Worldbuilding: Pantheon of Draconiquity, Part I - The High Priestess

Velmyssa, Lady of the Veil

The Pantheon of Draconiquity, Part I

Motif: A black cat

Spiritual Weapon: A dagger

Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, Twilight

Core beliefs

• There is power in holding secrets.
• Secrets are a burden that only few can carry.

Velmyssa is the goddess of secrets and shadows. She is often portrayed as a black-furred female catfolk.

Followers

Followers of Velmyssa are often called Whisperers. Their spellcasters are generally practitioners of divination, enchantment, and illusion magic, and many of their members are experts in subterfuge as well.

Rites

Velmyssa's clerics offer blessings and protection in return for secrets, which they, in turn, offer to others in return for loyalty and prayers.

Temples

Because the priesthood of Velmyssa is often cult-like, temples to the Lady of the Veil are rarely open to the public; Her followers instead prefer to congregate in private estates. Shrines, however, do exist, and the common folk will whisper their secrets to statues of onyx felines. It's said that sometimes they can feel as though the Lady hears them, unburdening them from the responsibilities of keeping terrible secrets, and blessing them with good luck for some time.   

Organizations

Shadow’s Hand

This organization focuses on blackmailing others through secrets, and have wormed themselves behind positions of power. This has allowed them to pursue their agendas while remaining mostly unnoticed.

Order of the Watchful Eye 

This group dedicates themselves to protecting sensitive information. Through magic and other means, they are able to detect if certain information is being disclosed, and they work to find out who is doing so. Nobles often seek this order to protect their secrets.

Vyardor's Seat - Part 3: The Noble Houses

   This is part of a series of posts that details parts of my homebrew campaign setting. Initially inspired by Forgotten Realm's Baldur's Gate, Vyardor's Seat is a city full of rival gangs and merchants that struggle for control of the city's economic power, all while evading the wrath of it's ruler; an old and powerful Great Wyrm.

    This time, I give a very brief description of the ruling noble houses. This was taking me a lot longer than expected to publish, so a bit of it is rushed, but I'll come back to it later! I just really need to do more worldbuilding before I continue. 

    Anyway, please consider all this as something of a first draft look into the noble houses of Vyardor's Seat; There's so much more story to tell.

Vyardor's Seat

Part 3: The Noble Houses

The Eight Noble Houses

The eight noble houses and their respective trades are:

House Joy

House Joy trades in curiosities, jewelry, and miscellaneous magic items. The founding for this house was originally based on a family of peddlers that would make a living off of discarded or stolen curiosities from the old town's travelers. 

As Vyardor's demands grew, this family became desperate, and so they turned to otherworldly mean for help, through a devil's contract. House Joy would receive funding and a supply of wares to sell, and in return, their children would sometimes bear the mark of The Fiend, a sign that they would be chosen to lead the noble house. Over time, the family's members would bear children to tieflings, and the house would become a mixture of human and tiefling, until the human members were a minority of House Joy. 

Their current leader, a female tiefling named Cara Joy, is a proud bearer of the mark of The Fiend. 

House Riviera

House Riviera deals with the assembly and repair of vehicles, including wagons, carts, and most importantly, water vessels. Originally, the members of this house made their income by repairing ships that dock in the old town's harbor. When Vyardor's demands came in, the family eventually became overwhelmed, and entreated with a noble marid for help. The result was a union of families, quickly producing Half-Marid offspring that would take over as heads of the noble house. With this, House Riviera has access to resources that allow them to produce magical water-faring ships, including ones capable of sailing underwater.

This house is led by a female Half-Marid, named Marie-jois Riviera.  

House Dalla

House Dalla focuses on providing lodging, restaurant, and catering services. It is also the only noble house in Vyardor's Seat that has always been comprised of halflings. The members of this house were originally outcasts, branched off from their main family in Salagoria. As Vyardor increased his demands, House Dalla were the first to branch themselves outside of the city, starting with Salagoria. 

The current head of the family is an elderly male halfling named Lieu Dalla. Lieu is ambitious, yet humble. He is fiercely protective of his family. Lieu used to be an adventurer in his younger years and learned many things of the world in his travels. He retired to his home in Vyardor's Seat when his family needed him to lead the noble house, and he has done so happily. 

Lieu believes that Vyador City's prosperity lies in it's expansion, through the support of the lower class. He has teamed up with House Jerro in this goal.

House Ventura

House Ventura is responsible for travelling, shipping, and distribution. Originally only transported customers to neighboring cities and towns, like Salagoria.

The head of the house is Aisling Ventura, a wild female Half-Orc who likes to dress well and wear big hats. 

House Jerro

This house was once a proud human family who quickly grew to notice the growth of the town into a city. They made a fey pact with the Goblin King to ensure that they had a workforce that could meet the amount of demand that their ambitions required. 

While the goblins would worked for very little payment, the house agreed that the Goblin King and his children were considered members of the noble house. The house prospered for centuries, until the entire family died to a mysterious sickness over one terrible winter. Thus, there was no one left to lead the house except for the goblins, who had a rightful claim.

This house is now led by Char'gak Jerro,  a male goblin, and descendant of the Goblin King.

House Fablaska

House Fablaska deals in the trade of worn goods and tapestry, including some magical wear, and it is the largest meat distributor in the city. Their house slogan is Thread Carefully. The members of this house originally only concerned themselves with making furry leather coats for chilly winters, and comfortable clothing for hot summers. 

When Vyardor's demands started increasing, this house turned to the twilight elves for their advanced techniques in shearing, skinning, and other ways of getting the most out of animals. After some time, much negotiation, and a budding romance, these elves agreed to share their secrets of the trade.  

The leader of this house is Zahir Fablaska, a female Half-Twilight Elf. Zahir follows the long family tradition of employing the lower class in raising and collecting from the livestock, and she thinks that Lieu's and Char'gak's plan to improve their quality of lives will lead to the poor wanting to switch to more glamorous careers, leaving House Fablaska to deal with the fallout of having to either increase their wages or seek workers from elsewhere. As such, Zahir secretly opposes their operation, and seeks to undermine it.