[hider=House Cragmore][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/FDmIhuI.png[/img][/center] [color=black][u][b]House Name[/b][/u][/color] House Cragmore [color=black][u][b]Head of House[/b][/u][/color] Kenten Cragmore, King of Erayis and Keeper of The Highlands [color=black][b][u]House Specialty[/u][/b][/color] [i]Diregoat Shepherds and Handlers[/i] House Cragmore gained their wealth, which in turn gave them their rule of Stormgully and later all of Erayis, by [i]breeding goats[/i]. House Cragmore's ancestral seat Stonereach is just as much of a fortress as it is a goat farm, and is the sole remaining source of diregoats, which have been extinct in the wild for generations. Cragmores have a natural affinity for the beasts, and though they are tempermental creatures to most untrained laymen, diregoats naturally follow orders from those with Cragmore blood. [color=black][b][u]House Ancestral Artifact[/u][/b][/color] [i]The Mace and Shield of Craggan[/i] Though they are only magical when wielded together, The Mace and Shield of Craggan have been in recorded texts for "calling down great storms of lightning". In reality, however, the two serve as little more than a farming tool, as they call forth great [i]rainclouds[/i]. The Mace of Craggan is a steel flanged mice, decorated at the hilt with the gilded bones of Craggan's own diregoat, Stonebiter. Those outside of the Cragmore bloodline find it is uncomfortably heavy for a one-handed mace, though Cragmores are able to wield it as if it were hollow. The Shield of Craggan is similarly heavy to those outside of the bloodline and light to Cragmores, and is decorated around its circular rim with more of Stonegrinder's gilded bones. The inscription on the handle reads "We Will Withstand", the words of House Cragmore. [color=black][u][b]Important Members[/b][/u][/color] [sub]52[/sub] King Kenten Cragmore [sub]33[/sub] Prince Duncan Cragmore [sub]22[/sub] Princess Reliwen Cragmore [sub]20[/sub] Prince Benjamin Cragmore [sub]17[/sub] Prince Melvan Cragmore [sub]16[/sub] Princess Sofia Cragmore [sub]15[/sub] Prince Harper Cragmore [color=black][u][b]Nation/Realm Name[/b][/u][/color] Erayis [color=black][u][b]Flag[/b][/u][/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/hl9mt89.png[/img] [color=black][u][b]House Motto[/b][/u][/color] We Will Withstand [color=black][u][b]Region/color on map[/b][/u][/color] Navy [color=black][u][b]Race name[/b][/u][/color] Erayan [color=black][u][b]Racial appearance[/b][/u][/color] Those from Erayis are usually somewhat short, with ruddy complexions, dark hair, and brown or green eyes. They tan rather than burn, though they are more likely to turn pink-brown in the sun than copper. They frequently have jagged or pointy teeth, though this has more to do with genetics than dental care. [color=black][u][b]Racial traits[/b][/u][/color] Aside from their love of Harberry leaves, the people of Erayis simply aren't [i]known for much[/i]. Though they are some of the best shepherds in Ethica, this is hardly a boastful statement. They are a very hardworking, if somewhat dry and humorless people. [color=black][u][b]Capital[/b][/u][/color] [i]Stormgully[/i] Named for the frequent rainstorms as a result of Cragmores of the past dueling with their ancestral mace, Stormgully is one of Erayis's most wealthy provinces. While still a fairly small city, Stormgully boasts some of the region's most impressive glassware and stonemasonry. [color=black][u][b]Capital Population[/b][/u][/color] 7000 [color=black][u][b]Other Major Settlements[/b][/u][/color] [i]Blackpool[/i] The largest city in Erayis, Blackpool is a port for business and trading as much as it is a port for crime. Though Kenten's harsh laws have put thousands of smugglers into salt mines, Blackpool remains one of the most crime-laden cities in Erayis, with near-lawlessness in some parts of the city brought on by the corrupt rule of the region's lord, Harold Blackburn. [i]Tanshire[/i] Tanshire is a small city by the edge of Erayis's mountainridge. It is home to many skilled tinsmiths, goldsmiths, and jewelers. Tanshire's largest mountain, Mount Glimdir, is home to more gemstones and precious metals than any other mountain in Erayis. [i]Fairfield[/i] With a population just over one thousand, Fairfield is the largest village in Erayis. They supply a great deal of the country with cheese and meat, as well as fur, pelts, and other products of their local sheep and rams. They are ruled by the softspoken Lord Percival of House Godfrey. [i]Darrend[/i] Darrend is a city carved into the mountains on Erayis's north-western border. It is ruled by the famously brutish House Darry, whose words are "Let Them Come", and whose sigil is a freely bleeding barbarian's head on a pike. Unsurprisingly, they manage a Erayis's few river-outposts to ward off the rare river-travelling northern barbarian, and supply a great deal of Erayis's guards and soldiers. [color=black][u][b]Population[/b][/u][/color] 100,000 [color=black][u][b]Culture[/b][/u][/color] Erayans are a hardy people who are as tough and simple as the lands they reside in. Aside from rarely getting sick, the countrymen of Erayis have few racial talents, and are a rustic sort who care for little of the world outside of their homeland. At best, they are viewed by outsiders as tight-knit and hardworking, and at worst they are seen as xenophobic and [i]dim[/i]. Most are farmers, shepherds, or miners -- There is a dwindling "middle class" of merchants and artisans, though with Erayis's rise in crime and taxation, more and more move elsewhere every day. [i]Fensure[/i] The village of Fensure has among the lowest populations in Erayis, having grown around House Conrad's now-abandoned coal mine. It is ruled by House Conrad, which has dwindled to a sole member, James Conrad -- Erayis' prime elector, a position granted to him by Kenten Cragmore several years ago after being bribed with the remaining Conrad fortune. [color=black][u][b]Type of Government[/b][/u][/color] Monarchy [color=black][u][b]Influence and Relations[/b][/u][/color] [i]House Duvard[/i] House Cragmore has a long-standing trade agreement with House Duvar, giving them salt and the majority of Erayis' mined precious gems and metals in exchange for large quantities of iron and fish. In an attempt to boost relations, Benjamin Cragmore recently sent Guillame Duvard a neutered diregoat kid for his sixteenth birthday. [i]House Valian[/i] Benjamin Cragmore spent his youth in Ebonheart, becoming close friends with Elias, Lucius, and Imara Valian, who he is currently betrothed to. Valian and Cragmore have a very strong trade relationship, as Xandria now recieves more of Erayis's salt than any other country. [i]House Borvringska[/i] Fifteen years ago, Kenten Cragmore drunkenly lost his family's ancestral mace to King Borvringska in a round of "Hen and chicks", a popular children's game involving eggs, played similarly to bocce. Angry about his loss, he later challenged Borvringska, wagering his disabled son Harper and intentionally losing, forcing King Borvringska to sire him until his youth. [i]House Tallurian[/i] After House Tallurian took Kenten's offer to marry his son Melvan off to one of their daughters as an insult, relations have been fewer and colder. [i]House Gracieux[/i] Elouan Gracieux is currently staying in Stonereach as ambassador between Violette and Erayis, though he was only granted this position in order to spend time with Sofia Cragmore, whom he is madly in love with. [color=black][u][b]Military[/b][/u][/color] The military of the region is mostly devised between infantry and ram-based cavalry. Archers are well regarded given altitude and hunting culture, but are not as esteemed as those in Xandria. With that said, the region has a staunch history for using their environmental advantage for guerrilla combat, and it has been said that Erayis has won their wars "Not with swords and shields, but with very large rocks on very tall ledges". Aside from their guerrilla tactics, Erayis is known for The Black Herd, a contribution to their military from their ruling house. The Black Herd is a specialized cavalry of [i]diregoats[/i], which are only bred by House Cragmore and not found anywhere in the wild -- Although not as swift or agile as horses, diregoats are capable of ramming through shield walls and barricades, as well as traversing hills and mountains without breaking much stride. The Black Herd is also used as a tool of psychological warfare, as historically, the infamous [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbP6AnGWQDE]Dread Horns[/url] are sounded shortly before the cavalry’s deployment. Because Stonereach's diregoat population is kept low to create a demand for them, The Black Herd is only about 500 goats, though they are notoriously harder to kill than horses. [color=black][u][b]Landscape[/b][/u][/color] The lands of Erayis are plentiful with timber as well as large depths of mountains, hills, and valleys. Due to Erayis being situated in the middle of The Highlands, the weather is also a bit colder than that of their southern and eastern neighbors. Within these mountains are swathes of metal ore, occasional gemstones, and increasingly rare [i]gold[/i]. Moreso than the rest of the mountain's resources combined, however, is salt -- Salt mines make up about 60% of Erayis's mining efforts. The vast rolling hills are also well-known for massive capacities of animal herding (ranging from sheep, ram, cattle, and fowl), hunting (deer, bear, rabbit, duck, and wolf), and general farming; though the winter seasons are harsher than that in the south of Ethica, so harvest seasons are much more regarded. [color=black][u][b]Economy[/b][/u][/color] Erayis is fairly wealthy, though the upper-class are disproportionately much more wealthy than their peasants, due to Kenten Cragmore's historically high taxes. [color=black][u][b]Religion[/b][/u][/color] The majority of Highlanders worship Kammeth, though about a quarter of the population worships Gerna, the Goddess of Mining. [color=black][u][b]Strengths[/b][/u][/color] [i]Strong trade ties[/i] From the frozen reaches of the north to the southernmost tip of Ethica, Erayan salt finds its way into ports and markets. Aside from the many trade ties, Benjamin Cragmore's frequent gift-giving has cemented several long-standing trade pacts with affluent merchants in major cities. [i]Strong defensive army[/i] Though Erayans have no standing army other than the riders of The Black Herd, there is hardly need for any manner of trained army. Throughout the centuries, Erayans have managed to avoid being colonized despite their country's small size and wealth of natural resources through the use of guerrilla tactics. Nearly all Erayans are taught of their village's mountain's network of tunnels in adolescence -- Such secret tunnels are labyrinth-like structures that go deep into the earth, stockpiled with weapons left behind from forgotten wars. In addition, many Erayan sports and games are designed as practice for Erayan [i]warfare.[/i] [sub][i]Rollby[/i], a traditional Erayan game similar to bowling, is played by rolling a polished spherical stone, usually weighing four to five hundred pounds, down a hillside at targets made out of wood.[/sub] [color=black][u][b]Weaknesses[/b][/u][/color] [i]Poor reputation[/i] Kenten Cragmore is known for his infamously cruel taxes, interests in the wives of his smallfolk, hunting convicted criminals -- particularly poachers -- for sport, his shady and often suspect business dealings, and his generally bombastic and crude attitude. One of the Cragmores is crippled, another is [i]retarded[/i], and one is too ugly to ever be married. This, combined with their relatively new affluence stemming from Kenten's slave-labor in the salt mines, leaves many noble houses to believe that the Cragmores are somewhat [i]nouveau riche[/i]. [i]Dependency on trade[/i] All in all, Erayis requires the large amounts of food it receives from the neighboring Xandria to survive. Aside from their sheep, ram, goats, and cows, Erayis is only able to farm grain. As a result, nearly three-fourths of the fruits and vegetables they receive are from Xandria, who receives the bulk of Erayis's traded salt. [color=black][u][b]Exports[/b][/u][/color] [sub]In descending order[/sub] Salt Meat Cheese Metalwork Gemstones [color=black][u][b]Imports[/b][/u][/color] [sub]In descending order[/sub] Vegetables Fruit Wine Spice Harberry Leaves Tea Fine Goods [/hider] [hider=Royal Family] [hider=Kenten Cragmore (52)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/BauPgl9.jpg[/img][/center] Simply put, Kenten is the reason most put "The Once-Great" as a prefix to House Cragmore. Born the bastard son of King Ferris Cragmore and a barmaid, Kenten began life as "Kenten Black", being sired at Stonereach with the rest of the Cragmore family. He grew up mean-spirited, unruly, and jealous of the family he never truly belonged to. This, along with his propensity for violence and large frame, made him an obvious suspect in the death of his half-brother Conrad, heir to the throne. Winning his trial by combat by naming [i]himself[/i] as his champion, his aging father Ferris had no choice but to legitimize him, now too old to sire more children. Since then, Kenten has become famous for his wanton cruelty, with taxes highest in Erayis's history, entire generations being born and dying in the salt mines, and peasant revolts becoming more and more frequent. That being said, his use of slave-like conditions in the previously minimally tapped salt mines have made House Cragmore (And several of their vassals) much more wealthy than before.[/hider] [hider=Duncan Cragmore, (33)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/4ytXoZI.jpg[/img][/center] More commonly called "Tall Duncan" by smallfolk, Duncan is the charismatic and well-liked heir of Kenten Cragmore. Though Duncan is far from a skilled ruler, he is a skilled [i]drinker[/i] and a skilled brawler, two traits that make him well-liked among Erayan smallfolk. Aside from his large size, he is known for being good-spirited and charitable. Finding his ancestral diregoats to be too finicky and hard to train, he is known for his immense skill on the direram, which is seen in Erayis as "the common man's steed", as diregoats are only bred by the Cragmores. His direram is dinstinctly orange-brown, and is named [i]Rootripper[/i]. He is a jouster who has only been bested twice, inheriting his large size and strength from his father. He has little interest in ruling Erayis, anticipating he will likely put all responsibilities on his small council. Aside from his popularity among smallfolk and jousting skill, he dislikes being questioned or challenged, and has a surprisingly fragile ego for a robust, wealthy prince.[/hider] [hider=Reliwen Cragmore (22)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/oP4JqJe.jpg[/img][/center] Often called the "Second Cragmore Prince" in whispered japes, Reliwen has spent the 22 years of her life honing her martial ability. She knows she is not especially good-looking, nor is she especially clever, but she is definitely [i]skilled[/i]. Reliwen's inherited strength makes her better-suited at using a two handed sword than most her age, an advantage she holds whenever sparring in duels. Forsaking the normal life of a princess, she has refused to learn to knit, sing, or even read, devoting her life to swordplay instead. She anticipates she will one day serve as a guard for her older brother Duncan, which she has no qualms with -- She abhors the idea of marriage. [/hider] [hider=Benjamin Cragmore (20)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/hUJ3OKi.jpg[/img][/center] The second-in-line heir for the throne, Benjamin is the more level-headed and well-spoken of the Cragmore brothers. What he lacks in Duncan's strength or Melvan's intellect, he makes up for in his connections, as Benjamin has seemingly made allies in every corner of Ethica. It is a well-known "secret" that Benjamin rules House Cragmore behind his father's back, sending out trade agreements, gifts, and other official documents that veto many of his father's orders. Though this has been going on for three years, nobody has yet made Kenten alert of his son's actions, as they have all been more beneficial for all parties involved than any of Kenten's decrees. Benjamin spent his youth from the ages of ten to seventeen at Ebonheart, being sired with House Valian. It was here that he befriended Ethias, Alexia, Lucius, and most notably, Imara Valian, who he is now betrothed to. After hearing of his mother's death after an attempt at Kenten's life three years ago, he returned home to Stormgully with his diregoat, Pearlpelt. [/hider] [hider=Melvan Cragmore (19)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/oDBHmkU.jpg[/img][/center] Unlike Benjamin or Duncan, Melvan is soft-spoken and sallow. He is the only Cragmore that has not abandoned Kammeth, or even religion as a whole. Having been born sickly, he believes his life was given to him by Kammeth, and follows him unwaveringly, hoping to one day become the first Cragmore Dawnbringer. He enjoys uncharacteristic hobbies for a young nobleman -- Most of his time is spent either in prayer, walking through the nearby forests, or tending to household chores. He believes keeping himself disciplined and occupied will keep him in Kammeth's graces, thinking that to be born to Kenten Cragmore is already a curse enough. He has a fairly noticable limp, and walks with a blackthorn cane, topped with a silver goat's head.[/hider] [hider=Sofia Cragmore (16)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/qjG6Id2.jpg[/img][/center] Sofia Cragmore is the youngest of Kenten's daughters. While not especially beautiful, and not especially clever, she expects that her singing voice is what will grant her a good husband, and rarely raises her voice as a result. Second to her singing is her skill as a harpist, which she is equally proud of. She is closest to her brother Duncan, seeing Reliwen as too manly and unpleasant, Melvan as too quiet, and Benjamin as too serious and prideful of their meager ancestry -- She dislikes her family history as a whole, feeling that an ancestry centered around goats is unladylike and that her father has ruined what remained of the Cragmore name. She hopes to get married soon, if only to distance herself from her house.[/hider] [hider=Harper Cragmore (15)] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/RrJNRj2.jpg[/img][/center] Fifteen years ago, Kenten Cragmore drunkenly lost his family's ancestral mace to King Borvringska in a round of "Hen and chicks", a popular children's game involving eggs, played similarly to bocce. Angry about his loss, he later challenged Borvringska, wagering his disabled son Harper and intentionally losing, forcing King Borvringska to sire him until his youth. The Cragmore family knows little of Harper, and to Kenten, this is more than fine. Born 'different', Harper has trouble vocalizing his thoughts, speaks with a stutter, and has trouble with fine motor skills. Flat-faced and slope-eyed, it is easy to tell he was born with a defect, which garners both pity and disdain from those around him. Although he has the mentioned setbacks, he is unusually talented with swordplay, from fencing to using greatswords. He knows very little of his Cragmore heritage, having been won in a bet with King Borvringska as a newborn. [/hider][/hider]