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Holds in the Frozen Realm of Wintreath
Land in the Frozen Realm is broken up into holds, each of which can be led by a member who has pledged an oath to the Realm and can be associated with a particular family (though being in a family is not required). There are currently no limitations to the number of holds a family or an individual may have, although Royal Holds, Great Holds, and Freeholds which are still led by their initial leader are considered assigned by law and may not be competed over or otherwise seized. The distinctions between these three categories of holds are detailed below:

Royal Holds
Frostlake and the surrounding area is the direct domain of the Royal Family, currently House Kestar. A hold can only become a Royal Hold with the consent of a majority of {hold owners - placeholder for future title}. Otherwise, the Monarch does not compete for holds because they already rule over the overall Realm. However, members of the Royal House besides the reigning Monarch can establish and compete for freeholds as indicated below. These holds would not be considered Royal Holds, but would be held by a member of the Royal Family.

Great Holds
A small number of holds are considered great holds, which have been assigned to a member of one of the Great Houses of Wintreath by the Monarch in recognition of their contributions to Wintreath. Because great holds are assigned to individual people, they move with that person if they switch houses. Otherwise, the status of Great Holds is protected by law and cannot be changed except by decree of the Monarch.

The current list of noble holds are as follows:

Burdock
Janth (through assignment to Gerrick as Count of Janth)

Meindhert
Bain (through assignment to Amalya as Countess of Bain)

Valeria
Cain (through assignment to Michi as Count of Cain*)
Highever (through assignment to Laurentus as Count of Highever)

Eske
Solvkre (through assignment to Ruguo as Earl of Solvkre)

*For purposes of families, nobility, and hold ownership, House Jörmunr in Wintreath is considered part of House Valeria as indicated by its family record.

The Freeholds
Holds which are neither formally assigned to the Royal family or a noble family are considered freeholds. Freeholds are usually established when its leader joins the Frozen Realm and pledges an oath to the Realm, in which case they remain as leader of that hold for as long as they remain active in the Realm. However, there are many abandoned, unorganized, and leaderless freeholds in the Realm that common and noble families alike compete over. A common misconception is that members of a noble family are limited to their assigned holds, but the reality is that they can and do become leaders of freeholds, especially members who have not been assigned lands and are looking to prove themselves.

Awh, did I get demoted from nobility without realising? :O

Awh, did I get demoted from nobility without realising? :O

Not at all...technically, you did not receive a land grant when you became a noble, while Amalya did. At the time, it was thought that Dukes would eventually receive their own NS region as a grant (similar to Zander Cerebella becoming Duke of New Hyperion). It's probably something that needs to be re-evaluated as we reform the theme.

Awh, did I get demoted from nobility without realising? :O

Not at all...technically, you did not receive a land grant when you became a noble, while Amalya did. At the time, it was thought that Dukes would eventually receive their own NS region as a grant (similar to Zander Cerebella becoming Duke of New Hyperion). It's probably something that needs to be re-evaluated as we reform the theme.

Gosh, if I didn't feel old before I sure do now haha!

You and me both.