The Press & Spy Network

Azad Al’Luana invented a machine that enabled the quick writing of papers just over 100 years ago. This invention not only put the Anirian Kingdom on the map as more than just a war-hungry Kingdom, but also greatly improved the spread of information across the many territories. This, combined with the quick Relay system using specialising horses with a fast gate meant Luana had effectively come to control what was printed and its distribution. Most publishing houses are owned either directly by Luana or by one of their pledged Houses.

Information is a rich currency and Luana’s history with it goes back even further than Azad to its very founder, Darrin. Darrin was a foreigner in Vel Anir until he amassed a good communications network across the city and several outposts. The King increasingly came to rely on him for information and as such was soon promoted to his Chief Advisor, and his House given Great status. Today, Luana’s network of informants is widespread and goes far beyond the confines of the Kingdom.

Horses

The ancient roots of Luana trace back to the horse-lord plains of Vel Vâra, and it was in horses that they originally made their money. Their skill in breeding and training has not diminished since their resettlement in Vel Anir and the House still pride themselves on being the main providers of horses to the Anirian Cavalry, the Races, and to the Relay.

The Arts & Education

Luana prides itself on being a House of the People. As such they have taken a keen interest in bringing joy and education to even the poorer parts of society. It was Aniria’s Rose – Zhara Al’Luana – along with her husband Fabien Pirian who founded Vel Zrada, a prestigious school of arts and science. Luana still gives 10 Sponsorships places each year in Vel Zrada to those who would otherwise be unable to afford to send their children there to study. They’re also known to sponsor artists, scientists, cartographers and more when they have a particular project Luana see merit in.

Healing & Medicine

A recent venture, started by the recently lost Ashur-Khan Al’Luana, was to start a series of poor hospitals, set up in the slum parts of the city and run by volunteer nurses and doctors on rotational shifts to care for those who could not otherwise afford care.

Anti-Magic Defences

The newest venture is that of Anti Magic defences, spearheaded by Jiya Luana. This venture is still in the blueprint phase, but she aims in the future to be the supplier for the Anirian Army in order to lessen the need for a reliance on magic to fight magic.

The Luana Family did not possess magic when they first arrived in Vel Anir, however Darrin quickly realised the benefits of having such gifts within the family. It was the reason behind his marrying Petunia, a wealthy noble lady who possessed fantastical abilities to control the sea itself. From a long line of strong mages herself, Darrin knew she would likely end up passing on these gifts to their children.

It half went according to Darrin’s plan.

Not every child within Luana is able to use magic, in fact the magic is very predictable in that it appears in every other child, though when twins or triplets have appeared it seems all the babes are either blessed or not. The flip side of this is that most Luana mages tend to be very powerful in their field and their Dreadlords seen to consistently reach a Level 2 or 1 ability.

• Maël Al’Luana – Patriarch of House Luana, died during the Revolution.
• Shairin Al’Luana – Wife to Maël, now living in Vel Vâra with her youngest children, Kasra and Sura.
• Ashur Al’Luana – Heir apparent to House Luana, Fourth Level Dreadlord, missing since the Revolution and presumed dead.
• Diomedes Al’Luana – deceased, died under mysterious circumstances.
• Farshid Al’Luana – deceased, killed in combat at the age of 16.
• Jiya Al’Luana – Head of the House
• Houri Al’Luana – Current initiate at the Academy
• Zhara Al’Luana – Still born premature baby
• Maseno Al’Luana – Current initiate at the Academy

House Luana has several Minor Houses pledged to support them. Some of these are made up of branches of distant family and the connections are routinely renewed through marriage in order to keep the ties of loyalty strong. Others are Houses whose ideals, interests and ambitions line up with what House Luana stands for. As such, Luana attracts many Houses who champion exploration, the press, the arts, and spies.

• House Umbra:
  - Beatrix Umbra
  
  
• House Azura
  - Cassi Azura
  - Corvus Azura
  
  
• House Leonora
  -
  
  
• House Devereaux
  - Sorai Devereaux
  
  
• House Al'Adonastra
  Kashif-Zain Fahaad Al'Adonastra

Luana’s founding was much more recent than most of the other Noble Houses, and it started far beyond the ancient boundaries of the Anirian Territories.

Farshid was a wealthy merchant who made his money originally in horse selling – mainly to the armies of Cortos and further North in Amol-Kalt. During the civil wars of Cortos, he wanted more stability for his home and family and so looked to the growing power in the East; Vel Anir. Before he journeyed East himself he sent people to settle and send back information about the city so that when he did take his family he was prepared to start the climb upwards. When he arrived, Farshid took on a more Anirian sounding name, Darrin, in order to blend in more. His charm and charisma carried him far, growing his information circles, and his horse breeding soon made him as rich here as it had in Vâra. As the Second Elven War brewed, Darrin’s information had grown to be invaluable and the King invited him often to Court to ask of his opinion in several sensitive court matters. For his service during the war, where his discovery that the Kings Chief Advisor was the leak feeding information to the enemy, the King granted Darrin his own house; Luana.

From there, the Luana’s thrived and quickly set about making its mark on the Anirian Kingdom. Darrin officially brought his home city, Vâra, into the Anirian territory for which it was granted Vel status. Having a key port city so close to Cortos during the wars that followed only lined the pockets of Luana more.

From there Luana’s history is a rich and varied one with several interesting figures still spoken about fondly – and some with fear – in today’s society. Below are some of the most notable figures.

Lisette, Elfsbane – A Dreadlord in the Third Elven Wars, Lisette Luana by all accounts had the highest count of elven murders on her record. It was even said that she used to collect their ears and displayed them proudly on her mantle at home.

Noémie, the Black Dread – A lot was expected of Noémie as daughter to Lisette and the Academy was not disappointed. Her nickname came from her armour which was said to consume the light it touched. The shadows she controlled were rumoured to make even the elves scream with fear.

Zahra, Aniria’s Rose – a beautiful woman whose romance with Fabian Pirian is still sung about in taverns. She along with her husband were the founders of the prestigious Vel Zrada and they were both much loved by the population. When they died their state funeral drew in thousands from across the Kingdom and the streets were said to be flooded with roses for a year afterwards.

Mirza, The Butchers Son – Zahra’s twin brother who became a highly respected Captain in the Anirian Guard, he was known for his cutthroat and ruthless techniques which were harsh but victorious.

Arash, Ashur and Askhan, the Hydra – These fearsome triplets all reached Level One in Dreadlord rankings and had the unique happenstance of sharing the same form of magic. Their control over water made them a nasty opposition to pirate fleets which vastly dwindled in their life.

Shiva, the Spyder – A crippled Luana who many thought would die in infancy, Shiva’s magic was undetected because of her disabilities. Her mind abilities made her a secret weapon to the Luana’s who were able to shred minds for the information they sought.

Mizra, The People’s Prince – a beloved and handsome heir who attracted the attention of almost every woman in the land. It was said he was kind, charismatic and took the time to wander among the people more than the nobility. His campaigning helped vastly improve the conditions of housing in the slums.

Lisette and Maël, the Hammer and the Shield – The first Dreadlords in their family to reach Archon level. As they grew older, the siblings tended to only get involved in conflicts where innocent lives would be lost instead of territorial campaigns.

Houri, the Conqueror – Unlike her husband, Houri’s life was dedicated to expansion. Under her banner Aniria added great stretches of Cortosi Coast to their collection.

Azad, the Peacekeeper – a key figure in negotiating peace with Cortos, ending over 50 years of constant war.

Kasra, the Kraken – A notorious seafarer

Lisette, Aniria’s Angel – a young woman who dedicated her life to charity work in the slums. On a visit to a colony that was then attached by Eastern raiders, it was said she fought despite several life-threatening injuries until the town’s children were able to escape, thus saving their lives. There is a statue to her in the main square.

Shiva, Poet Lauret – famous poet, known for poems such as The Last Stand, and The Maiden and the Golden Prince.

Houri, the Nightlark – a singer that was said to have made even the dead weep.

Azad, the inventor – Inventor of the Printing Press.

Farshid, the Merciful – known to campaign on behalf of accused citizens who could not afford their own legal representation.

Maël, The Knight of Flowers – a charismatic tourney knight and the focus of the famous song The Knight and the Nightingale.

Sura and Shiva, the Am’athee – famous and brilliant cavalry women who built their own regiment of female-only horse riders. The Am’athee is now a rank given to Cavalry members who show extreme skill.

It was not just his name that Darrin Farshid changed when he moved East. As his information foretold, Aniria was not very open to religion, and so the family cast off the religion they had all followed for many years. However, many family members have secretly continued to worship to these Gods or incorporate them in some small way into their every day lives as a mark of respect and homage.

A multi-god faith, the religion of Oornosh is a peaceful one that encourages worshippers to reflect and work on ones soul in order that it should be worthy to pass on. Meditation is a key part of the religion as well as fasting and prayer at the suns rise and set. It was common for individuals to pick a God or Goddess they most resonated with and apply themselves to their more narrowed teachings.

The main Luana branch still adhere to the naming traditions of their ancestors and so pick names that are either of great importance to the family – which is why so often many have the same name – or are native to Vel Vâra. Often, the Heads direct line will have multiple names and they might choose to select one of them to use as their sole name when they inherit.

In order to keep connections with their homeland, it is strongly encourage that at least one child from the Head of the House’s offspring marries someone from one of the minor noble families of Vel Vâra and it’s surrounding settlements. This keeps the blood ‘pure’ in many respects but also the ties to loyalty that distance might test, stronger.

Looking at the family tree one might note this was not always a tradition, however it came into place once the Luana’s believed they no longer had to keep marrying local Lords and Ladies in order to cement their position.