Ambria, Royal Holdings of

**Royal Houses of Ambria / Promise Land**

**Ambria**, as Alberetor before it, is a hierarchical society, for centuries governed by an assembly of noble families, called houses. The families are ranked based on their position in the order of succession, and the rank affects what offices their representatives may hold.

Ambria is divided into seven duchies, in turn divided into smaller domains, called counties or baronies depending on their size. Formally it is the Queen who appoints dukes, who then appoints counts and barons to manage subjects and land. But there have been lots of exceptions from that order of things. For instance the Queen may nominate individuals to the title Prince of the Realm – a position which gives its owner a duke’s power over a smaller piece of land. It is also rumored that the Queen on a couple of occasions has appointed counts against the will of the concerned duke and that some of the counts command such authority that the people in the region show him more respect than they grant the official ruler of the duchy.

Ranked first among the noble families is the royal House of Kohinoor, personified by Korinthia Nightbane and five of Ambria’s six dukes, all of them closely related to the Queen. That may sound like a harmonious affair, but according to gossip and campfire tales there are some circumstances which complicates the situation. That the Queen’s mother married a new husband, bore him the daughter Esmerelda and then fell gravely ill is one of those; that Korinthia’s only living uncle is bitter that he missed his chance at the throne is another. Furthermore, when the Queen’s cousins are said to be incompetent bordering on useless and when the other houses long for an opportunity to dethrone the Kohinoor's, anyone can see that Korinthia has had to reexamine the situation carefully before appointing the dukes of the Promised Land.

On the other hand, one should not believe everything one hears. Provided that appearances are not tremendously deceiving, the rule of Ambria works as it should. There is steady progress in the development of the regions, the army stands firm in the face of Davokar’s abominations and new colonies are established every other month. And even if the rumors contain some small elements of truth, hardly anyone questions Korinthia Nightbane’s ability to handle one or another domestic quarrel.

## Renowned Characters

* Queen Korinthia, in Yndarien.
* Mother Queen Abesina, in Mervidun.
* Duke Sesario, in *Mergile*.
* Esmeralda, Dukess of Kasandrien, in *Agrella*.
* Duke Ynedar, in *Ravenia*.
* Duke Gadramei, in *Kastor*.

## Notable Places

### The Royal Holdings

#### The Grand Duchy of Yndarien (c. Yndaros)

The Grand Duchy of Yndarien is Queen Korinthia’s domain, rich in rain, fertile fields and not least in people. About forty percent of Ambria’s population lives between the mountains and the river Doudram, and new refugees arrive every ay. Although most of them are passed on to other provinces, especially to the colonies of New Berendoria, there are many who argue that the mountain passes should be closed off. And maybe they have a point – how much will the Promised Land be worth if buried under a tidal wave of diseased scavengers?

#### The Duchy of Mervidun (c. *Mergile*)

Mervidun is officially ruled by Abesina, the seriously ill mother of the Queen. In actuality the domain is governed by Duke Sesario, the man Abesina married during Korinthia’s captivity and with whom she has the daughter Esmerelda. From his high seat in Mergile he captains the trade in metals, granite and lumber – products that because of swift transports along the river Noora have made Mervidun one of the richer duchies in Ambria.

#### The Duchy of New Beretor (c. *Ravenia*)

New Beretor is ruled by Duke Ynedar, the son of Korinthia’s brother Korian who died while trying to free his imprisoned sister. Ynedar, named after his grandfather, is no older than the Ambrian kingdom and governs a region that can boast of great relations with the barbarians. The duchy also takes pride in the ingenious methods developed to extract fire oils from the wetland called the Marshes.

#### The Duchy of Seragon (c. *Kastor*)

When the immediate family is not enough to close the ranks you turn to more distant relatives, in the case of Seragon to the son of the former king’s younger brother. The orphaned Duke Gadramei is accused of being a drone who drinks more than he should, and who neglects his duties towards Queen and country. But even if Seragon is poorer and more unruly than other duchies, he has so far managed to protect the Davokar border with flawless efficiency – despite the fact that his province borders the territory of the aggressive clan Karohar.

#### The Duchy of Kasandrien (c. *Agrella*)

The Queen’s half-sister, the seventeen-year-old and very spirited Esmerelda, is the Duchess of Kasandrien. The city of Agrella is situated on the shores of Lake Ebel which makes it a vital node for transport along the rivers, and the duchess is also honored by housing the head office of Ordo Magica in her province. Aside from that, Kasandrien is famed for being influenced by Esmeralda’s decree: “The victorious dead shall be celebrated and praised, not mourned!”. Agrella is a city of eternal jubilations.

* Duchess Esmerelda

The Duchy of Narugor ( c. Kurun )

The Duchy of Narugor stretches along Davokar’s southern tree line and contains the fortifications Otra Senja and Otra Dorno, underlining that Duke Junio Berakka has been given a special responsibility to stop the darkness of the woods from seeping out over Ambria. The duke himself – a hero of the people whose accomplishments have hoisted him to a position of highest nobility – is an example of how the war’s end and the migration have affected the previously so rigid structures of the noble houses.

* Duke Junio Berakka

The Duchy of New Berendoria (c. Sevona )

The popular belief is that Alesaro Kohinoor has not forgiven his niece, even if it was not her, but a group of military commanders and prominent nobles who prevented him from succeeding his brother. The fact that Korinthia gave him the Duchy of New Berendoria is hardly a comfort, since she probably appointed him to that barren and windy outback in order to get rid of him. Be that as it may, current reports from his high seat Sevona state that Alesaro is making new friends among the western clans.

* Duke Alesaro Kohinoor

The Prios Domain (c. Templewall )

At the heart of Ambria lays Prios Domain, with First Father Jeseebegai functioning as the steward of the Sun God. Where Ambria’s largest highroads intersect – the one between Yndaros and Thistle Hold and the one between Kurun and Ravenia – rests Templewall, high seat of the Sun Church, surrounded by rolling plains where the crops sway in the wind and the cattle graze peacefully, assured that they are safe from harm.

* First Father Jeseebegai functioning as the steward of the Sun God.