House Sarvein

**House Lead**
 **Holdings**
* Holdfast of Hamleth

From humble beginnings following the union of a veteran of the Troll Wars and the daughter of a wealthy Stormwind City noble house, House Sarvein carries a history of fast growth at the hands of strong-willed lords. Despite a stain on their reputation by the wicked predilections and malicious deeds of Dacre Sarvein, the house's future looks promising as the notoriously iron-willed Darvesk Sarvein steps into Lordship of the house and claims the title of Baron of Valen.

## History

Valen was awarded to **Ser Tycos Sarvein** in 502 K.Y. for his bravery and valor in pushing back the Gurubashi trolls from Stranglethorn Vale. Though Tycos was only a knight, his wife Napolina was the daughter of one of a very successful merchant out of Stormwind City. At the time, Valen was a rather small barony with a meager farming hamlet and a fishing village to its south. Tycos knew that if his family were to one day stand among the nobles of Stormwind, their lands would need to be more than just a few small farms. He saw that the land held fertile soil and their proximity to the Nazferiti River would connect them to the kingdom at large. With his wife's family's fortune and Tycos's natural prowess in brokering, they were able to bring more settlers to farm the land, and in just a few years began construction of the holdfast of Hamleth. Once completed, it was an impressive manse with strong walls that watched from its stoic perch above the moors and fields below; an omnipresent reminder that the lands of Valen were under the protection, and the eyes, of House Sarvein.

During the First War, Valen was one of the few baronies that was able to repel the Orc invaders. Due in part to the mountains serving as a natural defense, but also due to the well-trained militia raised under the lordship of Tycos. The war turned out to be a hidden boon for the success of the barony, as many refugees were able to start their lives anew in the fertile lands of Valen. The fishing village, now called Red Harbor (in honor of the militia's defeat against the Orc raiders, which left the rivers flowing red), was growing rather quickly as well, and held promise of one day being a thriving trade hub and port.

In the year 583 K.Y., lordship of Valen was passed to Tycos's son, Dracos, when Tycos passed after a long period of sickness. At this point, Dracos was already experienced in governance, as he had overseen much of the duties of Lord of Valen while his father was sick. Dracos was blessed with many things - a wife of high Thalassian birth, seven bright and promising children, and his father's natural charisma. One of his first undertakings as lord was to reach out to his mother's family in an effort to charter trade routes that would pass through Red Harbor in an effort to increase the population of the barony.

When Baron Dracos was called to fight in the Second War, the care of the children as well as governance of Valen fell upon Lady Aellyn. Though she did not have her husband's penchant for governance and finances, Aellyn found herself fortunately surrounded by excellent advisors. Within Hamleth resided some of the finest tutors in history, stewardship, warfare, and arcane whom she had brought from far and wide to instruct her children, the tutors served not only in the capacity of teachers, but also advised Aellyn as best they could. However, the growth of House Sarvein was markedly stagnant until the close of the war and Dracos could return to rule.

Dracos stood out of the [[Third War]] at the behest of his wife, given his injuries from the previous two campaigns were mounting and his age was beginning to show. By this time, his sons were all men grown and were more than able to take up their father's mantle on the battlefield. Upon returning from war, Dracos noticed a change in his eldest son - Dacre; no one was quite sure what it was, however it was unmistakable that Dacre's already vast thirst for knowledge had transcended. He now sought ancient tomes of questionable origin holding contents that other scholars may shun.

Over time, Dracos's health worsened and after giving birth to their youngest daughter, Aellyn also fell sick. The sickness that struck Aellyn struck quickly and took her very suddenly. Distraught with grief, Dracos locked himself away in isolation, leaving all governance to his eldest. Around the same time, the cold winds began to blow through Northrend once again as the Lich King stirred. As veterans of the Third War, Vyrenus and Darvesk were called to battle, while Dacre stayed behind to rule and take care of the family.

Returning home several years later, Darvesk came back to some rather disturbing rumors of what went on at Hamleth behind closed doors and stone walls. The rumors ranged wildly, but the most consistent one was that Darwyn and Aarvos had not been seen in some time, be it by the denizens of Valen or the servants in the house. Dacre had become more reclusive, diving deeper and deeper to ancient tomes of ponderous origin. However, it didn't sit right with Darvesk.

A lengthy investigation revealed that Aarvos and Darwyn - the two siblings who displayed the strongest aptitude with the Light and Arcane respectively - had been used by Dacre in some insidious experiments to bolster his own power. With this newfound power, Dacre had been controlling the minds of his servants and advisors, staging an elaborate ruse to keep the appearance of the town running all the while puppeting them from behind the scenes.

In 620 K.Y. Darvesk and Vyrenus rallied whatever bannermen they could and took the battle against Dacre and his fel and void infused puppets. Only Darvesk was able to ascend to the tower where Dacre was, and he was reported to return alone with a grim expression. He instructed the soldiers to leave, claiming he had coated the stone with the various alchemical compounds Dacre had created, declaring his intent to burn the tower to rubble. When asked, Darvesk would simply say that Dacre was gone, and would not be coming back to Hamleth ever again. The scorched tower still remains, by Darvesk's orders, to serve as a reminder to all - Darvesk would go to any lengths to secure the future of his house, even when threatened from within.

In the years since, Darvesk has had to work hard to repel the rumors surrounding his house name - to start over on a blank slate. He married his two younger sisters off to two reputable houses and secured resources to establish a new foundation for his house. With his internal affairs sorted, Darvesk turns his attention now to resume the legacy his father had left behind.