House Thistledown is the youngest of all the major houses. They did not begin as a noble house at all.
They emerged from the Sylvan Reconciliation, a peaceful uprising nearly thirty years ago when halfling villages and human border towns protested unjust imperial levies. Instead of crushing them, a then-young Emperor Aethan appointed representatives of these common folk to minor nobility status. The idea was to pacify the commonfolk by giving them like minded "nobles" with minor titles — titles that would later become far more influential than intended. these representatives were granted previously vacant properties as their homes - many of which were overgrown with Thistles. As such, these new"noble" families ended up being deemed as "Thistledown" nobles - to the working people a symbol of hope, but to the main nobility a mark to look down upon.
Over three decades, the Thistledowns consolidated to start their own faction, or "House". They unified the families and formally took on a House crest to be symbolic of the people. Practically, they also grew into a distributed network of village reeves, local arbiters, and community leaders honored more for service than for bloodline. Their power is not one of blood, spear, or the arcane, but of their fellow people. With that, they also grew to unify much of the Stormcoast and the sprinkling of populations within the regions, pooling people and resources together to a central and formidable cause.
House Thistledown envisions a future without tyrants or hereditary rulers. When the Emperor died, they did not mourn the crown — they saw a chance to remake the world. They started building their network throughout Virelya and sharing their core philosophy with those that would listen and join their cause, which was anyone who wanted to.
The People Rule — Governance should come from elected councils and democratic processes, not to a divine figure or military entity.
Community First — Local leaders should hold authority, not distant thrones. These leaders would have the best pulse of the working people.
Freedom Through Solidarity — Together, commonfolk can resist oppression. With a belief that power eventually corrupts, it is Solidarity that keeps the people in mind.
They are idealistic and revolutionary in equal measure. House Thistledown’s symbol, the barbed thistle, reminds that even the smallest weed can draw blood.
The Thistledown territories are a patchwork of halfling shires, small towns, fertile farmlands, and bustling trade villages in the western region of Virelya known as The Stormcoast. This region is one with jagged western shoreline battered by perpetual tempests, where rundown ports like Corwyn’s Reach lie amid pirate havens and mercenary camps. Rich in minerals, abundant fish, and buried ancient relics, the area can also be lawless frontier where House Thistledown has rallies a patchwork of coastal towns, halfling shires, and trade villages against the chaos.The provinces include:
Despite more lawlessness than other regions, their lands are peaceful on the surface. However, revolutionary fervor simmers below the surface as well. .
Mass Popular Support — Their message resonates with the commonfolk in every region. Farmers, artisans, merchants, and village militias adore them. This gives them the avility to sway populations to their cause faster than any other faction, and their people tend to be loyal.
Guerrilla Tactics — Masters of ambush, sabotage, and unconventional warfare. their value of local leaders and communities has allowed their Skirmishers to be quite adept at these unconventional techniques.
Clandestine Networks — House Thistledown has curated a wide network of people with accesses to people of influence or information. They are said to have an active network of Spies, couriers, and safehouses in every major city.
House Thistledown does not boast a strong conventional army, nor magical dominance — but no rival can easily suppress a movement tied to the commonfolk of every province.
Born shortly after the Sylvan Reconciliation, Mara grew up witnessing the disparity between the aristocracy and the common folk. Her formative years were spent working to better a struggling work class. After the death of Emperor Aethan Valmyr, she became the de facto representative of House Thistledown and seized the moment to champion a new government where every race and class has a voice, using her intellect, charisma, and music to rally both peasants and nobles to her cause. She is a Warm, cunning, fiercely determined halfling who speaks with the conviction of a poet and the precision of a lawyer. She cares deeply cares for the working people, and her idealistic drive to work for them allows her to command much respect amongst those she meets. Mara does not want to be queen — but she will tear down anyone who tries to force a tyrant onto the throne. Her ultimate dream is an Empire where no House has absolute power.
At Mara's side is her sister @Tonya Thistledown . While the two sisters are close, Tonya's pragmatic approach and affinity for the clandestine is a contrast to Mara's idealistic practices. Between them both, they are the most impactful leaders of the Thistledown cause.
As the most diverse faction in the realm, there are unique sub-factions within the House that have grown from a value of the local individuals. these Sub-Factions coordinate with Mara and/or Tonya, but they do not consider themselves subjects to the sisters (nor do the sisters consider these sub-factions theirs to subjugate).
The Night-thistles is a Thistledown fellowship of agents that directly report to Tonya. They are known to conduct ambushes, espionage, and clandestine activity in all the regions. Mostly consisting of scouts, Traveling bards and merchants, or simply recruited personnel to the cause, this organization is the shadowy Ear and blade of House Thistledown. They can be any person of any race.
Democratically elected assemblies spreading through the Thistle Provinces. They consist of local leaders from any town, village or settlement in the Thistle provinces. They currently govern more effectively than any noble house, however are also the most resource constrained. They are the symbolic model Mara uses to spread her message. They recently elected to keep Mara on as Chairwoman of the Free Councils.
A militia of farmers, hunters, and townsfolk from all throughout the Stormcoast. Individually untrained but terrifying in numbers and morale. Defensive in nature, they organize to respond to threats from lawbreakers or other Factions.
Though united in idealism, the movement contains serious divisions amongst the party lines of the sub-factions.
Many Night-thistle agents believe that the only way to guarantee peace for the working people is through conflict and turmoil. Generally they advocate for assassinations of nobles and rulers, ensuring collection of information amongst the region, and constant deployment of Guerilla Tactics to further their goals. They don't believe the upper echelon of societies will take the idealistic side of House Thistledown seriously.
The Idealists and Free Council members that represent them dream of a Republic of Councils for all lands. They consider the true path to peace and prosperity the open dialogue and representation of the working class through rigor debate and political efforts. They are, at times, abhorrent to the methods of the Shadowthistle, and believe their controversial methods muddy the image of House Thistledown
The Isolationists want independence from any larger system, even a republic. They criticize Mara's Free Council even as too centralizing of power, and take the position that every town, village, or city should have their own leadership structure. Even amongst House Thistledown, they are considered a more extreme version of what the greater house seeks to achieve.
Mara struggles to keep these groups aligned, knowing that internal fracture could doom their cause.
House Thistledown is not equipped to reveal formal alliances or enemies, as they keep their diplomatic opinions internal so as not to tip other factions on potential targets for Night-Thistle activity. That being said, they have varying relations with all the Houses:
House Caerwyn — A neighbor with vastly superior military might, House Caerwyn can be seen as brutal to House Thistledown. They have cautious dealings with House Caerwyn so as not to goad them into all out war.
House Nymeral — while aligned on a shared distaste both houses have on the traditional ruling systems of the old Empire or ruling by bloodline, House Thistledown fears House Nymeral more than any others due to their mystery.
House Durnheim — Probably the closest relationship any two houses have is Houses Durnheim and Thistledown, as the latter commends the Dwarves for successfully rebelling the Empire. That being said, the Night-Thistles are said to monitor House Durnheim closely.
House Valmyr — Respectful ideological opponents. Valmyr wants unity; Thistledown wants liberty. Both are morally driven—but may clash over the Empire’s future which they disagree on.
House Thistledown’s greatest strength is that they do not need a throne.They are already winning the hearts of the Empire’s people.And hearts, once taken, do not easily return to their former masters.