Contenders for Archduke/Archduchess

There are already five commonly recognized regions in Swynfaredia. So it's generally assumed that the the five arch duchies would follow these boundaries.    

Old Swynfaredia Region

  Most assume that the Queen would become the Archduchess of the Old Swynfaredia Region though some fantasize about someone else being the archduke or duchess of that region in order to dilute royal power. Even if the archduchy was ruled by one of the queen's relatives, that would dilute royal power.  

Old Talama Region

  The Duchess of Dwyns, a Gorisionad, has made it fairly obvious that she would like to be an archduchess. Barring all the times Kormatin infiltrated her lands, she seems fairly powerful.   The Duke of Crescent Rock , a Kovenoth, is not particularly strong, smart, or ambitious and his realm isn't very rich and his vassals don't respect him. His political weight would matter very little in archduchy one-upmanship. Rohdri and others are pretty good at manipulating the duke.   The Duchy of Peredur physically contains Blue River City, but Blue River City is part of the queen's personal demense making the Duchess of Peredur a loyal albeit spinless vassal of the Queen. She could potentially be an archduchess compromise candidate if the queen yielded Blue River City.   The Duke of Sion from Fremiss-B, would not mind being archduke of Old Talama and he certainly is opposed to a Gorisonad or Numaness becoming Archduchess of Old Talama unless they were easy to manipulate.    

Swynfaredian Grey Forest

  The Swynfaredian Grey Forest is the smallest and most sparsely populated region of Swynfaredia. There aren't a lot of navigable rivers or good roads, so the Dragonbloods here tend to be lords and ladies of very small holdings. The political strategy here is usually some variations "Here's some reagents your majesty, now leave us alone."   None of the dukes and duchesses here have expressed any ambition in heading an archduchy. It'd be a paper crown not worth spilling ink or blood over.   It's possibly their holdings could be folded into an Old Swynfaredia archduchy or a southwest Swynfaredian archduchy.    

Southeast Region of Swynfaredia

  The Duke of Dragons' Mooring is a a Numaness and very loyal to his queen. He is opposed to the establishment of archduchies because the queen is opposed to them. The Duke is fairly old and not as sharp as he used to be. The Count of Manasch has been schmoozing his daughter and grandson for sometime and believes that House Manasch could puppet master either or both of them.   The Count of Manasch has convinced a number of mercantile minded nobles that their fortunes will improve if archduchies are set up, andthey will be safer against potential Uskalan invasion. And you know, since Duke of Dragon's Mooring is a loyalist to the queen and a Numaness, it should be an easy sell to make an archeduke, right?   The Duchess of Nerseo is probably the Queen's least loyal vassal who happens to have the Numaness surname. She agrees with the Count of Manasch that invading Fumaya was a mistake and that Uskala is a greater threat and that Swynfaredia's future is in mercantile but she doesn't like or trust House Manasch. She is relatively young for a duchess and has a reputation for boldness/recklesslness. Ralnor suspects that if archduchies are established, she will definitely make a play for it whether or not it's wise.   Ralnor believes that if Nerseo and Dragon's Mooring get in a deadlock for who should be archduke, the Duchess of the Lone Hill (Fremiss-A) could swoop in as a dark horse compromise candidate. Note, Lone Hill Duchy contains one of Rohdri's counties and he's angling to marry one of his daughters to his liege's unwed heir.   The Duchy of Bryallan is the seat of power for Fremiss-B. The Fremiss-B would likely find it an insult if they had subordinate themselves to an archeduke, but they don't have the allies to make a serious go for an archduchy.   The Duchy of Volodar is a Kovenoth holding and not likely to make a play for the archduchy though this means they can play kingmaker...or archdukemaker.  

Southwest Swynfaredia

  The Duchess of Gwynllan, an older Gorisonad, is very ambitious and would very much like to become an archduchess, or set up her heir to be the first archduke. She is politically savvy and controls a wealthy province but she has to contend with local Fremiss-A rivals and the fact that Gorisinod's political fortunes have been declining.   The Duke of Trysor, a Numaness, is fairly ambitious and seems to be backing the Queen out of pragmatism. Like most of the Duchies in Southwest Swynfaredia, he is plagued by vassals aligned with house rivals. He has openly expressed ambition to be an archduke but it seems likely that if archduchies become a thing, the Duke would politely point out that the Queen would be better off appointing him because he is the most loyal of the candidates in the southwest.   Duchess of Arfordir, a Kovenoth, is not controlling a particularly rich or powerful duchy, but it's stable and her vassals don't push back on her edicts much (a rarity in Southeast Swynfaredia). The Duchess doesn't have much naked ambition, but she could sway things if roused.   The Duchess of Tirmyn, a Gorisinod, would probably like to be an archduchess, but is struggling with troublesome vassals, so will probably back her cousin the Duchess of Gwynllan's bid to become an archduchess.   The Duchy of Caregdya is one of the least stable duchies in Swynfaredia. The Duchess might back any archduke candidate that can help her gain the upper hand on her factious vassals.  

A Grand Swap Meets

  Some Swynfaredians (primarily Swynfaredians with weak or no land holdings) believe that the some counts and countesses need to switch lands because lots of dukes and duchesses are saddled with vassals loyal to rival houses. They figure setting up new archduchies would be a good time to set this up. Then they could set up the houses with clear regional power bases rather than fragmented power bases, so there would hopefully be better infrastructure.   The most obvious problem is, parcels of land aren't interchangeable. If two counts swap land, chances are one of them is going to gain and another is going to lose.   A less obvious problem is that some Dragonbloods (including the queen) believe that clear regional boundaries would make civil war and rebellion easier.  

The Archduchy of Fumaya

  Lots of Dragonbloods with little or zero claims and land and great ambition hope to carve out a realm in Fumaya. No doubt, some fantasize being the archduke of Fumaya or using their wartime achievements as currency to buy an archduchy somewhere else.