House Arcantlet
With a modest townhouse on a quiet street in northwestern Suzail, farms south of the Way of the Manticore not far east of the Wyvernflow, and Cantergates, a small but fortified country mansion (in the midst of a private hunting forest or “chase”) southeast of Hultail, the Arcantlet family is comparatively impoverished, unknown, and few in numbers.
Ennobled in the reign of Duar for “valiant personal service to the King” (saving his life in battle more than once, and fighting at his side as a competent and trusted warrior), Lathlan Arcantlet was a quiet, studious, and cunning-in-battle knight who as Lord Arcantlet (given the land where Cantergates now stands and two small adjacent farms that had fallen into royal hands after Duar killed their traitor-owners, but nothing more) set out to found a family and die happy, respected, and rich.
He managed all three, building a slightly smaller Cantergates and adding three more farms to his Wyvernflow holdings before his death, at the age of ninety-six, surrounded by his wife, seven daughters, and three sons.
By royal assent, Lathlan’s wife Paerelle became Lady Arcantlet in her own right, and she shrewdly watched her offspring, trying to decide who would make her best successor. Death took two of the sons and one daughter not all that many years later, another four daughters married into other families, and an elderly and ill Lady Arcantlet named her daughter Raedaunra her successor as head of the house. This enraged her surviving son, Tersarren, who murdered her - - and was promptly executed by the Crown for doing so.
A saddened Raedaunra dwelt in Cantergates with her two sisters for more than a decade, but eventually fell in love with a commoner named Hareth Blacksheath. They were wed, and their son Croenel, a handsome, upstanding and “kingly” man eventually succeeded Raedaunra. Croenel’s weaknesses were gambling and fair lasses, but he was a shrewd merchant trader with an eye for trends and strategic purchases, and died very rich, having replaced the Arcantlet rental accommodations in Suzail with a grand mansion, built a large fleet of merchant caravels busily plying the waves of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and been not too proud to enter scores of business ventures with common-born Suzailan merchants (many of which were successful). However, Croenel’s love for chasing longskirts led to him marrying late. He sired only one son and one daughter - - and the daughter, Nendiira, proved to be a dangerous, murderous madwoman who covertly slew scores of people before she was suspected, confronted, and died under the spells of three Wizards of War after she’d killed a fourth.
Croenel’s son, Thandivurr (a quiet, scholarly man who withdrew from most of the family merchant ventures and had the misfortune to lose much of his fleet over the years in storms, remorse keeping him from adding any SHIPS to replace those lost), also had only one son, Fendrel, an amoral rake and lover of sly schemes and thievery whose shady business dealings impoverished the family and lost them their Suzailan mansion. Fendrel had two sons, Asgreth and Thandurl - - and from that day to this, no Lord Arcantlet has sired more than two sons (and three daughters), and most have managed only one of each.
The family has stayed small and fairly poor, living within its means but as a result having a low profile among the Nobility of Cormyr and little influence at Court.
In 1349, a weak and ineffectual Lord Thurcastle Arcantlet died (having spent the previous six years so wandering in his wits that the family’s kindly house wizard [yes, a Wizard of War], Brestor Narbridle, had really run the family, propping up Thurcastle’s saddened wife, Lady Adbrooke). The sole son, Helgrath, became Lord Arcantlet, and proved to be the “brokemirror” (antithesis) of his father; Helgrath was a hearty hunting, riding, brawling, wenching sort, burly, darkly handsome, and jovial.
Helgrath sent Narbridle packing and faced down Vangerdahast, telling him to “send any young novice, as we love the land yet have no love for Court scheming or conniving, controlling mages here!”
Strangely, Helgrath survived saying such words to the Royal Magician, and found himself saddled with an everchanging succession of young, inexperienced, mild-mannered house wizards - - which suited him just fine. He was busy marrying and wearing out wives, taking Nalrue Rowanmantle as his bride in 1351 DR and remarrying (Lalustra Thornstag) in 1357, within months of Nalrue’s death in childbirth. He sired sons Talryn in 1351 and Nesgarl in 1355, and daughters Oromelle (1353), Jathra (1357; her mother died birthing her), and Helbra (1359).
Helgrath died in a suspicious hunting accident in 1360 (it was almost certainly murder, but the identity of the murderers - - Helgrath died with four arrows through him, all fired from different directions in the thick forest and all piercing him before he fell - - was never uncovered, despite a “storm-scouringly diligent” investigation by the Wizards of War).
After Helgrath’s death, the true mettle of the surviving Arcantlets was revealed. Oromelle was a spiteful, brilliant woman and a superb actress, who may well have been no more evil than that (she withdrew to Suzail, survived several attempts on her life that were almost certainly made by “hands” hired by her family, and then “disappeared” with the assistance of the War Wizards and Crown permission, changing her appearance and name and being held “in reserve” to keep this noble family from becoming extinct if the Crown is ever forced to execute the rest, or their misadventures kill them all), and Nesgarl was an easygoing, gentle scholar [this is Lorna’s guy, if you want to use the Arcantlets], but Lalustra, Talryn, Jathra, and Helbra were “pure twisted poison,” to borrow War Wizard Laspeera’s description of them.
Talryn became Lord Arcantlet when young and headstrong, and set about trying to become rich and powerful by scheming with every Sembian cabal and illicit thieving group he could find - - soon running the family deep into debt to his shady allies when slaving and drug-running ventures crumbled in the face of War Wizard-led attacks and surveillance. He began ruthless, and has rapidly become embittered and a cold, tireless foe of many.
Lalustra tried to sleep her way through “every available noble bed” she could worm her way into, seeking a new husband with wealth to keep her pampered and a weak enough character to be dominated. She left a trail of unhappy noblemen she’d stolen from and fought with, and eventually gave up husband-hunting (running out of suitable candidates, and not yet ready to lower herself to “Marsemban nobles, or commoners with much coin but no noble blood”) and ended up back under her son’s roof, unwanted and untrusted.
Jathra and Helbra are superb actresses, poisoners, and wantons who used their bodies and promises to work their way through a succession of men (yes, despite Helbra’s young age; she was born with stunning good looks, matured into ripe beauty at about age nine, and watched and learned “wiles” from her mother and older sisters). Jathra likes rough, strong men and wealthy commoner merchants, preferably both; Helbra prefers lonely noblemen, often the unmarried, unhappy “uncles” of other families.
All of the surviving Arcantlets can be civil to each other, and even work together for common advantage, but none of them trust each other as far as the thickness of a dagger-blade. Moreover, Talryn, Lalustra, and Jathra all actively hate each other so much that any such cooperation between any two of them is going to be short-lived indeed.
As of 1369 [the time of Nesgarl’s murder, if you choose this noble house], the family is in debt and up past its collective eyebrows in shady dealings, though very few commoners and only a handful of noble families and courtiers know this. Some nobles personally know the cavils and worth (not much) of individual Arcantlets, but in general, if nobles or courtiers or the wider Cormyrean public have any attitude at all toward House Arcantlet, it’s to overlook them - - and if faced by the fact of their existence, to pigeonhole them as “one of those minor noble families; no coin, few in number, probably deservedly so.”
Nesgarl would have very seldom visited Suzail (perhaps once a year or so) and spent much of his youth at Cantergates, being transferred to one of several expanded farmhouses somewhere in the farms east of the Wyvernflow once his brother Talryn became Lord Arcantlet and wanted Cantergates to himself (mainly to remove witnesses to his carousings and shady dealings).
These farms, by the way (their actual number and extent have expanded and shrunk over the years, in accordance with family fortunes), are collectively known as “the Windcoast” to the family, though that’s a name anyone else will search for in vain on any maps (yes, the country is windy, and it’s near but not on the coast, though seabreezes - - and mists, blown ashore - - can often be experienced there). The farmhouse Nesgarl was installed in can have any name you want it to, but yes, he would have been surrounded by bodyguards charged with keeping him safe, keeping the farm and its crops safe - - and keeping watch over Nesgarl and his doings.
Nesgarl having a woman (Lorna) would (although it would originally have been Lalustra’s plan, also with an eye to controlling her son without having to openly seem to do so) be viewed with approval by Talryn because, in his thinking, it would keep Nesgarl busy. That is, keep him from perhaps getting restless and starting to do things on his own (such as relocate to Suzail, where he might draw attention to the wider family and cause War Wizards or others to peer at “what the Arcantlets might be up to”).
Now, if Lorna had been the “take me to the bright lights and feasts of Suzail right now” sort, rather than the “train me to arms, bodyguards of the house” sort, Lalustra or Talryn might have “taken care of her” early on . . . but as it happened, she served her purpose until Nesgarl’s removal became necessary.
Джерело: <http://forum.Candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9685&whichpage=7>
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