House Ryker
House Ryker is a lesser noble house in the Staglands.
History
House Ryker, appears first in the the history books in the early colonization of the North Swordcoast in 720 DR during the year of the Dawn Rose, having been noted to have been a family of frontiersmen who had established a remote village "in the East" and were raised to the status of Baronets in return for military services.
Ryker, first of his name, became a Knight in service to Sergei von Zarovich and assisted Sergei in fighting, defeating and subduing the Dusk Elves and Uthgardt barbarians who dwelt in the Svalich Vale.
House Ryker served the Zarovich family as scouts, assassins and spies, earning them a mediocre reputation due to their methods. The family was also rumored to be susceptible to making bargains with creatures of the night, which in turn earned the family the nickname "The Nightflowers".
Ryker's grandson came to be known as the "Pale Rose", due to having wielded a faded old shield, upon which only the rose from the family crest was visible, to a tournament and won, but heralds note that the family was known for mercenary work, exploration and adventuring (which they referred to as "erranting"). The family can claim many exploits, such as slain dragons and ancient treasures discovered - however, the family was also quick to sell said treasures and many reports note them as having been robber knights with no particular respect for the law - this is most likely not correct, however, as during this particular time, it was fully legal for Landed Nobility to wage open warfare against other landed nobles, so while the Ryker family undoubtedly did commit questionable deeds, they were most likely not illegal.
Despite these claims, House Ryker survived until rise of Strahd von Zarovich, which caused the immediate collapse of the Principality that the house belonged to, sending the uncursed parts of the Principality directly into a civil war that House Ryker was not equipped to win, so along with many other members of their family they fled East, and for some time, the family had no holdings to speak of and its history almost died.
House Ryker became a merchant family for some time, carting goods from Cormyr to Baldur's Gate, but eventually got back into mercenary work, having had high ranking members in prestigious outfits such as the Black Company and the Flaming Fist, and even officers among the Purple Dragons.
Eventually, in 1167 DR, the family was offered to become landed the Staglands, where many of their original Countrymen had settled after the collapse of the region the Ryker family originated from. They accepted and became the Castellans of Pribyslavitz under Beran Ryker, known as the "Uncrowned Stag", as he was the right hand of the newly appointed Earl of the Staglands, and quite a few sources claim that Ryker did most of the actual work in conquering the Staglands, but that in the end, it was the Talmae family who held the Coronet. It is said that Beran's close association with magic and with the elves who dwelt in the woods made people uneasy around him, which was the reason why people in the end got behind Talmar as Baron.
In 1292, Bran Ryker, younger brother of the then Castellan of Pribyslavitz, established a mill in the fields near the growing little settlement of Uzhitz and was awarded the title of Governor of Uzhitz Township, a hereditary position, and was able to negotiate lucrative positions for his children - his daughter wed the Miller of Skalitz (this was before Skalitz castle had been built, when the only structure at the top of the Skalitz hill was the Rovna Windmill), and his youngest son became the Parish Priest in Rovna, forging strong ties to the small community in that region.
Shortly after construction of Skalitz began, in 1396 DR, Pribyslavitz was suddenly attacked by a Red Dragon, forcing the inhabitants of the village to flee - most fled to Ridge Home where they lived in a large refugee camp.
During the attack, the head of the family had fallen and leadership fell to Bran Ryker's son, already an aged man at this point.
Most of the refugees from Pribyslavitz were sent to work in the quarry of Talmberg and were offered settlement rights in settlement of Skalitz, forging an even stronger bond between the Lord of Skalitz and the Ryker family.
"Far Reaches, Distant Shores" - The Nightflowers - Pale Rose
Founding Date
720 DR
Type
Family
Capital
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments