The Hrisos

[Leokrates]

The Hrisos are perhaps the most mysterious of the families, able to keep their secrets from others with relative ease. Although they are part of the original five generals who were on the military council with the last king of Alithra, she was the least ostentatiously so of them. The Hrisos general, a cousin both to the Prasinos and the Kitrinos generals, was known to be stealthier than the others and had a famous battalion of archers who were said to be able to shoot with the grace of Artemis and Apollo. These traditions carried over with the Hrisos family in general, though after the death of the king and the disappearance of the queen and prince, the Hrisos family was mysteriously exiled to a mountain range of their choice; they chose a sacred mountain range where many minor gods were said to live, and became a spiritual family specializing in stealth and archery. Due to their lack of involvement in the wars of the other families, the Hrisos are generally an untested military power, easily either over- or underestimated. Their family color is gold and their family animal is an ibex, chosen for their mountainous home.

The main focus of the Hrisos is stealth and archers. They want to stay far away from the thick of the fighting, which can cause some to cause them cowardly, but it is not often that a Hrisos family member reacts to such an insult at all. In diplomacy, they dance away from revealing or dangerous topics and keep their strength a secret from the others. Out of the military, the Hrisos are fairly weak except for their archers. Their spies are a huge part of their culture, too, and are celebrated discreetly through festivals openly for other things such as the Festival of Dreams, a week-long celebration of the gods of darkness, dreams, sleep, and night. They are not just good at taking knowledge from others, but hiding it as well, and have some of the best kept secrets in the world under their lock and key. Only the top family members ever get to know about some of them, though they all play with the poker face and pretend to know all; it is what makes them strong, their deception.

They are a highly self-sufficient family, much like the Kitrinos, and can live off any type of land easily; their preferred terrain, though, is a mountainous one, as that is what their home in Alithra is like – a city carved into the mountain itself. Because of the climate in such places, they have lost some of their “Greek” culture and wear more furs and heavier clothing than the others, giving them a borderline barbaric look. This helps their relationship with the natives of Mistros who wear furs, too. This is also cause for some insult among other prouder families such as the Kianos and the Prasinos.

The family appearance of the Hrisos truly does look as if the Prasinos and the Kitrinos merged. The hair is mostly reddish or auburn with varying colored eyes; the hair can vary from a bright red ginger to a medium brown tone. The skin color varies as well, and the Hrisos is perhaps the most diverse looking family of them all, the opposite of the Mavros in that regard.

Claim to the throne: The Hrisos have not made a formal claim, but there are some rumors about what they will say once they finally say something. Some believe that the Hrisos will say that because the uncle of the king was married to the queen’s cousin’s adviser and had a daughter who married the Hrisos general’s son that there is a connection of the family, though it is something of a stretch. Another idea is that the Hrisos will be the first to utilize religion in their claims and speak of golden Apollo’s royal connection and their location on his sacred mountain with holy creatures. When they do make a claim, it certainly will mean something huge.

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