Duchy of Lynnmore

The Duchy of Rhodes is a feudal city-state led by the House of Rhodes. The House of Rhodes lends its name to the capital and sole city, Rhodes. The estates making up the territory are divided between the House of Rhodes and lesser noble houses including Oakes, Chaldecott, and Courtland.

Origin
The nomad clan known as the Bophanites followed a path of migration through a mountain range called Kutnubad by the dwarves who formerly dwelt there. The clan was formed from humans and non-humans living in the caves throughout the area, hunting and foraging in the waterways and vegetation. When the dwarves arrived from the Golden Hills and made Kutnubad the seat of their kingdom of Khuzdurin, the Bophanites kept to themselves in caverns and hunting grounds separate from the mountain fortresses of the dwarves and the conflicts of the wider world.

The Bophanites' isolationism made the collapse of the dwarven kingdom of Khuzdurin a surprise. The great halls of Beþenk-dum were discovered to have fallen silent, and the forges and mines were abandoned. The young chieftain of the Bophanites, Rodos, led the first exploration of the abandoned city. In this quest, it is said that he was visited by the angel Isidor, a servant of Theios.

In the presence of the Bophanites, it is said that Isidor revealed he was known as the god Attinstainz by the dwarves, considered by them to be their patron god of the earth and the forge. In the testament given to Rodos, Isidor is said to have revealed his true role as Theios' angel of civilization. The other aspects of the first testament said to have been given to Rodos formed the foundation of the Isidoran faith. At the end of these revelations, Rodos led the Bophanites south in a twelve day march to a fertile land where the mountains met the plains along a great inland lake, claiming the migration was required by divine mandate.

In this new land, Rodos claimed he had been visited and instructed to form the great natural pillars of marble that were distributed on the mountaintops into a great monument to Theios and to settle the valley along the lake. The Bophanites abandoned their nomadic origin to settle this land and constructed the grand marble Dodecan Hall, the seat of Rodos and Isidor's greatest followers, the Council of Twelve, and the First Temple of Isidor, a great monument to the first testament. The mountain upon which these monuments were built came to be known as Isidor's Ridge.

It is said that in Isidor's third appearance to Rodos, the Bophanites were entrusted the role of guardians of the Kutnubad, now known as the Bophan Mountains. Dominion over the former kingdom of Khuzdurin was said to be granted, with Rodos named the first duke of what is now known as the Duchy of Rhodes.

The Noble Houses
As the city-state developed over time, the distinguished families were granted titles, land, and responsibilities by the House of Rhodes.

The House of Rhodes
The House of Rhodes forms the foundation of the nobility. Tracing its roots to Rodos himself, the family is the largest landowner in the region and has passed down the title of Duke of Rhodes for generations. The coat of arms of the House of Rhodes is per chevron potent and argent with an argent griffin displayed.

The House of Oakes
The House of Oakes traces its lineage to Alienor Oakes, given the title of count by Rodos himself. On their land, the House of Oakes commissioned the Royal Library and the Cathedral of the Third Revelation, granting the latter to the church. The House of Oakes coat of arms is a counter-ermine field with an argent bend and owl.

The House of Chaldecott
The House of Chaldecott was established by Duke Theodore Rhodes' appointment of the late Sir Chester Chaldecott to the rank of knight for exemplary service as constable of the realm. The current heir to the House of Chaldecott is Sir Charles Chaldecott. The House of Chaldecott coat of arms is a derivative of the Rhodes arms, per pale potent and argent with an argent dog emblazon.

The House of Courtland
The newest member of the nobility, the House of Courtland was established when the current and only member, Sir Courtland, was knighted by Eleanor II Oakes, the head of the House of Oakes, for unparalleled swordsmanship and loyalty in defense of the realm. The Courtland estate exists as a parcel adjacent to the Oakes estate. In recognition of the patriarch of the house's foreign birth, the house's coat of arms is a sable field with a pale brunatre and a sable crab.

Divergence of the Isidoran Faith
The Isidoran faith differs from traditional Theiosism. The old dwarven gods are reflected in the Isidoran faith as angels and saints, as well as the gods and saints of the Soleannen faith. The Isidoran interpretation is therefore a syncretic faith between Theiosism, Soleannenism, and Tossanism.

Isidorans view their faith as one now split and independent from the Ecumenical Patriarch in terms of organization, although many of their core beliefs and religious texts are shared with those of Theiosism. Additionally, with the chief influence of the faith being a Tossanist god presenting himself as an angel of Theios, later Isidoran theologians took many of the gods of the Tossanist pantheon to be angels of Theios in their own right, placing them above the eight angels revered by adherents of Theiosism. These groups of angels have been split and categorized as the Angels of Man and the Angels of Theios. Most saints from Theiosism are recognized by Isidorans, who add legendary heroes and followers of the Tossanist gods to the congregation of saints.

Rodos’ three revelations from the angel Isidor collectively form the foundation of Isidoran belief.

Rodos' Revelations
In his first revelation at Beþenk-dum, it is said that Isidor told Rodos of the Angels of Man. Their dominions and larger roles in Theios’s history and plan for the world, more specifically the Bophanite people, were said to be explained to Rodos who shared the news with his people. The angel then said that there were not just four prophets of the faith, but that history has had and will have as many prophets as there are pebbles in the Bophan Mountains with varying degrees of influence. Rodos was chosen as one of the prophets of his generation, chosen by Isidor himself under the direction of Theios.

The second revelation came after the Bophanites' migration to their current homeland. Upon reaching the top of Isidor’s Ridge, Rodos was once again visited in the presence of three of his closest and most loyal companions. The four were told of what to make of these deposits of marble as well as given visions of what the settlement in the valley would grow to become. From this revelation came the characteristic reliance on community and civil service common to Isidorans. An emphasis on proselytizing to spread knowledge of the angels and Theios to friends and neighbors first became part of the collective consciousness of this clan of Bophanites.

After the two great marble halls were completed by the Bophanites, Isidor came down for his third revelation to Rodos along the lake. He laid out for Rodos the future of the Bophanite people as guardians of the Bophan Mountains and Dukes of Rhodes. In order to maintain a tradition of proselytizing, Rodos was instructed to search for twelve devout followers to serve in what Isidor called the Apostolic Council with Rodos, as Duke, presiding over it. Unlike the normal succession of noble titles, the title of Prophet was inherited by one of the Apostles. It is said that a Prophet and his successor receive the same vision when a Prophet is nearing the end of his life. This can mean that the titles of Prophet and Duke may be held by either the same person or by two different people. If a Duke is also his generation’s Prophet, one of the seats in the Dodecan Hall is left vacant while the Duke his regular seat at the head of the hall.

The three companions of Rodos who witnessed his second revelation were among the first to be sought out by the Prophet and became the founding members of the Apostolic Council. DeMorgan, Oakes, and Ades were the three.