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House Name: House Mteru
House Seat: Vandolenne Court
House Head: Rauthar Munger III Mteru, theoretically as viceroy of the Riverine, though his grandfather Munger Adja II Mteruv as coroy still has de facto control over the house.
House Values: House Mteruv sees itself as the keeper of old knowledge and the guardians of history. Some say they dwell on the past, but they see history as the key to the future. A very fortunate concidence, or perhaps not coincidental, seeing as they produced three of the greatest emperors of the Early Empire, a fact which they are extremely proud of.
House Motto: 'Giants on giants' shoulders stand' (Mteruva Mtaruvadine Teru)
House Members: - Munger Adja II, coroy (former viceroy) of the Riverine; the ageing patriarch of House Mteruv instantly recognisable by his long, grey beard and his piercing green eyes, a man known and revered for his strict discipline and unrivalled knowledge of imperial history. Approaching eighty, he is not as energetic as he used to be, but he is still far more active than he lets on to the outside world.
- Rauthar Munger III, viceroy of the Riverine. Grandson of Munger Adja II, and his direct successor, as his mother Alleria died giving birth to him. Munger Adja loved Alleria, his favourite child, and sees Rauthar as a lesser copy of her, which has led to a harsh upbringing. Due to his advanced age, Munger Adja abdicated his viceroyalty in favour of Rauthar, to give him some hands-on experience, but Rauthar is definitely still standing in his grandfather's shadow. Also, since he is now viceroy, Rauthar is eligible to claim the imperial throne, and as a man in his late twenties he would make far longer use of it than his ageing grandfather, though he is very much seen as an extension of his grandfather in matters political.
- Angellos [OTHER HOUSE NAME HERE], father of Rauthar and widow of Alleria. A clever, keen and strong man, but with little ambition. A caring but somewhat absent father figure for Rauthar, and the complete opposite of his overbearing father-in-law. He was picked by the latter exactly because he did not have ambitions to supplant the Mteruv, which was an important quality in the eyes of Munger Adja.
- Suvi [OTHER HOUSE NAME HERE], wife of Rauthar. At 24, she is younger than Rauthar by a few years, and their marriage has been tainted by the fact that she remains childless. Suvi and Rauthar have a strong bond of friendship, but very little romantic feelings for one another, and the combination of that has very much limited their attempts to become pregnant. Childless candidates are preferred for the imperial throne, however, since the fear of an imperial dynasty establishing itself still lingers in the minds of many noble houses, which is why Munger Adja II has not made a stink about it so far, since the survival of his house is ensured through other branches.
- Adja Mteru, the genius cousin of Rauthar and a few years his senior. Adja lives a quiet life, acting as steward for the Riverine and thus in charge of the bookkeeping. He has a knack for numbers and is cool and level-headed, but detests both the spotlights and the responsibility that is demanded of rulers. His responsibilities are clearly laid out, and he very rarely has to make decisions that are not cost-saving in nature. But he acts as an advisor to Rauthar, and a milder one than Munger Adja.
- Yetuvera Mteru, the aunt of Rauthar, mother of Mteru, and captain of the Mausoleons; the viceroyal guard and knighthood of the Riverine. A martial figure, her combat prowess is looked down upon by her father, yet she is known for not giving a toss about what her father thinks. She has acted as a surrogate mother for Rauthar, though she was only slightly less strict than her father had been for her. Discipline was important, of course. Yet, Rauthar learnt horseback riding and fighting with various weapons from her, quite peculiar since martial prowess was before looked down upon by the Mteruv.
House History: The House Mteru traces its legendary origins back to the very foundation of the Empire. According to legend, Mteru the First was a tribal warlord of the Riverine region, who joined the service of the First Emperor and acted as his bodyguard, since he was tallest of all men. At his life's end, with Mteru having gained so much experience and knowledge about governing from his patron, the emperor adopted him as his only son, and conferred the empire upon him. What followed was the reign of the Three Glorious emperors: Mteru, his son Munger, and Munger's brother Rauthar. They fortified the borders of the empire and even expanded them, while also implementing just laws that spurred economic growth. They, especially Munger and Rauthar, are known as the Philosopher Kings, with their reign being seen as peaceful and just.
This myth, which is equal parts truth and embellishment, is what the Mteru base their prestige on. They were the ones that built the empire and placed its foundations, only to be shunned afterwards. The Mteruv still believe that they have a birthright to the throne, even though after the age of the Three Good Emperors, they have hardly ever held the imperial crown. Still, they believe the elections are a farce, and hardly ever take part in the elections because of it. While they find their prestige in the era of the Three Emperors, they current power flows from the fact that they control the Vandolenne Court, and with it, the Great Mausoleum where the Three Emperors are entombed. In the shadow of the Great Mausoleum stands the Imperial Archive, a library of historical documents which tells the history of most of the empire. This knowledge is what has kept the Mteru relevant all these years; each of their viceroys has spent days, weeks, years studying in its marble halls. It is a right and a burden to stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before.
From their seat of power in the Riverine, Munger Adja II, former viceroy of the Riverine, eyes the capital jealously. After a long and storied life, he longs for nothing more than to get the imperial throne back into the hands of his family. Permanently, if possible. It is his life's work, and he shall stop at nothing to achieve it. With the death of the emperor, he will undertake the journey to the east with his grandson in tow, and will use whatever means deemed necessary to achieve his birthright.
Character Name: Rauthar Munger III
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 28
Character Role: Viceroy of the Riverine, Head of House Mteru
Character Appearance: Character Traits: Rauthar is a clever lad, but not the cleverest. He is kind, but not the kindest. He is, generally, riddled with anxieties about himself, and lacks confidence, which is the main thing holding him back. He feels that he needs to excel in all fields, though that is of course not at all necessary. This keeps him back from actually using his many moderate skills, which in turn means he lacks experience in most fields. His grandfather has never allowed him to make many decisions at all, which at this point in his life is really holding him back.
Biography: Location Name: Vandolenne Court
Location Type: City, capital of the Riverine
Location Description: A city on the Riverine Fork, built around the Mausoleat Hill. The Mausoleum itself is of ancient architecture, but the city surrounding it has more modern architecture. It's a half-way point for river boats traveling up the two rivers, but since taverns are banned inside the city walls, small towns have arisen around the rivers to accomodate travellers.
Location History: Vandolenne was historically never the capital of the Riverine, at least not under the Three Emperors. It was Munger the First who constructed it for his father, but eventually it was expanded to include two additional tombs for himself and his brother Rauthar. Vandolenne was supposed to be far away from the King's Keep and from the rest of the Riverine, just visited by pilgrims and watching solemly over those traveling the Two Rivers. Yet, over time, a pilgrim town developed around, and the pilgrim town attracted those seeking shelter from river-going. Eventually, the city got a city council and came to rival the old seaside capital of Havonne. Since Havonne had very little historical significance, eventually the viceroys of the Riverine moved their capital north to Vandolenne, establishing a royal archive there. The royal archive gained the title 'imperial' after the assumption of Adja II as emperor, one of the few Mteruv to ascend to that position after the reign of the Three Emperors. There, the House Mteru ossified into their current positions as keepers of history, more content with contemplation in the tombs of their long-dead forefathers than with the goings-on of the present day. It was perhaps an unwise choice, since Havonne has since grown on the back of ocean trade and its wealthy salt flats, and is about twice the size of Vandolenne. What is more, where Vandolenne is ruled by tradition, Havonne is ruled on the basis of pragmatism. The power of the Five Mayors continues to grow in Havonne, creating an uneasy power imbalance between the nominally powerful and prestigious House of Mteru, and the economically powerful Five Mayors.
Location: The northernmost point of the island in the fork of the westernmost river.