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Albanne Drakaër

"My uncle has lived twice my years and learned half my lessons. The remainder is mine."
— Albanne, after a contested council vote

Peer of Drakaër. Young, charismatic, the public political will of the Drakaër family — and openly the strongest noble supporter of Duke Den Azhir and Cadwallon's free status. She holds the peerage despite the existence of her uncle [[Silnus Drakaër]], who outshines her in political skill and quietly works against her ducal allegiance.

What She Looks Like

A human woman in her late twenties, slim and tall by Drakaër standards, with the family's characteristic light hair and grey eyes. Dresses in Drakaër military formal — even in council, when most Peers go in civilian attire. Carries a rapier, which is a Drakaër family signature. Speaks clearly and quickly; does not waste words on people she does not respect.

What She Inherited

  • A peerage with the strongest formal Cynwäll alliance of any fief — including direct access to Dyrsin's tower and dragon-landing privileges
  • A family divided along four cultural fault lines: Bahran-traditional, Cynwäll-allied, Light-aligned, Free-City-loyal
  • The moral inheritance from Johann of Drakaër — the Dogs-of-War-era founder who befriended the Cynwäll and was granted the dragon-riding privilege in 843. The "Drakaër stigma" — that the family is too Bahran for some Cadwës — runs back to him.
  • A military tradition built on cavalry, which is absurd in a city of suspended bridges, but which she has chosen to keep alive

What She's Doing

  • Publicly backing the Duke at every formal session — even when this costs her support among the older noble houses
  • Strengthening Drakaër-Cynwäll ties — meeting Dyrsin's emissaries personally; she may be the only living Peer who has been inside Dyrsin's tower
  • Funding the [[Light Cavalry Academy of Lanever]] in the Free District as both military reserve and symbolic project
  • Protecting the Scribes' leaks that compromise the guilds — at least some of the leaks she knows about

Her Family Problem

What Silnus is doing

Albanne's uncle [[Silnus Drakaër]] has been working against her ducal allegiance from inside the family. He hosts dinners she doesn't attend. He drafts policy positions she doesn't endorse. He is, slowly, building a shadow family council that could move against her position if a crisis arose. Albanne knows. Albanne has not yet acted because the Drakaër family unites under external threat — and acting against Silnus would create the very split that destroys the family.

Her Brother

Eric Drakaër is Albanne's younger brother, torn between admiration of his uncle Silnus and protective devotion to his sister. He may be the swing vote in any future family council; both Albanne and Silnus are quietly cultivating him.

Relations

  • Duke Den Azhir — primary political alliance
  • [[Silnus Drakaër]] — uncle; cold war
  • Dyrsin — Cynwäll ambassador; personal contact
  • [[Adalban Gherion]] — Ghieronburg military head; long-running family hatred with Silnus that Albanne has inherited
  • Bernadil Ghiéron — Adalban's nephew; Albanne has never met him privately and probably should
  • Camelia Orrkrk — Peer of the Rampart, sometime mediator of the Drakaër-Ghiéron feud
  • [[Argos Brisandre]] — bard, courier of the Scriptorium leaks. Albanne has met him once; the meeting is not in any ducal record.

The cavalry charge

A Drakaër cavalry exercise on the Field of Honor goes wrong — a horse spooks, a rider dies, the body is recovered with a strange burn pattern. The senior Drakaër military investigation is being run by Silnus's people. Albanne quietly asks the party to run a parallel inquiry and report only to her.

The Cynwäll request

Dyrsin sends a personal message to Albanne — through unofficial channels — requesting a meeting in the underground beneath the Pillars. Cynwäll do not request meetings underground. Something is changing. She asks the party to escort her and to remember what they see.

Eric's position

Eric Drakaër has been seen at dinners hosted by Silnus that Albanne does not attend. The senior household staff begin reporting his absences from his sister's table. Albanne needs to know whether her brother has shifted — without confronting him. The party is in a position to find out.