Those who don’t know it and all that.
Three important events in ven history.
200 Years Ago: The Betrayer War
Two centuries past, the ven were ruled by an Emperor. His name was Jayman Steele, Earl of Blayloch, Blooded of the Elk, primarch of the Steele family. His rule was hard, but not harsh. Crime was punished severely, but justice was a slow process, giving the accused opportunities to defend themselves. His mercy was rare, but predictable. He was, by all accounts, a good Emperor. He was also the last.
As his Solace approached, Steele began to seek ways to delay the great sleep, or prevent it entirely. This single occupation eventually turned into a passion, then an obsession. An obsession that drove him willingly into the arms of madness.
The Betrayer War brought together the combined forces of all Houses against the Emperor. So great was his power, even those in his own House turned against him, and even that great strength was barely enough to defeat Steele. Decades of sorcerous research empowered him beyond imagination. When he was defeated, a council of nobles gathered to determine the course of the future. It was determined that no ven should ever again be declared Emperor. Moreso, that no member of the House of the Elk should ever hold any title greater than that of Baron. Sorcery was outlawed, except for the Blooded of the Serpent who were allowed to study the forbidden art for the purposes of never allowing any future abuse of power.
The Betrayer War forever changed the face of Shanri. Steele’s researches unlocked old doors that should have never been opened. The land was filled with ancient horrors, terrible and unspeakable. The Blooded of the Falcon gave up their own lands to serve as rangers and sheriffs, protecting the common people against the horrors unleashed by Steele’s ambition. The House of the Bear, most deeply wounded by the war, retreated to the mountains to heal.
150 Year Ago: The Quiet Poison
Over the next century, the Blooded of the Wolf moved quickly to consolidate their power and fill the vacuum left behind by an empty throne. The House of the Fox did the same, but met with quick resistance from the Adrente wolves. A second war erupted, but it did not find its end on the battlefield. Instead, the war was ended on the floor of the newly created Senate.
The Senate passed what would come to be known as the War Amendment forbidding any noble from gathering armies. The nobility was permitted to keep “a small personal guard for the purposes of security and protection,” but otherwise, no soldiers, no garrisons, and no armies. Needless to say, the ven reacted to the amendment in their own way. They started gathering armies.
Because a noble was allowed a “small personal guard,” the ven began acquiring soldiers for that very purpose. The definition of “small” varied from noble to noble, from twenty armed men to as many as two hundred. After all, according to the law, nobles were also required to protect their vassals. Because vassals are property, they are—legally—an extension of the noble’s person. And so, in a moment of pure irony, “personal protection” became the key phrase that allowed the nobility to raise armies.
But waging war was still illegal. And in reaction to that clause, espionage and assassination became the primary cause of death among nobles in Shanri. For seventy-five years, the death toll became almost epidemic. The primary method of assassination was poison, providing an anonymous method of doing away with powerful enemies.
Thanks to another amendment passed by the Senate, dueling transformed from a messy and bloody exercise into pure ritual. The Dueling Act forbid casual swordplay, requiring proper procedure for the ven’s most deadly art.
From all this bloodshed, the Wolf and Fox developed the rules for duels, refining them as they murdered each other. Warfare occurred in the courts, civilized and ritualized, but still just as bloody. Finally, the Senate passed even more amendments restricting duels. Just in time for the Fox and Wolf to grab up the land left behind by the Falcon and Elk.
100 Years Ago: The Anguish
“This storm knows us,” Uvand Philo wrote. “It knows our names.”
The Storm, dubbed “the Anquish” by those who lived through it, ravaged all of Shanri. It first appeared a century ago, seemingly willful, seemingly knowing, all too deadly. A murderous Storm. It did indeed seem to know their names.
Ever since that day, the Storm returns, seeking the blood of the ven. At first, they were unprepared, their homes and villages and crops wrecked. With no foreknowledge or understanding of what they were dealing with, the ven suffered. Their only warning a distant howling wind like the cry of a wounded animal and the slowly darkening sky.
Many ven moved into the ancient ruins of the sorcerer-kings for shelter. For generations, those buildings remained empty out of fear of what may lay within, but the ven moved in out of necessity, cleaning out the vast hallways and rooms seeking shelter from the Storm.
But one ven sought truth rather than shelter. “The Storm knows our names,” he wrote. “We shall return the favor.” His name was Uvand Philo. Blooded of the Serpent, Duke of Ychara, Philo spent all his waking days searching for the origin of the Storm and all his nights communing with the suaven, seeking their wisdom. It took him fifty years, right up to the edge of Solace, but in the end, he found what he was looking for. He went to a particular aelven danna ruin with three others. Of the four, only one returned. Danaria Del, Blooded of the Falcon. She knew the Storm’s name and she brought it back… but only for those of her Blood.
Since then, the Blooded of the Falcon alone know the Storm’s name. They call upon the Storm and send it back, although sometimes its fury is too great for even those who know its secret.
