Venora Family

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Venora is a relatively prosperous family which specializes in the location and acquisition of rare curios and artifacts. This occasionally puts them into conflict with House Talamyr.

The head of the family is Fenwick Venora, a very intelligent but constantly distracted sage. Given his absent-mindedness and his preference for history and mythology over politics and economics, the day-to-day operations of the family are primarily handled by his son Edgar and Edgar's son Fergus.

History

Kaada Venora was not the first of his name but he was the one responsible for originally aligning Venora with House Argentus. The Venora family was a minor noble house, specializing in the recovery of relics and lore from ancient sites, primarily Satarite ruins from the Second Age but also elven ruins after the exodus of the elves that survived the genocide of 903.

House Argentus, once the dominant merchant house of Ilmara, had been on a slow decline since 915 due to a combination of risky investments and a costly trade war with the Agathars, a large Zeldoran noble family. To arrest their fall they began to strengthen their ties with allied families. In 1020 they began talks with Kaada Venora to integrate his family more closely with Argentus in a variety of ways, including (but not limited to) arranged marriages. In 1032, Kaada's daughter Morrylia was married to Gunther Argentus, and in 1033 his son Roland married Halina Argentus. With the birth of Roland and Halina's daughter Rowena later that year, the bond between the two families was sealed and Venora was officially a part of Argentus.

Holdings

Like the other families of House Argentus, Venora has its primary estates in Ilmara. They used to have additional property elsewhere in the Avellyn River Valley, but these other holdings were abandoned after the Thaumaturgical Wars due to the decimation of the general population as well as the subsequent dangers that emerged in the aftermath.

The family does still retain a manor in the Zarkhirran city of Qet. It is currently occupied by Roland and Halina's daughter Rowena Cerullo, her husband Denham, and their household.

Notable Family Members

Notable members of the Venora family are described below.

Ana Venora
Wife of Kaada Venora. She was a half-elf, which means that the Venorans descended from her and Kaada all have at least a trace of elven blood.

Axel Venora
Edgar and Gillian's elder son. Axel was an adventurer who sacrificed himself to save the rest of his party when they were attempting to escape from the Drakari city of Rath-Kaelin. He held off pursuing dark elves long enough to buy his companions time to reach the surface.

Edgar Venora
Fenwick's younger son. Currently the de facto head of the Venora family due to his father's distractions and his brother's drunkenness. Ended up as the surrogate father of Miandra and Shashank.

Edric Venora
Fenwick's eldest son. Once the steward of the Venora family, Edric became despondent and a drunkard after his wife ran off with another man.

Fenwick Venora
The current head of the the Venora family. Very intelligent but constantly distracted by research or experiments. Fenwick has little use for politics or economics; as such, the family interests are currently directed by his son Edgar and his grandson Fergus.

Fergus Venora
Edgar's youngest son. Once an adventurer, he retired in 1100 after the death of his brother Axel while escaping from the Drakari city of Rath-Kaelin. He now helps his father Edgar with overseeing the family's interests.

Kaada Venora
The "founder" of the Venora family as it exists today. Any records of Kaada's immediate family were lost (along with a great deal of other knowledge) during the Thaumaturgical Wars.

Keira Venora
Wife of Edric Venora. This wife and mother left her husband Edric to run off with Varis Almeric, a Sylvari warrior whom she met at an Argentus function (Almeric was a cousin to someone in the Alenthe family). Her infidelity left Edric a broken man. After she left and Edric crawled into a bottle, Edgar and Gillian ended up raising their children Miandra and Shashank. Keira currently lives somewhere in the vicinity of Corathmyr. She bore Almeric two children, Larion and Wylan.

Luella Venora
The daughter of Valeska Venora. Fairly attractive, Luella is slowly becoming as ruthless and ambitious as her mother. Likely due to her mother's influence, she is taking an interest in the affairs of her second cousins - Miandra, Shashank, Wylan, and Fergus - since they believe the path to power lies amongst that part of the family.

Miandra Venora
Daughter of Edric and Keira. Miandra is a young warrior-mage and adventurer, pursuing her own goals as well as those of the family. She is Shashank's twin sister and Wylan's half-sister. Like her brother, she bears a grudge against elves, blaming them for her mother abandoning them.

Morrylia Argentus
Morrylia was Kaada Venora's sole daughter. She married Gunther Argentus in 1030. In 1050, while staying at their country manor near York, the two were attacked by Shaarizadi cultists. They were brutally tortured, bound, and left within the manor as it was burnt to the ground. The family has always believed that House Malor was involved as well.

Shashank Venora
Son of Edric and Keira. Shashank is a young rogue and adventurer, pursuing his own goals as well as those of the family. He is Miandra's twin brother and Wylan's half-brother. Like his sister, he bears a grudge against elves, blaming them for his mother abandoning them.

Tanus Venora
Cousin to Edgar Venora. Tanus and Edgar are quite close, though they don't see each other than often due to Tanus's travels and Edgar's responsibilities in managing the family. Tanus is an accomplished warrior-mage, and mentored Edgar's niece Miandra in the pursuit of the same career.

Valdemar Venora
One of Kaada Venora's sons. Little is known of Valdemar as it is taboo in the family to speak of him. The scant information that anyone has found is that he was very intelligent and an accomplished scholar and wizard. In 1035, however, he disappeared and nothing is written of him past that.

Valeska Venora
The only child of Gotthard and Iona. Despite her age, Valeksa is still quite attractive. She is selfish, ambitious, and hungers for power. Valeska is also prone to scandalous behavior; the upper crust of Ilmara was shocked when she became pregnant with her daughter Luella with no husband and no intention of having one. It is also whispered that Valeska secretly worships Savia.

Wylan Almeric
Bastard son of Keira Venora and Varis Almeric. Wylan is a woodsman and the second fruit of the union between the unfaithful Keira and the elf Varis. Unlike his brother Larion, he has chosen to embrace his Venoran half and has sought acceptance by his human family.

Zavarra Venora
Zavarra is the wife of Fergus Venora. She is a beautiful Drakari who does not share the evil tendencies of her brethren. She met Fergus in 1100 in the dark elven city of Rath-Kaelin. Fergus and his adventuring party had been captured by the Drakari and were intended to be sacrificed to dark gods or sold into slavery. Zavarra helped the group escape and fled with Fergus to the surface world. The two fell in love and were wed shortly after. Gillian, Fergus's mother, does not care for Zavarra and makes no secret of the fact; some in the family believe she's prejudiced against Drakari while others think she indirectly blames Zavarra for Axel's death. Fortunately, Gillian's ire does not extend to Zavarra and Fergus's children, who are terribly spoiled by their grandmother.

Notable Family Retainers

Notable individuals in the employ of the Venora family are described below.

Drakken
A paladin of Karnus and a regular companion of Miandra, Shashank, Wylan, and Kalnac. Drakken has proven his value to the family on numerous occasions, and it might be said that his healing prayers have saved the lives of his fellows on more than one occasion. He is a valued member of the Venora acquisitions and exploration staff.

Drakken disappeared on Autumnturn 17, 1104. He was last seen with a caravan on the Kings Way about a day east of Winterhaven.

Kalnac
A Dhazyra warlock and a regular companion of Miandra, Shashank, Wylan, and Drakken. Though his culture and profession make some uneasy in his presence, Kalnac has proven his value to the family on numerous occasions. He is a valued member of the Venora acquisitions and exploration staff.

Kalnac disappeared on Autumnturn 17, 1104. He was last seen with a caravan on the Kings Way about a day east of Winterhaven.