see, experience and appreciate everything the world has to offer. They are the explorers with wandering souls, born with an nomadic drive that pushes them to avoid settling down in one place for too long. Followers of the Stone Song cite this trait as evidence House Gaaren is meant to represent the Voice of Stone in every corner of Gokrenxia.

House Gaaren and the Great War

During the Great War, Gaaren's Dwarves served a wide variety of roles, but were largely charged with establishing and maintaining the complex logistics networks required to supply the Northern, Eastern, and Southern fronts. War weary and wounded soldiers came to trust in Gaaren's supply caravans and ships. Their reliable deliveries of medicines, of news from loved ones and other parts of the war became a quiet symbol of hope and a reminder of what the Empire was fighting for. Even though the House was an integral part of staging and supplying practically every major offensive, they suffered minimal casualties when compared to their Northern cousins of Houses Zunoch, Vogrem, and Dyber.

House Gaaren in the Second Age

The Worldly Wanderers

Gaaren Dwarves remain the most worldly and well-traveled of the Houses. Where House Nazarov has a deep well of secret knowledge about the movers and shaker of the world stage - though it is questionable for whose benefit they wield such power - Gaaren has the breadth of knowledge on the happenings in the world beyond the mountains. If you want to know news about what's happening in the world, both rumor and fact, Gaaren is most likely to have (and be wiling to share) the information you seek.

Ships of the Eighth

Leaning into their powerful wanderlust, it is no surprise that House Gaaren long ago embraced shipbuilding and the sea as a means of extending their methods of exploration and discovery. With Houses Orborin and Rykov, they complete the trifecta of seafaring Houses making up the core of the Saltcutter's Guild. Gaaren ships are not as plentiful as those of House Rykov, but they have learned from the many experimental Pervak/Orborin ship designs and adopted many of the more "stable" advancements in technology, focusing on advancements supporting transport over warfare. Thus, the Eighth Fleet is faster, more full, and further reaching than Rykov's battle-oriented and traditional Seventh Fleet.

The Lords of Logistics

Whether over land or sea, House Gaaren is the undeniable master of transportation and logistics, jealously guarding and controlling their title. Outside of the Kurzniert Freehold and the Zuul’Hy Freelands, in every major city across the land, to include Vath'azen, you can find Gaaren's shipping depots. Groups looking to break into the transportation game are required to register with, and obtain a license from the House. Being caught without your license results in significant punishment. At best people receive fines, progressing to having your transportation and warehouses reduced to ash. At worst, the violation could cost you your life.

Geography

Spanning 116 miles North-South by just under 950 miles East-West, Gaaren's lands are rich, fertile, and heavily forested. Kungaroun's largest inland waterway, the Adinya River, winds Southeasterly through Gaaren lands, stretching from Lake Pokruhn in the North to the coast of Khazwa Sea in the East, where the House operates the Kingdom's busiest port.
Yet the most well known feature of Gaaren's lands is not it's unique and beautiful woods. It is the towering gates of Kreuchenya Pass. If you want to move things East to West between Kungaroun and Rolighav lands, the heavily guarded (and taxed) Kreuchenya Pass, often referred to as the "Gates of Stormbreak," is the fastest and safest route through the Stormbreak mountains.

Type

Geopolitical, Great house

Location

Stormbreak Mountains

Related Species

• Dwarves

Rank: 8 of 12
Traits

Worldly

Tactful

Venturesome

The Stormbreak Mountains

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Leadership

Lev Gaaren by dream by WOMBO

Lev Gaaren is the odd, middle-aged "Elder" holding the 8th seat of Dwarven power. His family line has a long history of successful piracy on the seas. In fact they are something of legend for, as the stories go, they recovered the bulk of the fortunes that sank with the Drowned Fleet during the Great War without anyone being the wiser and hid it away where no one would ever find it. Lev himself is known for his significant fear of bears and commensurate disdain toward House Fidyev, stemming from an encounter in his youth where a Fidyev bear-in-training took a chunk of his ear and left the side of his head horribly scarred.

Outlook

Group	Opinion
Elves	The Elven Tide Trader's place a priority on ensuring their members keep their paperwork in order and the taxes up to date. Extensive imports and exports flow bidirectionally to the great benefit of both nations.
Kynekin	The Kynekin of Vath'azen pay their dues and recognize our authority. Even the Vyr upstarts in the Kingdom of Sanysgal prefer to avoid drawing our ire.
Humans	Less organized than the Imperials, the amount of paperwork involved in maintaining the vast number of licenses across shippers from Rolighav is not insignificant. Still, our Myndikin cousins largely respect and adhere to our rules.
Other Dwarves	We do our best to stay on good terms with the rest of Kungaroun, but prefer to stay out of Northern politics and posturing. That is, of course, unless it impacts our trade. The Saltcutter's Guild has its own set of internal politics, specifically between us and the more conservative House Rykov (who feel like the Imperials should get a discount on everything). Thankfully though, the open ocean is wide enough for us to disagree civilly with ample room to breath.

Story Seeds

In the year 152 of the First Age, Zenlange Gaaren discovered the mineral Gyalzinite, which would go on to become an integral part of everyday life in Kungaroun.