House Felstar

The following is strictly player-made content. Said content can be found ICly within Ul'dahn based libraries.

I. Birth of a Star

House Felstar was founded approximately 250 cycles ago by Alaric Felstar, a self-made noble who had humble roots in alchemy. While it still remains unclear where the Felstar clan originated from, it is known that the family was initially very poor and struggled to make ends meet. As a result of these conditions, Alaric's mother came to Eorzea with her son seeking a new start and job opportunities. There are no written records of the names of Alaric's parents, and they remain unknown to even House Felstar today (Alaric refers to them merely as "Mother" and "Father" in his few surviving journal entries). Alaric's father passed away from illness either before or during the journey to Eorzea, the exact timing of his death unknown. The surviving mother and son duo ended up in Ul'dah, where Alaric's mother found a job as a waitress at a tavern. Alaric himself, at the age of 17, managed to get a job with a small alchemy guild due to his passion and skill in the art.

After two cycles of struggling to make their new life in Ul'dah, Alaric created a potent potion capable of imbuing iron with a powerful enchantment that could greatly strengthen the item's durability during synthesis. The Ul'dahn military, in awe of the concoction, paid the young alchemist to make the ingredient in bulk. Although the ingredient ceased being used about three cycles later for unknown reasons, the initial funds helped lift the young man out of poverty enough for him to pay off his mother's debts, allowing the two to live slightly more comfortably. These events also motivated Alaric to start his own alchemy-based shop within the city and aim for a broader customer base. The shop, managed strictly by the young man with some help from his mother, became a huge success. Alaric slowly expanded his newfound 'empire' over time and by age 27, joined the Ul'dahn noble class. Construction of the Felstar Manor would begin shortly after this, though it took three entire cycles before it was fully erected due to constantly altered decisions regarding its structure and layout.

It was also around this time that Alaric would have his first and only child with on and off again girlfriend, Reis Silverberg. The two lovers had initially met when Alaric worked as an alchemist by her side and though they suffered relationship drama numerous times, their new daughter would unite them for life. Anabelle Felstar was thus born and none would have guessed at the time how legendary and crucial the future matriarch would eventually become in the eyes of both House Felstar and House Mavanix. Alaric's mother would pass away about twelve cycles after Anabelle's birth, leaving only the founding patriarch (Alaric), his wife (Reis), and their child (Anabelle) as the only members of the newly born noble house.

II. Extinquished Light

Anabelle grew up with the lavish life that her parents never enjoyed as children. Alaric and Reis remained fiercely protective of their little girl, though the girl's tomboyish behavior often landed her in trouble. In her teens, Anabelle met and fell in love with a dashing Ishgardian youth named Juravis Fairclough. The two became inseparable despite Juravis hailing from a far less wealthy family. After turning sixteen, Juravis swore servitude to House Felstar and requested to be Anabelle's personal knight. Anabelle's parents initially shot the youth down on his offer, though they changed their minds about two cycles later when the young man saved her life from a rampaging beast during one of their outings.

At age 23, Juravis was summoned by Ishgard to join a military campaign. Though he promised to return to Anabelle as soon as possible, the young man remained gone for nearly three cycles and was presumed dead much to Anabelle's devastation. In a chance meeting at the markets about a cycle after Juravis's disappearance, Anabelle would meet a miner named Joachim Mavanix and was quickly charmed by the ambitious man. Though Alaric and Reis rejected the new young man in their daughter's life, Joachim would eventually prove his worth by starting up his own excavation team and discovering a powerful artifact known as the Soulfire Apparatus. Anabelle would loan her new beau enough gil to start the Avalon Heritage Museum, which would launch House Mavanix into nobility. As a result of Joachim's success, Alaric and Reis accepted Joachim and dismissed the museum startup loan that he was given. They also helped organize an elaborate wedding for their daughter and Joachim and allowed them both to stay at the Felstar Manor while the Mavanix Mansion was being erected.

Within moons of their wedding, Anabelle and Joachim would have their first child, Carmilla Mavanix. About two cycles later, Juravis returned to Ul'dah much to Anabelle's shock. The noblewoman attempted to reject her former lover several times and reminded him that she was happily married. But eventually, Anabelle would give in to temptation with her former flame. Joachim would find out about the affair almost as soon as it began and, enraged, would cast a horrible curse upon Juravis in retribution. The curse bound the Felstar knight to Joachim's service and would gradually morph the dashing hyur into a demonic monstrosity over the course of several decades.

In order to keep Anabelle's rage over the curse at bay, and in order to keep her at his side in general, Joachim threatened his bride with the assassination of her parents should she ever leave him. Anabelle gave in to the blackmail and 9 moons later, had her second child, Sarah. During her pregnancy, Joachim easily came to the conclusion that this child was not his, but Juravis's. This sent the Mavanix patriarch into an even deeper rage and he forced Anabelle to deceive everyone into believing that Joachim was actually the father. Thus, Sarah was raised as a Mavanix and used as leverage against Anabelle to keep her at the Mavanix patriarch's side. With Joachim, Anabelle would also later birth Margarette and Darian Mavanix.

Within a cycle of Sarah's birth, Alaric and Reis Felstar were both murdered in their home by an unknown assailant. While no evidence ever surfaced, most theorists wholly agree that Joachim had them assassinated in further retribution against Anabelle for her affair, no longer needing them for leverage now that Sarah was in the picture. Some even theorize that Joachim used his power over Juravis to force the Felstar knight to commit the deed as to drive a bigger wedge between Anabelle and her former lover.

Thus, House Felstar began to crumble. For a long time, Anabelle was believed to be the final member of the family, aside from the children she had with Joachim, though those children were viewed primarily as Mavanixs. The Felstar matriarch managed to secretly rebrand her father's alchemy businesses and thus was able to keep them afloat without Joachim's knowledge. Juravis helped keep her secret and the two kept House Felstar secretly aloft from behind the scenes even after Joachim forced Anabelle to sell the Felstar Manor. The public was led to believe that House Felstar was no more.

As Juravis's curse took hold and as Anabelle aged, they passed the torch onto Sarah to secretly keep House Felstar alive. Sarah followed in her mother's footsteps, though the house was barely able to stay afloat with all of the secrecy of its continued existence. At an older age, Sarah would go on with half-sister, Margarette, to create the Sarah and Margarette Fashion Line (later rebranded to "Margarah" as a clever combination of the sisters' names). House Mavanix maintained total control of the new business though.

III. Nova

Cycles would come and go. Juravis disappeared entirely as his curse took hold. House Mavanix continued to grow in numbers and in success. Eventually, Anabelle would pass away shortly after her son Darian's 18th namesday. Joachim, despite his atrocities against House Felstar, was devastated over his wife's death. The Mavanix patriarch would cut off most of his public communication and pass away several cycles later, leaving Sarah's half-brother, Darian, as head of House Mavanix.

Shortly after Joachim's passing, Sarah would confide in her half-brother about her true identity as a Felstar and the atrocities against her family. Darian sympathized with his half-sister, but he also made it crystal clear that he would not allow House Felstar to be reborn, as he believed the split would be detrimental to House Mavanix at this point. Sarah thus continued to secretly keep her family's resources afloat using the tools left to her by Anabelle and Juravis, all the while pretending to focus strictly on House Mavanix with the Margarah fashion line. Sarah was also quietly adding in legal clauses within Margarah's structure so that House Felstar could possibly one day claim it as their own. This particular effort, however, would prove ineffective.

Sarah would bear a single son named Clovis. The boy's father remains unknown to this day, as the relationship was extremely secretive. Historical analysts believe that Sarah had intentionally sought out a powerful mage to conceive with, as Clovis was the first member of House Felstar who was truly gifted in the magical realm and the generations following him were equally talented in that arena as well. Whether this was a result of being birthed by a mage, or due to Clovis's mystery father secretly tutoring his son in magic, remains unknown. Regardless of how Clovis and future generations became talented users of magic, Sarah believed this would give her noble house a better edge against House Mavanix if needed.

Clovis grew up under House Mavanix much like his mother before him. Sarah would pass the torch of secretly maintaining House Felstar to the boy when he turned seventeen cycles old, even as House Mavanix continued to expand its base of power and influence in Ul'dah with the Mavanix Academy. Sarah would pass away shortly after Clovis's 21st namesday, leaving him as the sole surviving Felstar.

When Darian finally passed away after a long reign, his son, Darius Mavanix, took the helm. Clovis confronted the new patriarch and informed him of the atrocities against his real family. Darius not only allowed Clovis to bring House Felstar back into the light, but also gave his full blessing to the revival. Clovis wasted no time as he made the public announcement about his true heritage and reinstated House Felstar, careful not to publicly reveal the atrocities committed against his family by House Mavanix for fear of their retribution. The Felstar patriarch also was quick to move all Felstar resources to Ishgard for increased safety, where the family established their new home. House Mavanix, meanwhile, was increasingly distracted by intense internal drama between siblings Darius and Veronica Mavanix, as well as the first attacks by Decretum Umbra (another sect of House Mavanix descending from Carmilla Mavanix).

In Ishgard, Clovis would marry a noblewoman named Cecilia Lindquist. Not only did this unison strengthen House Felstar by adding new resources under its belt, but Cecilia was also another accomplished mage. Many believe the union was purely strategical on Clovis's part (by adding both material wealth and magical wealth to the family lineage), though public displays of affection between the two bring that theory into question. The couple would end up having a son named Ziegfred Felstar several cycles following the move to Ishgard. House Felstar continued to burst back into success and became a powerful force in their own right, despite their still small numbers.

Meanwhile, the drama plaguing House Mavanix would come to a halt when Darius Mavanix was assassinated just seven cycles into his patriarchy. After some initial dramatics involving the next house leader, Veronica Mavanix would ascend as the new leader. The frightening new matriarch was known to make a single visit to Clovis in Isghard, giving him her blessing. Clovis revealed in his journal that the gesture was purely wicked in nature though and the "blessing" was more of a passive-aggressive warning against House Felstar should they publicly reveal everything that House Mavanix had done to them. While Clovis intended to have several more children, his life was cut short when he was found dead in his study just two moons following Veronica's visit. It was evident that a deadly magical battle took place there and while no proof surfaced, it was always believed that Veronica Mavanix was behind the patriarch's death.

Cecilia Lindquist carried on the house's operations, opting to not remarry. When Ziegfred was considered old enough, the mother began to gradually pass off the house's duties to him. Zeigfred eventually married a commoner named Lily Irving and together would have a child. As House Felstar began to finally recuperate, tragedy would strike again when Ziegfred's newborn child was supposedly killed in a deadly fire set to the nursery. It wouldn't be revealed until much later that the culprit was none other than Veronica Mavanix, who was trying to prevent a vision of House Mavanix's destruction from coming to pass by killing infant Cartius. Unknown to both Veronica and House Felstar, the child had been kidnapped by Julius and Rochelle Mavanix and passed off as their own child, ironically out of their own fear of Veronica finding out Rochelle was unable to bear any more children.

Ziegfred and Lily remained devastated but eventually had another child named Islude shortly before Cecilia passed away. House Felstar's burst of success started to fade once more as stagnation took hold of the noble house.

IV. Sanguis Astrum

Zeigfred would later join Ishgard's church as a low ranking priest when the family business started to stabilize (though the business was still vastly under-performing). As such, Islude grew up within the church and often journeyed to Gridania in his youth to hone his conjury skills. He was known to have fallen in love with his childhood friend, Melody Lockeheart, though she vanished for many years and was believed to be dead. Her apparent death devastated Islude and drove the young man to mental instability. He delved into magicks in which the church had forbidden use of and was said to have committed numerous devious acts in a conquest to "revive" Melody over several cycles. He was known to be a member of an old social group (Crystalline) led by a man named Dyterium Zelorius. Islude's manipulations and instability impacted several of this group's older members.

Melody would eventually reappear very much alive, revealing that she had actually faked her death. The reasons for this remain unknown to the general public, though analysts believe Melody was working undercover for some purpose. Regardless of her reasons, her lies caused a tremendous amount of strife between her and Islude, though the two made up after several cycles. In time, they'd settle down and marry, having a single child. Melody would die before her time not long after birthing the child, leaving Islude to raise the child alone with help from his parents, Ziegfred and Lily.

Many cycles later, a grown Cartius would approach Ziegfred and Lily and reveal his true origins, having discovered the truths from Rochelle Mavanix's hidden diary. House Felstar at first remained apprehensive and wary of Cartius's claims, fearing some kind of devious action by their long time enemy house. Eventually, after proof was brought forth, House Felstar welcomed Cartius with open arms. His connection to House Felstar remained kept secret from both House Mavanix and the public for several cycles and Cartius lived a double life as result, integrating himself into House Felstar while simultaneously serving as the patriarch of House Mavanix. It was in Ishgard that Cartius met and married a priestess named Nefron Mirgolia with whom he fell in love with. Around this time, Ziegfred and Lily decided to retire from leading the house's affairs and passed the torch to Islude. Islude, however, decided that Cartius would be a better fit for the job due to his vast experience in House Mavanix. As such, Cartius became the new patriarch of House Felstar.

Just before becoming House Felstar's patriarch, Cartius was believed to have been killed in an attack against the Mavanix Mansion. In reality, the patriarch had faked his demise and remained hidden in Ishgard with House Felstar. It remains unclear what happened over the next several moons, as no true evidence ever surfaced. However, it is believed by some that Cartius, having learned of the many atrocities against his family by the Mavanix clan, put into play an elaborate plan that would end in House Mavanix's total destruction. Whether the Mavanix's downfall was orchestrated by the strategic master or not, the House of Mavanix did indeed crumble. Its members were slaughtered one by one and its resources were ripped asunder, from Margarah to the Mavanix Academy and beyond.

After House Mavanix fell in its entirety and following the Calamity, Cartius worked to reunite the Felstar family by bringing his children into the fold. Kylin and Elza, formerly believed to be Mavanixs, were eagerly welcomed by Ziegfred, Lily, and Islude. Cartius resigned from his priestly duties in Isghard in order to return to his business ventures. He purchased the original Felstar Manor (lost to the family since Anabelle's suppression by Joachim) and the family moved back to their new home in Ul'dah. Following a brutal legal battle and the mysterious death of the Avalon Heritage Museum's brief new owner, Cartius reobtained the museum in which Anabelle had funded for Joachim so many cycles ago. The patriarch also published an immense amount of documentation about the now fallen House Mavanix, revealing its many atrocities over the past two centuries, a final nail in the coffin to the former house's image that helped House Felstar gain tremendous sympathy and support from various Ul'dahn nobles.

House Felstar was now on the rise after its long suppression and stagnance, both in membership and in power and influence.

V. Fallen Star

Over the next few years, House Felstar would prosper under the leadership of Cartius Felstar. Despite a blow to its reputation when Cartius's daughter, Elza Ashfen, was found out to be a Garlean terrorist known as the 'Black Queen,' the house trooped forward with no apparent end in sight. However, the rise of the once stifled house would abruptly end when Kylin Felstar was assassinated one eve while giving a speech regarding the importance of history preservation for the Avalon Museum. Weeks later, a still grieving Cartius would be arrested by Ul'dahn authorities when massive piles of evidence surfaced showcasing a myriad of crimes from the patriarch over the past decade, including attempted assassination against two sitting Syndicate members.

Cartius has since been in the Marasaja Pitts of Ul'dah for his crimes. House Felstar's resources were largely confiscated and contested by remnants of House Mavanix, who took control of their properties once more. House Felstar's original alchemy businesses remain under control of Islude Felstar in Ishgard. All other business ventures have been restored under House Mavanix. There are only three known survivors of House Felstar (excluding imprisoned Cartius): Seraphine Winter Felstar, daughter of Cartius; Elza Ashfen Felstar, daughter of Cartius; and Islude Felstar, brother of Cartius. Elza remains an Eorzean fugitive living in Ilsabard somewhere. Seraphine has shown no loyalty to the continuity or advancement of House Felstar. And Islude has remained ever quiet in Ishgard, seemingly content in his retirement. Thus does House Felstar return to its roots of a small and mostly isolated noble house...at least for now.

VI. Family Tree

Alaric Felstar

Reis Silverberg

Joachim Mavanix

Anabelle Felstar

Juravis Fairclough

House Mavanix

Sarah Mavanix

???

Clovis Felstar

Cecilia Lindquist

Ziegfred Felstar

Lily Irving

Rebecca Winter

Sophia Nox

Cartius Felstar

???

Islude Felstar

Melody Lockeheart

Seraphine Winter

Kylin Felstar

Elza Ashfen

???