House Blacksmoke

**House Blacksmoke of Crown's Port** is a noble family of Westmen descent who rule the Kingdom of Norton. The Blacksmoke sigil is a red crown on a black field. It eventually became the royal house of the continental Kingdom of Norton.

After the Blacksmoke Conquest, the family torn down their old and small castle to build the Crownfort, which houses the Silver Throne in it's Great Hall. The Blacksmokes eventually built the Seasmoke castle, on the island of same name, it is the designated title to the heir to the throne, the Prince of Seasmoke.

## Culture

### Traits

The first Blacksmokes bred with natives of the continent, as did many other monarchs and nobles of the time, and inherited many characteristics, in the Blacksmokes, the most prominent being platinum or silver hair, and blue eyes of varying shades.

### Customs

The Westmen culture is accepting to different cultures and religions, however, they are relentless and cruel against those who go against their core values, those being: strenght, honor, family, and respect for religions and cultures. The Westmen don't believe in races, differently from the Moonmen who has a very strict racial cast system, that was AUolished by King Percy I.

The Westmen practices mummification to honor and preserve the bodies of the dead. A example is Percy I tomb, that is located in the Blacksmoke Mausoleum, under the Magnon. The king's tomb is located in the center of the mausoleum, in a casket of gold, silver and rubies, with engravings telling the story of the conquest on the sides. Two statues of the god of the dead watches over the tomb.

## History

### The Great Crossing (698BU - 458BU)

During the Late Age of Empires, the Polisian Empire started the persecution of infidels, one of those groups of infidels were the Westmen, who worshipped the Twelve Gods. The Westmen fled from the Polisian Empire to the continents of Norton and Angria. There they found the natives of Norton, whom later they bred.

The tribes that existed before and stretched across the continent were disappearing, as they united with the local kings, or went to live in cities where access to food, water, and money were much easier. They procreated with the kings, nobles and commonfolk, and the ethnicity of the natives mixed with the Westmen's as they slept with the natives. Red or brown, as well as the unique silver hair of the Coroal area. emerged and became common among nobles. Westerners began to value nature and the changing of the seasons more. As a result, festivals were created for each season, such as: the spring festival called The Feast of the First Sun, the summer festival called The Georgian Festival (named after the goddess of agriculture, Georgía), the autumn festival called The Festival of the Setting Sun (for winter is coming so darker times come with them, for nothing grows in winter), and finally the Festival of the Stars which celebrates winter, to bring prosperity and safety during the cold times. All of them are a whole week of feasting, celebration and revelry that the lords serve to both poor and lesser nobles.

### The Age of a Thousand Kings (458BU - 312BU)

During the Age of a Thousand Kings before the Great Houses ruled over great kingdoms, Norton was divided among countless kings, lords and tribes. As the number of tribes dropped, the larger the kingdoms grew. The Coroal region was split into many lordships and petty kingdoms. A Blacksmoke king called Perseus, (the origin of the name Percy, in modern times), during the Year 321 Before the Union, saw the need of unification in the region, as the Kingdom of Florinia were expanding, the three Aureunian kingdoms were nearly uniting, the Empire of Railuna, were seeing its power being threatned by the great kingdoms that were arising, Perseus decided to unite peacefully the Coroal region under his own crown. The Petty Kingdoms around were: Strongsea, Yellowshield, Blackshield, and Highill. However, Perseus had to conquer Strongsea and the Yellowshield, but they surrendered as soon as the food ran out on their castles. The other lordships agreed to marriage pacts that saw them being integrated in the new kingdom.

### The Age of Five Kings (312BU - 1AU)

The Age of Kingdoms saw the formaStion of the kingdoms ruled by the Great Houses that still exist during the Blacksmoke Age, those are: The Kingdom of Coroal ruled by House Blacksmoke, the Kingdom of Florinia ruled by House Flowers, the Kingdom of Railuna (formerly the Empire of Railuna) ruled by House Halfmoon, the Kingdom of Aureunia ruled by House Casterlan, and the Kingdom of Nevia ruled by House Snow. This era was filled with the kingdoms fighting each other for dominance and power, specially Railuna who constantly raided the Coroal and the Aureunian lands for more slaves, a practice the Westmen AUominates. The Railuna raids resulted in the construction of the four fortresses that guard the borders the Coroal lands: Norcastel, ruled by House Nolonia, Sulcastel ruled by House Solonia, Purplefort ruled by House March, Moontower ruled by House Lunara. This age saw the economic and military expansion with the newly discovered riches and the AUundant amount of animals and fertility in the soil around the rivers. With that, the city of Crown's Port saw a great expansion with migrating from the small villages along the river to the capital. With merchants increasingly being drawn to the city, with the advantage of being closer to the Polis Cities than other cities in the realms, the powers in the continent, Houses Flowers and Casterlan, grew their eyes to the new riches of the Blacksmokes. With that, the current King of Florenia, William XI Flowers and the Golden King, Ailin III Casterlan had a meeting in the capital of Florenia, the huge castle of the Hanging Gardens, signing a treaty uniting the kingdoms dominating all the riches of the south. They saw an opportunity when the young and inexperienced boy inherited the throne of the Crown, Percy Blacksmoke. The two kingdoms began preparations for the invasion, transporting between both kingdoms. When their troops were ready, the declaration of war arrived in Crown's Port. With this, Percy manages to quickly raise an army of six thousand soldiers in the capital, still without the support of the armies of his vassals. Marking the beginning of the end of the Age of Five Kings.

#### The War of the False Kings and the Blacksmoke Conquest

The War started with House Flowers sending a small force to siege the city of Little Crown, which they were defeated by the relieve force sent by King Percy. Percy used guerilla tactics to ambush the Flowers forces using the forest as camuflage. After many defeats King William tried a desperate leading a attempt to raid the Blacksmoke capital using riverine fleet of ships, but the mighty Blacksmoke fleet defeated the Flowers. King William was captured by Percy, making Florenia leave the war. Aelin managed to take Blackshield, but as he attempted to pull the same move at Yellowshield, he was defeated and trapped between Percy's army, the Lechton's armies of Yellowshield and the Marenas armies of Maresia. He suffered the same fate as King William and was captured. Percy demanded that William and Ailin that in order for them to keep their territories, vassals and their heads, they must bend their knees and recognize Percy as the only king among them. And so it was, despite protests, William and Ailin knelt in front of Percy, the first King of Norton.

### The Blacksmoke Age (1AU - Nowdays)

#### **King Percy I Blacksmoke, the Great**

With the coronation of Percy I Blacksmoke bringing the definitive end of the War of the False Kings and the Blacksmoke Conquests, Percy finally married Helena Snow a week into his reign, daughter of the Grand Duke Aquilon Snow of Nevia, as part of their unification agreement. Their first act together was doing a tour through the kingdom, visiting the main settlements around the Grand Duchies and the Royal Lands. Their first visit was the city of Little Crown near the capital of Crown's Port. The royals were recieved overwhelmingly well by the members of House Byriver, who made a impressive feast that lasted two days. By the end, Duke Daemion Byriver presented both king Percy and queen Helena with a set of jewelry.

Their visit to Icegard is believed to be when king Baekar I was concieved.

Percy was recieved by the Grand Duke as well, Titan Halfmoon, but they were only there for one day because Titan Halfmoon was not a good company. He still gifted the queen with a silk dress and king with a silver ring. They moved from Mount Moon with a ship, arriving at the city of Silver Coast, recieving many gifts. The monarchs later then visited Blue Harbor, as always the duchy's capital the castle of the Old Mines, and the city of Goldtooth.

That was the near end of the tour, they only visited the following locations: the town of Maresia, the castle of Strongsea, and the castle of High Storm, ending the tour with their return to Crown's Port.

Later on that week, Queen Helena announced her first pregnancy after almost two years touring. King Percy was thrilled with the news and started preparing a grand feast and tournament for when his first child was born. The feast was known as the "First Prince".

##### The First Halfmoon Rebellion

After 13 years of peaceful reign, the realm's new found stability was shattered when Grand Duke Titan Halfmoon proclaimed himself Moon King of Railuna and raiding the marshal castles of the Royal Lands. While with struggles because of the harsh terrain, the King Percy rose victorious from the war. The war ended with the execution of Titan Halfmoon, who was succeeded by his eldest son, Crescento Halfmoon, that sealed peace with marriage, Dana Halfmoon, sister of Crescento, was betrothed to prince Baekar, guaranteeing a long period of peace between House Blacksmoke and House Halfmoon.

##### Further Reign of Percy I

Percy devoted the rest of his reign renovating the capital to fit a royal family of that magnitude. He ordered the construction of new city walls, which lasted from 15AU to 19AU, after the new walls were constructed, he ordered the demolition the old ones. At 16AU, Percy started the renovations of the Crownfort. He demolished large pieces of the ancient fortress and rebuild in a more regal and functional style, the renovations lasted from 16AU to 28AU. A few months in the year of 30 After the Union, Percy started complaining to his physician about a sharp pain on the side of his body. The pain worsened as time passed, making Percy bedridden in the King's Tower. After a few days, Percy was dead. His physician deemed the cause being of a "burst belly. His mummified body is now located on the Royal Mausoleum, built by his son Baekar.

#### **King Baekar I Blacksmoke, the Builder**

After Percy's death and burial, Baekar was coronated at the Great Hall of the Silver Throne as: King Baekar of House Blacksmoke, First of His Name, King of the Westmen and the Moonmen, King of Norton.

His reign was promising, but started with blodshed. Prince Brandon was planning on overthrowing Baekar with the Red Watch, but Baekar received the word early from a traitor, and tried to capture his brother. Brandon escaped and held the city as a hostage. King Baekar sent letters to the nearby lords: Lord Aelon Byriver and Lord Makaros Marenas, both recieved the call, and marched upon the capital, but only the Byriver army reached the city. The Byriver army scared the population into rebellion, killing Brandon and ending the uprising in only two days. The event would be known as the The Two Days War.

Baekar's reign would actually start after the pretender was defeated. His first orders were the construction of a new castle in the small and sunny island of Sea Smoke. He spent a fortune hiring foreign architects, giving the castle a exotic design and architecture. The construction of Sea Smoke castle would last from 30AU to 40AU. King Baekar reinforced the castle fortifications, added a dry moat around the walls filled with iron spikes and enlarged the gates.

Baekar ordered the construction of wells and built refugees for the poor and homeless (a growing population in Crown's Port), where they could be fed and sleep during cold nights, however, they were overcrowded and sparse. He constructed Red Watch outposts around the city and doubled the numbers of soldiers serving the watch, as was suggested by Lord Aelon, the master of war. At this time, Baekar received the nickname "The Builder".

At 39AU a outbreak started dropping bodies over the entire city, called the Coldwater by the smallfolk. The plague caused shivers, fever and sweat and no cure was known, even by the most experient physicians. For five years, Coldwater ravaged through the city. In the same year, King Baekar betrothed his firstborn daughter, Amber, to Boreon Snow, heir to Nevia.

However, at court, pressure was continuing to grow for Dana to birth more children, but resulted only in failure as throughout his reign she had 3 miscarriages, as she became thinner and self-confined to her chambers. She announced her fifth pregnancy at the end of 40AU, where she would later give birth to another boy who was named Percy, in honor of Baekar's father. At 40AU, Baekar started planning city-wide reforms to better suit the growing population, such as a sewer system and large avenues that would cut through the city main centers.

At the end of the Coldwater outbreak that had spread through the southern coast of Norton, amongst it's last victims was King Baekar himself, at the age of 38, after only reigning for 11 years. Baekar's reign was a rule of glory and prosperity, and would be even greater if it weren't for the Coldwater outbreak that took his life.

#### **King Herryn I Blacksmoke**

At 41AU, King Baekar I died of the Coldwater disease, leaving the throne to a twelve-year old Herryn. His mother, became Queen Regent and formed a regency council to rule in Herryn's name till he came of age at 42AU. As the year of 41AU came to an end and Herryn turned thirteen, he dismantled the regent council and sent his grandmother, Helena Snow, and his younger brother, Percy, to Sea Smoke castle.

Herryn's reign begun with a great investiment in the unfinished works of his father, completing wells and upgrading the Red Guard outposts spread around the capital. The king also built a tournament arena inside the Crownfort, as he sometimes he got too ill to leave the castle. The king did not cancel the tour, even though he was bedridden, in turn, he sent his brother, Percy with his mother and grandmother to travel through the Royal Lands.

The most notable event that happened during Herryn's reign was a succession war for the Byocean leadership, which ended after two months of conflicts, by the order of King Herryn. The family would split in two branches: Byocean of Goldentooth and Byocean of Esmeraldina. To seal the pact, Percy was betrothed to the a twelve year old girl named Aerea Byocean, but the marriage was never accomplished. Another major development during his reign was the first designs of a set of roads binding the kingdom together.

For the rest of his reign, King Herryn would be in a cycle of illness and sudden health, till his death at 47AU, at the age of eighteen. The cause of death was simple flu, that took advantage of the king's failing health. His death was shocking to all of his subjects. Dowager Queen Dana, reformed the regent council and voted on the matter of succession: her eldest daughter, Amber or her younger son, Percy. The council voted on Percy to succeed him.

#### **King Percy II Blacksmoke, the Old**

At the age of seven, his brother, King Herryn, in 47AU. The former regent council formed by his mother at the years of Herryn's regency was brought back to vote on who would be the heir. The options were between Amber Blacksmoke (now known as Amber Snow, as she was married off to the heir of Icegard) and Percy himself. The council decided on Percy.

The regent council would rule in his name for 6 years till he became of age, at 53AU, when he was officialy coronated.

At the day of his 13th birthday, Percy dissolved the regent council and was coronated as King of Norton, King on the Silver Throne, King of the Westmen, and King of the Moonmen. Percy started his reign by making his father's wishes to come true. he ordered the construction of wide stone streets that would cut through Crown's Port main centers.

At 59AU the king selected Nyra Casterlan as his queen in a ball. A royal wedding was held at the last day of 59AU and was known as the "Two Year Wedding". After the wedding, he reformed the King's Tower interiors and built new shipyards for the royal fleet.

Percy II is responsible for reforming the taxation policy that was older than Percy I himself, creating a unified code of laws for Norton and making the great project of unifying Norton with a great system of roads.

## Monarchs of House Blacksmoke

There were twelve monarchs in House Blacksmoke, ruling over the kingdom of Norton. All of them were kings, with the male line prevailing over the female line. Dated After the Union.

*0 - 30 Percy I Blacksmoke, the Great*

*30 - 41 Baekar I Blacksmoke, The Builder (had his ascension to the throne disputed by his younger brother Brandon Blacksmoke, the event became known as the Two-Day War), son of Percy I and Helena Snow.*

*41-47 Herryn I Blacksmoke (Died young without heirs, the throne passed to his younger brother Percy), son of Baekar I and Dana Halfmoon.*

*47-111 Percy II Blacksmoke (ascended the throne at age ten, had a regent council ruling the kingdom in his name for 6 years until he came of age in 53 AU), son of Baekar I and Dana Halfmoon.*

*111 - 130 Maen I Blacksmoke the Good, son of Percy II and Nyra Casterlan.*

*130 - 144 Baekar II Blacksmoke, son of Maen I and Rapina Flowers.*

*144 - 183 Garath I Blacksmoke, son of Baekar II and Luna Halfmoon.*

*183 - 214 Percy III the Wise, son of Garath I and Kyra Snow.*

*214 - 219 Herrold I Blacksmoke the Sick, son of Percy III and Georgina Shellstar.*

*219-247 Herryn II Blacksmoke (on his father's early death, ascended the throne at age twelve, with a regent council ruling in his name until he came of age in 223 AU), son of Herrold Snow and Doroth Snow.*

*247 - 279 Maen II Blacksmoke, son of Herryn II and Irina Flowers.*

*279 - 298 Percy IV Blacksmoke, son of Maen II and Ceryse Redrose.*

## Vassals

The direct vassal houses of House Blacksmoke are: Blackshield, Byriver, Lane, Shellstar, Marenas, Lechton, Nynphos, Talhill, Yrion of Norcastel, Yrion of Sulcastel.