Rhoyden is a Duchy of the Kingdom of Iskandar, and was once a regional Thaindom of the Kingdom of Urland.
In the mid-Third Age, the Cynarans first began to colonize Westvale Island. They met little resistance from the Grey-Elves, who were abandoning the region and sailing en masse for Eryn Norvë.
As the Cynarans migrated across the massive island, they set up several settlements, including one called Tharnia, which soon grew into a large city. It was eventually chosen as the seat of "Rhoyden," an important Cynaran Thaindom, ruled by a powerful feudal Lord called a Thain.
At the time of the Iskari invasion, the last Thain of Rhoyden was Edelbert.
After the Forty-Years War, the victorious Iskari disbanded the system of Thaindoms and established various Duchies in their place. Rhoyden became one of the these feudal states, led by the House of Bracken.
Today, the House of Belsey rules the Duchy of Rhoyden.
Rhoyden’s Role in the Iskari Civil War
In the year 1068/4, King Ilcanar Cyrenäe II of Iskandar was poisoned by Alokkair’s agents, leaving no rightful heir, and Foehammer; the King's Elanthir sword was stolen from Erôn-Wyntharë.
At that time, the Duchy of Rhoyden was led by Lord Varek Bracken, a powerful Cynaran noble who bitterly resented his Iskari overlords.
Fueled by Alokkair’s treachery, Lord Varek, along with the Dukes of Cynara and Vharia, rebelled against the Onyx Throne, sparking the bloody Iskari Civil War. For the next twenty years, a terrible conflict raged between the opposing factions before King Irenicus Blackburn finally crushed the rebellion in the year 1087/4.
Fate of House Bracken
By the war's end, Duke and three sons of his four sons were slain in battle, and King Irenicus ordered his last son to be exiled to the Isle of Renthara, destroying House Bracken forever.
Irenicus then broke House Bracken’s massive holdings into three smaller baronies: "Dhalhurst," "Hennara," and “Alyhar,” all three of which were ruled by hand-picked Iskari Lords loyal to the throne.
The ancient home of Castle Bracken; the family’s ancestral home still exists, atop a broad hill overlooking the city of Tharnia.
For centuries, the fortress has been home to the powerful House of Belsey, whose current patriarch is Duke Imrahil Belsey.
