Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

Strolojca and DraconiusFROMTHE VAULTSOF PANDIUSNoble Housesof KarameikosStrolojca and DraconiusThe government of Karameikos relies on a social class of aristocrats who, having beeninvested with fiefs by the Duke, perform the role of local administration in remote regions,helping in the task of moving the Grand Duchy from a sparsely populated wilderness to amodern nation state.While the grand vassals, such as the Barons, enjoy most of the spotlight at court, there aremany other noble families, both Thyatian and Traladaran in ethnicity.In this article, we introduce the noble houses of Strolojca and Draconius. The former is along-standing Traladaran clan from the south-western coast, whereas the latter is aThyatian clan that was recently given lands along the Eastron Road.HOUSE STROLOJCA,The Strolojca family rose to prominenceduring the Rebirth of Traladara, the timeafter the Vandar invasion and settlement,when the Banates assumed a stable formunder a feudal organization.The first known ancestor, whose recordsdate to the first Traladaran writtendocuments after the introduction of literacyby Thyatian missionaries, is Boris izStrolojca. He appears to have lived in the Vcentury, when he was lord (Zhupa) of thevillage of Strolojca and a vassal of the VelikiZhupa (Count, in Thyatian terms) of Svoga,who in turn was a vassal of the Banate ofHalag, the regional power that held at thattime on the western coast of Traladara. Borisis mentioned in a list of captains of the Halagarmy at the end of the First Traladaran War.The Strolojca family's claim to historical famehowever, dates thirty years later when Boris'grandson, Vassily Strolojca, took part in theSecond Traladaran War. Where the First Warwas a defensive battle against the invadingarmies of the neighbouring Kingdom ofDarokin, the Second Traladaran War was acivil war, caused by the consolidation ofTraladaran religious hierarchies in the area.This war was sparked by quarrels that ensuedbetween the Church of Traladara, whichdominated the central and south-easternregions of the country, and "heretical" cultsfostered by the nobles of Halag to the westand Vaion to the north-east. While the northeasternheresies were mostly inspired byEntropic Immortals of the Dark Triad -- andprimarily Orcus -- the western cults werecentered on the same Traldar hero-worship92THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1