House of Kazaros

Structure

The House of Kazaros is an unusual noble house in Arkhera in that it is matrilineal by default, and has been since its inception, unlike most Arkheran houses (patrilineal until recent years, where gender-agnostic primogeniture is becoming commonplace). As such, the ruling member of the house is usually a lady, with her husband being a lord consort.
As a rule, Kazaros ladies tend to prefer to marry any brothers they may have, or failing that, shake the family tree for Foenaxas (their cousin house) men. Beneath the ruling family of blood Kazaroses are numerous city governors and councillors,usually having dominion over broad domains such as military, civil building projects, et cetera. They are also a noble house that has always had a wisdom on its payroll since its creation, and allow the wisdom to choose their own novice and eventual successor. They're also open to their wisdoms being lowborn.

Culture

Within the family, Kazaros culture seems to pride itself on the appreciation of the beautiful facets of nature while ruthlessly abusing and 'pruning' the ugly side. This has unfortunately manifested in a strongly misandrist culture from lady to lady, expressed perhaps most clearly in its current, psychopathic ruler, Gelth Kazaros. Its sigil is a blood-stained sunflower on black, to highlight the Kazaroses' origins as progeny of a Foenaxas, as well as their philosophy that beauty and life are maintained with a healthy dose of death.
They make no secret of their origins as the descendants of Master Torturer Elrax, and consider their history as the people that forced the House of Khanas to flee their ancestral home as a point of pride. Historically, Kazaroses have been strongly anti-necromancer in attitude, and in some cases dark elf supremacist too.
All in all, a sense of abiding superiority consumes the Kazaros culture: They were the first to recognise the potential of female politicians beyond baby factories, the first to openly admit to the brutality required to maintain a feudal system without hiding behind a veneer of honour, the first family to be formed from a common woman being gifted a noble man. It should be noted each of these claims are only true to the Kazaroses; a politically neutral wisdom would find historical counterclaims to each.

Public Agenda

Gelth Kazaros's current direction for the House of Kazaros is one of prosperity and high quality of life... for those who survive her. She's made strong economic connections using a collection of seerish economists on her payroll, made the Flowerfields more the breadbasket of the kingdom that ever, and started a semi-hidden campaign to have her guards arrest and covertly kill all the 'ugly, non-contributing' homeless in her city.
Her city is more blooming with flowers than ever, with her family's ornate gardens are freely accessible to the public. More than anything, Gelth wants to appear to be a ruthless, but savvy, beautiful leader. There is the minor issue of stopping the rumour mills spinning tales that men who catch her eye soon go missing, but that's a minor concern compared to economic superiority.

Assets

The Flowerfields produce the vast majority of the Plains of Death's food, such as grains, fruits, vegetables and livestock. In addition, non-food resources such as hemp rope, bhang and its raw plant, bhang-weed, unrefined shadewort, shadowcat hide, and mulch are common exports and retained resources in the Flowerfields.
This abundance of food makes the Flowerfields the second most populated city in all of Arkhera (behind its capital, Deathsport), and one with a notable population of the ever-eating orcish race, which the current administration has exploited by making the vast majority of her personal guard (as well as army) orcs, naturally selected for their height, power, surprising speed, and ability to wear heavy armour that would render smaller races stationary. This has left the House of Kazaros with one of the most powerful armies in Arkhera.

History

72 AGA (After Garlan's Ascension): The common-born, royally-employed Master Torturer Elrax is deployed by King Yal'miroen Boathis to the recently-captured Flowerfields to interrogate the Khanases in royal custody to find out the location of the rebel necromancer-seer hybrid, Abraxas. Her successful torture of the Khanases results in crucial military knowledge that resulted in much more; she manages to pull out information regarding the Verawor supply lines, the safe houses the necromantic families had prepared in case their cause expired, and even rumours of Abraxas becoming the lover of Lady Pleura Soren. While the latter was never found, the rest of the information was confirmed and exploited.
73 AGA: Following the Abraxas Revolutionary War, King Yal'miroen Boathis, grateful for Elrax's work, offers her anything she desires, hoping that as a commoner, she would have petty dreams. She instead demanded a highborn dark elven husband and the Flowerfields, and is subsequently gifted Morantar Foenaxas, second son of Lord Lumero Foenaxas, along with the home of the family she tormented. She thus dubs her family the House of Kazaros, a fusion of the Elarondian for 'House' and 'Red', wanting to be open and truthful about the grizzly origins, almost as though to act as a permanent blot to the Royal Electorate's reputation.
102 AGA: Elrax's eldest daughter, Morgaxa, ascends to ladyhood and quickly exploits the fertility of the Flowerfields to establish the second stereotype of the Kazaroses; as uncaring about their horrific origins as they may be, they will do everything to be so helpful to their nation that they become indispensible.
247 AGA: Lord El'lunar Werenthos makes an inflammatory statement about Lady Gelarra Kazaros, saying that '[his] ancestors honourably took their home as bold warriors facing soldiers trained to kill, Lady Kazaros's ancestors took their home by tormenting fearful teenagers who'd already surrendered'. In retaliation, Gelarra embargoed all food transport leaving the city, and the resultant famine in the Plains of Death beyond caused Lord Werenthos to publicly recant, and there's been a persistent tension between the Werenthoses and Kazaroses ever since.
499 AGA: The House of Abraxas, led by Lord Eridius and his younger brother, Parthus, rebel against the crown over a racial massacre unaddressed by King Yal'gerar Boathis. As historical friends of the Boathis kings of the Electorate, the ageing Lady Gizara Kazaros offers her unconditional support, and sends her youngest daughter, Vinaxa, a renowned psychopath, along with an army to the Shrine of the Dead to personally target Parthus Abraxas, the military mind of the rebellion, along with his family. While Vinaxa never found them, she did successfully capture Eridius, and bloodied the mysteriously scattered clothes of Parthus, Serella and Liara Abraxas to convince him and the King alike that they were dead. As such, Vinaxa was awarded the hand of Sir Aldrix Axol, giving her motherly sway over a family whose second sons routinely were picked as royal advisors.
516 AGA: Lady Gelth Kazaros, the current Lady of the Flowerfields, is born to Lady Girella Kazaros.
535 AGA: Gelth Kazaros ascends to Lady of the Flowerfields at the age of nineteen, nullifies her betrothal to Solyx Solerro, and implements reforms that encourage guards to kill the homeless, beautifies the city, and enables her perpetual hunt for common lovers to enjoy and kill.

Demography and Population

Dark Elves (35%)
High Elves (29%)
Orcs (25%)
Humans (6%)
Goblins (3%)
Seers (1%)
Gnomes, Beastmasters, Spellbinders, Necromancers (<1%)

Territories

The Flowerfields (main city)
Appleton (town)
Barley Bridge (town)
Viridian Meadow (town)
Beekeeper's Stretch (town)
Morton Moor (town)
Thornwrit Heath (former town)
Bakersville (village)
Sleepy Wood (village)
Shadowcat's Bane (village)
Other villages in the northeast portion of the Plains of Death

Religion

Arkheran Pantheism
Madaki Renewalism
Peregrinian Renewalism
Daemonism

Deadly Beauty

Founding Date

73 AGA

Type

Political, Family

Alternative Names

The Kazaroses
The Kazaros Family

Leader

Gelth Kazaros

Leader Title

Lord

Power Structure

Dependent territory

Economic System

Market economy

Major Exports

Grains
Fruit
Vegetables
Wood
Bhang
Unrefined Liquid Shade
Livestock

Major Imports

Gold (Luxury)
Silver (Luxury)
Semiprecious stones (Luxury)
Spices (Luxury)
Iron
Copper
Tin
Coal
Poultry

Legislative Body

King Landon Shearwater
Lady Gelth Kazaros

Judicial Body

Lady Gelth Kazaros
Flowerfields League of Magistrates

Parent Organization

Plains of Death

Location

The Flowerfields

Official Languages

• Common Tongue

Notable Members

• Elrax Kazaros
• Gelax Kaz'kal
• Gelth Kazaros
• Magaral Kaz'kal

Related Ethnicities

• Arkheran
• Elarondian

Family Tree