Sorofya House

The Sorofya House is a merchant house. Thanks to the Sorofya Merchant Association, the Sorofya House is the wealthiest power in the world but it is also lacking in military might. They are dubbed as the Uncrowned King due to the massive influence they could potentially exert over any country. As they have no lack of money, many nobles borrow loans from the House to develop their fiefdom.

They privately own Ausier Street, a very famous street in the Rosa Merchant Confederacy. It could be said that every individual walking on this street has a high standing. Each store on this street has to go through the House's annual checkups to continue operating in the upcoming year. Charlotte, who has powers of divination, is able to determine which of the merchants should be allowed to operate in order to maximize profits.

## History

The first generation of the High Elves worshipped the Goddess of Fate and so were able to discern the ley lines of the future. This was the origin of the divination spells and the reason many Sorofya nobles can use divination spells.

(Below is an excerpt of Chapter 26)

During the founding of the Rosa Merchant Confederacy, the Austine Empire had pressured many merchant houses financially as well as using military.

There was only one merchant house that continued to persist in its ideals, and that was the Sorofyas.

The Sorofya House was the only one that showed backbone amidst all of the money-minded merchants, and it was precisely because of their grit that they suffered the most during those dark times.

Indeed, the Sorofyas were the ones who were backstabbed by the other merchant houses. Nearly their entire family was captured by their own allies and handed over to the Austine Empire in exchange for incentives. The only one who managed to escape then was their youngest son.

When the Austine Empire attacked Rosa City, they brought all of the Sorofyas out to the frontline and used their lives to threaten the youngest son into opening the city gates and surrendering completely. Yet, the plan was foiled when the obstinate old patriarch ran right into the blade of a sword and committed suicide, choosing death over being used as hostages.

The death of the Sorofyas’ patriarch meant that the plan to force the youngest son to surrender had failed. Out of rage, the Austine Empire had every single member of the Sorofyas in their capture put to the sword, plunging the remaining survivor of the house, Grimm Sorofya, into great agony. He swore vengeance on the Austine Empire.

As future events revealed, the Austine Empire had made a bad move, and they had underestimated the tenacity of the Rosaians as well. This decision plunged them into a bitter war with the Rosaians that lasted for the next decade. They attempted everything they could think of, including massacring entire cities.

Yet, the rebels continued to fight them with increasing ferocity.

There was even one incident where the rebels were trapped inside Rosa City for seven whole months, resulting in the depletion of their rations. The only food source available in the city then were the few fish and prawns from the river. The grand Ausier Street that was previously known for its splendor had emaciated corpses lying all around.

It was during such a moment that a general of the Austine Empire brought out freshly baked bread to entice the people in Rosa City to surrender, and needless to say, the determination of the rebels wavered in the face of such temptation.

In this crucial moment, Grimm Sorofya took a sword up to the highest tower in the city and sliced off half of his arm. Holding his bloodied, severed arm, he declared to the city that they could eat him if they were hungry, but they must never surrender to the tyranny of the Austine Empire!

Watching such a sight, the populace in Rosa City all broke down into tears as they swore to rather become hungry ghosts inside the city walls than to come under the brutal rule of the empire once more. Faced with their resolution, the countenance of the general of the Austine Empire turned dark. Not too long after, he requested a swap in leadership under the pretext of illness, choosing to retire from the battlefield.

After this battle, the Sorofya House truly grew to prominence, allowing it to rally Rosaians under its banner. Despite so, Rosa was simply far too lacking in terms of military power compared to the Austine Empire.

As the saying went, ‘justice may be late, but never absent’. Just as the Rosaians were finally reaching their limits, the Theocracy joined the battlefield.

The Austine Empire had used the cruelest of stratagems in order to take down Rosa, and the act of massacring a city was a severe violation of the teachings of the Genesis Goddess Church. Even a common civilian on the streets couldn’t stand seeing the atrocities of the Austine Empire anymore, let alone the Saint Mesit Theocracy.

The most important element in a fight between massive countries was timing.

The Theocracy immediately launched a precise and deadly strike against the troops of the Austine Empire the moment it joined the battle, not forgetting to claim legitimacy through pinning over a dozen crimes on the empire, including crimes against humanity. At the same time, it also declared the independence of Rosa and provided it with great support.

This development turned what should have been some internal strife of the Austine Empire turned into a fight between two powerhouses instead.

Having gained the support of the Theocracy, the remnants of the Sorofya House spared no effort in evicting the Austine Empire from their borders. After a prolonged fight, the empire finally gave up on the lucrative land of Rosa and signed a ceasefire with the Sorofya House. With this, the curtains finally closed on a war that had lasted nearly a hundred years.

## Notable Members

* Bruce Sorofya
* Charlotte Sorofya