House Lethain

## History

House Lethain stands out as one of the most unique cases to hit the House of Nobles, due to the nature of its formation and the ascension of its Patriarch, Eibon Lethain.

House Lethain began upon the ascension of Eibon Lethain into a Baron roughly 80 years ago. At the time, Eibon was nothing more than a popular bard and performer who took advantage of his social standing to enter the bottom ranks of the political sphere in Catania. Then, given the lifetime of an elf, Eibon was able to spend the next 60 years gaining political power and prestige until eventually he became a Duke, granting both himself and his house significant power in the realm.

This rise in power did not simply happen, however, as House Lethain became renowned over the years for obtaining and bartering valuable knowledge and information; If a noble got embroiled in illegal activities, or if the peasantry were planning riots, House Lethain likely knew of it and held the proof. This skill in gathering and protecting sensitive information eventually led to House Lethain becoming the eye's and ears of the kingdom, single handedly developing and refining the nation's espionage and black ops network.

### House Lethain in The Age of Might

As of the beginning of The Age of Might, House Lethain had specialized themselves with handling internal affairs and security threats, such as quelling riots and rebellious actions before they ever start. This skill came especially in handy during the War with The Kingdom of the Black Sea, when the house deployed its agents to create the temporary base of Fort High-Vigil and worked with the Obsidian Seers to push the invasion out of Catanian borders.

## Holdings

**Northwind Keep** - The exact location is kept secret to the public, however, it is believed by many to be located to the northernmost boarders of The Kingdom of Catania, likely somewhere along the boarder of The Barbarian Kingdoms near Reiya's Run. Due to the secrecy of this location not much is known of it, but most are aware that Northwind Keep acts as the primary Headquarters of House Lethain. If rumors hold true, the keep also houses a plethora of secret knowledge and information that could prove dangerous to the Kingdom of Catania if it were to ever get out.

**The Verdant Villa** - The villa is located in the city of Catania and serves as the primary location and home-away-from-home for Duke Eibon. Anyone who choses to visit the gated and guarded property are usually struck with one of the most beautiful botanical gardens found outside of Senfalas.

## Inhabitants

The noble members of House Lethain are broken down in a psudo-ranking system based and their seniority and gender, with the "first" being the current heir to the house, This results in given titles such as first daughter, second son and so on.

**Eibon Lethain** - Eibon is the current head and founder of House Lethain.

**Aria Lethain, The First Daughter** - Aira is the most senior of Eibon's adopted children and the current heir. She acts in all ways as his stand-in for any official business Eibon himself cannot be apart of. She also runs and manages all the operations of Northwind Keep when Eibon is away.

**Ansem Lethain, The Second Son** - Ansem is the next most senior child and coordinates the espionage efforts of House Lethain, usually under direct orders of The First Daughter, if not Eibon himself.

**Larean Lethain, The Third Son** - Lerean may be the second youngest of the children, but he has shown himself more than capable of ensuring the security of Northwind Keep and even The Verdent Villa from afar. Larean coordinates the defenses of all the Lethain Holdings and commands the Black-Shade Knights, the most elite force of House Lethain.

**Liliana Lethain, The Fourth Daughter** - Liliana is the youngest of the children and currently has no true leadership role within the house due to her age. Though she takes every opportunity to learn from her older siblings; Liliana is still going through her schooling years.

## Membership

### Nobility

Membership in House Lethain is particularly unique among the Nobility of Catania, as **ALL** noble members of House Lethain have been adopted. This has led to the rumor that Duke Eibon is incapable of siring his own heirs, resorting to adopting others instead to preserve his house.

It is unknown exactly what stipulations must be met in order to be adopted by the duke, but based on those he's already adopted it seems he selects impressionable or desperate orphans who posses no discernable family. Once adopted, he then shapes them over the years into proper and effective nobles who are both loyal to him and their shared house.

### Commoner

As for commoners, most join the house as agents, guards, or other staff looking for a chance to join the kingdom's espionage network, with some even striving for a privileged position within the Black-Shade knights. However, most that are hired do not stay long as the training is considered harsh and brutal with only the most hardened and loyal remaining to take more permanent positions within the house.

### Knights

The Black-Shade Knights are the top-most elite members of House Lethain and thus are the greatest known force at the House’s disposal. Each member of the knights is hand-picked from the best agents within the House and are put through the most grueling training possible, with the intent on breaking the will of those who make the attempt.

Unsurprisingly, many do break from the training and are removed from the program, weeding out the best remaining. From there, prospected are slowly forged into some of the greatest spies and assassins in the old world and are given their induction trial to prove themselves, these trials consist of the near impossible challenge that only a true Black-Shade knight can complete. Those that fail their challenge are expected to die from either the attempt or to take their own lives as payment for their failure, this representing the heavy toll that real failure could bring if they had truly been knighted. Meanwhile, those that succeed are knighted by the Duke in a secret coronation that ascends them to true knighthood and are awarded the best equipment the house can provide.

Knights who retire often remain as part of the house and take up a new, less intensive role within the house; this results in the member maintaining their noble title and benefits. As for those that leave, they must undergo a separate closed-door ritual that results in memory loss and the removal of their titles and benefits, being supplied a small home and a pension.