The Van Hyden Family

The Van Hydens are a human noble family of Tumult. They, alongside the Salmonpuddle gnomes, ruled over the southern region of Tumult, the lush wheat fields and bread basket of the Veritian Leaf. While the Salmonpuddles declined in the late 10th century of their calendar, the Van Hydens took over most of their operations, though Pinecone, the capital of the region, is still staunchly waiting for the return of the Salmonpuddles. Despite these gains due to the unfortunate decline of that house, the Van Hydens were also the main victims of the damages brought by the Val'ul war of secession. Essentially, the Van Hydens were the lords of the south and Tumults great agricultural wealth. By 1040 and King Bedrich taking the throne, the Van Hydens were a shell of their former glory, being oppositional to Lady Mirabel and the reunification of Val'ul, and thus perceived as traitors by Bedrich's standards. After the execution of Lida Van Hyden, the once popular choice for queen, most the Van Hydens went either into hiding or were put under house arrest.

Structure

While many of the Van Hydens manage the lands in the south, the higher up officials of the family spend most their days in Tumult dealing with the bureaucracy that has been established over the years. While the family follows a mostly hereditary structure, it also carries a large democratic and meritocratic stance on leadership. If the head is proven unfit, he is voted out. King Bedrich is trying to use that system to oust the current head is in hiding so that he could gain full control of his southern region.

Public Agenda

Though it is not public knowledge, their public agenda was to keep Val'ul from reunifying with Tumult due to their past grudge with the mages.

History

The initial Van Hydens were not a singular family, but a group of human towns around the Fifth Vein who unified to join King Iscalon the First in the Dragon Blight. It took centuries for that mixture of chieftains and aristocrats to become one under the Van Hyden banner.
In 1040, after the death of King Iscalon the Fourth, the new king Bedrich branded the Van Hydens traitors for establishing the Val'ul Resistance League, a group of disgruntled politicians and public officials from the south who tried to prevent the reunification. While they had valid reasons for this resistance, their pleas were going unheard against the love story playing before them. Thus they began a rebellion. It crumbled because it allied with the Uz. The current head of the Van Hydens is still with the branch of Uz, hiding until he could return to Tumult.

For Home and Lush Country

Founding Date

730

Type

Family