Blackhope
The Langevin family
The Langevins of House Lizard are not a family of tremendous antiquity. The first in their family to achieve great prominence was a Pheon Langevin, who became Warlord under Empress Azaelle Silveira (r. 1744-1790). Little is known of his origins - he seems to have originally come from the Eastern Marshes, rising through the ranks of the Imperial Guard to become a Captain. He gained his position by saving the Empress's life, foiling a plot to assassinate her (and also, it is rumoured by less-reliable sources, because of his handsome appearance, for the Empress Azaelle was not unmoved by such concerns).
Pheon did well in his position and married a young woman from the Menomonie family, Aelia. Aelia's cousin's granddaughter Donoza later became empress (r. 1801-1825), aiding in the Langevin family's rise. Under her auspices a grandson of Pheon's, Randolph Langevin, was granted the title of Duke of Blackhope. The title was a newly-created one, and the fortress near Crowhaven built especially to guard the mountain pass against incursions from the North. At that period, the Empire was having some difficulty maintaining its control over several of the more Northern territories and it is assumed that the 'hope' in Blackhope was meant to refer to the hope that Randolph Langevin would be able to pacify the rebellious dukes and counts. Indeed, he performed his function admirably, raising a force from the surrounding mountains of loyal troops, the Blackhope Volunteers. For his services, Randolph and his family gained several more minor titles and holdings.
Throughout the next hundred and fifty years they prospered, marrying into other noble families of the Lizard House. Under the reign of Iban Dizon (r. 1955-1972), however, they fell into some difficulties. It is not entirely clear what precipitated their fall from grace, but it was rumoured at the time that the then-scion of the family, Thorin Langevin, was involved in a rather less-than-proper relationship with the Emperor's daughter while she was still under-age. The family were stripped of many of their titles and lands, with the notable exception of Blackhope, whose Volunteers would have made any attempt to remove the Duke from power most problematic.
It was close to a century before the Langevins were able to rebuild their fortunes, but they managed, and through sheer perseverance and force of will they had recovered enough by the end of the 21st century to see one of their number chosen for the throne, Renaude Langevin (r. 2092-2120). The Empress Renaude was a shrewd and skillful ruler, though not especially well-liked by the common people, due to her strict tax policies. She married Ser Cynrick Quam, a member of the Order of the Spoke of common birth but excellent reputation, and thus brought another family to prominence.
The present Duke of Blackhope is Marcau Langevin, eldest son of Cornelius Langevin and Alarie Dizon. The marriage of his parents was intended to end the rift between the two families; whether it succeeded in this goal remains to be seen. To digress momentarily, Alarie was half of one of the remarkable three sets of twins born to Aimeric Dizon and his wife Hesperia Deverara. Ramund and Tristan were the eldest pair, followed by Justinne and Alarie, and then by Dorothée and Armelande.
Marcau is the eldest of five children. His younger brothers Edeas and Rioc were followed by twin girls, Isabeau and Idonea. Idonea died before reaching adulthood, while Isabeau went into the priesthood. Edeas became of Count of Navassa through his marriage to Liette Deverara, and they had two sets of twin daughters, Alarie and Alige, Arquilise and Avenie. Rioc married Cedea Quam, who bore him a son, Raimar, and twin daughters, Elicia and Elesta.
Marcau never married, but it is known that he has pursued a clandestine relationship with Bionda Borja, a woman of common birth, for close to two decades (since she came of age, in fact). She bore him one daughter, Noira. By law, upon Marcau's death his title would pass to his brother Edeas (if he were still alive) or to one of Edeas's daughters. However, Marcau and Edeas have not spoken in many years, while Marcau and Rioc were always much closer. Conspiring together, they married Rioc's son Raimar to Marcau's illegitimate daughter Noira, which could allow Marcau to pass his title to Raimar in the event of his death. Raimar was an unsuccessful candidate for the throne after the death of Enzephir II, and his wife is expecting their first child in the new year.
