The Lords Family
Among the Senatorial dynasties of City Center, the Lords family needed no introduction and tolerated none. Five matriarchs, eight husbands, twenty-seven children ranging from early teens to mid-twenties. They occupied one of the larger networks of buildings within the National Keep: four structures erected in a single line, each with its own purpose, collectively known as the Keeps of the Lords of Smithson. The smallest building, and the most visually striking from the outside, served as the palatial family residence. The other three were open to the public, and what they contained was the real source of the family's influence.
The first public building was a painting gallery of staggering scope. Hundreds of thousands of images covered the walls: pre-fall paintings, photography, carvings, and sketches, many faded beyond recognition and painstakingly recreated as miniature replicas by successive generations of the family. The second was a large circular structure housing a few hundred highly trained Standing Army soldiers amid displays of art and reliquary. The third contained an unprecedented collection of non-functioning pre-fall vehicles for land, sea, and air. Diesel Jock families considered this building holy ground. The vehicles had provided City Center's crafters and scientists with critical insights into pre-fall engine, transmission, and suspension design.
The majority of the homestead was accessible to the public as a historic museum, and that openness served a purpose beyond cultural preservation. Families who donated items to the collection received plaques reading "Donated by a notable family of the City Center," which functioned as proof that a family line had been and should continue to be citizens. The museum was both treasure house and political instrument, curating history and legitimacy in the same breath.
The family dressed in Victorian fashion replicated from artwork housed within their own galleries. Their eldest seven sisters were expected to oversee the family's wealth and interests once they came of age, and the dynasty intended to continue growing by marrying influential individuals into its fold. The Lords were builders, patrons, investors (Elizabeth Renwick Lords was one of the original backers of the modern Trade Union), and they measured their children's worth with a standard that made other Senatorial families look permissive: every child of the Lords family left home at eleven years of age to serve ten years on the Red Embankment. The standard Drafted Service requirement for born citizens was three years. The Lords demanded more than triple that, and the reasoning behind it was as cold as the family motto: "Lords do not give birth to lackluster children that are allowed to then live."
The first public building was a painting gallery of staggering scope. Hundreds of thousands of images covered the walls: pre-fall paintings, photography, carvings, and sketches, many faded beyond recognition and painstakingly recreated as miniature replicas by successive generations of the family. The second was a large circular structure housing a few hundred highly trained Standing Army soldiers amid displays of art and reliquary. The third contained an unprecedented collection of non-functioning pre-fall vehicles for land, sea, and air. Diesel Jock families considered this building holy ground. The vehicles had provided City Center's crafters and scientists with critical insights into pre-fall engine, transmission, and suspension design.
The majority of the homestead was accessible to the public as a historic museum, and that openness served a purpose beyond cultural preservation. Families who donated items to the collection received plaques reading "Donated by a notable family of the City Center," which functioned as proof that a family line had been and should continue to be citizens. The museum was both treasure house and political instrument, curating history and legitimacy in the same breath.
The family dressed in Victorian fashion replicated from artwork housed within their own galleries. Their eldest seven sisters were expected to oversee the family's wealth and interests once they came of age, and the dynasty intended to continue growing by marrying influential individuals into its fold. The Lords were builders, patrons, investors (Elizabeth Renwick Lords was one of the original backers of the modern Trade Union), and they measured their children's worth with a standard that made other Senatorial families look permissive: every child of the Lords family left home at eleven years of age to serve ten years on the Red Embankment. The standard Drafted Service requirement for born citizens was three years. The Lords demanded more than triple that, and the reasoning behind it was as cold as the family motto: "Lords do not give birth to lackluster children that are allowed to then live."
Structure
A strong matriarchy led by Elizabeth Renwick Lords, the eldest matron. The family consists of five matriarchs, eight husbands, and twenty-seven children ranging from early teens to mid-twenties. The eldest seven sisters are expected to oversee the family's wealth and interests once they come of age. The dynasty continues to grow by marrying influential individuals into its fold. Every child must leave at eleven years of age to serve ten years on the Red Embankment, more than triple the standard three-year Drafted Service requirement for born citizens.
Public Agenda
Preserve pre-fall knowledge and cultural heritage through the public museums at the Keeps of the Lords of Smithson. Maintain Senatorial influence in City Center through strategic marriages, resource investment companies across the northeast Merican wastelands, and financial backing of the Trade Union. Raise every child of the family to a standard that tolerates no weakness, measured by a decade of service on the Red Embankment before any claim to the dynasty's privileges.
History
The Lords family established themselves as one of the most prominent Senatorial dynasties in City Center. Elizabeth Renwick Lords was one of the original investors in the modern Trade Union and became proprietor of the public museums at the Keeps of the Lords of Smithson, one of the larger building networks within the National Keep. The family's four structures house a palatial private residence, a painting gallery containing hundreds of thousands of pre-fall images, a Standing Army barracks, and an unprecedented collection of non-functioning pre-fall vehicles considered holy ground by Diesel Jock families. The vehicle exhibit has provided City Center's crafters and scientists with critical insights into pre-fall engine, transmission, and suspension design. The museum doubles as a political instrument: families who donate items receive plaques that serve as proof of citizenship lineage.
Senatorial dynasty and cultural patrons of City Center's largest public museum.
