Houses of Elyria

House Reed

House Reed’s ancestral home is the city of Gabriella’s Landing, the anchorage for the Sapphire Fleet. The house rose to prominence through shipbuilding, and while its warships and admi rals are well known, the Reeds’ true power are their mercantile fleet. After funding trading vessels which sail the Middle Sea for generations, House Reed has emerged as one of the wealthiest noble houses in the nation. However, that has not always trans lated into political influence — until recently. Delerium taken from Drakkenheim has increasingly found its way to many ports, and the forward-thinking Divine Matriarch has considered the possibility of the stones traveling far abroad through ocean trade. When Mercy V named Polonius Reed as Lord Regent, the head of the noble house quickly authorized Elyrian ships to engage in privateering. In particular, he encouraged Elyrian captains to target pirates and merchant vessels known to be dealing in delerium, and the coffers of the Faith help pay the bounties

House Eden

House Eden was once regarded as the most powerful family in Elyria. Over the past century, three separate Divine Matriarchs have been members of House Eden, at least a dozen High Flamekeepers, and two Lords Regents. If any has come close to establishing a new monarchical line in Elyria, it has been House Eden. However, their fortunes fell considerably after the assassination of Divine Matriarch Courage IX, who had been a scion of their household.

Outwardly, the house holds deeply fundamentalist views regarding the Faith, and is zealous to the extreme. They believe their righteousness begets prosperity, and have used their position to funnel vast amounts of coin collected by the Faith into their family vaults. Their methods have never crossed the line of theft, however: instead, previous High Flamekeepers and Divine Matriarchs have openly gifted indulgences and land to the family as “blessings upon their faithful service” and other such contrivances. They use these funds to build lavish, castle-like cathedrals on their estates, filled with expensive art, sculpture, and gold decorations.

(see Claudia Eden)

House Poe

When Esmeralda Poe became Mercy V, the youngest ever Divine Matriarch, it elevated House Poe to a position with recognition they had never believed possible. The father of Divine Matriarch Mercy V, Balthazar Poe, had only just won a seat for his household on the Parliament of Lords, and had nearly bankrupt the house in the effort by impressing the Faith of the Sacred Flame with great tithes and donations. After Balthazar Poe passed away four years ago, his eldest daughter, Gwenavere Poe, took up his title and position