Nobility of Valossa

Valossa may be a republic, but it is a noble republic, and it does not hold that all men are created equal. The islands have their own class of powerful and influential families, drawn from various sources. Some of these are branches of noble houses from Taldameer and elsewhere, and some have relocated from other lands in generations past. Others, however, came from more ignoble beginnings. Some of the most respected and resplendent Valossan nobles are descended from the pirates who settled Porto Libre.

Others were military officers rewarded for their service to the Kingdom, during its short tenure, with plots of land in the conquered territories of the islands following the Great Unification under Martinho I. Many of these new fiefs were created in the unsettled territories of sparsely populated Valossa, and were established as haciendas - countryside villas managed by the nobility. Though some haciendas belong to nobles or monasteries that reside there, others are subject to families dwelling in the settled core, sometimes many miles away, and tasking a seneschal with the day-to-day management of the estate.

However, there are also cases where newly appointed nobles were placed in jurisdiction over existing settlements that were largely independent prior to the Valossan conquest. Often, this has led to tensions growing between the unfamiliar elite and the people who had lived there for generations. Some times, this has led to families being displaced from their land and replaced with retainers from Porto Libre - and more often than not, it has led to resentment brewing between the people and their lords. The armies of Porto Libre might be able to exert power close to home, but with the islands as wild as they are and the settlements so scattered, some further-flung villages have become hotbeds of turmoil, with the local nobility struggling to contain unrest.

The most prominent privilege of Valossan nobility is membership in the Grand Council - the body of politicians responsible for electing officials to preside over the Republic, including the Doge. Though some seats are allowed for clergy, merchants, and guildsmen (and these seats typically have limited terms, while those for nobles are for life), the majority can only be drawn from the landed gentry. A select twelve members of the Council, chosen by lot, are inducted into the Doge's Council. Matters of official policy are voted on by the Grand Council, though the Doge casts two votes and breaks any ties. When not voting on important issues, they also serve as advisors to the Doge. Though the Grand Council elects its membership, many of its members have strong support among the populace, and in the cities of Valossa it is not uncommon for officials to have mobs at their disposal to pressure others into securing their power, however under the table it may be.

Of course, many noble families have their own agendas. Not all are loyal to the Dogaressa. The world of politics is a cutthroat one, for all the pomp and grandeur of noble courts, and there are many factions in Valossa's governance. Some families aspire to coveted positions in the Doge's Council, or even the seat of Doge, and are willing to take whatever measures to attain such aims. Some feel the Dogaressa is unfit for her position, and others just want that sort of power for themselves. Then you have those who have their loyalties with the Kingdom - who cling to the fading memories of a Valossa united under a royal dynasty, and wish to see it restored. For some, they see that crown on their own head.

Valossan Noble Families

Here are a select few noble houses of Valossa:

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  House Margarita is the most powerful of Valossa's noble families - the Dogaressa, Marilisa Margarita, comes from the family, and she comes from a long line of influential figures in the city's history, many of whom have served on the Doge's Council. In light of the tumultuous history of Valossa under the Kingdom, Marilisa intends to uphold the Republic's good name and to expand its influence with other powers - though, as a result, she has made it a priority to tighten her grasp over the islands, which has not been universally welcomed by her fellow nobility, particularly those who prefer the freedom their distance presents them. Her rule is a strict and shrewd one, though the fact that she has left her father in charge of the Doge's Guard has not escaped allegations of nepotism - and there are members within her own family who have ties to the criminal underworld, hoping to use it as a means to gain power for themselves, or to usurp her.

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  House Vilalba exerts considerable influence from Porto Libre, with its head, Marco Vilalba, serving on the Doge's Council. A personable man loyal to the Republic and without much in the way of his own ambitions, Marco is known as a charming and well-cultured man who enjoys the company of his peers at many a grand gala. Secretly, however, he also serves as the Dogaressa's spymaster. He owns a number of haciendas in the countryside that report to him to monitor the movements of the more far-flung nobility, and hopefully keep them in line; he also has a sizeable merchant company in his pocket that he uses to keep an eye on goings-on in foreign powers. An open secret is that his merchants are involved in arms smuggling on the side.
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  House Torian also has a finger in the pie of the Doge's Council, with Hector Torian occupying one of its seats. However, the family has long been retainers to the now-extinct House Drac - the same family that ruled over the Kingdom of Valossa - and old habits die hard. Though the days of the Kingdom are growing further and further in the past, Hector clings to its glories into his old age, and asserts the divine right of the Drac family to rule even if the late Ciriaco I remains unpopular for his corruption and excesses. He hopes that one day an heir to the throne may be found, and that Valossa would be returned to its glories. Other, younger members of his family, however, are growing impatient, and some have entertained the idea of making a grab to install themselves as the royal dynasty.

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  House Esparzano is a newer family, descended from a general who won honor in the conquests of Martinho I and was awarded with an estate in the newly-claimed countryside. Though it has not held its prestige for as long as others in Valossa, its matriarch, Eloisa de Esparzano, asserts that this makes them no less important. Content to carve out a sphere of influence for herself beyond the reach of Porto Libre, she has been focused on establishing alliances and marrying off her children to fellow hacendados to expand her reach. Those from the capital regard the Esparzanos as rougher, barbaric sorts who have not adopted the manners of their position and still favor in the company of woodsmen and vaqueros, while the Esparzanos themselves feel that they are living their life as they will and that the idle gentry have grown soft in their days of languishing, unused to the demands of arms of a true knightly house - and they don't take kindly to such fools telling them what to do.