Alderley Clan
The Crathlian royal must never allow his or her bloodline to die. Since the Alderleys broke away from the rule of the aignaoithe, our power has been revered throughout the world. This power must never be allowed to fade, or national morale and international respect will crumble, and the regime will be in a place of grave vulnerability. An heir must be produced at all costs; we must compensate for the barren, protect the living, and replace the dead.The Alderley clan is the royal clan of the Kingdom of Crathlia. It has held a throne in Seersbury since the 700s and has controlled all its present-day land since the 800s. Its political power has waxed and waned over time, but it remains the clan to which all of Crathlia answers. Paralleling that, it boasts the highest power levels of any human family in the world.
First Bearer
In the final years of the Colonization, a fourteen-year-old descendant of the High Lord of the Colony ran away from his regiment with a group of his fellow boys, or so the legends go. Alden Ó Flaithrí would go on to lead the revolution against the ruling shapeshifters, discovering the art of convergence and killing his own forefather, Flaithrí son of Nuallán and Ríona. Needless to say, the children of this legendary man took on their father's name, as Alden himself bore his shapeshifter ancestor's. Over the years following the ultimate overthrow of the shapeshifters, the ability of his descendants to read and write dwindled (not that Alden himself likely knew how to read or write). The conquering Empire of Neuhafen's prejudice against the old tongue, Alden, and the Revolution encouraged Alden's descendants to mask their true name. Variations such as Aldenflorry and Aldenlory have been found in documents. One of these descendants would go on to regain the glory of his ancestor and define the name of the clan that now rules the Kingdom of Crathlia. Born to Morgana Aldenlory and a mainlander mercenary, the young revolutionary altered his mother's name in accordance with the word alderman. Together with Alastair Colbreak, Matthew Alderley went on to overthrow the empire, and he was crowned king over his then-small kingdom. In doing so, he founded the longest-lasting dynasty of kings in Gormhan's history.Conquest
The sons and daughters of King Matthew the Great set their eyes on the rest of North Lautney and the isles of Dalry and Arden. Attempts at those two islands were unsuccessful due to the warrior culture on those two islands, driving out mainlanders and the inhabitants of the two Lautneys alike. The conquest of the Lautneys was more successful; within a hundred years, North Launtey was united under feudal Alderley rule, along with the northern part of South Lautney. In 825, King Donovan Alderley married Queen Brigid Wavebreak of Arden and Dalry Isles, uniting the two kingdoms for their mutual benefit. Their children were the first to bear both their parents' surnames, starting a naming tradition that continues to this day. With the two kingdoms combined, the rest of South Lautney and Dublean were conquered by 848, with many warlords swearing fealty to the Alderleys to avoid being crushed. For the next hundred years, the Alderleys clung to their crown, always at risk of being deposed by one of their liege lords or ladies. They held dueling contests for marriage into the family and required that all Alderleys marry Crathlians to keep strong ties with the local nobility and ensure that the Alderley clan was the strongest in Crathlia. But it was to be one of their own who nearly destroyed the Alderley clan: King Hadrian Alderley the Usurper, who killed most of his relatives and took the crown for himself. He bore no children despite marrying three times, and it seemed that the Alderley clan was doomed to die out and leave a power vacuum for the High Clans to battle over. Luckily, the twin princes, grandchildren of Queen Siobhan Rayburn Alderley, were saved by Rayburn and Blackburn loyalists. Once Percival was determined to be the more powerful of the two, the loyalist clans deposed and killed King Hadrian and crowned their new king, the thirteen-year-old Percival Jetworth Alderley, who was to bring his kingdom into a new age of stability and progress.Sun Age
The young King Percival spent most of his early reign as a puppet of the loyalists who saved him, his every move a subject for debate and manipulation. His marriage to Aveline Everdon Ashdown marked the turning point; together, they founded the Senate, decreasing their own power and giving the nobility the ability to elect representatives instead of constantly fighting over the ear of the king and queen. They also founded Everdon Academy as a place for young nobility from across Crathlia to bond with one another, along with the newly allied shapeshifters. The popularity of the Alderleys greatly increased at this point, both among the nobility and the common people, and the Alderley clan became what it is today: acknowledged as the permenant leaders of Crathlia. After the discovery of power level testing, dueling fell out of favor as the test of a noble's capability, and the Alderley heirs instead married the highest-scoring among their peers. This practice continues to this day and is the reason that I am engaged to Prince Victor.Present Day
Today, the Alderley clan has been dealt blows not by the nobility, but by the common people. Queen Isabelle and King Charles were assassinated in 1295, the first king and queen in a century to be killed by human hands. However, commoner-raised King Leonard Whitewave's crowning has placated some of the backlash against the royal family. His down-to-earth nature and ability to relate to the masses has made him the most popular monarch since Queen Catherine Alderley Scaleburn.Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Alternative Names
Crathlian royal family
Leader Title
Family Leader
Location
Queen Alexandra Alderley Whitewave
Clarisse Alderley Feyrock
Albert Alderley Greengale
Prince Brennan Alderley Abíóyè
Princess Eloise Alderley Luma
Comgan Alderley Evenbrook
Prince Felix Whitewave Alderley
Alva Alderley Ironwood
Prince Victor Whitewave Alderley
Tabitha Greengale Alderley
Comments