[color=goldenrod][h3][u][b]Registration of Current Nobles[/b][/u][/h3] [b][u]The Name of the Noble:[/u][/b][/color] Llewelyn Ap'Arthmael [color=goldenrod][u][b]The House of which said noble belongs:[/b][/u][/color] House Ap'Arthmael [color=goldenrod][u][b]Current Age of said Noble:[/b][/u][/color] 23 [color=goldenrod][u][b]House History:[/b][/u][/color]Ap'Arthmael can be considered the "New Kid on the Block" amongst the 10 Houses. They began as a minor noble household at the fringes of Handon, ruled over by the much more powerful House Artagonet. House Artagonet ruled over an area of land known as the "Shattered Mountains". The Shattered Mountains were not called as such because of any natural disaster, but because eight smaller "Kingdoms" ruled their own lands independently, only barely united under House Artagonet, and demanding much autonomy in exchange for their service. This made Artagonet a powerful, but internally unstable House. Four generations ago the Great-Great-Grandsire of House Ap'Arthmael's current ruler took advantage of this internal instability (After continual failure by House Artagonet to rule its lands effectively) to gain power for itself. They had long stood as advisors and generals to House Artagonet, and were in a unique position to exploit the house's weaknesses. For three generations they waged a political war against their liege, forging powerful marriage alliances with the other lords in the Shatter Mountains- aided by string of almost infertile heirs in House Artagonet who could not produce the children to make their own alliances. Finally, Arthmael Ap'Cledwyn, the father of House Ap'Arthmael's current ruler married Elizabeth Artagonet, the head of House Artagonet. Their contract stipulated that House Artagonet would from then on be subordinate to House Ap'Arthmael, and cemented the latter's rulership over the Shattered Mountains, effectively elevating them into the position of the 10 Great Houses, and making them eligible for election to King of Handon Notable features of House Ap'Arthmael: The House's name changes with each generation. The next ruler takes the name of the previous, and adds "Ap" if it is a son, or "Verch" (pronounced [i]Ferch[/i]) if it is a daughter. The next generation would effectively be House Ap'Llewelyn or Verch'Llewelyn. Negotiable during marriage contracts. The rulers tend to gray early and die young due to the stress placed on them by themselves and their subjects' expectations of House Ap'Arthmael. Finding a spouse is perhaps even more important for rulers of the house because of this- a way to ease the burdens of their duties and relax. Banner: A white and black Chimera on a field of blue. The Chimera representing their house motto, white and black to represent the harsh contrast between duty and desire- while blue represents The Twin Streams, control of which helped them obtain the influence locally to take control of the Shattered Mountains. [hider=Banner][img]http://i.imgur.com/nJxLi6k.jpg[/img][/hider] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Lands and Ownership:[/b][/u][/color] The Shattered Mountains (Nominally). Direct control over Ironoak Reach (Town), Cledwyn's Gate (Fort), and Twinstreams (Port village), which together account for 80% of the population and over 95% of the revenue in House Ap'Arthmael's holdings, not counting taxes and troops supplied by lesser vassal houses and lords. [Hider=Vassals of House Ap'Arthmael]The Syndwaelin Clan: Said to be descendants of an elf who (In an almost unheard of act of settling down with one who is not of elven kind) married one of their ancestors long ago, the Syndwaelin Clan certainly have traits which back up their claims. First, they are very long lived for Humans, some Elders of the clan have reached the age of 200 and beyond according to rumor. Secondly- they are considered extraordinary archers, perhaps the best in the realm. All members of the clan practice archery- even the women, and as a whole are heavily muscled. A requirement to use their Ironwood bows, which can easily exceed draw weights of 300 pounds.They primarily make a living as mercenaries- although they also make a pretty penny plying their carpentry skills to the nobles that can afford their craftsmanship. They pay no taxes to House Ap'Arthmael, and in exchange charge no fees for use of their mercenaries in war, and on top of that always give House Ap'Arthmael top bid for their services, even if already on contract for somebody else. The only income they provide the House is buying the Ironwood that is used to make their bows and others crafts. Tunomungeg: A reclusive dwarven town that only deals with the surface when they need to trade metals for supplies. Not much is known about them even by House Ap'Arthmael, the last two generations having had no dealings with them whatsoever outside of regular payments of tax. Their situation is almost the opposite of the Syndwaelin Clan. They outright refuse to provide any soldiers- even should they need to defend The Shattered Mountains from invasion. Instead they pay a tax in raw precious metals every year- And should they need to obtain goods from outside the realm, an additional tariff on top of the initial tax. Gold and Silver are their main contributions to House Ap'Arthmael, although they primarily trade iron to the rest of the Kingdom. Korlanthe's Tower: A small- though the number is unknown- group of Wizards who own the largest pocket of habitable land in The Shattered Mountains. Supposedly they are of no small influence within the world of magic, although their true purpose and influence is only known to magic users. The Tower's name changes to match whoever leads the group, and has been in control of the wizard Korlanthe for some decades now. They care not who rules The Shattered Mountains and the only condition to serving House Ap'Arthmael was that one of their number always accompany their lord as one of his advisor. However, it is well understood that they would never assist in the invasion of a foreign land, even if they would not hesitate to use their magics to repel any would-be-conquerors trying to enter The Shattered Mountains. The Harpy Queen: With names that are impossible to pronounce on the Human tongue, the reigning Matriarchs of the harpies are all called The Harpy Queen, no matter who currently holds "Rulership" over the creatures. With no income to tax, low intelligence, and very limited use in warfare- their "Fealty" is perhaps the most nominal of all The Shattered Mountains. Still, they have some use- if limited. Not having to fight them off saves resources better spent elsewhere, and though their low intelligence makes them frustrating to work with- they do make excellent scouts both inside the realm and at the borders. In exchange they are permitted free reign to hunt anything that isn't livestock throughout the Shattered Mountains, and any Human that kills one of their kind is expected to be tried as severely as if they murdered any other race. Ferry's Rest: The city of Ferry's Rest sits at the very border of the Shattered Mountains, nestled along the river of Twin Stream's. The mayor of the city- much like the King- is elected amongst the residents of the city, although it is just as often that a lowborn earns the title as a nobleman. It is by far the wealthiest city in the region (Discounting the unknown wealth of Tunomungeg) and even the relatively modest taxes they pay account for a third of House Ap'Arthmael's annual income. Unlike the other inhabitants of The Shattered Mountains, Ferry's Rest would not particularly be hard to conquer in a conflict, and they could not collect enough leverage to grant them the same level of autonomy seen throughout the rest of the realm (Any threats of cutting off trade and supplies from outside the realm would be met with an immediate conquest of the city). As such, their relationship with House Ap'Arthmael is that of a standard vassal. They have to pay tax every year, and provide troops to assist with defense of the realm in times of war- as well as abide by the same laws that govern the rest of their liege's subjects. [/hider] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Autobiographical Knowledge:[/b][/u][/color] Llewelyn was raised to uphold the house motto of "The Goat with its herd. The Snake in the grass. The Lion on the plains". The Goat symbolizing good rulership over their people. The Snake representing gaining political power through intrigue and diplomacy. The Lion representing prowess on the battlefield. In other words, perfection was expected of every head of House Ap'Arthmael- especially since their rapid rise within the Shattered Mountains. It has- to say the least- been a stressful upbringing. While each ruler effective picked one of the three- Goat, Snake, or Lion- to focus on, they were always expected to at least outwardly encompass all three to both their allies and rivals. While it could not be said that Llewelyn was raised without the comforts that came from being a member of one of the ten great houses- It could be argued he had a rather harsh upbringing. Lessons encompassed his every hour from a young age, and hardly ceased as he grew older. The internal politics of the Shattered Mountains demanded a strong leader- lest the internal factions ruin themselves in their constant attempts to gain advantages over their neighbors. Now, due to his father's success, Llewelyn had to focus on the politics between the great houses as well, an entirely different kettle of fish requiring an entirely different set of knowledge and skills. With these stresses in mind, it was easy to see why heads of the household tended to die young. On top of this, his mother inherited the low fertility that had plagued the last several generations of House Artagonet, and Llewelyn was a rare only child amongst the noble houses of Handon. Thus, if he died before siring an heir, his branch of the house- and likely all the power it had gained over the last few generations- would die with him. Placing even greater expectations on his success. Now, with the death of his father and candidacy for kingship occurring in tandem, it is time to put the strain of his upbringing to the test. Unfortunately, his childhood has not made him the most deft socializer, even if his political knowledge could rival that of most diplomats. He has inherited, more or less, all of the traits of his house, for better or worse. It was enough to gain rulership of the Shattered Mountains, but would it be enough to rule Handon? Time would tell. [color=goldenrod][u][b]Portrait:[/b][/u][/color] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/80/99/91/809991dede35261ee4effcbe629b4a07.jpg[/img] Already the telltale signs of his house are beginning to show on Llewelyn. He looks to be a man five or ten years older, with flecks of gray already beginning to show throughout his hair. A serious expression usually rests on his face, and when not in conversation his eyes are looking at a place far off. His sense of humour, when he shows it, tends to be on the grim side, and unless he's truly relaxed and his mind is taken off of his duties any smile he gives does not reach his eyes. Other than this: His is not of extraordinary size or strength- though skill might be another matter entirely. The Lion demands that the head of House Ap'Arthmael be able to defend himself. ***** [color=goldenrod][h3][u][b]NPCs[/b][/u][/h3][/color] [hider=Aillig and Coira Syndwaelin][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/V3p8zyh.png[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/0B4coK4.jpg[/img][/center] Aillig and Coira have been together for over sixty years, first serving as mercenaries like many of their clan, before being hired as bodyguards for the young heiress of House Artognet, Elizabeth. In this role they served her faithfully since childhood, watching over and advising her throughout her rule. Their opinion of her husband, Arthmael, remains unknown to this day- but it would be unsurprising if their judgement was less than kind considering the decline he had forced upon their liege's house. Still, when Elizabeth bore her son there was little doubt as to who would serve as his protectors, and the two took to the task with enthusiasm. Aillig would technically have been next in line to lead his clan, but Coira's infertility disqualified him in favor of one of his younger brothers. Thus they took to Llewelyn like their own son, much like they had done to his mother. Despite being well into their 80's, they displayed the shocking youthfulness of their clan, coupling a lifetime of combat practice with the reflexes of people less than half their age. As such, they along with the wizard Malcholar are usually the only retainers that Llewelyn brings when he travels- unless danger is to be expected.[/hider] [hider=Malcholar of Korlanthe's Tower][img]http://i.imgur.com/czvB8ql.jpg[/img] Malcholar is the advisor sent by Korlanthe's tower as part of their vassalage agreement, and served his father before him in the same capacity. Not much is known about the wizard, although it is rumored he could have taken possession of the tower decades ago if he had so wished- rumors that are backed up by the bandages that cover most of his body. Not out of shame, for few wizards wish to hide the marks of pride that dot their body, but out of respect for the dozens of other people he has to interact with on a daily basis. As a curious Llewelyn can attest to- the man under the bandages is a truly grotesque sight. Though much more level headed than the Syndwaelin couple that also makes up the young lord's escort, Malcholar isn't opposed to joining in at cracking a joke in his lord's expense. Still, there is a bit of wariness surrounding his position, though his advice is always sound, it is hard to tell if he truly serves his liege or the tower he came from. House Ap'Arthmael views him with trust and distrust in equal amounts.[/hider]