House Lyrandar

Eberron Campaign Guide

According to House Lyrandar lore, the Mark of Storm first appeared more than 2,000 years ago on two half-elves, Lyran and Selavash, who saw visions of Arawai and Kol Korran promising that the half-elves would become masters of both nature and commerce. The duo traveled across Khorvaire, encouraging half-elves to divorce themselves from both human and elven society. Over time, the children of Selavash and Lyran—the Lyran’dar—became a dragon marked house.

The Last War: In the early stages of the Last War, House Lyrandar was less involved than other dragonmarked houses, since its elemental airships hadn’t yet been invented and the Five Nations had little need for sea transport. But as the war ground on, various governments approached House Lyrandar about using weather control to gain an advantage on the battlefield or to augment farm production at home. House Lyrandar agreed, but limited its manipulation to improving the weather. For the right price, House Lyrandar would provide plentiful spring rainfall or an early thaw in the mountains, but refused to cause a drought or bog down an army in mud or snow. Nations and dragon marked houses paid well for such services.

Dragonmarked

Though the origins of House Lyrandar remain shrouded in myth, a few solid facts are known. Some twenty-six hundred years ago, a signifi cant number of elves migrated to Khorvaire in the wake of the civil war in Aerenal that destroyed the line of Vol. Where elf and human settlements came into close proximity, intermarriage became common. However, when the earliest generations of halfelves were born, a good number of the elf settlers rejected them, leaving a population of half-caste children spread across human lands. Over the next six hundred years, this population grew.

According to house doctrine, the founders of Lyrandar were chosen by the gods themselves. The half-elves Lyran and Selavash were the first to manifest the Mark of Storm, both claiming to have received their marks accompanied by visions of the sovereign lords Arawai and Kol Korran. The sovereigns hailed the duo as the true children of Khorvaire. The half-elves were a race made strong through their hybrid blood, and would wield power over both nature and commerce.

In the decades that followed, Lyran and Selavash traveled across Khorvaire, preaching their vision to others of their kind. Tales of miracles performed by the pair are common, but all that can be said for certain is that both possessed an almost supernatural ability to inspire others of their race. The charismatic duo encouraged half-elves to form their own separate communities and to recognize themselves as a unique race—the Khoravar, or “Children of Khorvaire.” Their followers began to call Selavash and Lyran the Firstborn, naming themselves “children of Lyran,” or Lyrandar.

As proscribed marriage within the Khoravar community began to make Lyrandar a line of related families, the Mark of Storm spread through those families with great speed. Those blessed by this magic soon became House Lyrandar, operating a small fl eet of swift ships and providing fair weather to farmers in need. Long after Selavash and Lyran had passed away, legends of the Firstborn continued to spread. To this day, a good number of Lyrandar believe that the spirits of the founders still guide the house.

Like many dragonmarked houses, Lyrandar’s fortunes have shifted with the end of the Last War. The Korth Edicts placed limits on the houses owning land and maintaining military forces, but with the collapse of Galifar, Lyrandar has been able to circumvent both restrictions. The house owns a number of stormships (described in Explorer’s Handbook), ostensibly to defend its fl eets against piracy. The house has also developed extensive holdings in Valenar, and appears to have considerable influence there.

Since the days of Lyran and Selavash, House Lyrandar has been a haven for the Khoravar people. The viceroys of the house actively encourage any half-elves to join the house guilds, and any Khoravar who shows exceptional skill has a chance to be adopted into the house. Members of other races can serve in the guilds, but they are often excluded from holding high office. Lyrandar heirs are strongly discouraged from marrying any but other Khoravar, and in the past, this was grounds for excoriation.

The majority of members of House Lyrandar are tied to the Windwrights Guild. Whether shipwrights, sailors, navigators, guides, or guards, they treat the sea as a second home. Those heirs who choose not to serve in the guilds focus on the overall administration of the house, often serving as advocates for the Khoravar race. The vision of the Firstborn remains at the core of House Lyrandar, and heirs continue to work toward their vision of a unified Khoravar race—and, potentially, a Khoravar homeland.

Though some houses put pressure on scions to become agents, Lyrandar encourages a certain level of independence among its heirs. The house often supports the wayward lives of its adventuring scions, with the understanding that these prodigals will someday return to the fold and put their skills to work.

Whether you were born into Lyrandar or adopted by the house, your rank is determined by your service to the house, service to the guilds, and service to the Khoravar race. Though the swiftest way to earn the respect of the viceroys is by serving as an agent of the house, young Khoravar are often encouraged to wander and learn the ways of the world. Sail the seas, see distant lands, and whenever possible, serve your people in the process. The knowledge you acquire and the contacts you make will serve the house in time.

Many Lyrandar viceroys are middleaged or older, and the general philosophy of the house is to leave administration to those seasoned by work and the world. You are young, so enjoy your youth. The house will come to you if it has a task to be performed, and your service will be remembered when the time comes.

You take pride in your house, and with good reason. The wind is your ally, the sea your dominion. The Last War shattered Orien trade routes and devastated House Cannith, but your people are stronger than ever. With the development of the airship, you have risen from the seas to claim the sky.

In a world where nationality and faith often take precedence over race, your family has woven all three together. You have been taught that the Khoravar are a blessed people with a grand future, and that House Lyrandar lies at the center of this destiny. Humans came from Sarlona, elves from Aerenal. Your kind are the true children of Khorvaire, and the world is yours.

For those in the Windwrights Guild, the connection to the sea is always strong. The Stormwrack supplement contains a number of character options suitable for heirs of Lyrandar, as well as numerous challenges for characters who make a life on the open water.

Adventurers who travel by air or by sea do business with House Lyrandar on a regular basis. Yet the kraken lurks beneath even the fairest seas, and it is hard to see how far its tentacles reach. House heirs and half-elf adventurers might find House Lyrandar to be a valuable patron, but those who cross it find that the kraken is a deadly foe.

House Lyrandar uses the standard hierarchy of the dragonmarked houses. The house leader holds the title of matriarch or patriarch, but is often addressed as “firstborn” by members of the house who believe that Lyran and Selavash speak through her. The current matriarch is Esravash d’Lyrandar (NG female half-elf), one of the youngest matriarchs in the house’s history. In addition to the Raincallers Guild and the Windwrights Guild, House Lyrandar controls a number of smaller agencies and cabals. Sela’s Path is the priesthood of House Lyrandar. The cult reveres Arawai, Kol Korran, Lyran, and Selavash. Its adherents maintain that the souls of the firstborn serve as intermediaries between the Khoravar and the Sovereign Host, just as Tira Miron is said to speak for the Silver Flame.

Lyran’s Gift is the arcane research arm of the house. The Gift helps Lyrandar spellcasters hone their skills, and it works in concert with House Cannith and the Twelve to develop new forms of magic.

The Storm Front is rumored to be a cult operating within House Lyrandar whose members believe that the Mark of Storm is not a gift of Arawai and Kol Korran but the mark of the Devourer. Cult members maintain that the greatest members of the house live on as krakens in the deep, and that these immortal elders guide the Storm Front through visions. The Storm Front believes that the power of the Mark of Storm was meant to be used for destruction, and that the Khoravar should seize dominion through force, not wait for their time to come. Darker tales suggest that Esravash is just a figure head or a dupe, and that the Storm Front is the true power guiding House Lyrandar. According to these rumors, the cult maintains hidden enclaves throughout coastal Khorvaire, including Tlalusk Island off the Demon Wastes.

House Lyrandar has long championed the Khoravar race, and Lyrandar heirs receive a friendly reaction in many halfelf communities. At the same time, those half-elves who prefer to maintain strong ties to humans and elves (an attitude common in House Medani) see arrogance in the Lyrandar, and can be unfriendly or even hostile to their cousins. Lyrandar heirs face an unfriendly reaction from the people of the Lhazaar Principalities, but a friendly welcome in Valenar.

Lyrandar does its best to spread its dealings across the dragonmarked houses, hiring protection from both Deneith and Tharashk, while using both Phiarlan and Thuranni for intelligence and covert services. Its relationship with House Medani is sometimes strained (as discussed in Estranged Siblings, page 53), but tensions with House Orien run high. Orien suffered during the Last War, and the airship poses a serious threat to their monopoly on overland transportation. Orien heirs are typically unfriendly toward Lyrandar heirs, but real conflict seldom arises between them.

The matriarch of House Lyrandar has her seat in Stormhome, an island off the northern coast of Aundair. Lyrandar mages transformed this once-desolate island into a paradise, and it is now home to a number of Ghallanda resorts in addition to the Lyrandar enclave. An Aundairian garrison stationed on Stormhome protects the entrance to Scion’s Sound, but the island is informally considered House Lyrandar’s territory. It has long been a hotbed of intrigue.

Beyond Stormhome, House Lyrandar has enclaves in most major port cities of Khorvaire, in addition to land in Valenar that it holds in violation of the Korth Edicts. The Valenar elves have little interest in fallen Galifar’s laws, and this suits Lyrandar well.

Stormhome: Just off the northern coast of Aundair at the mouth of Scions Sound, Stormhome is the house’s largest enclave. This weather-controlled island is a private fiefdom for House Lyrandar and its guests.

In the final years of the Last War, Stormhome was a neutral meeting place for spies and power brokers from all sides. After the war, House Ghallanda constructed several luxurious inns, making the island a popular holiday destination for the wealthy The island is more than a vacation destination, however. Large dry docks repair and maintain Lyrandar’s elemental galleons and its fleet of elemental airships. One of the oldest buildings on the island, Slate Keep, is where young members of House Lyrandar learn seacraft.

Valenar Holdings: On the plains east of the Valenar capital of Taer Valaestas are a number of villas and small keeps maintained by important heirs of Lyrandar. Some young members of House Lyrandar spend a year riding with a Valenar warclan, and it’s not uncommon to see one of the Valaes Tairn working on the deck of a Lyrandar elemental vessel.

Sharn: After Stormhome, Sharn is the second-busiest hub for elemental airship and elemental galleon traffic. House Lyrandar does its diplomatic and administrative business in the Dragon Towers district and has several private docks in the Cliffside and Lower Dura districts. But many prefer to conduct business at the elemental airship docking tower in the Highest Towers district, since it has the best vantage point in Sharn.

Airships are often an adventurer’s defi nitive mode of transportation, and a colorful contact in House Lyrandar can add fl avor to any campaign. The house can be a generous patron to half-elf adventurers, and it might be interested in adopting a half-elf (dragonmarked or otherwise) with the right skills. Adventurers could be called upon by the house to test prototype airships, accompany missions of exploration, or take part in clandestine efforts to transform Valenar politically, creating a Khoravar nation under the very eyes of the warrior elves.

Alternatively, Lyrandar’s ruthless nature and ambition make the house a compelling foe. Dark rumors tell how the house engages in extortion, weather manipulation, blackmail, piracy, and murder to accomplish its goals. Even if the matriarch does not support such strongarm tactics, the sinister Storm Front cult has supporters throughout the house, and it might do so without her knowledge.

Also called out in Dragonmarked; a common legend of the house founder holds that a kraken emerged from the depths to save him when he was attacked by pirates. Beyond this, a hidden sect within the house maintains that the founders of the house continue to exist as immortal krakens, though this tale is largely unknown outside the house.

The seal of House Lyrandar is a kraken surrounded by four lightning bolts, commonly attributed to one of the best-known tales of the Firstborn. In this legend, Lyran is at sea when his ship is set upon by a fleet of four reaver vessels. Lyran warns the pirates that he holds the blessing of Arawai, but they do not listen. Moments later, a kraken rises from the depths, summoning lighting to shatter the pirate vessels as Lyran’s ship speeds safely on.

Beyond the common legend, the less well-known  doctrine of the Storm Front (see page 50) claims that the Firstborn did not die but became immortal krakens, and that this is a state any Lyrandar heir can reach. According to this tale, the kraken lords remain in the depths of the sea, guiding the Storm Front by way of dreams and visions as they help their descendants achieve true dominance over the waves.

The Windwrights Guild, with its dashing pilots and sleek elemental craft, is the public face of House Lyrandar for most Khorvairians. However, by virtue of its influence on agriculture, the smaller Raincallers Guild arguably has a larger impact on life in Khorvaire.