The Court of Dusk
The Court of Dusk is the ruling faction of Sil-Elaine, perpetuating a system of oligarchic nobility that favors the Dranoch above all others. Within this system, there are no Houses, and only six Lords — Gratiana of Veranor, Rathian of the Barge, Earandil of Feloran, Elenwe of Ard Mora, Morrigan of the Ashen Mooring, and Anton of Morian. As the six realms of Sil-Elaine, it is indisputable that the Court of Dusk holds a hegemonic grip.
Yet within their order lies a foundation built on cruelty and exploitation; and within that cruelty is an ever growing movement to cast them down.
Governance
The Court of Dusk is a system of nobility, but one that cannot even remotely be compared to the sprawling multi-level noble bureaucracy of a Kingdom like Lorien. Instead, there are only six nobles in the entire Realm: the Courtiers themselves, who occupy the title of Lord of each of the six regions. Generally they live and rule directly from their own domain, though they often converge to Veranor to hold wider meetings or approach one another from a distance as a projection of blood vapor, a Dranoch Huntsman ability.
The six Courtiers of Dusk rule everything with absolute authority. With their progeny - Dranoch Cardinals - fulfilling their will by compulsion if necessary, the system of government in Sil-Elaine is efficient in that it requires very little politics. The Courtiers roughly all have the same goal; to survive and continue to evolve, using the Sil'norai as livestock to achieve that end, where they believe there is an evolution even beyond Huntsman.
And so, the nearly peerless power structure they've built has largely been to fulfill that purpose: to rebuild the population of Sil-Elaine albeit slowly, as a considerable sector of the population is consumed each year. In order to continue this malignant cycle, the Dranoch have gained a monopoly on the vast majority of institutions including that of the military and the armed guard, keeping the Sil'norai disarmed and largely vulnerable to the will of their masters.
There is no official leader of the Court of Dusk, as it is an equal council of six. However, Gratiana is widely accepted as their leader and tends to act as one particularly when deliberations have moved towards the decisioning process. There is a surprising level of coordination within the Court, and decisions appear to come easily, but some Cardinals have claimed that behind the scenes there is scheming: for one Courtier to gain a better realm, for a Courtier to be allowed to make their own decisions, or even for a Courtier to dispose of another so that they may drink of the soul of their kin, certain - supposedly - to bring them evolution.
Gratiana
Race: Sil'norai (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 59th of Glade, Year 3877
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lady of Veranor
Details: Gratiana is the last surviving member of the royal line of Silor, and as the Lady of Veranor acts as the leader of the Court of Dusk, the chair of their council and - by extension - she acts as an authoritative figure to all Dranoch, a parent or grandparent to the whole of their species, like the rest of the Court. Her relationship to the Dranoch is above that of even the others, however: Gratiana was the first Dranoch, with Valteran already tied to the woman from before, a master Vitalis mage. Through her blood, all Dranoch were created, including the other Courtiers of Dusk. Out of reach, then, even by the standards set by other Courtiers, the Lady of Veranor has retained her position despite internal conspiracy and even the gradual decline of Dranoch hegemony since the insurgence of the Black Remedy twenty years ago.
Gratiana was - within the Elainian dynasty - the eleventh child, the seventh daughter and near to last to inherit. Despite the clearly unlikely outcome, the young girl - and eventually woman - always sought to surpass her elder siblings in statecraft and other such political skills. And in the eye of many, at least on a purely objective level, Gratiana was perhaps the best among all her siblings; courteous, confident and well-spoken, brilliant and capable of turning even betrayal and deceit to her advantage. Yet so far in the line, she did not acquire much of the attention she so craved... not the affirmation of a mother and father who claimed to love her, nor from the Sil'norai nobility that wished to retain their own familial wealth and nothing else.
Desperate to put her talents to use, Gratiana joined the court as an adviser to her elder brother, Prince Lordrin, the heir to the throne. From within his fledgling circle of connections she began to build the infrastructure of a larger weave of sycophants, those who deserved far more than what they were given by circumstance.
The rest is largely history - Gratiana forged a group within the Noble circles of the then-Kingdom, and during the Sundering she and the surviving Courtiers conspired to control the land and consorted with Dark Gods to that end. This is well known. But after?
Gratiana has been, since her emergence as the Lady of Veranor, a callous ruler - one with little empathy for the livestock that she desperately keeps locked within her realm. She is a formal and calculating presence, with a clearly pragmatic personality that would lend no credence to overtly positive or negative behaviors. She is intelligent and this is made clear within a glance, the woman carried with utmost security in her own knowledge of the people around her.
Ultimately, Gratiana views herself still as a Sil'norai and as their leader, and believes that her dictatorial control is necessary for their survival. She believes the Dranoch have kept the Sil'norai alive despite living amidst the epicenter of the Sundering, a feat the Clockwork Empire did not accomplish. As such, she maintains no moral quandaries.
Rathian
Race: Sil'norai (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 18th of Searing, Year 3808
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lord of the Barge
Details: Rathian is perhaps the most well-respected among his peers, and even among the Sil'norai for his relatively generous deeds. As the Lord of the Barge, the second most populous region of Sil'Elaine, Rathian maintains a prominent position with a considerable number of vassals and resources at his disposal. Despite this, he has always maintained a moderate approach to his style of leadership and tends at least to acquire the majority of his victims from prisons and other refuges for the criminal and vile. He has few progeny, electing to treat each of them as his children and shepherd them at great cost to his time.
As such, the amount of Dranoch in the Barge is lesser and a great number of common Sil'norai occupy roles within the military and administration. Far from utopian, however, the Barge has long acted as a hunting ground for Dranoch aiming to seek out inter-regional refugees for the audacity to seek asylum by a Courtier of Dusk. Rathian, ever permissive of this, perhaps shows his callous nature most clearly; he maintains that the Dranoch are a superior life form, and that they must do as they desire.
Still, one cannot deny upon meeting the man - born into wealth and privilege among the Noble caste of Silor - a level of truth to the wide grins offered and the chuckle of a laugh beneath his breath. Rathian is charismatic, and though he may only value others as momentary fragments of interest, for at least that moment he will value that passing face all the same.
Earandil
Race: Sil'norai (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 32nd of Searing, Year 3783
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lord of Feloran
Details: Earandil is the eldest among the Huntsmen and is easily the most brutal and feared. Had history not been manipulated countless times, he would be known for his countless atrocities beyond number, the pointless cruelty in which he and his progeny have inflicted their desires upon the people he is meant to rule. Of course, within a faction whose aim is little more than to secure utmost power for themselves, a man wielding that power for cruelty is inevitable and Earandil takes pride in that fact.
Perhaps as a consequence of his reputation, Earandil has been tasked with informally leading Sil-Elaine's military, with many of their largest outposts in Feloran where they train to properly defend the realm against internal foes. The Huntsman, enjoying his separation and control, appears to have begun to conspire to leave the military dormant within Feloran as the realms of his fellow Courtiers lay under siege by the Black Remedy. An opportunist at heart, it is clear to many that he wishes to become the King of Sil-Elaine, and as a result he has forged a growing division between himself and the other Courtiers.
Before the Sundering, Earandil was a man born to a highly prestigious noble family, the rulers of Feloran before the cataclysm which tore through their realm. Rathian was in fact the heir to that house, and so was always meant to rule his region, but conspired with the Court of Dusk if only to eliminate more of his opposition. Still, among the Court he was never particularly liked, and acted more as a font of resources for them before and immediately after the Sundering.
Elenwe
Race: Sil'norai (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 11th of Frost, Year 3883
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lady of Ard Mora (Contested by the Black Remedy)
Details: Elenwe is the only member of the Court of Dusk not born into nobility. Rather -- she was engaged to Rathian's brother, Zharon Sil'Vanoril, who was a step above the Courtier in the line of succession. One night came and Elenwe was offered Rathian's hand in marriage instead, if only she betrayed her husband-to-be and slaughtered him in the night. Young - at least for a Sil'norai - and infatuated with the charismatic Lord, Elenwe did indeed kill Zharon and presented to Rathian his heart . . . and at that exact moment the Sundering occurred, and with the old world collapsing the Elven Lord's promise was never fulfilled.
But Elenwe, loyal to Rathian, joined the Court of Dusk after-the-fact by demonstrating her skill as a sorceress and the way in which she seemed to defy the repressive aethereal nature of the Sundering. Elenwe was made a Dranoch like all the others, but still she incorporated magic into her daily life and consistently proved her value to her peers. It was almost immediate that these actions were no longer guided by love; Rathian had never intended to deliver upon his promise, and somehow the woman felt she had lost that desire.
But Elenwe had always wanted to be a mother. That still remained. In place of noble, Sil'norai children she was content in the creation of hundreds and even thousands of Dranoch, glad to be the progenitor of what she felt was an entirely new race. She built Claret, the capital of Ard Mora, a great crimson castle-city meant to house her children where they would learn and grow before engaging in the hunt in the dark of night. And it was soon realized that Elenwe was truly not well, prone to fixation, to fascination with others and arbitrary objectives that would cloud her actions. She was labeled neurotic by the other Courtiers, effectively bound to Ard Mora as if she were locked away.
And, perhaps as a result of the sheer number of her cruel ilk raving throughout her countryside, while kept locked within her realm the Black Remedy grew from within it and acquired Sil-Elaine's largest fortress, the Citadel Gallows, once meant to protect the Dranoch of Claret. Since this occurrence it appears to some that Elenwe has gone truly mad, often going on rampages where she will slaughter random Sil'norai with the belief they are supporters of the Black Remedy, only further bolstering the faction's call to action.
Morrigan
Race: Sil'norai (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 23rd of Glade, Year 3814
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lady of the Ashen Mooring (Contested by the Black Remedy)
Details: While religion is banned in Sil-Elaine on pain of death, there are few rules that apply equally to the Dranoch and certainly the Huntsmen. Morrigan appears to follow the Omen, the religion of Lorien though it has swept through large parts of Turoth. Rather than the Kindred, however, the woman appears to believe in what they allude to: something beyond them, some greater force not beholden even to the Gods of their plane. Perhaps as a result of her ominous religious fantasies, Morrigan appears to act largely behind the scenes, always a shadow. She was not even offered a realm until Courtier Dalen died, and had the offer been negotiable she likely would have passed it onto another Lord.
Though Morrigan is an effective administrator who frequently offers well-crafted arguments to the Court, her true goals often appear pre-occupied and among all of the Huntsmen she is most likely to leave Sil-Elaine for other ventures, often going north to investigate what appears to be the ruins of Daegos Kaitel.
Still, along with Rathian and Gratiana she acts as one of the true backbones of her faction and is an incredibly effective statesman. The Ashen Mooring, even locked in a guerrilla war with the Black Remedy, continues to grow and it appears that her structure of power has not even vaguely been threatened.
Before the Sundering, Morrigan's tale was far from incredible: she was a noblewoman who wished to gain the recognition of the Clockwork Court, desiring to become a member of the Emperor's Court. She joined with Anton to this end, seeking to gain recognition from the Empire's heartland by assisting a man she recognized to be planted by their overlords. Fortunately for her longevity, she did not succeed in relocating to Daegos Kaitel before it was eradicated by the Sundering.
Anton
Race: Human (Dranoch Huntsman)
Date of Birth: 41st of Ash, Year 3897
Title: Courtier of Dusk, Lord of Morian (Contested by the Black Remedy)
Details: For Anton, born among the highest of Daigos Kaitel's nobility, a life of luxury without meaning was never one worth living. Fortunately for the human man, he quickly found meaning in Clockwork technology; in the creation of constructs that would serve in war, weapons and machines and autonomous beasts, ones of make and design that became only superior as time continued.
As a young man, he was stationed to work in Veranor for his brilliance, in order to build and maintain machines meant to both protect and observe the Sil'norai royal family. He fell in not long after with the Court of Dusk, discovering them to be actively conspiring to overthrow and eliminate the monarchy of the then-vassal Kingdom. Anton became indispensable in this task, configuring their protectors to turn against them upon his command - something he initiated once the Sundering washed through the land. Every last member slain save for one, the Court of Dusk was quick to acquire power and around this time they shed their layer of mortal skin.
Since then, the Courtier has been foul in his obsession of Clockwork technology and ways in which it could be expanded upon in the service of the Court of Dusk. It is said that he is always at work on secretive projects, and is given all the time necessary in order to conclude them. What his aim may be however, is unknown.
Anton is said to be a socially awkward and nervous man in person - even despite his position of great authority. He is quick to defer to other Courtiers, appearing to carry no interest in leadership.
Note: It is possible to become a Courtier of Dusk, but one must first become a Dranoch Huntsman and engage in a moderated questline.
