House Emeircenth

House Information

Head of House: Lord Nethemil Emeircenth.

How did the family rise to nobility?

Tracing its heritage back to the glory days of the Highborne on Kalimdor, the Emeircenth family line has always been prominent in the field of Arcane studies and research and have earned respect and wealth as a result of their passionate pursuits and their former place in the Highborne court. In Quel'thalas, the family was a major contributor in laying the foundation for what would eventually become the city of Silvermoon by lending their expertise in architecture and Arcane engineering, counting themselves amongst the many founders of the city and the Magisters that were to become one of the ruling factions. Claiming a place amongst the city's elite early on, the family paved way for themselves and built themselves a home, rising into the ranks of nobility.

How does the family sustain its wealth?

Beyond lending their services to the settlements throughout Quel'thalas as enchanters and architects, the Emeircenth line also run their own college in the sciences of Arcane magic and own and are responsible for one of the larger libraries within city proper. Most of the family wealth comes from land and ancestral holdings and lore rather than pure currency and trade, as well as their status and consequent sway on city politics as prominent contributors. The wealth they have is sustained and supported primarily by the college and whatever private pursuits the members of the ruling family council take up beyond their primary duties. Every legible member of the family is expected to accumulate a wealth of their own in personal business ventures.

What sort of assets does the family have?

1. An ancestral home hugging the western coast of Quel'thalas, hidden from the Amani tribes by the ancient magics woven over them following the Troll Wars. This home consists of a large mansion and a surrounding village of ten households, all housing family, vassal families or their relatives. Servants live and operate within the mansion itself.

2. A smaller estate in southern Quel'thalas, nowadays known as the Ghostlands. This estate also hugs the coastline, on the east side, and is surprisingly well populated and protected by the family's collective magical proficiency. This estate is not nearly as old as the primary estate, having been established after the founding of the Seven Kingdoms of humanity. The estate includes a smaller mansion and a patch of shoreline attached to the estate grounds.

3. A college near what is Fairbreeze today. The college is large enough to house just over a hundred students at any one time, and the staff to maintain it.

4. A large library in Silvermoon city proper, managed by members of the family council.

5. An underground college of sorst that serves as a vacation and research facility, built by and gifted to the family by the Dwarves over a milennia ago. Because the facility rests under Alliance soil, it's rarely visited by anyone other than members of the family council and has all entrances heavily fortified and hidden from the untrained eye.

What is the family known for?

Primarily, they are known for their large numbers. The Emeircenth are many and it doesn't appear to take much from someone to claim the family name as their own, which has resulted in many Emeircenth emerging amongst the Magisters of Silvermoon. Due to the rigid discipline and high expectations they hold over members of the family line, many Emeircenth are very prominent in their chosen field.

Secondly, they are notorious for being "loose". They are an unusual family among their peers because they don't put value to the purity of their blood the same way that others do, as the house is first and foremost a meritocracy. As a result, they are known to have many children out of wedlock where the parentage is often unknown or questionable... and they've been known to more or less steal children from the other parent by bringing them under the family's umbrella and effectively laying sole claim to the child's future. This has not been very popular among other noble houses. As an extension to this, they have also been known to "sell" their services to create heirs for other families, and the family council frequently sells family members in arranged marriages.

Thirdly, the constant discrimination in the family is no secret. The family divides their role and power structure based on gender which fosters a certain arrogance amongst the family's women. At the same time, this makes them particularly desirable as they are the only ones able to inherit the title of Head of House through council elections. Normally, anyway.

Fourthly, it's widely known that many Emeircenth seem to die relatively young. They rarely live past three hundred, and no one seems to know exactly why that is. Dying of old age seems to be exceptionally rare in this family.

Fifthly, the Emeircenth are special because they train their own men to become Spellbreakers, and have been doing this for a very long time. A large portion of the family council, in fact, consists of Spellbreakers or apprentices. The other part of the council consists solely of Arcanists or variations thereof.

How old is the family? How long has the family been nobility?

The family traces their heritage back to the Highborne era, and the family name is thus over 10,000 years old. It's unknown when the name "Emeircenth" actually emerged, however. The family rose to nobility (again) almost immediately after the founding of Quel'thalas and has maintained their status and protected their holdings ever since.

What can be obtained by creating a new family over joining one already in existence?

The family's craft is far from unique in the Sin'dorei society of today, though it brings a unique flavor and different approach to nobility than most of the other houses. They place very high expectations on their members and are built in a way that encourages intrigue and interaction and expects their members to perform at a certain level to be considered worthy of a place in the family council. The house has a very uncertain future due to its structure, and a special social environment that should serve to take most established noble houses for a spin.

Is the family open for members to join?

Always. Contact me (Loxmardin) beforehand and discuss your character and we'll get you set up. Because the family is designed to be large and "loose" and it already has a large NPC base of family members, I'm open to more people getting involved.

House Timeline

• Ancient Times (10,000+ years ago) - The Emeircenth line, under a previous name long forgotten, is established as a family of talented sorcerers and loyalists of Queen Azshara.

• -7,300 (7,330 years ago) - The Highborne are exiled from Kalimdor and, consequently, the Emeircenth arrive in the Eastern Kingdoms led by Sunstrider.

• -6,800 (6,830 years ago) - Quel'thalas is founded, the Emeircenth standing out as remarkable contributors and architects. Upon the initial completion of Silvermoon City, the Emeircenth assume a place among the city's elite and claim land and space they have built for themselves.

• -6,500 (6,530 years ago) - The family establish a small college for scientific research into the field of arcane magic and engineering, primarily for use by members of the family with few privileged students amongst the common masses.

• -6,450 (6,480 years ago) - After establishing their college of the arcane, the family begins research into effective prevention methods to learn from the mistakes of their ancestors.

• -6,100 (6,130 years ago) - Gradually spreading their influence in Quel'thalas and securing more ground while fortifying their existing assets, the Emeircenth rise to prominence by their contributions in the field of magical research and engineering, securing influence and reputation among the Magisters.

• -5,800 (5,830 years ago) - The family's first Spellbreaker is trained, starting the reformation of family structure to what exists in the present. As a result of the family's dedication to the study of effective Spellbreaking, many members who complete the training also become enforcers throughout Quel'thalas.

• -4,200 (4,230 years ago) - Continuing their tutoring and exploration into arcane sciences, the Emeircenth confiscate a locale within Silvermoon city from a family indebted to their college, turning the building into a library.

• -2,800 (2,830 years ago) - Many of the family's holdings outside the city limits are destroyed in the Troll Wars. Rounding up their family members and vassals, the Emeircenth effectively move their holdings to the outskirts of elven society to begin rebuilding.

• -2,780 (2,810 years ago) - With the losses in the family and the blood of Emeircenth thinned out, the Family Council is first formed.

• -2,700 (2,730 years ago) - A smaller society has effectively been built surrounding the Emeircenth estate, consisting of branch families, servants and their relatives alongside privileged subjects of interest.

• -2,500 (2,530 years ago) - The city of Ironforge is founded, emissaries of the Emeircenth lending what assistance they can to the construction of the Dwarven city. They make every effort to establish a mutual alliance.

• -2,300 (2,330 years ago) - After continuous efforts to form an alliance with Dwarvenkind, the Emeircenth family garner favour amongst the nobility of Ironforge.

• -2,250 (2,280 years ago) - The underground complex is finished, gifted to the family by the Dwarves as a result of long-time friendship.

• -1,200 (1,230 years ago) - The Seven Kingdoms of humanity are founded, and the southern estate is built in southern Quel'thalas (today's Ghostlands) in order to come closer to their new potential allies.

• -300 (330 years ago) - Nivala is born.

• -230 (260 years ago) - During the War of Three Hammers, the family's underground complex is cloaked and hidden in magical enchantments to protect it from discovery. The enchantments linger to this day, leaving the complex hidden and mostly forgotten by anyone outside the family line.

• -90 (120 years ago) - Nethemil is born.

• 20 (10 years ago) - Nivala's predecessor is slain in the Third War. As a result, during the emergency gathering of the Family Council, Nivala is elected Head of House to hold the family together during the crisis. The family splits between existing holdings to protect them from the Scourge.

• 21 (9 years ago) - Nivala resigns her elected position and passes it on to Nethemil, who becomes the new Head of House despite silent protests from the Council. Nivala takes off to the Dark Portal and isn't heard from again.

• 23 (7 years ago) - Under Nethemil's leadership, the Emeircenth house regroups and assists in the rebuilding of Silvermoon City.

• 24 (6 years ago) - Small cadre of Emeircenth emissaries are sent to Alliance lands to retrieve the last of their family and bring them back home to Quel'thalas.