House Theronian

The House of Theronian is an Imperial family of minor nobles from the Gold Coast. As a family that has existed since at least the late Third Era, it is currently one of the oldest noble Houses on Tamriel.

In its early days, the Theronian family became quite notable under the fabled Seris Theronian, a knight-errant and adventurer who became a respected member of the Emperor's court until he vanished in 3E 431. In the centuries that followed, it remained a minor House, barely having any relations or influence outside the Gold Coast for over four hundred years, until Arctus Theronian entered the service of the fugitive Rhaela and Arik Morgan in 5E 136.

Members of House Theronian traditionally value the virtues of honour, duty, and loyalty, after their founder's own beliefs. Since the rise of the Morgan Dynasty, the family's loyalty transferred to the Morgan emperors, though they were once staunch supporters of the Septim and Mede dynasties.

The Theronians have dominant traits that are common across nearly all of their members; they tend to have fair complexion, steely grey eyes, and dark blonde hair, and these traits are almost always passed along to their children, regardless of how dominant the partner's genes might be. On rare occasions, however, Theronians are born with jet black hair. The current head of the family, Tectus Theronian, is one such example.

Notable members

 * Seris Theronian: The founder of the House, Seris I Theronian was a heroic and valiant adventurer and former Tribune of the Imperial Legion who established his reputation and his family in the last decades of the Third Era. He vanished two years before the outbreak of the Oblivion Crisis, but inexplicably resurfaced in the aftermath of the Golden March, three centuries later.
 * Arctus Theronian: Arctus Theronian is a knight-errant and the current heir of House Theronian. His admiration of his ancestor, Seris I, drove him to a life of swordsmanship and courtly romance. He entered the service of Rhaela and Arik V Morgan after their brother Aerion attempted to slaughter the attendants of his wedding. This makes him the first Theronian to have recognition with members of the imperial dynasty since the Third Era.

History
The history of House Theronian begins with its founding in 3E 428, when Emperor Uriel VII Septim elevated Seris Theronian to nobility and granted him lands on the Gold Coast as a reward for his heroic deeds. From this moment onward, the Theronians were a noble House, with all the perks that came along with that. For a few years, the Theronians were influential members of Imperial society. However, when Seris vanished in 3E 431 and the Emperor died two years later, everything that made them famous was gone. Seris' wife was left a widow, and had to raise a child without father. The influence of House Theronian withered fairly soon, and before long they only maintained influence within the noble society of Anvil and the Gold Coast.

Seris' son, Sartorus I, married the daughter of Lord Gweden, Gladys. They had two children: a daughter, Cara, who would later marry the commoner Scipo Lothil and bear child to Janus Lothil, founder of House Lothil, and a son, Tarnus. Tarnus married Tonilla Catiotus, with whom he had three children - though Tonilla died while giving birth to their youngest son, Retanus. As the three children grew up, the eldest son Quintus wed Maria Sextius. However, he eventually fell ill and died at the age of 29, and seemingly without an heir. Retanus saw his chance and declared himself head of the family. Unexpectedly, however, Maria turned out to be with child after all, the child having been conceived mere weeks before Quintus died. This son, whom she named Sartorus II after his great-grandfather, was therefore the new Lord, despite being an infant. Retanus was infuriated, but knew he could do nothing but rule in his nephew's name until the boy came of age.

By the time Sartorus eventually came of age, however, Retanus' plotting had been made significantly more difficult, as the young man had been married to Calpurnia Umbranox, the youngest daughter of the Count of Anvil, and later had two children with her, Magnus and Jonitus. It was not before Sartorus was in his late fourties that Retanus finally struck; during a feast, Retanus, by now in his sixties, poisoned Sartorus' wine. Though everyone was almost certain that Retanus had been the culprit, there was no concrete proof, and Retanus got to rule as the acting head of the family once more, as the heir Magnus was not yet of age.

Retanus knew that he could repeat his scheme with Magnus just like he had with Sartorus, but on the evening that he intended to do so, an unknown figure fatally stabbed him in the throat, after which he revealed himself to be Eranil Elfblood, and claimed to be an illegitimate son of Sartorus, having returned to exact vengeance upon his father's murderer. He escaped and vanished before the authorities could arrest him, however a few years later he returned to Anvil and pledged his service to his nephew Magnus.