House Phiarlan
House Phiarlan is an Elf Dragonmarked House known throughout Khorvaire, although they are primarily based in Aundair, Breland, and Thrane. To the public, Phiarlan is a house of entertainment composed of bards, actors, artists, and acrobats, though in secret it is a house of spies. The public face of House Phiarlan is the Entertainers and Artisans Guild, which manages most of the entertainment industry of Khorvaire, but they also secretly run the Serpentine Table, which collects and sells information.
All members of House Phiarlan are elves, but not all members carry the Mark of Shadow dragonmark. Most members of House Phiarlan belong to one of four family lines: Phiarlan, Tialaen, Shol, or Elorrenthi.
While House Phiarlan is normally very restrictive about elves being able to marry into the House, the events of the Shadow Schism greatly reduced its membership and bloodline's diversity. In recent years the House has been more open to membership of elves outside the dragonmarked house with exceptional skills in the arts or espionage.
Recently, a portion of House Phiarlan splintered off to form House Thuranni in an event known as the Shadow Schism.
Dragonmark
House Phiarlan possesses the Mark of Shadow. This dragonmark grants various magical benefits that relate to divination and illusions.
History
House Phiarlan was one of the first dragonmarked houses to form and it can trace its origins back to when the elves rebelled against their giant captors in Xen'drik during the Age of Giants. The first members of House Phiarlan were scouts and bards who raised morale and brought news and information to the scattered elven tribes. When the elves first discovered the island nation of Aerenal, the Phiarlans traveled between settlements as troubadours and mediators. Over time, the Phiarlans mastered the art of trading information and made sure to use the information they had to their advantage. About 25,000 years ago, the Undying Court made its first appearance in Aerenal and out of fear, the Phiarlans were given the task of serving the Sibling Kings as spies in an effort to help maintain order in the land.
At the dawn of the Current Age, around 3200 years ago, the first dragonmarks appeared, including the Mark of Shadow. During this time the dragons were already at war with the elves and the dragonmarked garnered the suspicion of the dragons. When it was revealed that House Vol was in an alliance with dragons, the Sibling Kings and the dragons united in an attempt to exterminate the House. The elves who carried the Mark of Shadow knew it to be unsafe for the dragonmarked in Aerenal so they fled to Khorvaire in an effort to avoid the same fate as House Vol. Upon arriving in the continent, they banded together to form House Phiarlan around 2600 years ago. The House's artistic skills earned them a place within the Five Nations and in time the Serpentine Table offered its expertise to those in power there.
At some point before the Shadow Schism, Nyria Thuranni d'Phiarlan led a group of dragonmarked heirs from the lines of Thuranni, Shol, and Elorrenthi on a mission trying to find a feyspire, and they eventually succeeded, accessing Taer Syraen in Karrnath, shortly before it drifted back to Thelanis; they were captured by the local winter fey, and spent decades in prison. They earned their freedom within the feyspire by agreeing to serve its ruler, and the shadowmarked heirs earned the respect of the local fey by getting involved in their fights against the fomorians and their intrigues with other powers of the Faerie Court. Since then, the faeryvar ("children of summer", as the eladrin call them), have thrived in their new home and even forming families there, dropping the Phiarlan house name to favor one of the branches of the Winter Citadel. Some of them even became part of the Dagger of Shadows, an order of dragonmarked assassins that, if rumors are to be believed, are used by Shan Syraen himself to eliminate rivals. Since generations passed in Thelanis, when the feyspire returned to Eberron the descendants of Nyria and her people were completely disconnected from their former houses and families, and viceversa, and there was uncertainty about how to reestablish contact between both parties.
The Last War
During the Last War, House Phiarlan offered its services of spying and intelligence to all nations, refusing to side with anyone. Due to House Phiarlan's secrecy and the fact that they took contracts from all sides, eventually House Phiarlan agents found themselves contracted against each other, which led to conflicting loyalties. In 972 YK, a conflict between two of the Phiarlan families tore apart House Phiarlan in an event known as the Shadow Schism. The Thuranni line of House Phiarlan assassinated every member of the Paelion line they could find, claiming that the Paelion family was planning a coup of Khorvaire that would involve assassinating every major ruler and the other Phiarlan families. As punishment, House Phiarlan excoriated the entire Thuranni line, leading them to form the rival house of House Thuranni and taking over Phiarlan's operations in Karrnath and the Lhazaar Principalities.
Business
The members of Phiarlan have held strongly to their traditions. They believe that the greatest treasures of the house are the works of ancient artists. The great works that the house has can normally only be performed by a single person. These heirlooms are handed down by the person who possesses the heirloom, giving it to another worthy individual.
Members of House Phiarlan are often entertainers, like bards or spellcasters specializing in illusions. Some special members are Phiarlan phantasmists or shadow hunters.
Guilds
- Entertainers and Artisans Guild
- The Serpentine Table
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