Author Topic: Prominent Dementlieuse Noble Houses  (Read 17815 times)

Dread

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Prominent Dementlieuse Noble Houses
« on: June 16, 2012, 08:29:07 PM »
Prominent Families within Dementlieu

Although everyone from low-ranking members of the gentry to the wealthy merchants can have a say in the Council of Brilliance's policy-making, these families are known to be the primary movers-and-shakers outside the Council of Brilliance. These large houses are commonly relied upon during elections for the Lord-Governor and the Council of Brilliance, as their names carry much weight. This is not a comprehensive list, and noble families can rise and fall from grace with a drop of a hat. Though this is a list primarily of families active in the political framework of Port-a-Lucine now, disgraced and defunct noble houses are listed below, as well.


House DuSuis



The family of Lady-Governor Hélène DuSuis -- before ascending the position of Lady-Governor following the aftermath of the Revolution of 770 BC, Hélène DuSuis served on the Council of Brilliance. Before that, she was merely the daughter of Alphonse and Lucia DuSuis, a wealthy couple that was well known among the nobility of Port-a-Lucine. When it was thought that an ill-considered remark to one of Lord-Governor Marcel Guignol's advisors would spell the family's doom, Hélène distanced herself from them -- it proved to be a wise move. While their fortunes soured, she came to know only greater degrees of success and prosperity in the political arena.

A canny politician, her meteoric rise is no doubt the result of her being an able and talented player of the Great Game. She owns a massive estate along the Domaines de la Vie Éclairée, not far from the Maison de la Vue, the estate owned by Councilor D'Honaire.



House d'Honaire



In addition to his mansion outside Port-a-Lucine in les Domaines de la Vie Eclairée, known as Maison de la Vue, Dominic also has put the fishing town of Ste. Luciennes under his own personal protection, and many of the nobles there are allies of d'Honaire. His family is well-to-do; with important family members being Dominic d'Honaire II (son), Germain D'Honaire (son), Celeste d'Honaire-Loverde (his niece), and Louise Girod (his wife). The family is said to originate from Mordent, where they were once known as healers.



House Descartes



Lieutenant le Vicomte Ambrose Descartes, or "Young Ambrose", as he once was once known, leads the family and serves prominently within the Gendarmerie in Port-a-Lucine. It is said that Councilor Jacques Reynard actually worked for Ambrose's father. Many like to gossip about the Vicomte Descartes being the most 'eligible bachelor' around town, and he seems quite handsome, though many note that outside of uniform, he is withdrawn and keeps to himself most of the time when off-duty.

The Descartes estate is said to be the first estate one encounters when traveling through the Domaines de la Vie Éclairée, the first large building on the right.




House Jalabert



A family well-known and respected for its patronage of the arts, it is one of the most respected in Port-a-Lucine, though the family's influence does not extend much farther past the enlightened city. Although Pierre Jalabert, Sr. is said to be the patriarch of the family, Vicomtesse Linette Jalabert manages the day-to-day affairs of the Jalabert Family. Lately, though, the management of its Theatre in Port-a-Lucine has fallen to Inès Jalabert, having returned to Dementlieu after traveling the Core, including a long stay in Martira Bay.



House Madrigore



Up until recently, the Madrigores were regarded as a group of aloof and often mad occultists and mystics who left the governing of their estate to others. Recently, however, Lord Sédoran Madrigore has taken it upon himself to break this tradition, and has served Edrigan well as a benevolent and outgoing lord with a great interest in the town he rules over.



House d'Évreux



Possessing numerous large tracts of land in and around Chateaunoir, Aristide d'Évreux held many titles -- he is styled often as "His Grace Aristide de Évreux, Duc de Beauvais, Comte de Angoulême, Marquis de Calmont, and Mayor of Chateaunoir". Perhaps the most influential figure in the southernmost part of Dementlieu, the elder nobleman was often represented by his exceptionally young wife, Simone. Numerous individuals have suggested that Simone was in fact the one who led the family.

Ultimately, the Duc perished, as did his wife; the latter during an infamous raid conducted by the Company of the Fox on her chateau in Beauvais, just outside of Chateaunoir, where all inside perished as the stately manse went up in flames. The house was long thought moribund, until the arrival of Joséphine d'Évreux, who successfully pressed her claim to her family's holdings to become the Duchesse de Beauvais. Her rivalry with House Lécuyer and the Duc de Chantres is known to most, as is her desire to re-assert her family's strength.




House Richelieu



Originally known as House Josquin of Richemulot and Dementlieu to make it so they would not confuse them with the Josquins that preside over Chateau Josquin, their name got shortened over the years to simply be 'Richelieu'. The family is a big name in merchant circles, and they are known to support a fair number of auctions selling fine antiques, curios, and pieces of art. For near a decade the head of house has been Constance Richelieu, Dowager Comtesse de Placide. The Comtesse has a reputation as a scornful woman rumored to flirt with the occasional scandal since the death of her second husband.
House Lécuyer



Tristan Lécuyer, Duc de Chantres, has led the family from ruin to fortune not once, but twice. Two decades ago, the then Baron Jourdain Lécuyer earned the moniker ‘Mad Lécuyer’ when he killed his eldest son and was incarcerated in a sanitorium. The family was left rudderless until Tristan returned from travels abroad with a young Richemuloise wife of the noble Van de Walle family. They together led the family, gaining  great wealth in Chateaufaux until misfortune struck again. Siding against the Covenant during the Rebellion resulted in the Lécuyer estate being burned to the ground. For nearly two years, the family was thought dead.

Despite this, House Lécuyer triumphantly returned when Duc Tristan and his young son sailed a force of soldiers up the Musarde River through Falkovnian territory back home to Dementlieu. They fought and reclaimed Chateaufaux, declaring the Council of Brilliance’s return while Covenant forces fought at Ameranthe.

In recent history, the family has gained the Chateau des Chantres and a great deal of influence in the southern reaches of Dementlieu. Some herald them as a family of heroes returned from the dead while others quietly condemn their return. With large land holdings in Chantres and Chateaufaux and deep ambition, the Lécuyer legacy seems set to rival the d’Evreux for power in the South…


Spoiler: "DISGRACED AND DEFUNCT NOBLE HOUSES" • show


House Allemand



A family of wealthy merchants who immigrated from Falkovnia, the House Allemand is perhaps one of the main reasons the peace with Falkovnia lasted as long as it did. They primarily traded in grain and this proved fairly lucrative for them, though it would come to pass that not even money could save them from inevitable disgrace.  At the onset of the war, House Allemand found its property and massive wealth seized by the Dementlieuse government, under a decree passed by the Lord-Governor.

Rumors, however, spread of the family perhaps making some sort of comeback, supported in part by the Falkovnian diplomat named Marcos Vederrak, son of the infamous Paul Dirac, a wealthy grain merchant of Dementlieuse birth who fled to Falkovnia early on.



House Dauphin



The Dauphins were a family with a long and rich tradition - if anyone could be called "Old Money", it would perhaps be them. They were wealthy beyond measure, and was rumored that they have perhaps the strongest genealogical link to the founders of Dementlieu, possibly to one of the original members of the Council of Brilliance, or even the mythic Emperor Léon. This was not a rumor that the Dauphins themselves discouraged, believing it won them a considerable amount of prestige. The Dauphins endeavored to become the most powerful house in Dementlieu, something that was well within their reach.

It was, however, discovered that the Dauphin family and other nobles indebted to them were involved in a conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the Council of Brilliance. This plot was ultimately foiled, and it is said that the patriarch of the family, Charles Dauphin, was killed near the border shared with Falkovnia.




House Dumonde



House Dumonde is no more. What happened to this once-prestigious house is a mystery...

House Guignol



The family of the Lord-Governor. While he was alive, Marcel Guignol obviously led the family. The Lord-Governor himself was slain via poisoning by a mysterious assassin, likely as part of a political statement in the lead-up to the Revolution of 770 BC. The revolutionaries did not spare a single man or woman bearing the Guignol family name -- all were lined up behind Madame Guillotine, and made to sate the mob's hunger for aristocratic blood.


House Moliére



This family ended when Baptiste Moliére married Linette Jalabert. Unfortunately for Baptiste, he passed away during a fishing incident gone awry.


House Véron



House Véron is but a memory. The last living member of the family, Marc Véron, is an escaped madman.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2021, 03:35:23 AM by DM Indolence »