The Maghyr Houses

There are dozens of maghyr houses in the Realm, with varying degrees of political and magical power. Most have grudgingly submitted to Adrael, but many still plot behind the Emperor’s back, and some have never let go of their goal to overthrow him. The following are only the most prominent maghyr houses of Tyveria as of today.

Dasmedi
House Dasmedi remains the second greatest family in Tyveria, while still far below the Tyverianes in magic power and political clout. Their vast resources, however, almost match those of the Imperial House, and would be far greater hadn’t Adrael secured direct taxes from every peasant collective in the Empire.

The House has been based on Kara Gilpan, the oldest city of Tyveria, since its beginning. Dasmeda, the founder of the House, became the reigning Ula of Kara Gilpan before there even was a Tyverian Empire. And her descendants are too aware of this - they bear themselves as the only true royalty in the Realm, and make no secret of their dislike for the upstart Emperor, although they do maintain a diplomatic facade of goodwill and cooperation, especially after they saw what happened to the Radjekul.

Besides their staggering wealth, the Dasmedi are known for their political acumen and their vast trading network; they are also one of the darkest and most cunning houses in the Empire, famed for their secret alchemical experiments and underhanded schemes. Many high members of the Crimson Crow have contacts in Dasmedi, or are full members of the House.

In the Tyverian political landscape, House Dasmedi sees itself as the emperor’s counterbalance, and the voice of reason and decency that stops Adrael from sinking the Empire with his most radical decisions. While the Blood Emperor remains the supreme power, they will cooperate for the good of Tyveria; If his strength starts dwindling, they will not hesitate to strike him down. And Adrael knows it.

Baryena
House Baryena was the first maghyr line not created by long-removed heirs of the Blood Empress’ power, but by Adrael sharing it directly with a mortal human. The house marked the end of Old Tyveria, the Empire of ancestral nobility, and the beginning of the New Order, Adrael’s vision of equality through power. Now, upstart maghyr houses are becoming more common, slowly replacing the ancient nobles, but House Baryena was the first, and is still the most hated and admired for it.

The house carries the name of its founder, none other than Baryen the Chainbreaker, the gladiator celebrity turned people’s champion that helped the Emperor emancipate Tyveria’s blood serfs. The Baryena family replaced House Radjekul as the stewards of Sehir Aldam and the tyvalite mining trade, making it one of the wealthiest and most important houses overnight.

But Baryena also represents the people, and it’s not afraid to stand against the other houses to defend the interests of peasants and collectives. As Baryen knew how it felt to be a human serf before becoming a noble, the House sees itself as a mediator between peasants and maghyri, mostly to protect the former from the latter, but also to encourage mutual understanding.

Bassara
Known among other maghyri as ‘House Private’, ‘Footsoldier Family’ and other such nicknames, Bassara used to be a minor house, traditionally providing both troops and career soldiers for all Tyverian cities and armies. Their founder, General Bassar of Valaki, is still remembered as the great pacificator of the East, having subjugated all the human tribes in the region during Tyveria’s expansion years.

The house leaped to prominence when one of their vampyri, General Arkaan, was appointed head of the Imperial Guard. While house leaders expected a maghyr to be chosen, it was still seen as vindication for the house’s long centuries of unpraised devotion and military service.

Most Bassara maghyri are experienced military officers, with a reputation for predictability and reliability. They rule the remote city of Kara Valaki, near the Eastern Coast. The Bassaras are as loyal to the Imperial House today as they have been for the last five hundred years, and had a major and often overlooked influence in House Tyverianes’ continuing power through the Empire’s Age of Decadence.

Harga
Harga is a house of average power, hailing from Kara Vespida in the craggy White Hills to the south of Auga Tyveria. Known for its political pliability, house Harga has always aligned with the strongest force. They stood against Adrael during the civil war, and they are his most loyal subjects today. They supported Dasmedi against Radjekul for centuries, but sent troops to Sehir Aldam when it briefly seemed that Radjekul’s revolt would be successful.

The Housemaster, the Most Honorable Ulan Gabros Id Harga, is a fat, self-indulgent lord, who the Emperor disdains but tolerates, as Harga can muster thousands of troops and dozens of supporters with a single word. Gabros is an agreeable but conniving maghyr, always ready to make others laugh with a fast quip, but also to join in to harass a lesser maghyr or share the dirty gossip on an absent peer. He is rumored to be one of the secret leaders of the Crimson Crow Syndicate, which he neither confirms nor denies.

House Harga has ruled their city of Kara Vespida, near the center of the Empire, for centuries, living off the backs of peasants while hoarding supplies and resources for its ruling members. They strongly oppose the Emperor’s reforms and are part of every plot to regain the power of the Houses, but they act as enthusiastic supporters of freedom in every Blood Court.

Logia
House Logia was founded while the Blood Emperor was pushing to annex Ysval to the Empire. To earn allies among the local malcontents, Adrael granted maghyr rights and powers to some Ysvalian knightly orders which didn’t agree with the Galadyan Faith; if push came to shove, they would have served as a fourth column behind enemy lines. After the armistice, house Logia moved to the Tyverian border, adding its lands to those of the Empire.

Other houses regard Logia as lowly and unrefined, but it’s in fact more honorable and loyal than most, and, while not as manipulative as a rule, Logia raiders can be as bloodthirsty as the most ruthless maghyr. The Emperor granted them the strait of land that leads to the Dreamsea, giving Tyveria a long-sought access to the Allarian and Sikarian northern markets, plus allowing for a military port near the domain of the Frost Lords.

Logia has a long-standing rivalry with House Odhara, with members of both families having fought on opposing sides during the Frozen War. They refrain from all-out war, content with the bloody skirmishes expected of maghyr gentry, but not for long.

Maruul
A minor but very respected house, Maruul is one of the oldest noble families in the Empire, having been founded shortly after the rise of the Blood Empress. Its first members were wizards and scholars from Auga Tyveria, who split to start their own bloodline by the mouth of the Red Run. They rule the small city of Kara Lakhasi, known to be a vast and well-guarded repository of forgotten lore.

Most of the respect given to House Maruul is due to their great knowledge. They have hoarded the ancient secrets of blood sorcery for centuries, and are known to be long-lived even for maghyri.

In Blood Courts, Maruul are easy to spot for their aged appearance - very few maghyri live to look as old as the average Maruul Ulan. There is even a rumor that some Maruul maghyri have learned to make pacts with their kadhah, by which their blood spectre will refrain from attacking them until a certain specified date; at that point, the maghyr will submit to death willingly, in return for the centuries they were allowed to conduct their research in peace.

Odhara
Another ‘new house’, founded after the Frozen War, House Odhara came about when some Raven Knights seceded from the Gellanor League surrendered to Adrael and swore loyalty to Tyveria after the North War. The Blood Emperor graciously accepted them, turned their leaders into Id-chosen, and let them establish a maghyr house on the Frozen Coast.

After switching their allegiance, the Knights of House Odhara founded the Bloodbear Order, self-appointed Wardens of the North and Flail of the Frostboil Sea, who mercilessly prey on anyone that dares approach Tyveria from their border. They despise House Logia, and constantly provoke them into fights, which the Emperor allows to encourage healthy conflict between houses; but he may soon need to intervene to prevent Tyveria’s newest border from drowning in a bloodbath

Despite its youth, House Odhara is one of the most callous and vicious in the empire, already establishing a reputation for cruelty and torture that makes other houses uneasy, both from the competition and from a twinge of fear.

Radjekul
Also known as the Fallen Family, or Tyveria’s Traitors, House Radjekul used to be one of the most powerful houses in the Realm, controlling the tyvalite trade and most of the Empire’s military. But they made the mistake of rising against their emperor, and have now been reduced to a dwindling, renegade guerrilla band, little more than a bandit group, hiding from Imperial forces in their improvised Primalian hideouts.

The house was founded by the mighty warrior Radjek, the Blood Empress’ first man-at-arms and one of her first lovers. The reward for Radjek’s loyalty was the rule of Sehir Aldam, and the power to raise his own maghyr house. Thus he became the greatest warlord in the history of the Empire, and his house the Third Force of Tyveria’s Golden Age.

For centuries, Radjekul was synonymous with tyvalite mining and insect breeding, as they also produced the best oriashi mounts; they were also known for their physical size and strength, their relentlessness in battle, and their draconian treatment of blood serfs. It was Radjekul which suffered the most from Adrael’s Breaking of the Pacts; their warrior honor demanded they rise against him, and after their defeat, even scattered and holed up in the mountains, their greatest dream is still to bring the Imperial House down in blood and flames.

Wernega
An old and conservative house from central Tyveria, House Wernega is rumored to carry a curse since its beginning. The founder of the house, whom history only remembers at Ulan Wernega, no first name given, was a debauched warlord, who tortured his captives and starved his subjects. Legend tells that he even murdered his daughter, Karima, for refusing to mate with him. And when the kadhah of Ulan Wernega came to claim his life, it had Karima’s face. Some maghyr maintain that this was the very first kadhah, and that Wernega’s curse became the curse of all maghyri.

Whatever the truth, Wernega maghyri always die upon meeting their kadhah for the first time, and the spirit always looks like a pale girl in a flowing nightgown, her face and dress drenched with blood. They say it is the exact same kadhah, passed on through the generations with the house’s sanguine legacy.

The name of the cursed maghyr was forbidden and forgotten, and to this day the Wernega ulani spend their lives locked in Castle Cradantes, their hold at Kara Tobreg, coming out only for Blood Courts and other exceptional circumstances. Traditionally, the firstborn of the house carry no name, referred to only as ‘the Ulan Wernega’, in a feeble attempt to confuse their kadhah and delay its arrival. But Karima always finds her way back, and always returns to claim her due.