House Stawnesh
Of Deva in the Thundering Flats. The banner is amaranth, the device a two-headed ram the color of light green and sometimes faded cream. The two-headed ram is a myth from the Devan hills.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Sir Lukin Stawnesh, the Ragefist, Lord of Deva. Lukin rules alongside his mother, Kaela Carantus. Named the Ragefist because the mythical two-headed ram of his House banner killed his father and widowed his mother in front of him. Lukin was so enraged that he punched the mythical creature so hard he killed it in one swing.- Lord Denzin Stawnesh, dead. Father of the Ragefist and was married to Kaela Carantus. Had two siblings: Laegris and Seliah.
- Kaela ‘The Widow’ Carantus. Married Lord Denzin for Carantus to spread power down south. She still lives despite old age, and aids her son Lukin in ruling Deva. Through Kaela, Stawnesh initially supports House Carantus for the new Emperor in the elections, though it changes during the process.
- Jaeda Stawnesh. Sister of Lukin and wife to Lord Galienes Cortys.
- Jessiya Stawnesh, betrothed to Ethin Walmar. Daughter of Sir Lukin Stawnesh.
- Seliah Stawnesh/Beautero. Sister of Denzin and Laegris. Married to Sir Leopald Beautero.
- Sir Laegris Stawnesh, brother of Denzin Stawnesh. Married to Liv Stawnesh.
- Liv Stawnesh/Vaele. Liv married Sir Laegris Stawnesh for love, against her sister's wishes since Laegris is not in the ruling line of House Stawnesh.
- Sir Avelyn the Undefeated, a female Knight of esteemed power but not beauty. Daughter of Laegris and Liv. Backs House Cortys against her House’s wishes. Besides Iqhawe, is the only woman to become a knight. She has obtained the title of the Undefeated after never losing a joust.
- Llane Stawnesh, youngest daughter of Laegris and Liv. Is a child offered as betrothal to Markas Sentel because she is young enough.
- The Eagle. A hawk-faced woman that is the elder of the two siblings, second cousins to the ruling line of Stawnesh.
- The Bull. A large pot-bellied man that is the younger of the two siblings, second cousins to the ruling line of Stawnesh.
- Together the Eagle and the Bull run the farms and distilleries that produce the Deva white, a new type of wine for the Empire. Rivals to Beautero.
Culture
Viewed with a mixture of fear, respect, and disdain. The animalistic House of Stawnesh is an outlier in the Iron Empire. Like the Blackthall House, their device is of an animal, so the House is looked down upon for being similar to those of the Highlands. Instead of justifying it like Blackthall, with their famous warhorses, House Stawnesh has leaned into the niche, becoming known as some of the biggest, hairiest people in the Empire, rivaling those of the Highlands. Up until the death of Deva, the people of Stawnesh were loved by their bannermen. They were seen as true rulers in the four eyes of the ram, judged as holy. But with the ram slain by the Lord of Stawnesh himself, and its corpse on parade through the town, the townspeople have turned against them. Lukin is changed by his encounter with the ram, but he is too powerful to resist. The culture in Deva has turned sour, but before that it was a bustling place. The nature of it allowed some of the Stawnesh line to create the first white wine, which they compete with Blossom Reds in. A river runs right past the town, connecting into the Rusted Sea and allowing naval trade and travel across the majority of the Empire. And the rolling hills that once housed the great ram protect it from the worst of storms, although it is still in the Thundering Flats, so always in a storm of one kind or another. The people of Stawnesh, comfortable with the more animalistic people of Deva, thrived in Deva. Able to be themselves like they couldn't do when they were confined to the smaller island of Old Iron. They are loud and boisterous, quick to anger but quick to forgive. Now, with the Ragefist, anger does not seem to fade so quickly.
History
Many believe that Sir Lukin the Ragefist has doomed Deva and everyone in it with his slaying of the two-headed ram. The town of Deva was named after the mythical creature, Deva, after the Iron Pilgrims found the area to settle in. The land was protected from the worst of the storms by a set of flat hills, there was wood nearby and a river that ran out and into the Rusted Sea. The pilgrims began to settle before the creature was spotted. Over the years, the stories have changed, but it is generally believed that the ram would appear as an omen, or a sign of good fortune. It was also atop a rocky perch, appraisingly looking down, and would always be just out of reach. Since the Great Settling when Deva was settled, the ram has been seen by a select few, but all describe the exact same scene even when decades apart.
Shortly after the settling of Deva in the beginning of the South Exodus during the Great Settling, in the year 305AW, the South was abandoned. The people were cut off and forced to fend for themselves. After heavy losses, they adapted, and started to worship the ram. These pilgrims, now thought of as simple-minded fools by modern Empire standards, saw Ethos in the Ram and named it De-Va, De for his first head and Va for the second. The twin heads would judge, Ethos looking through the four eyes, and whichever head picked you would decide your fate. The pilgrims became fanatics, closer to the animalistic Highlanders in nature than the poetic and philosophic people of Old Iron they once were.
But, during the second southern exodus, when the Flats were re-settled and re-explored, the noble line of Stawnesh migrated there to rule led by Sir Suffolk. No other House wanted to rule over Deva, for fear of the stories that came from there, but the men and women of Stawnesh were not afraid. Already outcasts among their own people, Stawnesh rose in power on Old Iron through their skill at mining, and then the overseeing of great mining expeditions deep into Mount Argentum. They were large people, built for moving stones at both extremely hot temperatures below ground and viciously cold temperatures high in the mountains. Because of this, they were gruffer than the more feminine people of Old Iron and the Iron Kingdom, who spent their days lounging in togas eating grapes and amusing themselves. Stawnesh became a noble House on Old Iron, but did not fit in. So when the Flats were settled properly, Stawnesh leapt at the chance to migrate to such a place as Deva. They had a banner of rose-red, sporting an amaranth flower (historians claim that such a banner was picked by the ancestors of Stawnesh in an attempt to make themselves appear less harsh), but found the banner change to one of amaranth background, sporting the mythical two-headed ram front in center, ignoring the cultural norms around banners and animals. Stawnesh saw the animalistic people of Deva upon their first arrival, and knew exactly how to deal with them. They invoked a firm but supportive hand, welcoming their new bannermen and showing why they themselves were superior in feats of strength. They accepted the ram as well, absorbing it into their own beliefs and the Iron Creed. Through these great contests and interactions with the ram, Deva, Stawnesh took over the town Deva bloodlessly.
However, the ram is now dead. The current leader of House Stawnesh slew Deva himself, and has hung its head high on Ramlords Hall. A mockery. Lord Denzin, infatuated with the myth of the two-headed ram, led his knighted son and wife into the hills with a small group of bannermen in the year of 490AW. Denzin had never seen the ram, had never felt its judgement like so many of his townsfolk and was intent on finding it. However, the group ran into a Burnstorm and were forced to take shelter in a cave in the hills for the night. The next morning, they exited and found themselves lost, the hills seemingly changed around them. They trekked back towards Deva for days but found themselves in the same spot supernaturally. One dusk, out of nowhere, they happened across the ram. Instead of seeking its mythical judgement, Denzin confronted the ram, angry and confused. They were starving and lost. He yelled at the ram and was met with bitter silence. So, in a fit of rage, Denzin attempted to slay the beast. The expedition turned into a hunt, and when they finally had the ram cornered, it fought back. The two-headed ram charged Denzin and killed him with his horns, then proceeded to stampede over the bannermen. Denzin's son, Lukin, a man-grown saw his father killed in front of him. He heard the terrified scream of his mother, also starved and lost and scared. Lukin charged the two-headed ram will it was distracted and roared, bringing one rageful fist down on the side of one of its heads, swinging with so much force that his fist went through the rams head and into the second one on the other side, killing the ram instantly. The group then found themselves in familiar territory, and Lukin ordered his fathers body and the rams body brought back to Ramlords Hall. To the great dismay of the townsfolk, he announced the death of Deva, and had its two skulls hung atop the Hall for all to see. He proclaimed that the ram was a false prophet of Ethos, that it had sought to kill him and his family, the rightful rulers of Deva, and Ethos had the ram killed. Lukin declared that they were no longer under oppression, and that he would lead Deva to a better future.
The townsfolk, in majority, hate Lukin and what he did to their ram. The skulls are a constant sign of what has happened, and quells the whole town in fear. Many question the story told about the ram's death. How could they get lost in the hills for so long? How did Lukin kill the ram with his bare hands? And how did he not absorb the souls of the dead in the fight, turning him into a Lost? Lukin, now known as the Ragefist, has developed as an angry and unforgiving ruler since this time, and many in Deva are unhappy. The time of mythos and light-hearted supernatural stories in Deva is gone, the ram is no more, only seen on the amaranth banners of its killers.
The ram was the color of faded eggshell, its coat a mossy green of nature. Two heads gazed down on me, and four eyes saw. I felt my soul rise higher, stretching towards the Burn but stuck within my body. A weight off my shoulders, the decision I was facing answered in my heart.All who saw the ram claim that they were debating a major topic, whether it be to have a child, who to marry, whether or not to get revenge. The stories spread through the town until the mythical ram became known as the 'judge' of the town. The ram would judge those and what they held truly in their heart, and help them see it. The ram would only appear to those with true intentions though. Many classically cultural messages are told to the children of Deva through stories of the ram. To not hold dark secrets within or the ram will never appear to you. To not lie to others or the ram will be an omen. To steal, to murder, to rape is to suffer the rams wrath.
Shortly after the settling of Deva in the beginning of the South Exodus during the Great Settling, in the year 305AW, the South was abandoned. The people were cut off and forced to fend for themselves. After heavy losses, they adapted, and started to worship the ram. These pilgrims, now thought of as simple-minded fools by modern Empire standards, saw Ethos in the Ram and named it De-Va, De for his first head and Va for the second. The twin heads would judge, Ethos looking through the four eyes, and whichever head picked you would decide your fate. The pilgrims became fanatics, closer to the animalistic Highlanders in nature than the poetic and philosophic people of Old Iron they once were.
But, during the second southern exodus, when the Flats were re-settled and re-explored, the noble line of Stawnesh migrated there to rule led by Sir Suffolk. No other House wanted to rule over Deva, for fear of the stories that came from there, but the men and women of Stawnesh were not afraid. Already outcasts among their own people, Stawnesh rose in power on Old Iron through their skill at mining, and then the overseeing of great mining expeditions deep into Mount Argentum. They were large people, built for moving stones at both extremely hot temperatures below ground and viciously cold temperatures high in the mountains. Because of this, they were gruffer than the more feminine people of Old Iron and the Iron Kingdom, who spent their days lounging in togas eating grapes and amusing themselves. Stawnesh became a noble House on Old Iron, but did not fit in. So when the Flats were settled properly, Stawnesh leapt at the chance to migrate to such a place as Deva. They had a banner of rose-red, sporting an amaranth flower (historians claim that such a banner was picked by the ancestors of Stawnesh in an attempt to make themselves appear less harsh), but found the banner change to one of amaranth background, sporting the mythical two-headed ram front in center, ignoring the cultural norms around banners and animals. Stawnesh saw the animalistic people of Deva upon their first arrival, and knew exactly how to deal with them. They invoked a firm but supportive hand, welcoming their new bannermen and showing why they themselves were superior in feats of strength. They accepted the ram as well, absorbing it into their own beliefs and the Iron Creed. Through these great contests and interactions with the ram, Deva, Stawnesh took over the town Deva bloodlessly.
However, the ram is now dead. The current leader of House Stawnesh slew Deva himself, and has hung its head high on Ramlords Hall. A mockery. Lord Denzin, infatuated with the myth of the two-headed ram, led his knighted son and wife into the hills with a small group of bannermen in the year of 490AW. Denzin had never seen the ram, had never felt its judgement like so many of his townsfolk and was intent on finding it. However, the group ran into a Burnstorm and were forced to take shelter in a cave in the hills for the night. The next morning, they exited and found themselves lost, the hills seemingly changed around them. They trekked back towards Deva for days but found themselves in the same spot supernaturally. One dusk, out of nowhere, they happened across the ram. Instead of seeking its mythical judgement, Denzin confronted the ram, angry and confused. They were starving and lost. He yelled at the ram and was met with bitter silence. So, in a fit of rage, Denzin attempted to slay the beast. The expedition turned into a hunt, and when they finally had the ram cornered, it fought back. The two-headed ram charged Denzin and killed him with his horns, then proceeded to stampede over the bannermen. Denzin's son, Lukin, a man-grown saw his father killed in front of him. He heard the terrified scream of his mother, also starved and lost and scared. Lukin charged the two-headed ram will it was distracted and roared, bringing one rageful fist down on the side of one of its heads, swinging with so much force that his fist went through the rams head and into the second one on the other side, killing the ram instantly. The group then found themselves in familiar territory, and Lukin ordered his fathers body and the rams body brought back to Ramlords Hall. To the great dismay of the townsfolk, he announced the death of Deva, and had its two skulls hung atop the Hall for all to see. He proclaimed that the ram was a false prophet of Ethos, that it had sought to kill him and his family, the rightful rulers of Deva, and Ethos had the ram killed. Lukin declared that they were no longer under oppression, and that he would lead Deva to a better future.
The townsfolk, in majority, hate Lukin and what he did to their ram. The skulls are a constant sign of what has happened, and quells the whole town in fear. Many question the story told about the ram's death. How could they get lost in the hills for so long? How did Lukin kill the ram with his bare hands? And how did he not absorb the souls of the dead in the fight, turning him into a Lost? Lukin, now known as the Ragefist, has developed as an angry and unforgiving ruler since this time, and many in Deva are unhappy. The time of mythos and light-hearted supernatural stories in Deva is gone, the ram is no more, only seen on the amaranth banners of its killers.
By the Ram's Judgement, Our Hearts are True
Alternative Names
The Rams
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Parent Organization
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