House Kournis
House Kournis is the current Royal House of Dyria and has been since 602. It is headed by Queen Sophia Kournis, who rules from the Dyrian capital, Elis.
History
House Kournis has ruled the Realm of Dyria since just 602, after a palace coup orchestrated by no less than members of the previous royal family, of House Aetos. The queen at the time, Areti Aetos, had begun a process of stripping nobility, including her own family, of titles, land, Crown positions and honourifics and centralising power in a bureaucracy wholly of her own choosing. Some observers quietly remarked that Areti's choice of government was on the whole rather sound, whereas the royal family at the time had not, by and large, made for competent administrators. Rather than see their fortunes vanish entirely, but requiring substantial support from elsewhere in the realm to hold on to anything at all, the other members of House Aetos sought the aid of Duke Aeson Kournis, the late father of Queen Sophia Kournis. A coalition of nobility issued an ultimatum to Areti, who was forced to abdicate. The Imperial House Oreste watched from the sidelines, concerned that Dyria might be entirely destabilised, but with little grounds under which it could step in. It did not take sides. On Areti's abdication, the throne of Dyria passed to Aeson Kournis. The fortunes of House Aetos since are detailed elsewhere.
Aeson was a competent, steady ruler, whose rule ushered in decades of stability across Dyria. He died at the age of 73, in 630, and the transition of power to his eldest daughter, Sophia, was uneventful. House Aetos has not attempted to exercise any claim to the throne; everyone is very well aware that they were key to the coup which ousted their very own monarch. She came to the throne with a wealth of administrative experience from her rulership of the Duchy of Padokis, and so far, her rule of Dyria has been steady.
House Kournis originates in the eastern Duchy of Padokis, but in the mid-400s, the merging of a smaller house with House Kournis led to it assuming rule of the city of Elis, a more central location to which it ultimately moved its seat of power.
Holdings
The seat of House Kournis and the current capital of Dyria is in Elis. The island city is a major trade hub in the eastern Encircled Sea and home to many fine artificiers. In particular, the dwarves of the Worldspine who elected to settle in Dyria after their exodus from the mountains chose Elis as a home in many cases. The people of Elis call it the space built to accommodate the dwarves the Dwarven Quarter; the dwarves refer to it as the Karaz-Inzeerak. They swear no fealty to any human ruler, though are law-abiding and produce such fine wares that there is little interest in displacing them.
The ancestral home of House Kournis is in the Duchy of Padokis, which is centred around one of Dyria's rare inland towns, in Voros. Padokis spans many miles of hilly countryside and generally poor land, with its people making ends meet as herders and miners. Voros is an unremarkable town by most imperial standards, but is a market hub for the region. Voros sits some distance west of Wayguard, held by House Karalis, a vassal of House Kournis. Voros has only a modest castle, but is made secure by the presence of a chapter of The Knights Custodian.
Current Events
The position of House Kournis in Dyria is solid. The strong rule of Aeson did much to leave Queen Sophia in a sound position. The realm is stable and internal unrest seems improbable. Indeed, House Kournis is now looked to in the Imperial Court as the sensible, steady voice. Much of the house's attention is turned to matters far beyond Dyria's borders.
Since 631, a few dwarven expeditions have departed Dyria and ventured across the Red Waste. The notoriously secretive dwarves have made no reference to where they are going, though the general assumption of most is that they must have some business in the Worldspine. House Kournis has made no effort to prevent any dwarven bands from travelling, which most observers take to be tacit approval.