This clan was in favor in the fifth century AK, and they continued to have members in the Elite Guard until the Empire's fall, but they were in serious trouble for most of the sixth century, thanks in part to some dubious decision-making by their leader Ranatir. In AK 539, a group of Mareks planned to assassinate Ranatir for the good of the clan, but the attempt was thwarted with the help of the Elite Guard.
The Mareks had been trying to consolidate or regain their position through marriages since at least the late fifth century, when Mena Marek was married to Senneth Barshen to acquire the Barshen's dop import and smuggling network. Some of their later alliance plans failed when Palantor backed out of his engagement to Ilyana Marek in 539 and Ganeth Barshen was presumed murdered the night before his intended marriage to Solera Parnos in 555. Ilyana eventually married Lord Saxe in 541, giving the Mareks enough political clout to at least slow their decline.
The Mareks were able to preserve some of their spellbooks through the magic crash in 579, so their position afterwards was somewhat improved. They're currently among the leaders of a more unified high-elven presence in Auramkil and are are trying to set themselves up as the new Elite Guard.
Unlike other Auramkil elves, the Marek clan has an animal rather than an astronomical symbol for its insignia.
Ranatir was the Marek leader through their slow decline. Lady Ylena had heard rumors that he had been slowly weakened somehow -- perhaps by subversion, magic, or poison, but he was definitely not replaced by a doppleganger. A number of his decisions turned out to be disastrous for the clan, and the failed attempt on his life by a Marek faction didn't help much either. He eventually died in the mid sixth century.
Ilyana was born in 406, had a promising career in the Elite Guard, was engaged to Palantor, and helped him uncover the assassination plot against Ranatir in 539. Problem was, Ilyana's parents were in the plot right up to their eartips. Palantor cut relations with the clan, and Ilyana decided she'd had enough of politics and headed out to sea with Lord Saxe's adventuring party. She married Saxe two years later, and they adopted two noble orphans, in keeping with Auramkil custom. She desperately wanted a child of her own, and so was thrilled when Lorcan was born.
Ilyana's cousin, who you can read about on another page.
Lord Saxe is a minor human noble at court, born in 522 to a family of former rangers with traditional ties to the Mareks. He reached 3rd level, was never quite convinced that Lorcan is really his son, and is currently a mystery writer.
Nuzreta succeeded Ranatir as leader of the Mareks, and she's still in the job. Her plan was to rebuild quietly, making alliances with both elves and humans. She was able to make the most of Ilyana's marriage to Saxe and generally managed to get the clan into a decent position for Auramkil's renaissance. Her low opinion of Kalek Nirduk (ah, a woman of taste) is thought to have contributed to the feud between the Marek and Nirduk clans.
Lorcan Saxe-Marek was born in 552, to everyone's surprise. (Interspecies procreation isn't exactly easy, y'know -- half-elves generally don't occur naturally, and the ones that do are often at least a little insane.) Some say there was a deck and some sort of pact with chaos involved, and lots of people were somewhat afraid of Lorcan. Then he became a priest of Nuket, the Fickle Bitch herself, and most other folks decided those first folks were right. (The thought of Lorcan and Ganeth in the same party probably gave Omimajish nightmares...)
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