| Duchy of Quel'Zaram | |
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 Sheath of the Highblade | |
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Established |
- 7,596 L.C |
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Government: |
Hereditary Aristocracy |
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Area: |
163,696 mi² |
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Seat: |
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Population: |
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Major Settlements: |
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Faction: |
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Exports |
See all exports Gold, Silver, Sunsteel, Moonflower and various other native herbs, Wyrmsilk, Wool, Suncrest Wine, Highblade Finery, Manastones, Pelts, Hides, and other leathers, Thalassian Chocolates, Sinderon warhorses |
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Currency |
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| “ | The great merit of the place is that one can arrange one’s life here exactly as one pleases.. there are facilities for every kind of habit and taste, and everything is accepted and understood. Quel'Zaram is the greatest temple ever built to material joys and the lust of the eyes. | ” |
–Elevia Highblade upon reminiscing of Quel'Zaram | ||
The Province of Quel'Zaram was established during the initial founding of Quel'Thalas, the land was given to a former High Magistrix, Synesse Highblade whom the lands were named after. Snyssae was named Grand Duchess of the land by High King Dath'Remar Sunstrider.
Highblade City was founded as the province's capital as well as other villages large and small, the most notable being Emberspark Village and it's large docks and the small town of Autumnsbrook known for the Highblade Academy of the Arcane founded by the Duchess herself. The main bulk of Quel'Zaram's military strength resides in the Brightshield Garrison near the main entrance to the province.
History[]
Founding[]
The House of Highblade was founded near 13,000 years prior to the third Burning Legion invasion during the precipice on primitive Kaldorei into the elegant Highborne culture, the clan founded by mage named Galadriel Highblade but the house itself founded by Matriarch Synesse Highblade, the great grand-daughter of Galadriel granted wealth and status by Queen Azshara for her loyalty and natural gift in the arcane. Synesse rising to the status of High Magistrix and acted as Azshara's most ruthless enforcer, slaughtering hundreds if not thousands in the name of her Queen.
However Synesse's fanatical devotion to Queen Azshara ended when she began to consort with demons and question the Goddess Elune, Synesse's mother and father being slaughtered by demons in the past -- forging an intense hatred for all demonic kind. Synesse being one of the first to join Dath'Remar and Malfurion Stormrage's rebellion against Queen Azshara. The High Magistrix rallying all loyal to her against the Highborne. Synesse believing that men to a legend to rally behind, The mage turning to her long time companion and friend Amastriel Silverglory to aid her in forging a weapon with the essence of magic itself. Synesse and Amastriel leaving for Zin-Azshari and forging a blade over the well of eternity and using the well's magic to infuse their essence into the blade and would create the legendary weapon Shari'Dal, The Highblade. Synesse carrying Shari'Dal into battle throughout the entire War of the Ancients. The blade said to pulse with azure arcane energy when unsheathed, when the metal was touched, it would seem to ripple as if touching water though the blade would cleave through demons with ease.
Synesse leaving Darnassus forever.
Even though the practice of arcane magic was outlawed after the War had ended, Synesse locked away and stowed a multitude of powerful arcane artifacts in a chest and entrusted to Amastriel Silverglory, save for Shari'Dal. The former High Magistrix continuing to practice her magic in secret and leaving Darnassus without question once Dath'Remar decided to take the Highborne east.
Synesse was one of the first Highborne to land on the eastern lands men would call Lordaeron and would often explore curiously upon these new and foreign lands though would eventually grow to despise the land and refer to it as a "Cradle of sleeping evil" due to the maddening whispers she and her people would endure while in Lordaeron. While living in the lands, due to the increasing hatred of Lordaeron, Synesse began to despise the night and the Night elven view of nocturnal worship, she would than renounce Elune and began worshiping the Sun, now named Belore and found comfort and warmth in the Sun's glow and went so far in her devotion as to summon a Phoenix from the elemental plain of the Firelands and took it as the new crest of her house. When Dath'Remar moved the Highborne to the far north, Synesse would move with great haste towards the North and would grow yet another intense hatred though this time is was towards the Amani Tribe of Trolls. Synesse taking the slaughter of trolls as sport and would make it a long Highblade tradition to collect troll heads for sports.
Founding of Quel'Zaram Province
Once the glorious high-home of the elves, Quel'Thalas was founded, Synesse found comfort in a large empty province towards north-western Quel'Thalas which would look over the sea. The only time Synesse would make a request of her leaders and decided to ask the new High King Dath'Remar Sunstrider for the entirety of the province to make her own. The King agreeing and thanking her the thousands of years of loyalty she showed towards the Highborne, now named the Quel'dorei.
Map of Highblade Province (597 K.C.)
Synesse founding the prestigious school of magic known as the Highblade Academy to practice the study of the arcane and magic freely once again, soon after would the new Grand Duchess build Highblade City, eventually having a son whom she'd name Selaphiel in honor of her companion Amastriel. Thousands of years would pass by as Synesse built up the "grand jewel" known as Quel'Zaram Province and would eventually pass leading the mantle of leader to her son and was buried in Dal'Rethor, Quel'Thalas next to Amastriel by request. The legendary matriarch of House Highblade was given a monument in Quel'Zaram Province.
The Troll Wars[]
Lord Al'Themar Highblade, the current head of the House of Highblade at the time was on a scouting mission when the amani trolls had ambushed his platoon slaughtering all but two of them, the two being Al'Themar and Nemeth Hawkeye. Rather than returning to Quel'Thalas, the two ventured further into the southern lands known as Lordaeron coming across a human man by the name of Abraham Ridgewell being attacked by a small band of trolls which the elven men rescued, Al'Themar forming a bond with Abraham and would forge a long friendship between the eventual House of Ridgewell and House of Highblade and would eventually journey to the human tribes led by King Thoradin and King Ignaeus Trollbane. After seeing the human forces, the Quel'dorei returned to Quel'Thalas and soon Al'Themar would return to the newly formed Kingdom of Stromgarde and acted as one of the many emissaries to the humans from High King Anasterian Sunstrider and would teach many of the primitive humans the way of Arcane Magic.
Al'Themar during the Troll Wars
Al'Themar would rain down arcane fury on the Amani Trolls. The power of arcane magic, archers from both the Arathorian Empire and Kingdom of Quel'Thalas would finally break the Amani trolls and Al'Themar would pledge his family to always aid the Ridgewell Family and all it's descendants resembling the promise between King Anasterian Sunstrider and King Thoradin.
The House of Highblade securing a strong and healthy trade alliance with the Ridgewell clan and later on the House of Ridgewell.
The Second War[]
Roughly three hundred years before the Second War began. Al'Themar and Celrea found an infant girl left abandoned in the Silversong Woods deciding to adopt the infant as his own. naming her Aniah Silversong after the forest she was found in. The adoption of a caste-less and rumored bastard. The once prestigious and highly influential House Highblade fell from grace to such a scandolous act to which Lord Al'Themar did not care but did distrupt trade with many other houses save for Houses Silverglory which managed to aid Al'Themar in keeping House Highblade from collapsing financially.
The heiress of House Highblade, Elevia V. Highblade was serving as Ranger-Captain of the 107th Farstrider Battalion and chased an band of Orcs from the border of Quel'Thalas. She and her battalion continued to track the band of orcs from the borders of Quel'Thalas and eventually making it into Lordaeron, eventually finding the orcs being slaughtered by paladins Balledor the Lightbinder and Julius the Purifier. Elevia, being entranced by the power the paladins held, begged The Lightbinder to train her as a Paladin which he reluctantly accepted and after several campaigns. Elevia returned to Quel'Thalas briefly to explain what had happened to her mother and father and that Elevia would now be living in Lordaeron amongst the newly formed Order of the Silver Hand which outraged her Father but her mother Celrea would calm Al'Themar. After the war had ended and Elevia had returned brutally beaten and whipped, he apologized profusely to his daughter while in tears and claimed that no matter what would happen, Elevia would be his successor.
The Third War[]
The House of Highblade did not have many notable events nor change save for steady financial reconstruction though that would change when the fallen human prince Arthas Menethil had marched upon Quel'Thalas. Al'Themar was near his elder years and was shocked to hear Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner had failed and the first elf-gate was breached, the old elf realizing he was no londger physically capable of fighting on the field, decided to stay in Highblade Province and planned out the defense of the territory. His daughter Elevia V. Highblade fighting on the main road with her honor guard.
After Arthas had broken through the second elf gate, a large scourge force led by the Lich Venim Iceblade ransacked Highblade Province slaughtering near the entirety of the province and sacked Highblade City killing Al'Themar, Lady Celrea and rendering their adoptive daughter Aniah comatose. Elevia arriving in time with a small strike force and managing to take back the upper district of the city. Elevia had succeeded her father by his death.
Exile of the Quel'dorei[]
Elevia refused to sate her addiction and the addiction of her people by feeling on the demonic fel-magic which the other elves, now calling themselves Sin'dorei, had been feeding off of. Elevia being informed by one of the Sunstrider Emissaries that if they did not obey their lord's decree that they would be waging open rebellion and a civil war would erupt. Elevia realizing this was no empty threat and did not want to see what was left of her people slaughter one another while also fighting the remnants of the scourge and amani trolls. Elevia decided to surrender her land and holdings to Lord Kael'thas Sunstrider and left Quel'Thalas to resume her positon as an Inquisitor of The Scarlet Crusade. Regent Lord Lor'Themar Theron becoming the leader of Quel'Zaram Province as it rejoined the entirety of Quel'Thalas.
The False Crown.[]
For a time all remained silent, and the war between the Horde and Alliance, the new found factions of the world of Azeroth, began to flourish into a dire hatred. Like many of her kin, Carrera lost her faithfulness to that of the Light, remaining with the majority of her kind after the war efforts against the Undead and attunting herself to the ways of the Blood Knights and becoming one herself. And in doing so not only did she take up the mantle of being a Blood Knight, she also was immediately requested by the Regent Lord to come forth and meet with him in regards to her families province that was left abandoned as far as leadership since the exiling of the Quel’dorei and most of Carrera’s bloodline. She bargained with the Regent Lord for many days upon the perfect solution to the lack of leadership present within the province until they both came to a conclusion that she was to take up the role of all Grand Duchess of the Quel’Aranal as she was also ordered to eradicate all enemies still left in the domain of Quel’Aranal and all remaining family members were to serve under her rule.
Industry and Trade[]
The continuous economical success of the duchy of Quel'Zaram is the partial responsibility of the rich, flourishing attributes of the landscape within it. Numerous jewel mines, massive fields of cacao, and almost overflowing stretches of forestland are home to a myriad of cocoon spinning insects such as Summervine silk worms, Bombyx mori, and most notably, the Thistledew Silkworm which migrated from the Alah'dralar Forest.
The plunging mountain valleys of Highblade Province's borderlands are mined for rich deposits of Gold, Sapphire, and Emeralds, invoking the construction of various mining towns and herbalism settlements along the skirts of the land. A plethora of livestock such as cattle, goats, and pigs are nurtured for their meat and milk, and sheep for their wool. Wild indigenous animals such as wolves and lynxes are legally hunted and culled for their pelts and leather, with legislature against the over-hunting of animals keeping these populations from dwindling into endangerment.
However, the duchy of Quel'Zaram owes most of its monetary influx to the Highblade Academy, training future generations of mages. Highblade Academy is considered to be one of the finest magical institutions in the thalassian world, An ancient castle magically built brick by brick by the legendary former High Magistrix Synesse Highblade, A mage's education is the pride of the House of Highblade, and is considered an instant entry to the Dalarani Institution. Mages are trained to not only each school of magic, but other unorthodox and dangerous magics such as Transmutation and Cronomancy as well as demonic defense, A Highblade Academy education is extremely highly valued by many elder mages and have become one of the Thalassian staples of arcane excellence, many familiies hoping to be granted the honor of attending such a prestigious academy.
Holdings[]
Highblade City[]
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Brightwing Garrison[]
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Emberspark Village[]
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Highblade Academy[]
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Autumnsbrook[]
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