House Belatte
They may have seemed unassuming, but they were up there, weren't they? This whole business smells like trouble.House Belatte was one of the Twelve of Sorenel before their fall in Dorell of 590. The sudden attack on their Great Keep and their subsequent disappearance has sent ripples throughout noble society. While it is possible that the members of the main family are still alive, their disappearance immediately following the destruction of their keep is enough to cement them as fallen among their peers in Sorenel noble society. As that is what determines a noble house's power, they would need a re-founding of their estate to be accepted back into the upper echelons of Sorenellian society. It is believed that the Dragon Chain Rush was coined as both a manner to quickly fill their vacant spot as well as distract noble society from such politics before the other eleven can get their affairs in order.
Structure
As with most noble houses, House Belatte was officially headed by their youngest married firstborn heir, Eryan Belatte. However, in the case of house Belatte, the Highborn shares equal authority with his wife Marella Belatte. Being a great house, and an old one at that, they have amassed a sizeable estate of an exorbitant number of vassals and great stretches of land. However considering this, the Belatte family was surprisingly small. There was only one active branch of the family, and the main family tended not to have more than a few children.
Public Agenda
House Belatte is/was well known for being consistent with their public stance. Their general public belief is that every man counts, meaning that they promise to take more time and care to see to their employees, members, and vassals. They have been known to allow and promote greater independence from the Great House, while still offering their services of protection and representation as dutifully as any other house. This stance does not necessarily extend to Frese, which they have little dealings with and allow their vassals to handle as they please so long as they follow the house guidelines.
Assets
As one of the Sorenel Twelve, house Belatte was powerful and very wealthy. They were the house owning the second largest land area among the twelve, short only of the agricultural monolith that is House Marinen. However, a large amount of Belatte's land is considered unusable, so by wealth in land House Palaciel has them surpassed as well.
My wealth lies in my Roots and my Branches. I can unite the earth and the heavens without merely a stretch.In terms of monetary wealth they are perhaps the single house in the 12 with the smallest sum of gold in their coffers. While their wealth is still leagues and leagues greater than most other noble houses and families, their true power rests in the number of vassals and members they have. Few have such good connections as house Belatte. After their fall, a great number of processes which were taken for granted have seized to function. The clerics of the Principality of Coinage have estimated that the prices have risen by a staggering 8% across the board since their downfall.
History
House Belatte, while not old amongst its peers in the Twelve, is an ancient house in terms of the empire at large. The estate and lineage has been documented all the way back to 64 ED, when Highborn Lady Velet was granted her noble title postmortem by God himself for her efforts in the construction of Sorenel and its protection from the early disasters that plagued the beginning of Era Dominis. It is said that Lady Velet was a powerful sorceress, specifying in the control over plants. According to house lore she already hailed from a long line of mages, many of which had joined the legions of the Lord before the Ascension.
Over the following years House Belatte grew in power and influence, gaining more and more support from the voices of society. In 100 ED, the 12 of Sorenel were founded, with Belatte as one of the original members. While even then not being the most decisive of houses, it is considered greatly thanks to them that the 12 even exist, as Belatte had good relations to all houses at the time. While this is no longer fully the case, the house continues to have very few outright enemies.
Over the following years House Belatte grew in power and influence, gaining more and more support from the voices of society. In 100 ED, the 12 of Sorenel were founded, with Belatte as one of the original members. While even then not being the most decisive of houses, it is considered greatly thanks to them that the 12 even exist, as Belatte had good relations to all houses at the time. While this is no longer fully the case, the house continues to have very few outright enemies.
Rumours concerning Belatte
Since their apparent fall, a number of rumours have cropped up around their demise, current whereabouts, or mysterious enemies.Rumours concering the Fire
Being the direct cause of their fall leads the fire of Belatte Keep to leads Most of the rumours conclude that the fire was no mere accident, its origin however is more variable.- The first rumour circling the rings of nobility is that house Belatte had more enemies among nobles than first apparent. Many suspect House Palaciel or Rambull being displeased with the competition house Belatte was creating in recent years, after taking many a guild under its wing.
- Another common rumour is that the fire was set by an interloper hidden among the servants with a vindictive sentiment towards their masters. This has led to many a call for greater surveillance in the Bryniths. Most other noble houses have taken this into their own hands, though some are still attempting to persuade the church to spare some Clerics of Enforcement.
- A far less popular rumour is that House Belatte set the fires themselves. However as the only supporting evidence to this is that their bodies were not found meaning they presumably escaped means it is generally taken with a grain of salt.
Rumours concerning current Status
The other topic which tends to be talked about at length are the Belatte family's current status. Only Arbos Belatte III was confirmed to have died in the fire and Corasiela-Adie is not aware of her brother's whereabouts either. However, it is believed that if they are not dead, they are most likely hiding to keep whatever caused the fire in their keep to deal the final blow.- Of course many believe all four Belatte members to simply have perished during the fire, as Arbos did, however their burnt skeletons simply have not been found or identified.
- Some others claim to know that the family left Sorenel on the night of the fire, accompanied by a strange Frese and a brightly coloured horse. While this theory is commonly doubted due to the consistent inclusion of the horse, the fact that the same story with the same horse detail has been told by several disconnected sources lends it some degree of credibility.
- According to rumour, if Enryan and his family are still alive, they are most likely hiding in the southern reaches of the Empire, as several sources from Geruth have reported a family of four nobles passing through. House Belatte also owns vast parts of the forested lands to the south, and are likely to have access to remote and mostly hidden residence options.
Wood stronger than Steel, Bark stronger than Stone.
Founding Date
64 ED
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Leader
Leader Title
Family Leader
Location
Notable Members
Comments