House Horne
The ruling family of the kingdom of Softsong, House Horne rules from the coastal city of the same name. Alongside the Greengroves, the Hornes are somewhat in the second teir of wealth and power in the Silverspire Empire. They are still fabulously wealthy compared to the common man, but less so than Houses Pointe and Stillwater.
It is the relationship between House Pointe that the Hornes that is the most complex and thus interesting. Though they now rule Silverspire, the Pointes originate from Breaking Pointe, the northern fishing town on the edge of the kingdom of Softsong. In the Age of Mortals the Pointes ruled the coastal plain called The Break, while the Hornes controlled trade at the mouth of the Blue River. The two were allies, even intermarrying from time to time. But when Argostan began his campaign to unite the kingdoms of Miridia, the Hornes were one of the first houses to bend the knee. They joined Softsong's armies to Silverspire and set about taking the other nearby territories. After conquering The Break, House Pointe and its territories were given to Hornes, making the Pointes their subordinates.
It was not until generations later that a Pointe was appointed Duke of Silverspire by the Silver Dragonlord, effectively jumping over the Hornes in status and power. A branch of House Pointe still rules as Earls of Breaking Pointe, a tenuous position for House Horne to maintain. On one hand the Pointes of The Break are their vassals, but those vassals are cousins of their rulers.
Futher complicating matters is the public perception that House Horne is soft and opulent while the northern Pointes are strong defenders of the Empire. Nixalia's raiders pillage the northern coasts from time to time, but Softsong's sheltered position on the Silvering Sound protects it from such attacks. Since Softsong does little actual fighting against the raiders, it is to the Pointes, not the Hornes, that the people look for protection. All of these tensions are sure to come to a head eventually, but it is not clear when or how as of yet.
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