Noble Houses and Nobility

Political Factions

The peer seats of the Metamorian Senate are divided between Conservative and Progressive factions, with a smaller number of Moderates in the middle. Members of the nobility are prohibited by law from joining any of the political parties that participate in commoner elections, so the peers must form a coalition with whatever party most closely reflects their ideology if they want to get anything done.

Currently the Senate is being run by a Center-Left Coalition that is trying to balance the competing interests of its constituent parties. The Speaker is a commoner (name to be established) who chose Lord Matthias, a powerful Progressive, as his deputy in order to secure the loyalties of those on the left. Count Halliway, the leader of the previous Conservative coalition, left the Senate shortly before the election that swept his party out of power, taking a job as the Minister of Intelligence in Kyia's Cabinet.1

House Origins and Political Alignments

Noble houses in Metamor generally come from three sources, with distinctly different political leanings:

1.) The original nobility of Metamor Valley. These tend to be Moderate. Examples: House Hassan; House Barnhardt.

2.) The descendants of Metamorian heroes who won noble titles through their actions after the onset of the Curse. These tend to be Progressive. Examples: House Brightleaf; House Matthias.

3.) Nobles from other parts of the Northern Midlands that were not originally under the Curse. These tend to be Conservative. Examples: House Drauling; House Halliway.

Noble Houses

House Avery

Home: Glen Avery
House Leader: Unknown
Political Faction: Moderate
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

House Avery is a line of squirrel-morphs that goes back to the days of the Battle of Three Gates

  • Current Members
    • none known
  • Historic Members
    • Lady Angela Avery: the first woman to give birth to Cursed children (squirrel-morphs) after the Battle of the Three Gates, and therefore the first known instance of form retention among the Cursed.
    • Lord Brian Avery: liege of Glen Avery after the Battle of the Three Gates (when his father and older brother were killed in action)

House Barnhardt

Home: Barnhardt Tower2, Metamor City
House Leader: Lord Barnhardt, Earl of Dragonmarch
Political Faction: Moderate
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

  • Current Members
    • Lord Barnhardt, Earl of Dragonmarch (first name not established)
    • Mariella Barnhardt, a minor member of the house who married into House Matthias
  • Historic Members
    • Lord Robern Barnhardt, one of the staunchest allies of Thomas V. The Curse turned him into a newt. He didn't get better. He did, however, help Thomas withstand an attempted coup by House Loriod in the years after the Battle of Three Gates.

House Brightleaf

Home: Metamor City
House Leader: Count Herschel Brightleaf
Political Faction: Progressive
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

They hold an annual winter ball at Brightleaf Tower.3

Most of the Brightleafs are fox-morphs. The house's founder was Misha Brightleaf, the military tactician who created the Long Scouts and led the successful defense of the Inner Keep during Nasoj's Yule assault in 707 CR. Misha was known for being a brilliant but unorthodox thinker, possibly mad but visionary — a quality that is seen in many of his descendants.

House Brightleaf has had a long lasting effect on military of the empire. The Brightleaf Division, a more modern version of the Long Scouts, is now part of the Military Intelligence Directorate (MID)

  • Current Members
    • Count Brightleaf (sixty years-old fox-morph)
  • Historic Members

House Drauling

Home: Laselle4, Metamor City
House Leader: The Viscount Drauling of Laselle (first name not established)
Political Faction: Conservative
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

The Draulings are an exceedingly wealthy and ancient house that prided itself on its pure human lineage, untainted by blood of outsiders, lutins, Fae or other “freaks”. (Wizards are not considered freakish by the Draulings, however, and they count many distinguished mages throughout their family tree.)

The family has a strained relationship with the house scion, Dr. Morgan Drauling, the Head Medical Examiner for Squad 2 of the Forensic Investigation Division of the Metamor City Police Department. This rift was initially caused by her chosen profession and her preference toward non-human lovers; even an asimaar wasn't pure enough for the family. Lady Morgan has been cut off from family funds and resources, but not her inheritance; she will inherit her father's title and holdings upon his death.

The name Drauling comes from the ancient Midlander word Draug, meaning "ghost" or "phantom," and the affix -ling, meaning "small" — so Drauling means "little phantom."

  • Current Members
    • Viscount Drauling
    • Lady Morgan of House Drauling, house scion. Known as Dr. Morgan Drauling to most people
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Hassan

Home: Metamor City
House Leader: Duke Thomas X
Political Faction: Moderate (House Hassan is traditionally neutral in political squabbles)
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

Thomas the Tenth, current Mayor of Metamor City, is a member of House Hassan. He is the descendant of Duke Thomas V, the ruler of Metamor who repulsed three invasions by the Dark Wizard Nasoj and is widely considered Metamor's wisest and greatest king. Thomas V was the "Horse-Lord" in the ancient prophecies of Felix of Lee, and together with the "Hare of White" (King Philip Tenomides of Whales) and the "Rat of Might" (Charles Matthias), he led the military campaign that destroyed Nasoj's empire in the Northlands.

  • Current Members
  • Historic Members
    • Duke Thomas V, Duke of Metamor during the Battle of the Three Gates
    • Lady Alberta, Thomas's wife (married in 708 CR)
    • Lady Malisa, Thomas's adopted daughter5
    • Duchess Malisa III, who refused to take back power from Regent Kyia when she came of age and instead persuaded Kyia to accept permanent charge over Metamor as the Majestrix.

House Halliway

Home: Metamor City
House Leader: Count Xavier Halliway
Political Faction: Conservative
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: a black mountain flanked by laurels on a white field (argent, a mountain sable between two laurels, natural)

The Halliways are very influential in Metamor politics, and has been for a long time. House Halliway has held the fealty of most of the Broadfield and Valley South Boroughs of Metamor for the last three centuries.

The current Count Halliway is a force to be reckoned with in his own right: he held a peer seat senator of the Senate for years after his heroic military service to the Empire. His work on the Intelligence Committee for the Imperial Senate lead to his appointment as the Minister of Intelligence.

The Halliways are not native to Metamor. Originally from the province of Verdania, House Halliway can trace its lineage back to Duke Titian Verdane, the king of the Southern Midlands at the same time Duke Thomas Hassan V ruled the Northern Midlands. House Halliway married in to one of the Northern noble lines, securing their future in the newly expanding Empire.

House Halliway is not without scandal. Count Halliway's son was excoriated — stripped of family name, title, and all rights of inheritance, once the son hit puberty and turned into an incubus. The current heir is Mysteria (aka Mysti), who plays at being a shallow, vapid debutante, pulling outrageous stunts and saying equally outrageous things in order to keep the paparazzi focused on her (think Paris Hilton). She is also a devoted and open member of the Church of Hedonism and has spent a lot of money spell-sculpting her body to look like a daedra (much to her father's dismay).

Halliway is an old Midlander name meaning "holy path;" it was given to people who lived near important geographical features, such as mountains, that were considered to be of spiritual significance.

  • Current Members
  • Historic Members
    • none known6

House Kapler

Home: Metamor City
House Leader: Baron Kapler (first name not established)
Political Faction: Conservative
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: a black helmet on a quartered field of red and white (quarterly argent and gules, a helmet sable)7

House Kapler is one of the closest allies of House Halliway in the Metamorian Senate's conservative wing. The house also holds an exclusive right to economic development in the Telvari Rift Zone (the result of a marriage to a Telvari princess a few generations back). The House's main business holding, Kapler Pharmaceutical, has brought them tremendous wealth and prestige, and the unusual biomedical properties of the Rift's flora and fauna are the primary reason for that success.

In recent months House Kapler has come under attack in the media from investment tycoon Malcolm ard'Valos, who wants to see the development of the Rift opened to competition from other companies (such as his own).

The name Kapler comes from the steppes of the Flatlands; it is derived from the Suielman caput, meaning "head."

  • Current Members
    • Baron Kapler
    • Lord Ezekiel of House Kapler, house scion
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Lassos

Home: not established
House Leader: not established
Political Faction: Conservative
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

Lady Sephora hin'Lassos, the scion of this minor House, is the long-time friend and possible lover of Lady Mysteria Halliway. Sephie's father is a long-time ally of Count Halliway.

  • Current Members
    • Lady Sephora of House hin'Lassos, house scion
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Matthias

Home: Glen Avery
House Leader: Lord Matthias, Earl of the Northern Marches (first name not established)
Political Faction: Progressive
House Motto: Honor in Service
House Arms: unknown

Clan leaders of the House Matthias make their home in Glen Avery, but they have vast holdings throughout the city. They are particularly strong players in the realms of politics, banking and aerospace. Lord Matthias is the second most powerful man in the Senate, after the Speaker. He is also the leader of the Senate's progressive wing, and a bitter rival of Count Halliway.

House Matthias was founded by Charles Matthias, the near-legendary "Rat of Might" whose exploits saved not only Metamor Keep but the entire world. Most members of House Matthias are rat theriomorphs in honor of his memory (and by the genetics of form retention).

Those few "throwbacks" who are born human find that they are both honored and pitied. Their existence is necessary to stave off the development of feralism in the bloodline, but everything in the House's culture is built around the assumption of rat-hood. Human children growing up in Matthias households often find that they are ill-fitted to life among their rodent cousins — even the living spaces are sized for the rat-morphs' diminutive bodies.

Another quirk in the Matthias bloodline is that rare members of the family may have the gift/curse of The Sondeck, a magical talent that the founder of the house, Charles Matthias, possessed.8

Charles Matthias came from the Southlands, and his surname is Yehudi in origin; it means Gift of the Lord.

  • Current Members
    • Lord Matthias, leader
    • Lady Julia Matthias
    • Preston Matthias, a human "throwback" in the House
    • Mariella Barnhardt, human un-Cursed noble, married to Preston
    • Arabella Matthias, Preston's mother and a rat-morph
  • Historic Members

House Moraine

Home: Cardale (but has its own tower, Moraine Tower, in Metamor City)
House Leader: Baron Vincent Moraine
Political Faction: Progressive
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

House Moraine is relatively small for a noble house, but its standing has been greatly increased through an alliance-by-marriage with House Velasco (see below), a powerful noble house in the province of Tourne. Baron Moraine has been working to parlay this increased standing into political influence, hoping to get himself elected to one of the peer seats in the Imperial Senate.

  • Current Members
    • Baron Moraine: a gentleman trying to get into the political arena of the Metamor Senate.
    • Baronesa Delilah Velasco de Moraine, daughter of Duke of Tournemire (of the Province of Tourne), wife of Baron Vincent Moraine of Cardale
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Tifree

Home: Menth
House Leader: Baron Gamaliel Tifree
Political Faction: Progressive
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

House Tifree is a minor house with little influence on Metamorian politics.

  • Current Members
    • Baron Tifree
    • John Tifree, second son to Baron Gamaliel Tifree of Menth (John the Incubus masquerades as him during the events of The Cuckoo)
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Velasco

Home: Tourne
House Leader: Lord Velasco, Duke of Tournemire (first name not established)
Political Faction: n/a (not a part of the Metamor Senate)
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

House Velasco is a powerful noble family in its native province of Tourne. Duke Velasco's eldest child, Baronesa Delilah Velasco de Moraine, is married to Baron Vincent Moraine of Cardale. This alliance has given House Velasco its first foothold in Metamorian politics. There is also speculation that Lord Velasco is working with the lawmakers of Tourne to change the path of succession from the first son to the first child; this would make the Baronesa de Moraine the scion of House Velasco and the Dutchess of Tournemire after her father's death.

  • Current Members
    • Lord Velasco, Duke of Tournemire
    • Baronesa Delilah Velasco de Moraine, daughter of Duke of Tournemire (of the Province of Tourne), wife of Baron Vincent Moraine of Cardale of the Metamorian nobility.
    • Lady Jeanette Ysabel Moraine, the infant daughter of the Baronesa9
  • Historic Members
    • none known

House Template

Home: Location
House Leader: Name
Political Faction: Faction
House Motto: unknown
House Arms: unknown

Description/History/Notes

  • Current Members
    • unknown
  • Historic Members
    • none known

Titles

The noble titles vary from province to province, but these are the titles used in the metropole of Metamor (in descending order of rank):

  • Duke: The highest noble rank in Metamor, it is always held by the leader of House Hassan. From 260 CR to 1000 CR the Duke of Metamor was also the King of the Northern Midlands.10
    • Addressed as: Your Grace
    • Referred to as: Duke (First Name) of Metamor; or His Grace the Duke of Metamor
  • Earl: Answered to the duke in the old feudal system. Metamor uses this term for lords whose holdings were on the borders of the kingdom, and who thus were most likely to engage in regular military action in defense of the kingdom. The equivalent term in some other provinces is margrave, marquess or marquis (all of which mean "march-lord").
    • Addressed as: Your Lordship
    • Referred to as: Lord (House Name), Earl of (Place)
  • Count: Answered to the duke. Metamor uses this term for lords whose holdings were in the interior of the kingdom; as a result, counts have slightly less status than earls, even though the ranks are otherwise equivalent.
    • Addressed as: Your Lordship
    • Referred to as: Count (House Name)
  • Viscount: Answered to a count. Pronounced "VY-count."
    • Addressed as: My Lord or Lord Viscount
    • Referred to as: The Viscount (House Name) of (Place)
  • Baron: Answered to a viscount.
    • Addressed as: My Lord or Lord Baron
    • Referred to as: Lord (House Name) or Baron (House Name)
  • House Scion: The named heir of a titled noble. These individuals do not have titles in their own right, but they are treated as "apprentice" members of the peerage.
    • Addressed as: Lord (House Name), if the title they will inherit is above Baron; otherwise, Lord (First Name)
    • Referred to as: Lord (House Name), if the title they will inherit is above Baron; otherwise, Lord (First Name) of House (House Name)
  • Junior House Member: A non-scion member of a noble house.
    • Addressed as: Lord (First Name)
    • Referred to as: Lord (First Name) (House Name) or Lord (First Name) of House (House Name)

Examples:

Duke Thomas of Metamor
Lord Matthias, Earl of the Northern Marches
Count Halliway
The Viscount Drauling of Laselle
Lord Kapler or Baron Kapler
Lady Halliway (scion of Count Hallway)
Lord Ezekiel of House Kapler (scion of Baron Kapler)
Lady Julia Matthias or Lady Julia of House Matthias

Subsidiary Titles

By default, the junior members of a noble house are generic "lords" and "ladies" without specific titles; their status as members of the nobility is dependent on the title held by the house leader. However, an overlord may grant a subsidiary title to a junior noble, which is then passed on within the house according to whatever rules are established at the time of the subsidiary title's creation.

Subsidiary titles are often held by house scion, who is first in the line of succession to become the house leader. When the house leader dies, the subsidiary title is passed on to the next person in the line of succession.11 The subsidiary title does not have its own line of succession; its status is always tied to the status of the primary title.

In some larger noble houses, however, the subsidiary title belongs to a separate branch of the family that is outside the line of succession for house leader. For example, House Matthias is led by the Earl of the Northern Marches, but because Matthias tends toward having very large families, each past Earl has had several sons and daughters who never had the opportunity to inherit the position of house leader. Many of these extended branches of the family have since been granted baronies or viscountcies in their own right, which are then passed down to their descendants just like the Earldom.

A subsidiary title is always lower than the title held by the house leader; you cannot, for instance, have a house leader who is a baron and then have another barony created beneath him as a subsidiary title. Countships are considered as "equal" to Earldoms for the purpose of subsidiary titles, you can never have both a Count and an Earl in the same house.

A house leader may appeal to his overlord to request the creation of a subsidiary title within his house. To create a new barony within his viscountcy, for example, the viscount must appeal to the earl or count to whom he owes his fealty. In addition, the Duke of Metamor may create subsidiary titles at his discretion by issuing letters patent announcing the creation of the title. The top overlords in other provinces (usually styled as a duke, prince, or king) may do the same with the members of their own nobility.

Author's Notes


Sources:
The Cuckoo, Glen Avery, Mysteria, Morgan, "Throwback", THINGS UNSEEN, MK World Wiki entries

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