Bear with me; we’ll get to the new story beat soon, but first there are a few foundational essays and a few small retcons before the story gets moving again. Today we’re doing a quick overview of the 6 great houses of New Mountainheart.

All dates are in New Mountainheart Reckoning (NMR).

All ages are given in the appropriate timeframe: mortal years for mortals, or faerie years (three mortal years) for fey.

von Mountainheart

The Royal Family

Current Head: Frederick Von Mountainheart and Aoibheann Von Mountainheart

Origin: Pre-Drowning royal family of Old Mountainheart

Members:

• King Frederick von Mountainheart, wolf pooka, apparent age 19, true age 519 years
• Queen Aoibheann von Mountainheart, Sidhe-wolf pooka hybrid, apparent age 19.5 years, true age 519 years.
• Princess Kaida von Mountainheart: Dragon, age 49 (about 8 in dragon years)
• Princess Lillabella von Mountainheart, Sidhe-wolf pooka hybrid, 2 faerie years
• Princess Marigold Von Mountainheart, Sidhe-wolf pooka hybrid, 8 faerie months
• Princess Whimsy Von Mountainheart, Sidhe-wolf pooka hybrid, 8 faerie Months

Uisceanna

Maritime power and an unhealthy fixation on Frederick

Current Head: Princess Muirín Uisceanna von Mountainheart 

Origin: Maeryn Uisceanna, a Cantre’r Gwaelodian shieldmaiden who was defeated by Frederick when she tried to force the young kingdom to host her and her warband for a debauch at spearpoint. She fell head over heels for him on the spot.

Domain: The March of the Isles and Coasts

Nature of the house: Since Maeryn, the women have been cursed to have daughters, and the countesses have relentlessly tried to get Frederick to fall in love with them. Under the current countess, Muirín, Aoibheann eventually had to personally change reality so that she had her own version of Frederick in the form of his “younger” brother, Prince Klaus.

Current Members:

• Princess Muirín Uisceanna von Mountainheart, mermaid, age 18
• Prince Klaus Von Mountainheart, Selkie, age 19
• Princess Aeliana von Mountainheart, selkie, 11 months

Von Sablemere

Decadence and military pretensions

Current Head: Adrian Von Sablemere

Origin: Valerius von Sablemere, a Lyonesse knight who accompanied Frederick on a bout of errantry in the 200NMR. Elevated to marquess.

Domain: March of Gloamhollow

Nature of the house: The house has been going downhill since Valerius’ day. The Sablemere men are notorious rakes and party animals, and the women are even worse. They openly chafe under the rule of the Von Mountainhearts. Following the Civil War, Adrian inherited the marquessate while his parents were placed under house arrest for their role in the rebellion. 

Despite all evidence to the contrary, they still fancy themselves military men, and many cousins and uncles of the current marquess still serve in the army.

Current Members:

• Adrian Von Sablemere: human, 18 years old
• Fuklke Von Sablemere, human, 54 years old, under house arrest
• Alice Von Sablemere, human, 51 years old, under house arrest
• Lizzy von Sablemere, human, 15 years old
• Edward von Sablemere, human, 12 years old

Ó Ceallaigh

Silver Highlands nationalism

Current Head: Lorcan Ó Ceallaigh

Origin: The family emigrated to the valley and swore fealty en masse in the late 200NMR

Domain: March of Craggy Peak

Nature of the house: The house has long been close to Frederick, since he was the key to their generational project. Since the Second Age, the Faerie Knights of house Ó Ceallaigh have been under oath to unite the Silver Highlands under one king. For three generations, they have tried and failed to get Frederick to do so. 

Having finally had enough of Frederick’s self-pity and ennui, the previous count, Murtagh, overthrew his liege and conquered the highlands before being defeated by his former king in a duel at the tail end of the New Mountainheartian civil war

Recently Deceased Members

• Murtagh Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 50 faerie years old, father of Lorcan, Eamon and Caitríona. 

Surviving Members:

• Lorcan Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 18 faerie years old
• Eamon Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 22 faerie years old, in self-imposed exile
• Caitríona Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 19 and a half faerie years old, aka Cassidy Rose of the SBHU
• Brighde Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 90 faerie years old, mother of Murtagh
• Siùbhan Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 50 faerie years old, wife of Murtagh and mother of Lorcan, Eamon and Caitríona
• Coinneach Ó Ceallaigh, hobgoblin, 90 faerie years old, father of Murtagh, rather quiet, senile

von Blühdorn

Reactionary traditionalism

Current Head: None; the entire surviving family are wards of the royal family

Origin: Pre-Drowning of Old Mountainheart. The von Blühdorn are the only members of the Old Mountainheartian peerage to survive the Drowning.

Domain: County Thistlewood

Nature of the house: Extreme conservatives and reactionaries. They have opposed every change in governmental style since the founding and have advocated returning to a strict feudal system. As such, they have traditionally led the anti-royalist faction.

They are also obsessed with maintaining the purity of their fox pooka bloodline. 

As of the end of the New Mountainheartian Civil War, Tristan and Hilda are the only members of the family left alive.

Recently Deceased Members:

• Thorsten von  Blühdorn, fox pooka, age 48 faerie years
• Linda von Blühdorn, fox pooka, age 47 faerie years
• Franz von Blühdorn, fox pooka, age 16 faerie years
• Luise von Blühdorn, fox pooka, age 12 faerie years

Surviving Members:

• Tristan von Blühdorn: fox pooka, age 2 faerie years, Ward of the Von Mountainhearts
• Hilda von  Blühdorn: fox pooka, age 5 months, Ward of the Von Mountainhearts

Kupferthal

Dragons who would rather do science

Current Head: Jaspera Kupferthal

Origin: In the mid-300s, NMR Jaspera Kupferthal flew up to Castle SLiberberg and bent the knee to Frederick as a bid to gain unlimited access for her sociological research

Domain: The March Underneath

Nature of the house: Absence. Jaspera and her eldest brood have almost no interest in running their fief, being more interested in scholarly pursuits that require extensive fieldwork. Day-to-day rulership has largely fallen to the third brood, the first to be raised entirely in SLiberberg and Malachite of the second brood.

Members:

• Jaspera Kupferthal: Dragon, exact age unknown but likely over 700
• First brood-nearly adult
  • Cinnibara female archaeologist
  • Ignifer, male sociologist
  • Pyrina, female cartographer
• Second brood- early teens.
  • Malachite: male wizard, student at the Coláiste na hArd-Draíocht
  • Berylla: female Oceanography student
  • Lazuli: female wyrdology student
  • Obsidian: male zoology student
• Third Brood- wyrmlings
  • Argento: male
  • Electra: female
  • Pyrite: male
  • Smaragda: female
• Fourth brood-late hatchlings.
  • Jacinth: male
  • Peridot: female
  • Topaz: male
• Fifth Brood- newborn hatchlings
  • Aurelia female
  • Magnolia female
  • Garnette female
  • Roselle female
  • Opala female