House Grinvia

The sixth ruling House of the Empire of Garyiala

For almost three and a half centuries, the Grinvia Dynasty ruled over the Garyialan Empire. In that time, they relentlessly pushed for advancement, making the country the great nation it is today.

— ‘A brief history of Garyiala’s great dynasties’ by Eripe Wallin

A Mythical Origin

The origin of House Grinvia dates back to the seventh century (~650) when the Aldria Dynasty reigned over the Garyialan Empire. For over a year, a Great Beast of the Wild was plaguing the important port city Banidon at the mouth of the river Reva. It was the brave hero Dystor who vanquished the one-eyed beast. As reward, the Emperor granted him a title and a piece of land on the Colilin Peninsula to go with it.
His heroic deed made him well-liked with the other local lords, and Lord Dystor of Grinvia was offered the hand of many fair maidens. He eventually betrothed and married Lady Maryssa. Upon the death of her heirless brother, Dystor’s and Maryssa’s second son took over after his uncle, and so, slowly, House Grinvia’s influence in the area grew until the whole peninsula would be under their jurisdiction.
At the height of their influence, at the start of the eighth century, when House Grinvia was well-known for their skilled swordsmanship and when they were an important advisor to the emperor, Lady Loissa became Empress through marriage to the Emperor. Sadly, she passed away in childbirth, the babe a stillborn. She had produced no other heirs, and no Grinvia would sit on the imperial throne for another 300 years.

Hard Times

House Grinvia fell out of favour when the foreign House Ykor took to the throne in 748. The continuous war between the several houses during the Three Dynasties Period that followed left deep scars on House Grinvia. Infighting led to other houses picking away at their borders, and over the course of 100 years they shrunk all the way back to the southern edge of Colilin Peninsula.
The Grinvia bloodline and ruling house almost died out with Lord Nestor in 882, whose children he deemed unfit to rule after him. In a controversial final Will, he left his seat and seal to his adoptive daughter instead. After a minor skirmish with two of her adoptive brothers, Lady Alyssa became head of House Grinvia. True Grinvia blood would stay in the family when Alyssa’s son married one of her adoptive sister Rissa’s daughters.

Restoration of Acclaim

Under the rule of Lady Alyssa and subsequently her son, Lord Nestor, House Grinvia grew out to a prominent house once more. They reclaimed their lost land, expanded their fleet and reintroduced their unique and almost lost art of swordfighting. Towards the end of the Three Dynasties period, House Grinvia swore fealty to House Oloria and aided them in winning the endless war once and for all, reuniting the Empire of Garyiala. Once more, House Grinvia became an important advisor to the throne, and was loved by many people for their heroic deeds.
Thus, it was only logical that after the tragic demise of House Oloria, that Emperor Ildran of Grinvia would rise to the imperial throne.

Rule of an Empire

Disclaimer: more important events have occurred during the imperial rule of the Grinvia Dynasty, but more time is needed to transcribe all of them.

— Ordall Marvo Niscent, realm guide

In the thirteenth century, the Empire suffered great internal strife. Draughts caused the harvest to fail and what food was left was shipped to the front, for Garyiala was at war with the Kingdom of Utreas in the west. The terrible defeat at Zindar Folt, where the Royal Garyialan army retreated, while the Garyialan Folk army was left behind to be slaughtered on the other side of the river, was the catalyst for Marmour's Rebellion.
Under the lead of General Marmour, whose name was later tied to the rebellion, Emperor Netran was overthrown and Prince Nysa, his eighth child, crowned Emperor. During his reign, Emperor Nysa installed the Commoner’s Assembly, a council of regional representatives of the common citizen.

The End of a Dynasty

The rule of House Grinvia came to an abrupt end in 1418, when Emperor Frysan died of heart failure at the age of nineteen, leaving no heirs behind. A similar condition had taken the life of his older sister three years before him. It is speculated that their cause of death was the result of bloodbane, a mystical condition of the blood that makes the affected hallucinate of their ancestors.
Emperor Frysan was succeeded by his second cousin once removed, Empress Udora of Baspir.

~650 - 1418