Duchy of Elysia (eh-LEE-see-ah)
House Notable Qualities: Industrious, Noble, Innovative, Creative, In-tune with nature/environment
Structure
Many of the noble families of Elysia have been living in the area since long before the founding of Eisen, as long as memory can recall. The current Duchess, Dagmar Emberstone, can trace her lineage back to when dwarves first settled the Shattered Peaks. The ducal holdings encompass the heart of the mountains where lie the deepest and most profitable mines. Duchess Emberstone is middle-aged dwarf of noble bearing and dynamic personality. She is from a large family that includes brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, children, cousins, and adopted children and adopted members of the family.
There are also three counties within the duchy. In the north, encompassing the northern foothills boarding the duchy of Arden, are the holdings of Count Lucian Sathil. Count Lucian is a bit of a scholar, and well versed in politics. He is unmarried, and shows no interest in having children of his own. While it will hopefully be some time before his lack of an heir would be an issue, current rumor has it that following him would be a younger cousin, Lord Giles Beydre. Opinion on this is mixed because while Giles is well loved, he is considered a bit young, bumbling, and lacking in the social or political acumen needed for the role.
To the west of the mountains, and centered around the depths of the Elysian Forest are the lands held by Count Aldon Starshade and Countess Aerin Starshade. They are twins who hold the county seat jointly, and trade off who is in charge every other season so that the other can travel and be free of responsibility. They are both young, social, and a bit of a playboy/girl.
The far west side of the duchy, from the Elysian river to the border are the lands held by Countess Ethiune Brecklane. Countess Ethiune is a revered dowager in her later years, but still vital and with a mind as sharp as a whip. She is one of the most skilled politicians in Eisen and approaches social challenges with a no-nonsense confidence. Ethiune’s sister, Lady Magavellan Brecklane, called most commonly by her nickname Madge, is also a social powerhouse, especially in gossip circles. But she lacks the political polish and refinement of her older sister.
Notable Members of House Elysia
(click to expand)Culture
The duchy sits in the south of the kingdom, and encompasses the entirety of the shattered peaks and most of the foothills surrounding them, as well as the old-growth Elysian Forest.
Most of the duchy consists of villages or hamlets scattered throughout the forest, foothills, and mountains. The Duchy’s largest city is Enylaneas, which sits in pastoral farmlands across the Elysian river from the forest proper. Deep within the Ducal holdings in the center of the shattered peak is also the ancient dwarven city of Jomdarihm, which is also the ducal seat. Jomdarihm is carved into the living rock of the mountains and only the upper floors are in active use despite ancient halls and caverns extending far deeper.
House Elysia is as old as the mountains, well rooted as the trees of the Elysian Forest, and rich as their gold and gem mines. Yet for all of this they are a gregarious open people who like making new friends, and enjoy discovering and creating new things. They are a house that is filled with artificers and inventors, who are well funded to explore the boundaries of what is possible. And if something blows up, well the stones of the mountains make for great laboratory walls.
Public Agenda
There are surprisingly few rivalries between the various families of the duchy, even less than the normally expected infighting between siblings. The Duchy is large enough, and the mountains tall enough, that when the various families get together it is usually for celebrations, parties, and other special events. There is more likely to be internal familiar squabbles within individual family lines than cross-family issues.
“The mountianfolk stick together” is a phrase which encapsulates the interfamily relationships of this house. Most families within the house are considered to be the best friends and allies another family in the house can have.
The nobility of Elysia believe that they hold the heart of the realm, and there is no small bit of understandable pride at having the oldest and most well established lineages in the kingdom among their number. This can rub many other noble houses the wrong way, especially house Arden who are prideful in their own right and do not take kindly to being reminded that their house only dates back to the founding of the kingdom. House Elysia is also one of the most progressive houses in Eisen, taking to eletech for the simple joys of invention and tinkering with something new. Considering that Arden is also a conservative house and they share a border, relations between these two houses are generally strained at best.
Although they get along politically and socially, House Elysia has recently become rivals and competitors with House Rosebriar. Each strives to be the one to invent the next big thing, or capture the next bit of market share in the manufacture and trade of eletech.
Individually, There is also friction between Count Lucian Sathil and Count Virgil Allunare of house Tressard. They just don’t like each other, and there is a constant debate over where exactly in the foothills to the east the border between their two counties lies. While this also would be the border between the duchies, The ducal families of both realms have so far declined to get involved as the argument seems to mostly be a manifestation of the two counts enmity towards each other.
House Elysia generally gets along fine with any of the other progressive noble houses of Eisen. The people of house Elysia are generally gregarious and enjoy traveling and visiting throughout the kingdom, though invites back to the hearts of their holdings are rarer. If there is not a reason or history of direct conflict, like with House Arden (and to a lesser extent house Osterlind), then those of Elysia are inclined to be friendly and open to friendship.
Paradoxically the house is equally concerned with maintaining the lush and rugged beauty of their mountains and forests while also inventing and exploring. Their ties to their lands are deep and extend into distant memory, so while they heartily embrace eletech and new inventions, they would never do so at the expense of their environment or sustainability for future generations.
House Elysia is progressive, and are avid proponents of Eletech. They are enthusiastic supporters of any national projects utilizing the new technologies, though are maybe a bit snobbish and more protective when it comes to their own lands. This mostly manifests as requiring exacting standards for any projects with a possible environmental impact.
House Elysia sees itself:
In concert with nature, never opposed to it.
They are always interested to discover, seek, and invent.
They are rich but not miserly, they are as generous with their gold as they are with their friendships.
In concert with nature, never opposed to it.
They are always interested to discover, seek, and invent.
They are rich but not miserly, they are as generous with their gold as they are with their friendships.
Assets
Do you have to earn power when you are the heart of the realm? House Elysia takes to power in the kingdom as if to its birthright and there are few that would actively gainsay it. However most of their power comes from their seemingly limitless wealth and their willingness to share and spend it.
Ancient and still producing mountain mines provide this house with a healthy and steady flow of metals and gemstones. Precious metals and gemstones can be traded or sold in their raw form, or crafted into exquisite jewelry. Elysian steel is second to none for the manufacture of weapons, and raw ores are shipped out to feed many of Eisen’s industries. The house is also at the forefront of new developments in eletech and other technological wonders which are in high demand.
History
The Duchy was founded before the founding of Eisen itself. The stoneborn races have always been in the mountains and foothills of the shattered peaks, and various noble families can trace lineages back to centuries before the founding of the current kingdom. They officially became a duchy in 1525, but the house considers itself to be much older.
There is a cultural myth of Gropthar Grimhammer who, depending upon the family telling the story was either a Dwarf, Firbolg, or Gnome who led his clan to the Shattered Peaks from the far east and was the first to settle and tame the rocky promentories. According to myth he carved the first hall of Jomdarihm and established the first mines and workshops. He made peace with the elves of the Elysian woods, and forged an alliance with them that is the basis for the ties between the various families of the duchy to this day.
There are tales of an ancient war in Jomdarihm, when the folk of the city delved too deep and disturbed some ancient evil. The stories are unclear on what this ancient evil was exactly, but you can still see scorch marks in some of the lower caverns and halls to this day. It is used as a cautionary tale for why the lover levels of the city go uninhabited.
While House Rosalind were the main proponents and developers of Eletech, House Elysia was quick to jump onboard. While House Rosalind championed Eletech powered travel and commerce, House Elysia is responsible for many of the smaller and niche use devices that have become popular, including the camera and various entertainment devices. Artisans of the House are always interested in what neat thing they can make, regardless of any practical application.
Type
Political, Family
Leader
Subsidiary Organizations
Location