Post by Asinity on Jan 1, 2018 22:48:15 GMT
House Name: House Lanidè (Lanniday)
House Words: "A Loose Tongue is an Honest Mouth"
House Leader: Grand Duchess Veriana Lanidè, 45
Seat: Quicot (Kilkotte)
Nation: Routaille
Family members:
Ollivander Besson, Deceased
Donnan “Donny” Lanidè, 29
Elewyn Lanidè, 25
Ean Lanidè, 25
Cameron “Cam” Lanidè, 23
Merith Lanidè, Age 21
Lydia Lanidè Age 20
[Open]
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Summary
House Lanidè was once a family of Salkans who migrated their people to Routaille in order to save their culture. While some aspects survived, such as a strong relationship with nature, artistry, and animal breeding, most of it has been deafened in favor of Routais culture. Ancestor worship and the belief in spirits and fey creatures has all but been left behind, though childs’ tales remain in the face of a growing Artisian worship.
Lanidè has supported every crown of Routaille until Odo II, where they betrayed the king near the beginning of the war after seeing his treatment of the revolutionaries. Due to this development, Quicot suffered heavily during the Revolution, committing all of its military force and nearly most of its peasantry to fight the royalist forces as well as Rjillund and Valdez reinforcements. Its unique tactics and familiar ground allowed the Quicot military to harry the enemy and survive great battles that would otherwise have been killing blows, though in the end House Lanidè had to answer to a great death toll.
The members of the house have retained muted, but distinguishing Salkan attributes, such as pale skin and red hair, and have managed to maintain these traits through keeping their marriages limited to the Routais and other noble houses of Trevast.
Modifiers
“Rebel Supporters”: -2 Army, -1 Economy
Having joined the rebel cause near the formative years of the Revolution, House Lanidè was forced into a defensive position on the cost. Many lives were lost in the war and funding was stretched beyond the limit.
“Still Standing”: +1 Castle, +2 Loyalty
The city of Quicot, once known as Kilkotte, has stood for centuries since the first Lanidè ancestors migrated from Luska. This has led to reinforced defensive structuring and strong familial ties.
“Horse-Breeders”: +2 Logistics
House Lanidè is famed for its horse archers and mounted cavalry, and due to their strategic focus on using horses in the military, Quicot is home to several breeders. Many horses are also purchased by House Lanidè for use in streamlining trade with nearby cities.
Point Allocation
Army: 5 (-2) = 3
Castle: 2 (+1) = 3
Economy: 4 (-1) = 3
Espionage: 1
Logistics: 1 (+2 Mod, +1 Economy) = 4
Loyalty: 1 (+2) = 3
Navy: 1
Culture
Most of the Salkan culture has eroded over time, despite efforts from the Lanidè family. Where there was once belief in fey creatures, ancestor worship, and spirits, most of the city has adopted the Artisian belief system, though of course it has small differences than other regions. Over the years, a few key leaders in the Routaille nation (most hailing from Quicot) have been posthumously declared to be Saints of Artis, whose actions in life blessed the Quicot people and were done so in the name of Artis. Temples of Artis are scattered through the city, as well as a few chapels dedicated to specific saints.
Animal breeding and a general kinship to nature at first fostered a culture very unlike the surrounding area, though over time this stark difference became less extreme. Archery and bow-hunting are very common in Quicot, as well as tattooing, organized hunts, festivals, and friendly competitions like log-throwing and horse-racing. All three of the common ethnicities of Routaille hold a presence in the city, though the Tlem and Osais have the largest concentrations outside of the Salkans. Due to the ethnicities being tied to social class, a great number of the Salkan immigrants mingled with the Tlem and Osais, but the wealthier Salkans limited themselves to the Routais, in an effort to keep most of their traits intact.
History
Many centuries ago, after the Luskan capital of Zarasai was near completion, the line of Prince Vytoras began shifting their focus to the development of the Salkan Isles. They aimed to make the culturally independent islands more Trevastine, by way of infrastructure and more merchant traffic. With this in mind, construction began of town halls, tax offices, forts, school houses (mostly available to the wealthy), libraries, and other government buildings.
Most Salkans were afraid of what this construction meant. Though the peace reached between them and the Trevastines ensured Salkan independence, the situation started to look more and more like the terms were false. Most of them hardened their hearts against the development, but some families, however, saw this growing Trevastine presence as the beginning of the end for the Salkan way of life, and rallied to try and do whatever they could to preserve their culture.
One such family was that of House Lanniday, one of the few Salkan families to be given nobility status within Luska. A family known for their quality steel-forging, which they had learned during the Trevast occupation, the Lannidays were as supportive to House Vyre as a Salkan family could be. Most of their men led forces against the barbarians of the Wolf-Spine, raised and trained armies for Luska, and oversaw the peasantry in their allotted region. However, this way of life would not last long, for the Lannidays saw their culture being slowly eroded, and knew they had to do something in order to preserve it.
In an act of desperation, the family reached out to House Merov of Routaille, and brokered a deal for their people. In exchange for Lanniday fealty, the Salkans were allowed a portion of land and a guarantee from the crown of the freedom to practice their way of life without Trevastine interference. The family reached out to their community and were able to convince a number of families to make the journey with them, and set off for the island nation with no less than twenty ships. Though a few ships were lost during the sea voyage, most of them made landfall and began to settle a an area north of the Honey Islands, just southwest of Pyracle. They named this place Kilkotte, after the name of the region they had left in Luska.
Over the centuries, House Lanniday prospered. Time led to a linguistic shift in the Salkan immigrants, but their stubbornness ensured that aspects of their language remained. While most in the region are able to speak Routais, there exists a strain of Salkan that most modern-day Salkan natives would struggle to understand. Despite this notable effort, House Lanniday became known as “Lanidè”, and the city of Kilkotte became spoken and written as “Quicot”.
The current ruler of Quicot remains Grand Duchess Veriana Lanidè, who is known for her matronly rule and unyielding loyalty to the Quicot way of life. She was married to a man named Ollivander of House Besson thirty years ago, who gave her many children during their marriage. He was ten years her senior, but the two nobles fell for each other and remained loyal through their marriage. Though Veriana was younger than her husband, she retained rule of Quicot at the age of 25, when her father died of old age. Since then, her rule has been characterized by her reaction to the recent Revolution.
King Odo II’s reign was not one that House Lanidè enjoyed. The king was not as favorable to the relationship between the Routais and Quicot as former Merov rulers were, and his generally violent and negative behavior began to sour House Lanidè’s fealty to the throne. When the rebellion began, however, Quicot answered the call and began sending in its army to support the Merov dynasty. Initially they helped Chalord to push the revolutionaries out of Pyracle, but were soon called to support other areas as other pockets of rebellion sprang up all over the nation.
The Grand Duchess ordered her generals to keep a supply line to Pyracle safe at all costs. Regiments of rangers and Quicot soldiers were able to maintain this through continued conflict with rebels, but a series a brutal discoveries weakened the loyalty of House Lanidè to the crown. King Odo II was not shy of committing atrocities during the beginning of the war, and after messages were relayed to Veriana of mass graves, burned buildings with corpses inside, and the bodies of dead children found throughout small villages and townships, the Grand Duchess came to a decision. In what caused a mixture of fear and kinship in Quicot, Veriana ceased maintaining a supply line to Pyracle and began to support the Revolution.
Quicot was opened to refugees and began turning away loyalist forces. Word soon reached King Odo II of Veriana’s betrayal, and he declared House Lanidè traitorous and an enemy of House Merov. War soon eclipsed the island and Quicot found itself fully engaged. Rangers patrolled the forests of Quicot in large groups, and made short work of scouting parties or supply chains. The plains and open spaces near the city saw bloodshed at a level Quicot had never seen. Knightly charges caused Lanidè forces to adopt stronger spear forces in response, though it was not quickly enough to prevent a large death toll against the Lanidè military when both Rjillund and Valdez landed on the island and engaged Quicot.
After the bloodiest war in Quicot’s history, the rebellion claimed victory over Routaille. Lanidè’s military was devastated by the end, and though they were recognized for their efforts in the war, the city was forced to focus inward on rebuilding what it had lost. Veriana’s husband was killed by an assassin during the early part of the war, and it was assumed to be the work of his family, House Besson, who saw his loyalty to House Lanidè as a betrayal and a stain on the family name. Veriana did not take his death well, but vowed to keep fighting for her cause no matter what forces were arrayed against her. Her children supported her for the most part, and her “boys” all fought in the war.
Now, in a time of recovery and rebuilding, House Lanidè has bent the knee to the rule of the Commonwealth, and serves its place as the last of the Routaille nobility in an uncertain age.
Army
(7500 x 3 = 22500 soldiers)
Quicot’s military is one whose expertise is in ranged warfare, skirmishing, and using terrain to confuse and disrupt the enemy. When they are forced to commit to a melee engagement, the warriors of House Lanidè are fierce in combat. Wielding a variety of weaponry, the mainline soldiers of Quicot partner with trained, tusked boars and large war hounds in an effort to strike fear into the enemy. Units of spear are a more recent addition to the Lanidè military, for their effectiveness against knightly charges was learned from a hard lesson during the Routaille Revolution.
3,000 Rangers, with longbow and seaxes
4,000 Crossbowmen, armor piercing
4,000 Soldiers, with sword or war axe, and shield
1,000 Warriors, with claymore or battle axe
3,000 Spearmen
1,500 Mounted Knights with lance, longsword and shield
4,000 Mounted Rangers with longbow, longsword and shield
1,000 War hounds
1,000 War boars
The strategy of Quicot is to use a combination of fear-inspiring units (Warriors, War hounds, and war boar) in combination with trained soldiers to tie up the bulk of the enemy, while the Rangers work their way around the flanks to fire into the enemy’s backside. Spearmen and Crossbowmen work in tandem to take out knights and heavily armored soldiers or cavalry, while Mounted Knights are kept in reserve for reinforcement. Lastly, Mounted Rangers are the signature of Quicot, and are trained to loose arrows while moving as they harass the enemy.
Navy
(2:8 x 1 = 2 Heavy Ships and 8 Light Ships)
Quicot’s navy leaves something to be desired, boasting only ten ships to defend its coast. The two carracks are outfitted with springalds and mounted crossbows, and have reinforced rams at the helm. The eight smaller ships have mounted crossbows and grappling hooks, but are more suited for skirmishing or boarding other vessels.