Founding Houses
The founding houses were named after the legendary dragons,
Numaness the Mystic,
Goirsonad the Wise, Kovenoth the Builder, and
Fremiss the Vibrant and their half-dragon descendants.
House Numaness : The most influential house. The majority of the kings and queens of Swynfaredia have been from this house, including the current Queen. Originally they focused on magical excellence, now they push their house members to be excellent at everything.
House Goirsonad: The second most influential house and a constant contender for the royal throne. Their motto is "Knowledge is power." Originally they were a house of sages and scholars. Now they are a house of spymasters in addition to sages and scholars.
House Kovenoth : The least influential of the original founding houses. Their strategy was always to play kingmaker, and this strategy worked for a while, but a series of scandals and poor decisions has left the house low in prestige and strapped for coins, though they are still holding an impressive arsenal of priceless heirloom magical items and constructions.
House Fremiss, original: House Fremiss was based on the principles of being kind to commoners, being brave in battle, and having a general zest for life. They were very fertile and a lot more nobles today bear the surname Fremiss than any other founding house. Unfortunately they were too zesty and the house fell into a lot of infighting over the centuries. Now there are three offshoot houses of Fremiss.
House Fremiss-Angharad: Fremiss is the most political powerful offshoot of House Fremiss, but they have given up most of their original houses ideals (though they still have a bit of a hedonistic streak). They are now ruthless and power hungry, hoping to cement their place as the power behind the throne in Swynfaredia. They are seeking to strengthen ties to all the priesthoods, especially the
Children.
House Fremiss-Bryallan: Fremiss B has taken the bravery ideals of their original house. They have cultivated a warrior culture, both among the nobles and their low born subjects (who they treat well in the hopes of receiving patriotic service in return).
House Fremiss-Caedwin: Fremis C is the smallest and least prestigious of the Fremiss offshoots. They are trying to shore up their political power by shoring up their magical power. They are far less picky in marriage partners as long as their marriage partners are powerful sorcerers and have bestowed a number of honorary titles and positions on non-human sorcerers to win their loyalty.
New Houses
Over the centuries, as Swynfaredia grew and recruited more sorcerers, various sorcerers were given ennoblement as reward for their exemplary service creating new houses.
House Gareth : House Gareth was the first new house recognized in Swynfaredia as a reward for their years of faithful military soldiers. Originally the soldiers of this house were loyal to the realm as a whole but they are now essentially loyal sidekicks of House Numaness.
House Manasch : A group of merchant sorcerers who bought their official house recognition. Their power is in economics, especially through dominating Swynfaredia's
reagent trade.
House Selwyth: This secretive house is a group of flamboyent schemers and Machiavellian cutthroats. They have allied themselves to House Goirsonad hoping to ride their coattails to power.
House Gruffyl: This secretive house is a mercenary minded house that seems to be playing neutral in the feud between Numaness and Goirsonad waiting for an edge.
House Cefnor: This secretive house is a mercantile minded house that is hoping to build their fortunes through controlling Swynfaredia's sea trade.
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