The Royal Family

The ruling house of Rainier is fractured, burdened by legacy and grief it teeters on the edge of collapse. With a negligent king, divided heirs, and mounting unrest across the kingdom, the strain of the royal family is felt by noble and commoner alike The Royal Family is supposed the pinnacle of Gand's spiritual and diplomatic actualisation. It makes the bedrock of both beauraucratic and institutional decrees including law, and foreign affairs. The soverign has three major roles; protect the kingdom from external threats, protect the kingdom's wealth and protect the kingdom's people, which extends as far as the Kith of the Land. Weather or not these responsibilities have been upheld very much depends on who you ask.   Gand runs on a limited monarchy system where in the sovereign ruler can determine law and politics to a degree as they are the highest power in the land. They are however are not above the judgement of their court and in severe circumstance may become deposed if they are not meeting all of these responsibilities. This i an extremely rare circumstance and has only happened once four generations ago. With a King named Daelin Vos, who is infamous for pushing the kingdom into debt and ordering the death of revered folk hero Marcestra De Deir. After his fall from power he was exiled and the noble court appointed to Vennar Rainier to rule leaving the power with his family ever since.   In Gand succesorship has two components; lineage and selection, nothing in law says that the throne needs to pass to a blood heir, in theory it could be passed from the current monarch to anyone. This would however be extremely taboo and no ruler monarch has ever done so, what this rule tend to be used for instead is for monarchs to elect a sucessor, who tend to also be the eldest male. There are no gender restrictions around age but there are for age and mental faculties. Although this standard is now considered to be outdated due to it's limitations writing say that a monarch must be old enough to mount a horse unaided and young enough to hold and stamp a wax seal- an important item used in Trade.   The current monarch is King Arvid Rainier who is the great-great grandson of Vennar Rainier. Who them handed down his role from his father Halric Rainier- now deceased. Avrid is the second both of his family and the sole son of the immediate family. He currently does not have a consort to wed, nor does he have any heir apparent which is a pain point for his court, as the kingdoms can easily become destabilised if there is no designated successor. Within the immediate family there is also Royal Mauricia Rainier who is the first-born and Avrid's older sister and Royal Lyra Rainier who is the youngest sister.  

House Motto

The official motto of House Rainier is 'By Light, By Law, By Legacy'. This serves to say a lot about the house itself, which strives to lead the way for their people they are the light, leading new technology into the city singing an age of intellectual clarity, for the nobles and guilds of course. By law refers to a strong sense of justice and athority this partically reflect stronger legal restrictions around sorcery. By Legacy nods to the importance of lineage oof keeping the noble house Rainier strong and ruling. All together the crest is there to interpret how the house sees itself ad the moral and intellectual centre of Gand ruling not only by blood but by thir rationality, virtue and cultural superiority. Despite the recent fall into famillial sabotage and infighting.  

History of Rainier Rulers

Vennar Rainier

The first of the Rainier house to take over ruling who reigned for thirty years and upkeeping peace with the Elves of Gand. He lived during the Elven plague and responded quickly to the threat to his people by separating the elves and kith, Known for being fair and just for across his land. Died of natural causes and degreed his daughter as the next ruler.  

Queen Mauricia Detta Rainier

The first Kith Queen of Gand who had three children with a man unknown to historic records. She endorsed the powers of the The Church of Tarn and patronised the College of Wintrow to expound its structure. Under her rule to Elven undercity was opened to determine if it was safe, the kith were invited to make use of the structures and resources below. She saw the beginnings of the Brotherhood and Tarn and their anti-magic sentiment. She was known for being stern but compassionate. She died from illness in middle age and left successorship to her son, Halric Rainier.  

King Halric Avrid Rainier

The former ruler of Gand who ruled for forty years. Halric was strict, iron-willed and obsessed with his legacy. He had a deep fear of magic and its potential for causing g plague which fed into the anti-magic sentiment. He ruled during the Brotherhood of Tarn's rise to power and found himself allied with them. Under his reign the persecution of sorcerers began in full force as he worked alongside the brotherhood. During this time the major cities were created and construction flourished on the re-purposed elven cities. His reign was marked by intellectual elitism and brutal law enforcement. Allegedly he had been preparing his daughter Mauricia to be his heir-apparent, but in his final days he declared his only son, Avrid to fulfill this role.  

Queen Alseria of house Veyne

The former queen of Gand the the royal consort of King Halric, mother to the royal siblings. Alseria was a noble woman from a large sea-side settlement which would become the military base of Port Stoic. She brought diplomacy and culture to the court-but died young due to a mysterious illness. She was known for founding artistic and charitable foundations, highly compassionate she would often privately disagree with her husbands treatment of sorcerers and champion for peace. Out of the three children Lydia most strongly resembles her and has likely inherited her compassion.    

King Avrid Vennar Rainier

The current king of Gand, and has been ruling for fifteen years. He has been trained to rule form birth but appears largely unaffected by political happenings in his kingdom, he tends to sit neutrally on most political matters but is aligned with the Brotherhood of Tarn which has allowed him to introduce crystal powered technology into the major cities leading to industrial development. Publically he is very soft-spoken but can also appear flippant and disengaged.  

Other Members of House Rainier

Princess Mauricia Alseria Rainier

The eldest of the three siblings, Mauricia spent her life believing that she would inherit the throne, since it went to Avrid she is burdened by resentment. At present she is trying to stablise her familie's lineage through marriage.

Princess Lydia Detta Rainier

The youngest sibling of the family, who has by far the worst reputation.She has been seen by her family as the black sheep for sometime despite her acute wisdom and understanding of people. Her latest controversy is her intention to wed commoner-turned-knight Sloan Du Mar in the coming month.

Lord Vennar Rainier the II

Younger brother to the late king Halric, husband to Lady Petta Farrow of the The Farrow Family and father to Cirelle rainier. Vennar is the current chancellor and over sees the daily running of the kingdom, He is utterly loyal to the crown- but perhaps not to Avrid himself. Above all else he intends to keep the realm stable at any cost.

Lady Petta Rainier

Spouse of Lord Vennar one of the ladies-in-waiting who also acts as chancellor of decrees. Petta manages courtly affairs and oversee legal decrees related to agriculture. She is known for being no-nonsense notoriously tight-lipped about her support for any of the siblings.  

Lady Cirelle Rainier

A Lady-in-waiting Cirelle onlyrecently was presented to society as an adult at the start of the season, fresh-faced and shy, she often glues herself to Lydia whom she idolises. In secret she has been plagued by strange nonsensical dreams.

Lady Endira Rainier

A recluse who lives in the library tower of the castle, she is a walking chronicle of Gand's history. She is prickly and sharp-tongued but has a soft-spot for Lydia. She likely knows more about the sealing of the elven race and the magic plague than anyone else.  

Family Tree