House Carantus

The Radiant Lance. One of the five Great Houses of the Iron Empire, House Carantus occupy the Radiant Lance, a city built against the base of the Lance Mountains and are most well-known from its capital monument, a towering spire made entirely of gold and covered in priceless jewels that sparkle like a rainbow when the sun hits it. The Radiant Lance itself started as a Lighthouse for sailors arriving to the new Iron Kingdom from Old Iron but has since turned into a spectacle. Although House Sentel possess the Gold Grottos and Gem Mines, Carantus are known for their wealth in gold and gems through sea trade and salt. At the beginning of the Iron Empire, House Carantus was poor, abundant only in useless materials, but after their technological development of boats and trade, and the rise of jewelry and golden adornment, House Carantus has become very wealthy and master of Gold. This was done immediately after the Burning War, making the Carantus House the most recently established House before Morgault. Members of House Carantus are distinguishable by their golden-blonde hair and bright blue eyes the color of sapphire, to match the deep sea. Their device is a perfect sapphire surrounded by a rainbow wreath of overlapping lances each a different color, all backed by a sea of gold.
Simplified, Carantus can be distinguished by flapping golden banners or cloaks, with sapphire highlights and occasionally a rainbow pattern.
Abelardus Carantus is the leader of Carantus, until he dies of mysterious circumstances and is replaced by his son, Darrik Carantus in the year 496AW.
Of sapphire seas and golden beaches.
Carantus possess the Bloodsteel sword Nethrir.
House Carantus Principal Houses:

• House Othall
• House Blackthall
• House Lancer

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Jorrel 'Goldbeard' Carantus. The man that brought unmatched wealth and renown to the Carantus House through his daring sailing expeditions and trades with distant lands within The Ivory Wall. He is the son of Cayde 'the Father' Carantus, who founded the entire noble House and Payne Rottcolt, great-granddaughter of the Last King. Goldbeard was married to Mod Carantus of House Othall. Goldbeard was also brother to Margareth 'Graycut' Glore, who mothered Sir Leandros and Elayne Glore of the Grey Tragedy.

Goldbeard's firstborn son, Castinus Carantus, the long-dead prior Duke of Radiant Lance and Iron Lord of the Lance. Father to Abelaruds Carantus and his siblings. Was married to Arika Carantus of House Blackthall.
Abelardus Carantus, Duke of Radiant Lance, Praesitor of the Lance, Seat on the Emperor’s Council, the Golden Boy. Castinus’ Carantus firstborn son, and heir-grandson of Jorrel ‘Goldbeard’ Carantus. House leader until he dies of mysterious circumstances following the illness of the emperor.

Abelardus’ wife, Cassia Carantus, of House Lancer

Abelardus’ eldest son, Darrik Carantus , new Keeper of Gold. Praesitor of the Lance and prospect for new emperor. Ambitious and Ruthless. Named heir when Abelardus is killed by Darrik during the novel.

Abelardus’ younger son, Kyllan Carantus, Younger brother to Darrik and still a child.

• Castinus’ second son, Crane Carantus, better known as Sir Crane the Handsome, younger brother to Abelardus. Is a renowned Knight that has fought many Lost creatures in the past. Uncle to Darrik, but Crane does not want to rule in any way. Younger brother of Abelardus sworn to chastity after becoming a Witness when Abelardus died, sworn to chastity and forgoing any claims of leadership, as well as losing their eyes. Now, he wears a blindfold of golden velvet to hide the scars. In truth, he has not lost his eyes and only pretends to avoid leadership. His personal banner replaces the sapphire with a handsome greathelm with the sapphire attached to the head of the armorpiece.
  Castinus’ third child and daughter, Lady Kaela Carantus, the Widow, untrusting of Darrik Carantus and seeks an alliance with Arice Vaele to try and make sure Darrik does not become Emperor.
• Sir Lukin Stawnesh, Ragefist, son of Lady Kaela Carantus and her dead husband Sir Denzin Stawnesh.

Goldbeard’s younger son, Cayle Carantus I. Father of a line of Cayles. Was named after Goldbeard's father Cayde Carantus.

• Cayle Carantus II, Cayle I's son.
• Cayle II with his first wife, Ironica Walmar. Fathered Cayle Carantus V who married Gilbar Trickland and mothered Cayle Trickland XI.
• Cayle II married his second wife, Ir Merion Tarbor. Together they had a son named Cayle Carantus VIII, who married the widow Marya Vaele and fathered the twins, Lineth and Lilith Carantus. Marya is the firstborn daughter of Arice Vaele and was married to Sir Gorholt Fenn, fostering both Ydest 'Wisebelly' Fenn and Sir Leo 'the Anvil' Fenn before marrying Cayle VIII.
• Cayle Carantus III, Cayle I's second son. Married Lyola Cortys. Together they had Cayle Carantus VI.
• Cayle Carantus/Sentel IV, Cayle I's daughter who married Galon Sentel, son of Vesuvius Silverford and Hersy Sentel and took the Sentel name. Their children:
• Sir Cayle Carantus VII, the Forsaken, firstbornson of Cayle Sentel IV of House Carantus and Galon Sentel. Forsook the Sentel House name to join with Carantus in the Taint of Devotion.
• Cayle Sentel IX, married to Billon Trickland.
• Cayle Sentel X, married to Dawend Aegis and mothered Sir Roderick Sentel/Aegis IV. Sir Roderick IV then married Eltath Blackthall and fathered Roderick Sentel V and Raina Sentel.

The Lancer line:

• Sir Wulfric Lancer, the Dancer, a gorgeous knight known for his player ways and sleeping around. Had children with two Carantus daughters in quite a scandal, and had one son with each of them, and then a daughter of which the two Carantus daughters fight possession over.
• Smyte Carantus, firstborn daughter of Goldbeard and younger sister to Castinus.
• Kenry Lancer, the Wartide, son of Wulfric and Smyte. One of the greatest sailors in all of Iron lore and sworn enemy of the Seaspark.
• Ayenna Carantus, secondborn daughter of Goldbeard and younger sister to Castinus and Smyte.
• Percy Lancer, the Seaspark, son of Wulfric and Ayenna. One of the greatest sailors in all of Iron lore and sworn enemy of the Wartide.
• Elayne Lancer, thought to be either the daughter of Smyte or Ayenna and object of many battles between the Wartide and Seaspark. Both Ayenna and Smyte gave birth at the same time, both children of Sir Wulfric. One child died in the nursery, and both Smyte and Ayenna claim it was the others, killed out of jealousy. The child that lived grew to be Elayne, of whom both the Wartide and Seaspark claim as a sister and fought over. In the end, the two half-brothers killed themselves over Elayne, and Elayne killed herself out of despair, ending the line.
• Sir Norman 'Battlelance' Lancer. Elayne Lancer's son.
• Sir Portar, the Wartide's Bastard, ex-husband to Loriath Beautero and bastard son of the Wartide.
• Caldus Beautero, Portar and Loriath’s son taken in by the Beautero House since the father is a bastard.
• Sir Corren, the Seaspark's Bastard, ex-husband to Loriath Beautero and bastard son of the Seaspark.
• Santori Beautero, Corren and Loriath’s daughter taken in by the Beautero House since the father is a bastard.

NAMES

Carantus traces their history back to days of piracy and sailing the Rusted Sea. During that time, short and sharp names were the best, of one or two syllables, and odes to those can still be seen scattered throughout the House. However, when Carantus came into the abundance of wealth they tried to transform and reinvent themselves. Now, they pick names that are eloquent and often too long, resulting in shortened versions that everyone knows them by. Most prominent is the Cayle name as now there have been over a dozen born into that lineage, stretching into other Houses as well. These are for the first Cayle Carantus, named after his grandfather Cayde. It is a wish of many Carantus nobles to see the name of Cayle spread throughout all of Iron and they usually enforce the name on their partners for their children. Examples:

• Abelardus shortened to Abel, Adelbrand shortened to Adel, Caelenduls shortened to Cael, Diocourides shortened to Dio, Rufiniana shortened to Ruf
• Darrik, Norman, Portar, Corren, Caldus, Elayne, Smyte, Kyllan, Baldek, Harvos, Gerhem

Culture

Carantus culture rotates around two main objects. Gold and sapphire. This represents how others perceive them all the way down to their core beliefs and customs. Carantus believes wealth and power are the true Gods of man. They do believe in the Gods, Ethos, God of Death and Ydall, God of Life and are very religious when questioned by The Iron Creed, but have a very different viewpoint to the older Great Houses who believe history and blood is the most important. Carantus' ties to Glore is thin at best, but they are powerful because of their ancestor's actions. They believe actions speak louder than words, and are often loudly outspoken and brash, sometimes to their detriment. Because of their notable, distinct physical features, the public have very high views of Carantus. They have golden hair, kept long to wave in the salty winds of the coast, and their eyes are a dazzling blue, like sapphires. They are brilliant and beautiful, people of gold where everyone else is iron. This motif can be carried over to their personalities however. Where iron is drab where gold is dazzling, iron is far more useful and is used for weapons, armor, tools and more. Carantus nobles are often confident and outgoing, with charming personalities hiding a void of deep thinking and kind thoughts. They are shallow and care not about helping or improving others lives. They care for traveling the seas, spending time in the sun, and reveling in their hard-earned wealth.
It is also because of House Carantus' seafaring trade, that exotic items such as fine silks, satins, damasks, brocades, and velvets were imported into the Empire and are part of the Iron fashion, albeit in small amounts, in modern day.

Public Agenda

House Carantus push to increase the wealth and knowledge of the Empire through seafaring trade and their own skills. This is reflected in their public agenda. The people of the Empire know them as the golden nobles, with rich estates and richer appearances. The Radiant Lance itself is somewhat of a legend, for who would possess such wealth in such a dark and dreary land?

Assets

Their greatest asset is gold. The Virnach Mountains and stores in Old Iron are abundant with all metals and ores, especially iron, but as gold became the currency for the Empire and a sign of wealth while iron was spread throughout the army ranks and commonfolk to improve their own lives, gold became even more scarce. Carantus' great, unending stores of gold collected by Goldbeard and his children is the largest source of gold in the Empire. They also possess great jewels and gems from the harsh mountain range of The Lance. There are no useful metals in these mountains, but they are filled with glittering gems that Carantus has turned into signs of wealth alongside gold. Other than this, Carantus are seafarers. Their assets all relate to the sea, specifically the Rusted Sea. They possess naval power and fight off pirates and slavers, provide transport along the eastern coast of the Empire, and shuttles between New Iron and Old Iron.

History

Although they can now prove their lineage overlaps with the great House Glore, and thus one of the most noble, Carantus used to consist of a small family of pirates that prowled the coast of the Rusted Sea during the Blood Age, raiding and killing as they went on crude ships. As the Storm Age began, they made larger ships but still struggled to keep up with the new warships of the forming Iron Empire on Old Iron as they sailed to land in the larger land to the West. Carantus struggled to survive, until Cayde Carantus made a name for himself as the best sailor to ever live, sailing circles around the Subjugator's own vessel as a jest. Cayde made an alliance with the Empire and became a House but it wasn't until his son, Jorrel 'Goldbeard' Carantus took over that they became Great. All who sailed the Rusted Sea knew to stay close to the coast. To sail further East would find yourself destroyed by storms and lost in horrible, bestial lands filled with savages. But Goldbeard sought these places, braving the storms and uncharted sea seeking fame and fortune. And find it he did. He found the Karoan people and their great deposits of gold that they thought useless. Trading them iron for gold, of which the Iron Empire had a great amount of, he became the wealthiest man in the Empire on just a few short trips. He laid low with this newfound wealth so as to not let other seafaring Houses know of the great wealth to be found overseas until he had accumulated enough to buy them all and become the only power on the Rusted Sea. The Radiant Lance was constructed. A towering spire of pure gold and glittering jewels to function as a lighthouse as more and more vessels began exploring to the east of the Rusted Sea, and Carantus rose to that of a Great Iron House. They bring in trade from over the sea of exotic qualities, produce great amounts of salt, and provide fast sea-travel from the top of the coast down to the southern border of the Empire in Rhenus. And just like that, Carantus had a monopoly on the East. This does not stop the other Houses of jesting at their old ways, barbaric pirates and plunderers, and has led to lesser Carantus members at trying too hard to show that they are not mere pirates, but flouncing their wealth around with little regard.
House Carantus, during the rule of Castinus Carantus, warred with the infamous Pirate King, the Sea Fox. The Sea Fox was a Soleri man that had been outlawed from his nomadic tribe and traveled far to the north to live a life on the sea. He was ambitious and ruthless, this Sea Fox, and wanted all the hoarded gold of Radiant Lance. The Carantus House boasted too much, and the Sea Fox wanted a share. He spent many years trying to fight through to the Lance by sea, but was thwarted at every turn by the two warring brothers, the Wartide and the Seaspark, who were always trying to prove themselves better than the other. These two were of House Lancer, but both boasted Carantus blood, and they fought loyally for their Principal House, despite hating each other. Infuriated for years, the Sea Fox was forced to retreat, but he came up with a new plan. Ethos' long finger stretched deep mainland, and he thought they could get in down that river, race across the land between the river's end and the lance, surprise the city, then pillage and loot, retreating back down the river all before the Wartide and Seaspark could dock and fight back. A couple pirates scouted the area out and found just the small fort belonging to the insignificant Principal House of Vaele; Rangor. They went back to their King and told him the plan, and the entire Pirate Fleet set sail. The Sea Fox sailed into the Knuckle, and was eventually thwarted by House Rangor, where the full story can be read.

Light of the East

Darrik Carantus, Duke of the Radiant Lance and Iron Lord of the Shield

Type

Political, Family

Leader

Darrik Carantus

Ruling Organization

Emperor's Council

Leader Title

Duke

Parent Organization

Iron Empire

Location

The Lance

Related Ethnicities

• People of Iron