Duchy of Alcestenne

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
	+ House Allaire
		- House de Lisle
		- House Marchand
		- House Vaugrenard
	+ House Montelius
		- House Peronell
		- House Mounier
	+ House Tuillieres
		- House Adalbertu
		- House Erculanu
	+ House Vincenti
		- House Barbet
 **Seat**
 **Major Settlements**
* Levalet
 **Beliefs**
 **Founded**

**This holding is a project shared by many people, and thus encompasses the holdings of multiple players!**

The **Duchy of Alcestenne** is a territory on the northern shore of the Isle of Balor, ruled over by House Laurent and their vassals. Alcestenne is possessed of a strong religious and militaristic fervor, the hardships endured during the course of the First War until their liberation by the forces of the Alliance of Lordaeron proving to shape the culture of the people of the island.

In the modern day, Alcestenne is a strategic and economically prosperous harbor with an intricate network of aristocratic alliances making up the territories therein, and home to the knightly order known as the Knights of Balor, who faithfully serve the Kingdom of Stormwind.

## Culture

The inhabitants of Alcestenne are hardy and conservative, tempered by years of destitution and neglect, and decades spent at war with the Horde, the institutions and people of the Duchy are a bastion of conservatism in the politics of the Kingdom of Stormwind, and firmly believe in the primacy of the Holy Light, humanity and the King.

With Balor being an island territory, Alcestenne is known for their shipwrights, fisheries and the culture surrounding such aspects, though a healthy measure of jingoistic tendencies towards a strong martial culture has been injected into their indentity thanks to Orcish occupation and aristocratic rivalries on the isle.

Despite their intense nature, the people of Alcestenne extend hospitalities to visitors, so long as they respect the local customs and culture, and a strong sense of communality is a defining mark of Alcestennian culture.

### Religious Beliefs

Almost all of the inhabitants of Alcestenne have an orthodoxical belief in the Church of the Holy Light, with any heterodoxy being harshly punished in the Duchy in spite of any policies of religious tolerance that might be present in the Kingdom at large. The people of the isle holding follow the teachings of the Bishop Hylan, who disapproves of fraternizing with non-humans and unbelievers, though some allowances are made by the people of Alcestenne, tolerating the presence of Dwarves and Thalassians, there is still a belief in human primacy.

The doctrines of Hylan are promulgated in Alcestennne by House Montelius, the head of which currently reigns in the County of Tourroux.

As such, those that do not worship the Light in the manner proscribed by the more conservative factions in the Church are often ostracized for views deemed 'schismatic' in the eyes of the natives.

### Local Holidays

Every spring season is marked with parades through many of the major settlements of Alcestenne, celebrating the time of Balor's liberation. These parades are accompanied by the organization of various town faires, where cultural traditions and celebrations are carried out and displayed for any visitors to the region.

The first morning of spring is spent in mourning and prayer, honoring the sacrifices made by the people of Balor, before the celebrations begin.

Outside of this specific tradition, the holidays of Alcestenne are the same as the rest of the Kingdom.

## Economy & Resources

The economy of Alcestenne is focused around the extraction of resources and production of vessels, weapons and supplies for war. Mines in the southern foothills of the Duchy extract a variety of metals, primarily iron, which are then brough for use in smithing weapons, armor, or for reinforcing the hulls of ships created at the shipyards in the north.

The agricultural base of Alcestenne is based around grains and roots-- Wheat, barley, rye and corn, as well as potatoes and sugar beet. Specialized vineyards are kept for the express purpose of creating Baloric wines, which tend towards being full-bodied reds with high alcoholic content, while lighter wines are kept for the use of aristocrats on the isle.

## History

### Founding

Alcestenne was founded in 3 K.Y. when House Wrynn elevated House Laurent to the ranks of the aristocracy for their loyal service in the war of Stormwindian independence against the Arathorian Empire, winning the sovereingty of the Kingdom of Azeroth and displacing the loyalist families of Balor that were exiled to Arathor.

Originally one of the smallest territories on Balor, Alcestenne came to accrue more prestige through the shrewd politicking of the Laurent family, which secured a series of marriages and alliances that saw them incorporate further territories.

### First War

The darkest point in Alcestennian history came following the opening of the Dark Portal, when the Blackrock and Stormreaver clans claimed the strategic island for the Horde and obliterated many of the holdings on Balor, reducing much of Alcestenne to ruins and forcing the people of the island to resist the occupation until the liberation and restitution of the Kingdom of Stormwind by the combined coalition forces of the Alliance of Lordaeron.

### Present Day

In the present, Alcestenne stands as a staunchly loyal territory of the Kingdom of Stormwind and the Grand Alliance, to which it pledges the vast majority of its resources. As of late, Trant Laurent has been focusing on internal policies and economic restructuring in order to ensure the long-term prosperity of Alcestenne, as the land is still recuperating from years of pillaging and occupation, having been neglected in favor of mainland territories when the time came to rebuild the realm.

## Settlements

### Auritoise

Auritoise is the capital of Alcestenne, a port settlement which houses much of the economic power of Alcestenne, with large markets and a port through which many exports and imports travel.

### Levalet

The township of Levalet is the heart of Alcestennian military culture, with many of the Duchy's soldiers being trained and housed near Levalet, it also is where the two shipyards of Alcestenne build and repair vessels for the Stormwind Navy.

### Lissari

An inland mining town, Lissari extracts the lion's share of iron ore, processing it to be sent to other towns in Alcestenne, or to sell to other holdings in the Kingdom of Stormwind.

## Houses

House Laurent rules Alcestenne. House Allaire and House Montelius are the other primary houses of the Duchy and serve under Trant Laurent, sharing many of the same values, forming a cohesive political and economic bloc on the north of Balor.