House Staros

History
House Staros was one of the founding families of Alt Stern, (one half of) the capital city of Ka’ Vyrezik (The Land of Iron) located to the north of New Morvennan. Their ancestry was traced back to the first Acier groups to arrive in the region as such, their title and pure Acier bloodline made them one of the most pragmatic and revered families in the land.

Due to The Great Rising however, the last remaining family member of the House Staros, is Lady Vilaani Staros.



The Great Rising/ Fall of House Staros
Lord Hjorvaak Staros of Alt Stern married Lady Talitha Parniet of Savien in a traditional wedding ceremony, in accordance with the Treaty of Alt Savien. The marriage between the two incredibly powerful yet rival families was meant to bring peace to the war torn cities. A century long war over resources had pushed both domains to their limits as such, Lord Dustin of Parniet offered his eldest daughter, Talitha, to the Lord Hjorvaak (18 years her senior) as part of the Treaty of Alt Savien, in which the merger between the two cities would mean that the resources found would be fairly divided, used and the new capital of Ka'Vyrezik would be named Alt Savien.

The Treaty resulted in 15 years of peace, in which the two cities worked together to conquer the uncharted domains. Lady Talitha bore two children during this period, twin boys, Victor and Vinicius. While Victor, being the eldest was more brash and talented when it came to war strategies, it was Vinicius who had the stronger Acier abilities. In time, the two would become a figure of malevolence and disarray.

At the beginning of the Great Rising, it was Lady Talitha’s father, Lord Dustin, who discovered his son in law’s plan to mine Obsidian in The Netherhorde. While Lord Dustin agreed to supply troops to fight off the natives of The Netherhorde, he was not informed that Lord Hjorvaak’s own troops would not be participating and instead, greedily stayed in Alt Savien, indulging in the consorts.

Upon learning of his army’s fate, Lord Dustin called forth an immediate city council meeting. When talks broke down, Lord Dustin claimed that the alliance was finally over.

With the Treaty now broken Alt Savien again divided up into Savien and Alt Stern, much to a pregnant Lady Talitha’s dismay. In the beginning, Lord Hjorvaak seemed to have the upper hand, with a stronger army; he easily crushed any Savien advancements upon his land. His two sons both joined the fight when they were 14, providing both a moral boost to the soldiers and their technological expertise. Lady Talitha gave birth to Vilaani during the third official month of The Great Rising.

After 6 long years of tireless battling, both cities were facing ruin yet it was Lord Dustin who had cut off all of Alt Stern’s trade routes, cutting the flow of fresh supplies and burning all the food stores. While in Savien, Lord Dustin himself was slowly dying from typhoid, the Staros’s were bereaved by the loss of their eldest son, Victor. It is said, the Lady would often be seen walking barefoot through fields of the dead looking for her son, whose body was never uncovered. It was at this point, Lord Hjorvaak decided to abandon his quest for domain domination stowing away with his remaining troops, last son, sick wife and young daughter, Vilaani.

In exile, Vinicius contracted an unknown disease which rendered him mute, blind and death. On a particularly cold night, Lord Hjorvaak executed both his wife and son fearing that they would lose their souls if their lives were not ended. So with both the heirs and Lady now dead, Lord Hjorvaak took his 12 year old daughter and began training her in the art of Acier style combat. She was incredibly talented but too impulsive and curious. On her 15th birthday, the Lady awoke to discover an exoskeleton, Velox, similar to her brother’s laying outside her tent. It was unsure how she came to be in possession of it but the ownership was never questioned.

After 12 years in exile with a handful of soldiers and civilians from Alt Stern, Lord Hjorvaak decided to start out for new land, abandoning his quest to reclaim his city. He paid for a ship to be built, which he named Glory and took whoever wished for a new life along with him.

In Alt Stern
From a young age, all members (including the girls) of the Staros house were trained in mechanics and war combat styles designed for the hefty exoskeletons most Aciers possessed. This made the family particularly aggressive when fighting in battles yet the Acier blood that ran through them made the House naturally inquisitive and aloof when it came to the finer points of warfare.

The family was always led by the eldest son and tradition made it known that if a woman of the Staros House could not produce an heir, she would sacrifice her life as to allow her husband to marry another.

Girls born to the head family were rare. In fact, in the last 100 years, only 5 girls were born under the Staros name. As soon as the girls came of age, they married a neighboring Lord in order to secure the future of Alt Stern and House Staros's pure Acier bloodline.

Tattoos are also something incredibly popular in the House of Staros. There have been many designed to signify ones place in the community and in their family directly. Different tattoos placements and design can immediately reveal from which family a person comes from or ever if they are a Lord of Lady.



In Halvaangard
Upon arrival in New Morvennan, Lady Vilaani kept her settlement as far away from the general hub of Nobles as possible. While not to be confused with fear or dislike for the other settlers, she did this to ensure Halvaangard's own culture would develop and force the civilians to learn independence. Lady Vilaani built Halvaangard in the mountains to the west in the hope of eventually being a safe port between New Morevennan and the unknown land to the west. Being naturally curious, the allure of such a wild and rough terrain suited the Staros child well.

Lady Vilaani Staros is known for her particularly feministic approach to leading her city, unheard of by a vast majorty of her warriors. While unmarried herself (another absurdly unusual thing for a Staros Lady), Lady Vilaani ensures her people know that women have a right to live freely and without fear.

She is known for her quick hand and brutal punishments. In Halvaangard, even stealing a loaf of bread is a valid enough crime to ensue the death penalty.

Metals
The Staros House made a name for themselves by creating a metal empire which was formed on the base of iron ore. This was an essential metal when repairing exoskeltons and even creating new and more techincally advanced machinary. In New Morevennan however, iron is not found near where Lady Vilaani has built Halvaangard, as such she began mining a new sort of material known as Translucent Ore (a.k.a Kuria).

