Avakaron Families
Avakaron is an old city, founded by a small group of Hellbend people that traveled to Winhem after The Change Days and found the land in which Avkaron stand now. Over time other Hellbends that were wandering the world in the years after The Change Days, made their way into Winhem and either started small villages of their own in the Eastern Steppes or found the city and settled there. Those that settled within the city soon formed family through marriage and children. After a while, several surnames became prominent and common throughout the city.
Avakaron has a culture of extreme familial closeness. Families, both immediate and extended, in the city all live in one huge longhouse (a couple of rather huge families have multiple longhouses) within the city. Single-family homes are nearly nonexistent in Avakaron.
Because of the way the family system works in Avakaron, several surnames have persisted through time and still exist today, as do their longhouses. Below are some of the more prominent and old family names that still exist, along with some of the current or deceased members, and bits of information about them.
When creating a Hellbend Character, one can choose one of the below surnames and be a part of this existing family group. This is not required and you can still choose your own name. Those who choose the below names can find the family longhouse on the Avakaron Map, and in the vast majority of cases, this is where the Character will live in Avakaron. If you choose your own unique name it is possible a Spirit Moderator will approach you with the idea of creating a new family branch, longhouse, and history of that name and adding it to the Lore.
Irdis
The Irdis family was one of the first families of Avakaron. Some of their founding members were Hellbends born directly of The Change Days. This family has had a decent history of being important members of the city, as well as most members being tied to the ocean in some type of way. While this rule is not complete, and some members, of course, choose professions and lives away from the ocean, many are fishers, glassblowers, shipwrights, and captains. The family size today is one of the largest that currently exists.
Members
Aoureg: An older male Hellbend that is a current member of the family. Aoureg is the most well-known member of the current family because he is the sole glassblower that has been allowed and contracted to create Skerricks, the official currency of Avakaron.
Aidana: A successful living Irdis member, Aidana is the Dockmaster of Avakaron. She is married to a human man, and has a human step-son. She lives at the Dockhouse in Avakaron and manages the everyday workings of the very busy Docks and ship movements of the city.
Dada
The Dada line of Hellbends is a very interesting group. Many members tend to be high ranking members of whatever profession they choose. Many are high ranking members of the Ministry of Magic, and the line has multiple Champions Sect members in its history. While Casters are common in the Dada line, as with all Hellbends, interests, and professions have generally been scattered, though independence and leadership are common traits of the Dada family.
Members
Igmasen: One of the most famous Hellbends in Avakaron history, Igmasen is a deceased male member of the Dada family. He is most known for being the Founder of what is known now as the Champions Sect and being one of the first Hellbends known to be blessed by a God, specifically Keutan.
Azum
The Azum family line has a colorful history. While not one of the founding members of the city, Tasafut – the founder of the line – traveled to Avakaron after initially settling near the Triangle Lakes in Winhem after The Change Days. When she was blessed by Marili she felt a calling to travel to Avakaron. There she married and formed the Azum line by keeping her own last name, rather than her partners. The line, since then, have a mix of different interests, from Casters, to ship captains, farmers, and priests. Today this line is one of the largest in Avakaron.
Members
Tasafut: A deceased female Hellbend who is best known for being blessed by Marili and to be the second member of the Champions Sect after Igmasen Dada. Tasafut is also the founding member of the Azum family line.
Tihri: A living male descendant of the Azum family. Tihri currently resides in the Morinsend Shelter, living his life attempting to create a perfect counterfeit to the Skerrick for underground and black market use. Born in Avakaron, he learned the glassblowing skill and even apprenticed under Aoureg Irdis before being cast out and retreating to the smugglers haven.
Taheriva
The Taheriva is one of the oldest family line sin Avakaron, and one of the founding families of the city. However in recent years, the population of the family has radically dwindled, either because of no child couples, or children marrying into other family lines. Currently, there are only three active branches left in the family tree and the family is facing extinction. Generally, though, the family is highly respected. They tend to be caregivers and teachers, priests, or doctors. They still occupy one of the larger longhouses of the city but have many empty rooms that they now rent to outsiders as a Hostel.
Members
Aikorkem: The oldest living Hellbend of the Taheriva family, Aikorkem is a loving old woman who is devastated by her family’s decline. She, however, tries to make the best of it, thus helping start the Hostel. Aikorkem is the oldest daughter of the founding member of the family, and only remaining living member of her father’s immediate family.
Dastan: The second oldest living member of the family, Dastan is Aikorkem’s oldest nephew. Dastan is furious about the families’ decline but accepts that a raise in family revenue, hopefully through the Hostel, will cause newlyweds to choose the Taheriva family instead of another line. Dastan is also a famous doctor within the city, though now retired he still sometimes trains aspiring surgeons.
Rasul: Rasul is the third oldest living member of the family and Aikorkem’s son-in-law. He is a practicing priest of Cimese and the leader of her shared temple within the city.
Nazira: Young, recently married Taheriva daughter.
Negura
Family Credit to Geronimo
The family of Negura is likely the oldest Hellbend family line to still exist on Siliren. During The Change Days, when the Hellbend race was created, The Anorian family of Samra Negura, his wife, and four children stepped through the portal from Anore to Siliren. Upon reaching the other side Samra had been mutated along with his youngest son, Ilila. Like the rest of the newly created Hellbends, the two were considered twisted and evil by their family and pushed out. Samra and his son soon found a small Hellbend group traveling west, and eventually settled and founded Avakaron.
Two immediate family members both being mutated by the Rigen portal was extremely rare but allowed Samra to remarry and bear more children of the name, and for Ilila to pass on the name to his own children. Currently, the Negura family is rather large in size and considered one of the founding families of Avakaron. The Negura line tends to be scholars, often focused heavily on academics. They are commonly historians, teachers, professors, researchers, and librarians, or archaeologists.
Members
Samra: The original Hellbend of the Negura line, Samra is a deceased patriarch of the family, having helped found Avakaron and maintain the Negura family line. Samra is also the writer of many Anore history books that still exist in the Hall of Chronicles.
Ilila: Son of Samra, Ilila helped build some of the early schools of Avakaron for the newest generation of Hellbends, as well as teach in them. He was often seen as a ‘father figure’ for the first generation of born Hellbends, and remains a historical figure today. His personal family crest became the symbol for the entire family line since Ilila’s direct lineage is connected to the vast majority of the Negura household.
Sabirov
Family Credit to Ambrosia
Members
Akmat Sabirov: Head of the family and famed healer. He has a warm and friendly disposition, with almost never a harsh word said and child-like excitement when he finds something new. He is conversational in Common, although he always talks with great animation and has been known to knock things over when he gets excited. He loves teaching and watching his apprentices grow and learn from him.
Bahkyt Sabirov: The eldest of Akmat’s children. He has a cold, efficient manner that tends to make people uncomfortable until they see his skill. The perfect opposite of his father in personality and the black sheep of the family as he does not share the intuitive nature of healing that his father and sister have. He has a prejudice against humans, as he thinks that Hellbends are superior in every way and is perpetually annoyed with human presence in the Clink-clink. He is very book-smart and well read, understanding both Rigerian and Common if spoken or written. He is conversational in Common.
Eldana Sabirov: The youngest and only daughter of Akmat. She is tall for a Hellbend female but her kind and gentle nature always put her patients at ease. She can often be found humming and singing softly to herself as she works and has a great affinity for healing like her father. She is also a fairly accomplished artist and sometimes sells her work at festivals and celebrations. She speaks Common poorly.
Dioppe
Family Credit to Abraxas
While the Dioppe family is not one of the oldest families of Avakaron, it is certainly one of the wealthiest. The family has a tradition of specializing in jewel crafting and other related professions. They run a business offering well crafted jewelry to all walks of life. Their influence in the city remains substantial despite their dwindling numbers. The family Matriarchs and Patriarchs are traditionally chosen, not by age or skill, but by the outgoing Elder before them. Though sometimes they may be chosen by popular vote from the entire family.
Members
Wyoelu: The current Matriarch of the Dioppe family. Well known in Avakaron for being the best jewel crafter in the city. She often attempts to include herself in meetings involving members of the Champions Sect under the premise that she would’ve been marked by Ismer if he was not deceased.
Fieula: Second child and only daughter to Wyoelu. A prodigy of magic that achieved expertise in multiple spells at a young age. Works as an instructor for the Ministry of Casters.