Foreign Nobility

Other cities also have their ranks of the great and not-so-good. Names from the Port of Glass in particular are familiar to White City ears; some of the more notable examples are listed here, as are the few more publicly known members of the royal line of the City of Silk, the house of Mor.

The Family D'Artois

Lemuel D'Artois

Although officially no longer a member of the Family, having abdicated the Dukedom and disappeared into the East, no account of the D'Artois Family would be complete without a record of their progenitor, Lemuel. A combination of superstition and poor record-keeping means that nobody is quite certain exactly how long Lemuel ruled the Port - and whether he and the pirate calling himself the Lord of Shards who took over the City of Clear Water some three hundred years ago were one and the same - but there are none still alive in the Port who can remember any other ruler. Known somewhat facetiously as the “Sire of a Thousand Bastards”, he had both a liking for the fairer sex and an unpleasant habit of murdering or imprisoning his wives. Courteous, cruel and quite insane, Lemuel allowed his subjects extraordinary freedoms but also exacted a heavy penalty; regular sacrifices of citizens chosen by lot were made at the Shard-Pits in the Bazaar, in the name of the King in Fragments. He was a powerful Glass sorcerer, and scholars of such matters suggest that he may have gone further than any other man in the study of the magic of the Vitriarchs. Duke Lemuel disappeared to the East in the spring of 26 RdC, taking with him his pregnant wife Caroline; and it is said that he died sometime later, although nobody seems to know where or how. There are reports that he abdicated the Duchy and renounced the Vitriarchs before he left the Western lands for good; similarly, there are rumours that he will one day return with an army, or that his child will retake his father's Dukedom, or that he has not disappeared at all but has instead become part of the King in Fragments. There are already a few small shrines and cults to the Old Duke springing up around the Port.

Caroline D'Artois

Lady Caroline, Lemuel's last Duchess, was unusual in two ways: first, she was by all accounts a genuine innocent - a very rare thing in the Port of Glass; and second, she survived long past her wedding to the Duke apparently uncorrupted by insanity or Glass Sorcery in any way. She made a great many people terribly nervous by displaying no agendas or secret plans whatsoever, and disappeared in the East at the same time as her husband, while pregnant with his child. Some years later a party of adventurers were hired by one of Duke Karl's retainers disguised as a priestess of the Light to rescue a woman to the south (seemingly the Duke had his own reasons for preventing any harm from coming to the child). It turned out that the woman was Caroline living in the coastal town of Blue Port under the assumed name of Carlotta di Briganza with her child and her maidservant that she had brought back from the tribal lands. A group of mad King in Fragments cultists had kidnapped the child and intended to use Lemuel's last heir in some misguided magical ritual. Fortunately the adventurers saved the child's life and returned her to her mother. To the best of anyones knowledge Caroline is still residing with her child in the south.

The Late Duke Karl D'Artois

Karl is a Glass Sorcerer of respectable power and a cunning politician. His youth was marked mainly by bitter feuding with his twin brother Niske, and Karl achieved little of note until the two finally ceased bickering - in large part due to the influence of their sister Serafine - and began plotting revolution against their father Lemuel. Their reign was short-lived, and Duke Karl was forced to settle for sitting as the head of the Government-in-exile on the Isle of the Broken Moon when the Port was taken by Belor. However, since the retaking of the Port he has once again taken control. He is less well-liked by the general populace than his brother Niske was, but deals well with the sorcerers, academics, merchants, ambassadors and nobles of the citizenry. He's somewhat of an ascetic, and generally dresses only in black.

Killed during the De Verlay family's coup of the Port of Glass.

The Late Duchess Karla Velasquez-D'Artois

A younger sister of Duke Karl D'Artois, Karla was married to Duke-Apparent Piera Velasquez as part of a peace treaty with the White City. Since the marriage Piera has been officially recognised as Duke and head of the Velasquez family. He has also been showing substantially more political acumen then he ever did previously, no-one is under any illusions that this new found competence is coming from anywhere but his new wife.

In addition to her marriage, the treaty with the White City also required a Port-Appointed tutor for Lady Eleanor De Courci, the position of which Karla has also been fulfilling.

Other than these facts, very little is known of the Duchess. She has very pale almost porcelain skin, and has not been seen to talk in the presence of others.

Murdered secretly by Nerino Velasquez after the coup that gave control of the Port of Glass to the De Verlay family.

Commandante Iarendo D'Artois

The commander of navy of the Port of Glass, a sturdy and bluff young man who has a practical attitude to Family loyalty. The aid of his Broken Guard marines helped Karl and Niske overthrow the Port and also aided in its later recapture from Belor's grasp. Dislikes pirates, the Bodach and foreigners.

Serafine D'Artois (PC, played by Laura)

Daughter of Lemuel D'Artois and half-sister to Bartholemew. A gaunt, haunted young woman, with wild hair and thick smoked-glass spectacles covering her eyes. She rarely ventures out of her lodgings, a small set of rooms over a bookbinder's with windows completely covered in black velvet, and tends to shy away from reflective surfaces. Serafine is driven by her hatred of her father and the powers he serves, and has devoted herself to frustrating and defeating the Vitriarchs and their minions at every turn.

Editor's Note: Since her father's disappearance, Serafine has made a certain number of changes to her lifestyle; the velvet drapes are taken from her windows, and those who see her will note that she has taken to wearing jewels, satins and colours other than black occasionally. It may also be deduced, from her rather better grooming, that she is no longer quite so afraid of mirrors.

Bartholomew D'Artois (PC, played by Ben)

Bartholemew is an important noble of the Port of Glass, loyal to his father Lemuel D'Artois and a devout worshipper of the Vitriarchs. However, for several years he has been a member of the Embassy from the Port of Glass to the White City. He is a recognised figure in the City, known to have worked for several of the noble Families and even to have performed vital services for Rebecca De Courci herself. As such, despite his affiliations he is regularly seen at social events and in several of the more respectable inns and taverns. He believes that the Vitriarchs are widely misunderstood, and if people would only take the time to try and learn about them then they would realise that they do not need to be demonised and hated. He is also always willing to show the interested his collection of eyeballs, which he believes to be without peer. The nervous are assured that every one was either given willingly or taken from the bodies of those who attacked him first; he is a peaceful man, who would not dream of taking a life without provocation.

Constantine D'Artois (PC, played by Nathan)

The Family de Verlay

Thaddeus de Verlay

The head of the Family, in as much as the de Verlays have one. Thaddeus lived up to the de Verlays' traditional role of providing tutors and advisors to the D'Artois Family by taking Emmanuel D'Artois under his wing, until the lad was tragically killed in the Breathing Isles. An accomplished Glass sorcerer and head of the recently-founded Academy.

Arturo de Verlay

The High Priest of the King in Fragments, Arturo was a powerful and ambitious young man until he was struck down by a wasting disease in the summer of 25 RdC. He hated Rose D'Artois with an abiding passion, and led a small cadre of energetic warrior-priests whose aim was to reunite the King in Fragments. He disappeared during the revolution before fully recovering, and it is generally assumed that he died during the fire which destroyed the House of the King.

Celeste de Verlay

A niece of Thaddeus, Celeste is generally regarded as being a relatively harmless sort of crazy as far as Port of Glass nobility goes. She and her husband Edward moved to the embassy within the White City in 29 RdC, bringing her children with them. Though she can be regarded as being nominally in charge of this branch of the de Verlays, who have become big movers within the embassy, she tends not to leave the house much, leaving most of the ambassadorial work to her children.

Duchess Sylke de Verlay

Daughter of Celeste and half-sister of Thomas, Sylke is recognisable around the city and beyond by her unusual light blue hair. Rumours surrounding her are many and varied, some believing her to be more closely associated with the Vitriarchs than anybody should be comfortable with, others claiming that she's a sweet and innocent girl who can be relied on when it matters. Tales of her deeds range from saving all of creation to stopping an evil Glass ritual by Karl D'Artois, so she seems to be on the right side at least, though it is also said that she assassinated a White City noble in the middle of his own home. Indeed those who know how to spot these things could see the Low Guard tailing her within the city limits outside of the embassy when she was staying there, ever suspicious. Possibly relating to the aforementioned ritual, Sylke seemed to be at the heart of the ongoing conflict between the D'Artois and de Verlay families, supported by those seeking the King in Fragments' unification and seemingly the King himself. Following the de Verlay coup, Sylke has become Duchess of the Port and engaged in a complicated marriage-like agreement with Piera Velasquez. Her demeanour since has become noticeably different, being even more quiet and reserved and rarely venturing outside of what is currently a makeshift ducal palace following the destruction of the previous one.

Thomas de Verlay

The Family Mor

Queen Marianna Mor

The ruler of the City of Silk, an elderly Sorcerer-Priestess of the Old Powers who uses her political skills to oversee both the diplomatic alliance between the weavers and humans and the mercantile arrangement between the D'Almedias and the City of Silk.

Prince Roderigo Mor

The darkly handsome nephew of Queen Marianna, who led the City of Silk diplomatic team to meet the Ambassadors of the East. Keen on socialising and womanising, but also talented at the diplomatic arts. Rumours that he is undermining the D'Almedia Family as a means of seducing Jenevieve Velasquez are utter fabrications. He is a low-ranking priest of the Spider-Queens.

The Family Bravo

Before the Great Burning, the Bravo Family of Crossroads had amassed a vast horde of treasure, 'liberated' from ancient temples or bestowed by grateful employers. Now they are destitute, and in mercantile Crossroads that makes them as good as gone.

Sir Falcon Bravo

One of the few surviving members of Crossroads' once great House of Bravo, Falcon follows the traditional Bravo vocation of 'Gentleman Adventurer'. He has come to the White City in the hopes that one day the name of the Family Bravo may once again ring out.

Kite Bravo

gm/foreign_nobility.txt · Last modified: 2012/04/28 00:52 by chaos
Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license:CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported