Houses Dracarii

The Thirty Three Houses Dracarii are the most powerful families within the Lerian Imperium, each inheritors of the power to tame dragons, the great legacy inherited from their exalted forefather, Kryxus Dragonbinder. The Dracarii are the unquestioned rulers of the Imperium, with each family holding the unquestionable right to representation within the Magisterium, the governing body of Leria. Possessed of the power of dragons and an inborn talent for sorcery, alongside numerous magical artifacts collected over the centuries, members of the Houses Dracarii are viewed as closer to gods than mortal men.

The most ancient and powerful of the Dracarii are the seven Elderborn Houses, who stem most directly from the seven children of Kryxus and his wife, the Blessed Vaegara. Over the centuries, various children of the Elderborn bloodlines have forged names and legacies for themselves, going on to found families of their own. These six and twenty secondary lineages stemming from the Elderborn are known as the Scion Houses.

## Family Structure

The Dracarii family trees are wide and many limbed, with each House possessing vast holdings of land, treasure, and slaves, with armies at their commands and citizens under their governance. The management of their assets and delegation of responsibility over their affairs is thus divided among the family members, with various positions and titles being held up and down the family line. These positions, and the people who hold them, are known as *autocritae*, with an holder of one of the major titles being known as an *autocritus.*

The most prominent member of any family is the autarch, its ruling head, and the highest of *autocritae*. Generally speaking, a House's autarch is the eldest born male descendant of the house, and will have inherited the position upon the death of his father. Autarchs possess the legal authority to name any heir of their blood to inherit their blood that they choose, but centuries of tradition ensure that the position normally goes to their eldest son. Autarchs who disinherit their heirs without good reason have often seen strife in the family result. If an heir has not been proclaimed at the time of an autarch's death, Lerian law dictates his position should first past to the eldest son, or, if there are no sons, his eldest daughter, followed by a brother, then a sister, then an uncle, cousin, so on and so forth.

In terms of authority, the autarch is the highest power within a House. They have the ability to appoint family members as *autocritae*, or dismiss them from the position on a whim. All property owned by any member of the House is theirs to distribute as they will, within the family and without. The House's military might is theirs to command, and they have ultimate authority over inrafamily disputes, and the power to negotiate marriages with their kin (though in practice, most autarchs leave the marriages of more distant relatives to their own devices). With all this in mind, it is little wonder that favor with the autarch is sought up and down the family tree.

## Elderborn Houses

### House Baelorii

First of the Elderborn Houses, the Baelorri are descended from Baelor Fireblade, the eldest son of Kyrxus and Vaegara, who inherited and wielded the legendary sword Bloodfyre from his father. Wise, courageous, and just, Baelor was the first among his siblings, and is said to have ruled as Archon of the Magisterium for his entire lifetime. For three generations after him, it is said that every Archon ever elected was of his line, for Bold Baelor had lived to see his great-grandchildren, and passed his honorable teachings to them all, and they to their own offspring. It was not until a full century after the founding of Leria that the first non-Baelorii Archon was elected. To this day, he remains one of the Imperium's most celebrated heroes.

Baelor's descendants remain one of the most powerful of Leria's Dracarii Houses, possessed of abundant wealth, dragons, and boasting the largest and best trained army of Invictarii warriors, for it was Baelor who first devised the means by which a warrior might swear themselves to their liege through the blood of dragons. The lineage of the Baelorii boasts a large selection of heroes and and mighty conquerors who have defended and expanded the domains of Leria since its founding. Yet the martial nature of the House has also seen innumerable tyrants and warlords rise and fall. Whenever the Dracarii have waged full scale civil war against one another, there has always been a Baelorii on one side or the other, raining down blood and fire.

### House Meridyan

House Meridyan claims descent from the second child of Kryxus and Vaegara, the famed Meridya Sunrider. A fierce, proud woman with an insatiable thirst for exploration, Meridya is said to have flown her dragon Helorax from the east coast of Arvinder across to the great western ocean, from the far northern kingdom of Laufey and over the deserts and jungles of the continent beyond the southern sea. Many of Leria's most detailed maps are owed to her, though many have been lost.

The modern Meridyans are a vast and wealthy family, and their proud history has seen numerous explorers, adventurers and, most notably, merchants. It is thanks to them that Leria adopted the practice of slavery late in the second century of the Imperium, which has seen their coffers swell enormously. Their greatest claim to power are their vast fleets, which outnumber and outmatch most every Dracarii House.

### House Hadryus

House Hadryus are descended from Hadrys Hearthfire, or Hadrys the Shaper, thirdborn child of Kryxus and Vaegara. Hadrys was known to be a scholar, artist, and craftsman, but most of all, an architect of legendary renown. It was he who first wielded the power of fire to shape stone, pioneering the magic of *magmarys vitae*, which became a staple of Lerian architecture for generations to come. Hadrys erected many of the most exalted structures of the early Imperial City, and constructed innumerable fortresses and palaces within the Imperium's early domains.

The modern Hadryus own many splendid holdings, thanks to the teachings that have been passed down their line. Palaces of stunning beauty and fortresses of tremendous strength are theirs, and they hold preeminent influence among the Imperium's Guild of Shapers.

### House Vaela

House Vaela are descended from Vaela the Enchantress (or Vaela the Vain, to her detractors), fourth child of Kyrxus and Vaegara. Said to be the fairest woman ever to walk the face of the earth, Vaela was a patron of the arts, and a musician of legendary renown, with a voice that was said to be irresistible to all who heard it. Skilled in the arts of intrigue and diplomacy, she is said to have had a large hand in the design of Leria's political system, along with (sibling to be named later). Vaela was more notable, however, for her skills as a sorcereress, particularly in the arts of fleshcraft and glamour.

Vaela's descendants are perhaps the most numerous of any of the other Elderborn Houses, with more Scion Houses than any of the other members of the Seven. Vaela is known to have taken no husband, but to have given birth to many children, all by different fathers, each said to be worthy in their own way. Her modern brood have been responsible for breeding many of the Imperium's most famous beasts (after the dragons) thanks to their mastery over fleshcraft.

### House Naryareas

House Naryeas were founded by Narya the Wise, Fifthborn child of Kyrxus and Vaegara. Narya was the longest lived of their children, passing away peacefully at the age of one hundred and eleven, having outlived her parents, siblings, children, and several of her grandchildren. In her old age, Narya was called "the Crone", but in her youth, she was known more commonly as Narya Farsight, famed for her ability to peer into the future, dreaming of things to come.

To this day, the gift of prophecy is most prevalent among Narya's lineage, which boasts a long line of sages and mystics throughout its history. The Nyreas have vast influence among all manner of sorcerous orders throughout the Lerian Imperium, with their patronage having raised many minor cults into organizations of power and influence. Their collection of prophecies and scrolls of esoteric knowledge pertaining to the future and the worlds beyond is nigh unrivalled.

### House Lysandreos

House Lysandreos trace their ancestry back to Lysandor, the sixthborn child of Kryxus and Vaegara. Often called Lysandor the Custodian, Lawmaster, or the Lord of the Quill, Lysandor was renowned for his wits and learning, Lysandor was one of the most integral architects of the Imperium, having inscribed its most fundamental laws upon the Pillar of Justice, brought numerous peoples into the Imperiual dominion through peaceful diplomacy, and served as the staunchest supporter of his elder brother Baelor.

His Lysandreos descendants have always had a hand in legal matters, with many staunch traditionalists and radical reformers among them. Many more have been superb generals and conquerors, others still diplomates and statesmen. They maintain heavy influence in many of the Imperium's courts, and often serve in governmental roles across its provinces.

### House Aegaragon

House Aegaragon claim descent from Aegar the Clever, seventh of the children of Kryxus and Vaegara. Cunning and charismatic, Aegar was said to be the most handsome of his father's sons, a skilled warrior and capable politician. Most famously, however, he was a trickster of tremendous cunning, and a master of illusory magic, having acquired the fortress of Nimrathous for his own by tricking its occupants into killing one another. His descendants hold it to this day.

House Aegaragon are among the most populous of the Elderborn Houses, surpassed in fecundity only by the Vaela. Predominantly, they are a family of politicians and merchants, stereotypically sly and silver tongued, characterized as greedy and duplicitous by foes, and as cunning and ambitious by allies.