| The Lordship of Fang of Imperius
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Duchy: Mists
Barony: Dragon Lake
Leaders: Vacant
Population: 12,500 (before schism)
Known For: Commerce, Academy of Imperius, Fang of Imperius
Major Towns and Cities: Polaris, Prodigy, Sanctum, Bellview
Characters of Fang of Imperius: Here
Description: The smallest lordship in Dragon Lake, at approximately 200 square miles, Fang of Imperius is singularly the most densely populated lordship in the entire isle, controlling a large portion of the duchy's wealth and population concentrated around the capital city, Polaris. Serving as the major point of entry to the island, Polaris boasts some of its finest treasures and a deep-water harbor less than two hours by sail from Crossroads City, itself. While being one of the most erudite, well-educated, groomed and spectacularly cultured, standing as a beacon to all mage kind, it could be argued that it is one of the most difficult to manage.
Home to the Academy of Imperius at the luminous Spire (Fang of Imperius), the High Mage Council and main port of trade, with so many hands in the pot, Fang of Imperius is a place of fantastical accomplishment which shines over a seedier underbelly. Suffering with a heightened crime rate and homeless populace before the Schism and the Cure, the jewel of Mists slowly picks up the pieces.
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| History
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A history steeped in but the finest of Mistian society and culture, Fang of Imperius was named after the luminous spire that stands boldly above the rest of the city; A sign of the demonic ruins that their proud city was built upon. A silvery tower so very massive and grand that it has survived the ages and shows nearly no signs of wear and age about it, the Fang of Imperius became the Academy of Imperius in 75 A.G., almost twenty years before the mage, Mogur, would step forward and be named Imperius to protect the Prince. It has stood as a testament to higher learning and magical excellence for centuries.
First managed by the former royal house of Magadanelian, the lordship of Fang of Imperius gained speed quickly, turning into a wonderous and thriving port city and all around excelling in merchantry, earning an immediate reputation for its high society styles, tastes and pretentiousness. Alas, the line of Magadanelian slowly started to unravel and fall slowly to ruin after the demonic attack of 218 when Emperor Nicholas suddenly died. Many of the family's heirs went to battle and died, saving the Empire from demonic rule, the final heir suffering for nearly three months from a wasting sickness afterwards before finally succumbing to death. His sire follows after a few short months later, in 219.
A call for cousins and any claiming blood to the family line is sent out. They soon find in a distant relation, House Mezelien, a family which had become rather renown demonologists in the darker reaches of Mists. They take the seat and rule for over two centuries before they vanish utterly without a trace, soon after the ascension of the Heir, Kyrie Mezelien, to Baroness Regent Dragon Lake, in 507. Every last member of the immediate family simply vanishing, leaving the lordship in the hands of a trusted steward.
After the Great Schism in 508, a new man came forward as the lordship was torn apart by wracking pains and high rates of crime, panic, death and sickness, dooming every mage to death in two months. Claiming a relation to the Mezeliens, Macario Drazet steps forward as Steward to attempt to lead the lordship in its time of crisis. He does not immediately climb to Lord, as the Steward of Mists, Joseph Starling, advises to wait until after they find a cure to entitle the man. Macario vanishes from the face of Ikol after the Ritual Cure that saves what remains of Mists and her people. Under the guidance of a new Baroness Regent and new Duke and Duchess Regent, the Lordship awaits a new hand to lead it.
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| Politics
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Politics for several generations was a quieter affair, the lordship ruled well by the Mezelien family. Former Lady Heir Kyrie Mezelien was very briefly elevated to the Baroness Regent Dragon Lake before quitting peerage altogether for reasons unknown. The whereabouts of this former lady and all known relatives has since been a mystery.
During the Great Schism, another came to surface, claiming Mezelien blood as the rightful heir to the Fang, but like so many others, Macario Drazet seemed to vanish overnight, leaving the Fang once more without leadership aside from the calls that come down from the high council, merchant representatives and of course, the Baroness Regent.
Fang of Imperius has many things focused upon it and can be something of a quagmire, even when under proper leadership. Being the main port and place of commerce, as well as the site of the Academy, High Council and Capital of Mists, the political climate is supersaturated. Always an isle of conflicting ideals attempting to work together, without an acting Lord in place to keep order on the political chain, the merchants, mages, academy officials, even the magisterium struggles for power and the upper hand.
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| Succession of Lords
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507 - Present
- Steward: Macario Drazet (October 508 - January 509)
- Steward: Devad Belafonte (507 - October 508)
August 1, 475 - 507
- Lord Jaufre Mezelien (b.October 12, 454)
- m: Reina Mezelien (b. August 20, 458, d. October 12, 485)
- m: Saissa Avarence (b. 468)
May 1, 460 - August 1, 475
- Lord Jaufre Mezelien (d. August 1, 475)
- m: Alaunia (d. November 21, 474)
219 – May 1, 460
- House Mezelien
0 - 219
- House Magadanelian
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| Geography
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Settled upon the eastern edge of Mists, the peninsula of the isle holds the grand and magical metropolis of Polaris, built upon the ruins of demonic holdings. The city itself has grown so massive and so dense that the territory fully encompasses what has come to be called Fang of Imperius, thinning out only slightly before coming up to the border of the idyllic agricultural center of Haven. Little room for anything but buildings, city streets and bridges over the rivers that dare to invade the land, there are portions certainly seedier than others, falling into disrepair and consumed by those who thrive in those areas.
Smaller sub-cities have gained names within Polaris, or retained them while they were swallowed up by the continuing city sprawl of the capital, some more infamous and well-known than others. Sanctum being a more wealthy section of the city where much of the nobility and higher merchantry houses sit while Bellview is a neglected and abused little section with dirt roads built around an old burned out bell tower. The well-known Karaganinas Estate, home to the Ducal Heir's family, is located in an area slightly north of the Port, known as Prodigy, which sits on a grand hill overlooking the metropolis of the port and has a breathtaking view of the coast and sea.
The known landmark that gave the lordship its name and stands as the most recognizable symbol on Mists, also serving on the Mistian coat of arms is, of course, the Spire, also called the Fang of Imperius; A tower of luminous silver stone stretching into the sky and comes to a sharpened tip. Remains from whatever demonic culture that came before the Champion's rise, whatever it once housed was long ago cleared out to serve as the foremost place of arcane study, Academy of Imperius.
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| Economy
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Consumed by the port city, it comes as no surprise that the economy in this lordship is based almost exclusively on commerce, be it the vast amount of imports and exports that pass through the largest port on the Isle, tourism, or just business in general. Almost every merchantry business worth mentioning has a house of operations settled here, and the Merchant's Guild is contained within an entire street just an offshoot from the aptly called 'Merchant's Lane'. But it isn't just the big names that do well here. Small, family owned shops, carts and traveling salesmen make a killing when they come to Fang of Imperius.
There is also a very large market for things that one wouldn't normally find on sale, due to 'laws' and 'moral codes'. If it's magical and it can be bought, the chances are that you can find it somewhere in Polaris, you just need to know where to look.
Another obvious source of income comes from the Academy. Those who are wealthy enough (or are political enough) to send their children to the Academy take every opportunity to do so. Some for the sheer practicality of it, some for the opportunity to perhaps catch the eye of a noble family and marry a child off, and some just for the simple fact that it is one more feather in your cap and the delights of being a bit of a status leech. Whatever the reason may be, the Academy is not cheap and pulls something of a profit.
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| Culture
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We <3 money, prestige, snobbery, high fashion, old blood, education and we're kinda stuck up. Sol will flesh this out when her eyeballs aren't about to melt.
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| Bestiary
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Alarion
Amphitere
Caldarius
Cats
Horses
Moon-Motes
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