House Lyrandar

House Lyrandar bears the Mark of Storm and runs the Windwright and Raincallers Guilds. Their airships have become the primary form of travel in Khovaire, and the house's status, prestige, and wealth have increased exponentially in the years since the Last War. The lightning rail of House Orien is now seen as a secondary method of travel and transport, and they harbor a great deal of resentment toward House Lyrandar. House Cannith also has some pent up anger toward House Lyrandar, as they feel that they deserve a percentage of all business conducted via airship as payment for their role in their creation.
House Lyrandar's airships are marvels of modern technology. They use a bound elemental to hold a ship aloft and propel it through the air. This wood is no ordinary wood, but a unique timber called soarwood. Found only on Aerenal, this light wood is used for the hulls of airships, keeping the ships afloat in conjunction with the elemental, which propels it through the air. The elemental is bound into a ring around the hull, which is suspended on four struts jutting outward. The pilot, which has to be an heir of the house, channels the Mark of Storm through the wheel of wind and water that controls the vessel.
The name Lyrandar is elven for "Children of Lyran", and many of the House today believe that their founders - Lyran and Selavash - watch over their heirs even today. There may be some truth to this claim, as a perfect storm of circumstances (elven lifespan, safe work, high fertility, few losses during the Last War, and strong public support) has made the House one of the largest at over 14,000 living members.
Lyrandar is spread widely across Khorvaire. Port Enclaves are maintained at Flamekeep, Thaliost, Rekkenmark, Sharn, Trolanport, Korranberg, Zarash'ak, Newthrone, Varna and Regalport. Stormhome, the House Seat, is also a port, and maintains a large number of marked heirs who form the trade winds sent across the seas. Lyrandar is also contracted by the Tairdanal elves who have conquered Valenar, many of their people hired to run the country's civil administration, as the Tairnadal military is deeply uninterested in doing so. More marked heirs reside either at the Raincaller's Guild holdings (the largest in Wroat, Korth, Zolanberg, Athandra and Vedykar) or wandering the world on boat and airship.

History

Elves migrated to Khorvaire approximately 2600 years ago. Relationships and families were formed among the elven and human settlers, and (much to the elves' initial surprise) the result was a population of half-elves that continues to increase to this day. The half-elves referred to themselves as the Khoravar or the Children of Khorvaire. Kind of makes sense, since these individuals were the first of their kind in the land of Eberron. The half-elves Lyran and Selavash were the first to introduce this title to the half-elves, and they were also the first to manifest the Mark of Storm. They both claimed to have had visions, accompanied by images of the sovereigns Arawai and Kol Korran, when they received their marks.
In their visions, both Lyran and Selavash were told that they were the real children of Khovaire. They were told that the blood of humans and elves running through their veins would allow them to hold power over the forces of nature, trade, and commerce among the humanoid races. Humble they were not, and they spent the next few decades traveling throughout Kohaviare, tell all about their visions and their own personal greatness. It was these two the laid the foundation for half-elves to seek their own identity and establish their communities. Within these communities, bloodlines were maintained through arranged marriages, and the Mark of Storm continued to grow in strength among the families that bore the mark. As the families grew in power, they became House Lyrandar. The house's primary source of income came from operating a small fleet of sailing ships, carrying cargo across the seas for those that could pay. They also used the power of the mark to provide the appropriate weather for local farmers.
As with the other Dragonmarked Houses, House Lyrandar maintained a neutral stance during the Last War. Also, like the other houses, Lyrandar sought to profit from the war. Their profit stream wasn't as immediate or significant as the other houses but more of a steady stream of decent gold from the warring nations. They provided sea transport whenever needed, but most of the transport services needed were over land, and those routes belong to House Orien. Where their income came from was through using the Mark of Storm, manipulating the weather to help or destroy transport routes, aid whichever nations were paying them to control the weather on the battlefield, and increasing food production by creating a favorable climate for growing crops.
Everything changed when House Lyrandar, who in conjunction with the gnomes of Zilargo and House Cannith, created the first elemental airships. The half-elves now controlled all the trade routes as the ground and sea no longer limited them - only scale and quantity. Cargo, passengers, and soldiers could be flown anywhere and were not subject to the hazards that previously came with traveling such long distances. Even with the dangers that came along with new, unpredictable artifice, low capacity compared to the lightning rail, and the ridiculously high prices that House Lyrandar charges, they were an immediate success. Because of their new fleets of airships, whatever profits they may have missed out at the beginning, they made up for ten-fold by the end of the Last War.

Agriculture & Industry

Lyrandar's Mark of Storm allows control and manipulation of the wind and weather, which they work into two guilds - the Windwrights and the Raincallers - along with a newly established Pilots guild. 
While there are many Least-marked Lyrandar capable of manipulating winds, their abilities only truly shine when combined with the greater Lyrandar marks capable of lifting clouds and shaping weather fronts. Together, a large number of Lyrandar heirs working as Windwrights can form and control trade winds, manipulating weather patterns that keep ships sailing and climates pleasant, even from a massive distance away. 
In a more local range, the Raincallers can call upon short-term weather patterns, ensuring that nearby agriculture receives rain, aqueducts are filled, and otherwise deadly storms are more muted. This is something the House has kept strict control over - the concept of worsening weather to cause famine is anathema to House leadership through the ages, and it was made very clear that any heir doing so would be excoriated at best.
The Pilots guild, split off from the Windwrights as more flying artifice became common, is used to train Lyrandar heirs to fly airships, unmarked crews to work aboard them, and both marked and unmarked members to fly the smaller vessels run by new engines. While the last decade has had almost all powered flight required a wheel of wind and water or similar to control the elementals within an airship, newer artifice is starting to breach this limitation, and Lyrandar is struggling to hold onto their monopoly.
The lack of infrastructure investment required for these processes, combined with Lyrandar and Orien's direct competition, have made relations between the two houses very strained in the postwar era. Although not as aggressive as the Deneith-Tharashk disputes nor as deadly as the Phiarlan-Thuranni Schism, many among the Twelve predict conflict between the two Houses is inevitable if House Orien cannot find some new way to compete.

Leader:
Baron Esravash d'Lyrandar
Headquarters: 
Stormhome, Aundair

Type

Consortium, Business