Lord Ratchet Foldet

The Wenjansk Code supplies surprisingly few guidelines regarding the appointment of Lord Ratchets. Typically, a High Kestrel retains some of the Lord Ratchets from his predecessor and then bestows new titles to close confidants, but few laws codify this process. Many were still surprised when the High Kestrel bestowed a title on Foldet (they/them), one of the first upland halflings to swear fealty to House Wenjansk. Foldet is a plucky halfling who argued convincingly on behalf of their kin. They made the claim that House Wenjansk would be stronger with the agricultural aid of the halflings and that it would be a strategic slight against House Jutmek, the great house that had uprooted them from their previous home.

Foldet gradually became a close ally of the High Kestrel, providing an outsider’s point of view that was sorely lacking within Mariusz’s inner circle. They were named Lord Ratchet a scant few months after the halflings were granted asylum and have remained true to Mariusz in the twenty or so years since. Their friendship with Mariusz influenced the High Kestrel’s progressive views on gender and likely his ultimate decision to welcome giants into Falthingor. Though Foldet seems to many like a true champion of House Wenjansk, they ultimately have never been able to free themself from their bias toward their halfling kin. Despite years of service, their total loyalty to the great house is far from guaranteed.

Lady Sylwia Wenjansk

No special title is granted to the wife of a High Kestrel. They are expected to act as the ruler’s spiritual guide and to bear children, but that is all. Lady Sylwia (she/her) has accomplished precisely one of these goals; Mariusz has three healthy children, but he is still a heathen. Sylwia is a religious woman, frequently meeting with the High Priests. She laments her husband's lack of faith and has done her best to nurture a sense of spiritualism in her children.

Lady Sylwia is oblivious to her husband’s infidelity, or perhaps she turns a blind eye. In either case, she is a woman filled with shame. She fell ill during the flight into the mountains and has never fully recovered. Mariusz debates whether that is for lack of proper healing or lack of motivation. In truth, Lady Sylwia never became the woman she had hoped she would become. She has become increasingly reclusive throughout her stay in Falthringor.

Lord Ratchet Feliks Sikora

Mariusz has no patience for the guilds. Logically, he understands their significance, but any time he contemplates interacting with them directly or—spirits forbid—granting them political authority, it makes him sick. Thus, he appointed a Lord Ratchet specifically to deal with them. Lord Ratchet Feliks Sikora (he/him) is responsible for managing “Falthringor’s production and distribution of wares” (i.e. the economy, though the lowlanders don’t use the word).

Feliks is perhaps too close to his charge. He was born a minor nobleman, but his sympathies have since shifted. He sees the way the masterful craftsmen of Falthringor toil away with minimal autonomy, and he contemplates whether there might be a better system of governance that puts power in the hands of those who contribute most to the markets and not simply the man who was born into the position. Feliks connives in secret with the guildmasters. Many of his discreet conversations would constitute treason in the eyes of House Wenjansk.

Agnieszka Sikora

As the wife of a Lord Ratchet, Agnieszka (she/her) lives a carefree life. She has not worked the fields since her childhood, and she cares little for the “petty arts and crafts” of her peers. Instead, she spends her days in seemingly idle gossip with the other nobles in the keep. She lounges in the great hall throughout the day, even as the servants prepare meals around her. Head chef Tola and her staff despise Agnieszka and her constant frivolous requests.

Agnieszka is blissfully unaware of the schemes her husband Feliks is enacting, but she is carefully following the politics of House Wenjansk’s looming succession crisis. She plans to wed her son Witold to one of Mariusz’s daughters…. though she has not yet decided whether Zosia or Kalina are more likely to take the throne. For now, Agnieszka bides her time, frequently amusing herself by forming frivolous feuds and alliances with the other women of the court