Harannossë - The High Houses

The High Houses of the Elves
those who dominate and subjugate in the name of perfection​

A Hundred Elven Houses under the sky.
Some are Low, and some are High.
But many bones of the High in the Silmarael lie,
And to be High, do those who are Low vie.​

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With the death of Arevanion Arethlion, the first and only High King of the Elves, many nobles and knights of his Court immediately set about trying to claim the king-domain that he had managed to secure entirely for themselves. The few who were part of his inner council, however, had managed to amass enough wealth and power to set themselves above the other petty nobles and knights, and to subjugate and demand vassalage from many of them. It is not known who first coined the term "High House and Low", but the moniker stuck, and in the past three thousand years, those Houses who are strong enough to bind their peers into vassalage, whether through diplomacy, wealth or strength of arms, have traditionally been labelled as High Houses.

Over three thousand years, Houses have risen from Low to High, and fallen from High to Low. Out of all the original High Houses, only one remains - Nalthiön, and that is because Nalthiön has held themselves apart from the Summer Wars of the other Houses, never seeking to increase their own influence or stretch beyond their grasp as all other High Houses, both the old and new, are wont to do, for no High House has ever come to be without some measure of ambition and even greed. After all, it is the greed of the High Houses that has caused them to have slowly extended the borders of their domains over time, which has forced many of the Low Houses out from the original borders of the Silmorael forest into other regions.

The current High Houses are:​

• Nalthiön, the House of Order in Telpelrion. Most ancient of the High Houses, founded even before the conquest of Silmorael, and the only House to have retained their status for the past three thousand years. They are the ones who enforce the peace between Elves while the Houses are in Telpelrion by whatever means necessary. Nalthiön holds no territory besides Telpelrion, and takes no part in the Summer Wars, but they are traditionally the mediators between the other Houses.
  
  
• Ielheä, the House of the Land in Mevenua. Most powerful of the High Houses, with the largest number of Low Houses sworn to them. They are staunch traditionalists and keepers of the land, tenders to the Gardens and the Silmorael Forests that fall under their domain. They are rivals of Falwing due to ideological differences, and look down upon Thálion, and are allies to Elarmiel.
  
  
• Falwing, the House of the Wilds in Zeraselda. In opposition to the perfected order of Ielheä is the chaotic beauty of Falwing. Their domain is not so much a garden as it is a forest perfected, where the last of the wild beasts roam, tamed only to ensure that the Landbond are able to farm and sustain themselves within their domain. They are allies to Thálion and Foringiel, and rivals to Ielheä and Elarmiel.
  
  
• Elarmiel, the House of the Sea in Lorinan. Until the elevation of Thálion to High House status, Elarmiel was until recently considered the undisputed master of the seas and oceans amongst the Elves, strongarming the Low Houses on the western isles. They hold a grudge against Thálion and Falwing for breaking this dominance, and are allied with Ielheä and Saimoriel.
  
  
• Thálion, the House of Sun and Moon in Alirycas. Considered to be an oddity, Thálion is a High House by virtue of having managed to unite the Houses of the island of Alirycas under their banner. Though they are likely the weakest amongst the High Houses in terms of territory and military might, the unity and strength of their vassal Low Houses gives their rivals, High Houses Ielheä and Elarmiel, reason to pause.
  
  
• Foringiel, the House of the Snows in Canarion. Newest of the High Houses, cousin-House of Saimoriel, and its most implacable foe and rival. As the Deadlands encroached in the south, Lord Foringiel of Saimoriel secretly stored up precious resources from his family and established Canarion in the island of Nechon with the backing of several Low Houses who were facing extinction. They are allies to Thálion and Falwing.
  
  
• Saimoriel, the House of the Sands in Ramenthiali. An ancient High House that is waning in power as the their territory, and those of the Low Houses sworn to them, are gradually being swallowed up by the ever-expanding Deadlands. They despise Foringiel, accusing their founder of betrayal after he deprived them of needed strength in their time of greatest need. They are ancient allies with Elarmiel.

Previous High Houses of note are:

• Riélisar, the House of the West in Lorinan. More than a thousand years ago, Riélisar was the greatest of the High Houses, holding the entire western coast of the Silmorael Forest under its vassalage. However, greed was its undoing, for it tried to lay claim to all the Houses of the Sea regardless of whether they were vassals of other High Houses. Betrayal and misfortune spawned its cousin-house Elármiel as its implacable foe, and so in the end, Riélisar was cast down and its lineages utterly erased as a reminder that not even the greatest of the High Houses are too powerful to be brought down.

More to be added as the site expands and players give input.​