House Weiroon
House Weiroon is one of the historical Seven Great Houses of Vel Anir. They have long been a mercantile house far less focused on military strengths than some of the other houses. Cruelty, underhanded deals, and a surprising amount of good luck have been the definers of the noble house throughout the centuries.
In official capacities they are identified by the color violet, often displaying an elephant on banners or flags, and enjoy flaunting their wealth in grandiose gestures. Their unofficial motto is that, ‘might makes right,’ and it is through this motto that they define their views of the world. If House Weiroon does something and is not stopped then surely it is morally, ethically, and legally permitted. They have historically wielded coercive power to achieve their goals.
For the past few generations they have been marked by ineptitude, stagnation, and waning power. This is due to a combination of poor leadership, the inability to sway Dreadlords to their cause as readily as their peers, and an uncharacteristic lack of good fortune. The coffers from past successes have been large enough to weather the last few decades but if the trend of poor decision making continues the noble house may find itself in a truly dire place.
Overview
Summary
House Weiroon found themselves in a particular niche within a nation that needed help facilitating trade with the rest of Arethil. For this reason, their chief rivals have always been House Banick, the other great house within Vel Anir focused on commerce and economic success. Massive investments within Vel Anir, and abroad, created a network of markets and mercantile avenues for the house. Though all of the noble households have a great measure of wealth at one point House Weiroon likely could have boasted as being the richest, a fact which is certainly no longer true.
Along with Banick, Weiroon oversees significant chunks of trade from outside of the borders of Vel Anir. Many of the different trade companies, merchant guilds, and transportation organizations are either partially owned or pay some tribute to House Weiroon.
After the passing of Crassius Weiroon his son, Sebastian took over the mantle of House Lord. Within the first few months many beheadings occurred to those whose loyalty and faith were put into question. This sudden violence caused tension with the Anirian Guard and several Dreadlords shifted their loyalty to other Great Houses. Sebastian’s younger brother, Sullivan T. Weiroon, was placed in charge of house finances and was quite successful in righting the ship of bankruptcies that had preceded him. Though only time will tell if the barbarism of Sebastian and Sullivan will prove to be beneficial for the house in the long term.
Although they are one of the Seven Great Houses the House of Weiroon finds itself without a seat on the ruling council of Vel Anir. This is troublesome only because it means they lack influence with the ruling body of the nation. Their precise reasons for this sleight are due to their natural competition with House Banick along with the dismissive nature of other house’s towards Weiroon’s over-the-top cruelty. As a result, they find themselves in a weak ‘alliance’ of sorts with House Virak and House Pirian, although all three houses oppose the ruling council for entirely different reasons.
Defying the traditions of the house, Aisling Weiroon is unusually outspoken about matters of public interest, common good, and equality. Time will tell if this is a strategy to mislead or if she aims to genuinely take the Great House in a new direction.
Along with Banick, Weiroon oversees significant chunks of trade from outside of the borders of Vel Anir. Many of the different trade companies, merchant guilds, and transportation organizations are either partially owned or pay some tribute to House Weiroon.
After the passing of Crassius Weiroon his son, Sebastian took over the mantle of House Lord. Within the first few months many beheadings occurred to those whose loyalty and faith were put into question. This sudden violence caused tension with the Anirian Guard and several Dreadlords shifted their loyalty to other Great Houses. Sebastian’s younger brother, Sullivan T. Weiroon, was placed in charge of house finances and was quite successful in righting the ship of bankruptcies that had preceded him. Though only time will tell if the barbarism of Sebastian and Sullivan will prove to be beneficial for the house in the long term.
Although they are one of the Seven Great Houses the House of Weiroon finds itself without a seat on the ruling council of Vel Anir. This is troublesome only because it means they lack influence with the ruling body of the nation. Their precise reasons for this sleight are due to their natural competition with House Banick along with the dismissive nature of other house’s towards Weiroon’s over-the-top cruelty. As a result, they find themselves in a weak ‘alliance’ of sorts with House Virak and House Pirian, although all three houses oppose the ruling council for entirely different reasons.
Defying the traditions of the house, Aisling Weiroon is unusually outspoken about matters of public interest, common good, and equality. Time will tell if this is a strategy to mislead or if she aims to genuinely take the Great House in a new direction.
Hereditary Magic
Unbeknownst to most outside of House Weiroon are the magical abilities that seem to crop up among the children born into this bloodline. Like other noble houses it is a talent that was concealed from the public who would be outraged that they were expected to hand over their magically inclined children for Dreadlord training while the nobility developed their magic-born children and used them to advance their own wealth.
The exact nature of the magic could vary from child to child but at a minimum it involved the manipulation of probabilities. Though this is normally understood to mean that they can, at a minimum, impact their own luck.
As so much of business, politics, and success are determined upon single movements of fate the Lord of House Weiroon being able to aid his or her dealings with an ounce of good luck has made up for lackluster rule or pigheaded decision making. Just as beneficial was the ability for this magic to bless an ally with good luck or hamper an enemy with a dose of misfortune.
For four generations now this magic seemed to have run dry. Combining with the house’s poor leadership this has been the chief reason for the house’s steady decline. As luck would have it though the last born child, and only daughter, of Sebastian Weiroon was born with the gift. Aisling Weiroon has found herself in a peculiar situation where the title of Lord of House Weiroon should not be inherited by her due to birth order. But, with the development of her abilities many within the clan have petitioned for her to take up the mantle upon Sebastian’s passing, much to the chagrin of her eldest brother Adonis.
The exact nature of the magic could vary from child to child but at a minimum it involved the manipulation of probabilities. Though this is normally understood to mean that they can, at a minimum, impact their own luck.
As so much of business, politics, and success are determined upon single movements of fate the Lord of House Weiroon being able to aid his or her dealings with an ounce of good luck has made up for lackluster rule or pigheaded decision making. Just as beneficial was the ability for this magic to bless an ally with good luck or hamper an enemy with a dose of misfortune.
For four generations now this magic seemed to have run dry. Combining with the house’s poor leadership this has been the chief reason for the house’s steady decline. As luck would have it though the last born child, and only daughter, of Sebastian Weiroon was born with the gift. Aisling Weiroon has found herself in a peculiar situation where the title of Lord of House Weiroon should not be inherited by her due to birth order. But, with the development of her abilities many within the clan have petitioned for her to take up the mantle upon Sebastian’s passing, much to the chagrin of her eldest brother Adonis.
Recent Family
Crassius Weiroon gave birth to two sons. Sebastian Remus Weiroon and Sullivan Thaddeus Weiroon. Sullivan took over as financier of the house when Sebastian seized power but Sullivan neglected to ever marry or have children of his own.
Sebastian Remus Weiroon took Dorothy Girard Aubert as his bride forming an alliance with minor house Aubert. They have had four children, Adonis, Angelo, Augustus, and Aisling.
There are a dozen or more cousins to the main line, most of whom descended from the siblings of Crassius Weiroon. Many of these cousins reside in Weiroon estates throughout the Anirian nation or operate on behalf of the house abroad so as to negotiate trade deals or oversee economic interests.
Lore
”The strong eat the weak, the rule of law is written by the rulers of the law, and it is those who wield power that determine how it is used. Never forget little brother, might makes right.”
- Sebastian Remus Weiroon, Lord of House Weiroon
Weiroon has historically been defined by their callous attitudes towards the poor and working class. They believe that economic success is the key determining factor of a nation’s success. They were, at the height of their power, an example of crony capitalism within Vel Anir. They held a stranglehold on imports and exports using deceitful tactics, bribery, and invented permits for any goods that entered or exited the nation. Prior to the overthrow of the royal family of Vel Anir and the rise of Great House rule the royalty eventually put an end to the oppressive trade practices of the ancient Weiroons, spurring their desire to join with the other Seven Great Houses in a revolt against the rule of the royal family.
Even today the nobles of Weiroon lie, cheat, and use their governmental ties to try and sidestep their competition and maintain as much economic power within the nation as possible.
They prize profit, strength, and confidence above all else. These traits make them revolted, feared, and respected by most of those who associate with Vel Anir.
References
1. Justice for the Three
2. Disgrace of the Damned
3. Feast at Urahil Manor
4. What Goes On
5. The Games They Play