Worldbuilding | The Nine
The Nine Houses of the 3rd Generation of the 1st Ennead
Nine families. 3 generations. Or so they thought.
In order to understand the dynamics of the 3rd generation of the 1st Ennead we must first explore the dynamics of its 1st. As I hinted at in an older post on The Rule of Nine itself, which you can read below, there was a contingent of the 1st that never truly bought into the idea behind this new Republic Kingdom. Their decedents betrayed the Ennead in the 2nd generation in service of the Empire. This small coalition of houses couldn’t let the past die and they paid for it with their legacy, their linage, and their lives.
To quote the above piece directly:
At the time of Athea’s conception it was at war with its neighbor, The Dobashi Empire. The Lady of Ennea, Athenia Shadoon orchestrated a secession from the Empire along with:
Lady Uldrick of Pinetop, Lord Tytus of Shadegulf, Lord Urik of Annsbury, Lady Yurrick of Densewood, Lord Bolisk of Olisia, Lady Glendor of Dunport, Lady Nihlia of Lismark, and Lord Andion of Freemount.
Despite this initial conglomerate’s ability to come together in a time of great unrest they proved incapable of holding things together for too long. Led by Lord Tytus of Shadegulf, two other houses, Uldrick of Pinetop and Urik of Annsbury, rebelled against their countrymen. After learning that the Empire had launched ships from Giot that had captured Shadegulf by “surprise” Lady Uldrick and Lord Urik rushed to their aid. The Empire “held” Shadegulf for nearly 2 years while ostensibly being under siege by forces from Pinetop and Annsbury.
A plot to allow the Empire a direct route back into Athea was eventually discovered by Lord Bolisk and Lady Glendor and after their forces were routed each house that betrayed Athea was promptly banished, the heads of said houses were ceremoniously executed. All of this lead to the 1st Disentanglement, which required 3 new houses to be chosen to lead.
Neither Pinetop nor Annsbury would remain as seats of the Nine, being replaced by House Sullio of Norligh and House Engl of Riverburgh. Shadegulf was too important of a location to leave its separate from the influence of the rest of the Nine. That said, a decision was made to temporarily leave the 9th seat vacant. Queen Elra of the 2nd moved herself and her family from Ennea to Shadegulf along with her contingent of the army to man the city’s decimated garrison. These events prompted Queen Elra’s later invasion of Giot, which currently serves as the 9th seat in the 3rd generation of the Ennead.
Politics is complicated. Actual governance even more so. The early years of Athea and the Ennead were tumultuous and chaotic. In the aftermath of the upheaval caused by Houses Tytus, Uldrick, and Urik the 3rd generation of the Nine looks a bit different than the 1st:
Queen Ellaria of Ennea
Governor Fatyan of Giot
Commander Sullio of Norligh
Lady Engl of Riverburgh
Lord Yurrick of Densewood
Lady Bolisk of Olisia
Lord Glendor of Dunport
Lady Nihlia of Lismark
Lord Andion of Freemount
While the stories surrounding the events known to Atheans as the 1st Disentanglement are interesting, they are best left for another time. What we know of the families who were banished is little. Rumors of them gaining a foothold in the United Provinces of Lokmee are the most popular, though no more substantiated than those they say the Uldricks fled to the Islands of Kavana and are the true ancestors of their current King.