👑Royals

Backstory

The Royals, apes of noble blood who have held positions of authority and power for generations, centuries even. They first arose long before the steam engine became the popular means of power, and before even the advent of electricity. Six founders began the country of Apelantia, and their families and descendants have held it within an iron grip ever since.

The Silverbone are the most powerful of the royal houses. They are also the most militaristic of the nobility. For generations, their members have been generals and captains on the battlefield. Battlemasters known for their ferocity in combat. Their naturally powerful bodies, making them physically larger than many of the other noble house members, allow them to intimidate all who oppose them. Their power grew even more when they became the house in charge of the Apelantia Security Building: putting them in charge of the nation’s weapons stockpile and guarding its secrets. While these Apes may rule a civilized society, the jungle still thrives in their genetics, and its ancient laws and codes are adhered to religiously by the Silverbone’s.

The Oathbash are the next most powerful noble house. Slow and languid, they are not known to be fighters. Rather, they are sly merchants, cunning in the ways of trade and money. Beware trusting one with your finances, for they will find a way to cheat you out of your hard-earned money so that they may line their pockets. They are the primary runners of The Bank of Apelantia.

The House of Sullane is the most intelligent and is a swift riser in the ranks of the nobility. They are scientists, and their breakthrough creations through the year 1900 have led to some of the fastest leaps in technology Apelantia has ever seen. They are clever, but they can also be rather impatient. Beware angering one, for their tempers are swift, and they have the intellect to make their vengeance even more terrifying than a Silverbone.

House Stillroot is full of the common politicians from the original six noble families. They are the ones who dominate the bureaucracy, helping to craft laws and legislate new rules for the land. Many have become corrupted over the years, overwhelmed with the power and riches they could gain with such positions. Although, they do not dare anger the Silverbones, for while House Stillroot is many in number, they are not as strong as the powerful apes at the top of the hierarchy.

Finally, the last two houses are a splintered group at the founding of the nation. House Atwood and House Westwood are bitter rivals, always squabbling over territory, land, taxation, and laws that benefit or harm the other side.

Traditionally, these two groups have been property developers, responsible for constructing some of the mighty cities seen throughout Apelantia. House Atwood, though, takes great pride in joining House Silverbone in guarding The Energy Factor, also known as The Punishment Building: a brutal facility for dissidents and “criminals”, where they are worked to near death to provide power for the nation. It is easy to pit a member of House Westwood against House Atwood, and those who oppose The Rulers take full advantage of this fact.

While these Royals may have their differences and their own agendas, they are still bound by a belief that they are meant to rule Apelantia. It is their divine right, and they have been granted the ability to rule as they please. Peasants and citizens should serve at their whims, and be grateful for what their Houses have granted them.

Little do the Royals know that this pompous, callous attitude towards their people has created animosity the likes of which they have not seen in generations. Not since the first great uprising during the mid-1700s, when the serfs of Apelantia demanded better wages, have they been challenged by their citizens in such a way as today. Their grip on society is tightening as they struggle to maintain control of power and wealth.

Their government rules from The Royal Building, a large structure that is grand in scale and scope, built of the finest stone money can buy. On the surface, this government might seem just. After all, it is a parliamentarian style, with the noble houses holding some seats of office, and the citizenry having their “representation”. But, it is a facade. A way that they thought they could placate an increasingly irate populace.

After all, the Parliament does not rule Apelantia or the Royal Houses. Greed and Power do, and many are always looking for more of both.

But, there is a growing contingent of Royals that see the ills of their society, and wish to do better. They are the Kind Royals. While small in number, they are gaining the trust and adoration of their subjects. But, how far will that get them before the old families attempt to bring them back into line?

Influence and power run the land. How will you wield it?