Countess of Myrewood

Countess of Myrewood is a hereditary title in the Stormwind Peerage, held by the house of Mara since the year 21 K.C. Created Countess in her own right for her loyal service to the Royal family, Renata Mara passed the title and the original Myrewood estate to her eldest son when she died of poor health at the age of just forty six. It has been held by the house of Mara ever since. Unlike many hereditary peerages, the title and its subsidiaries may pass equally through the male or female line, via cognatic primogeniture, a method of succession by which the first-born child inherits, regardless of their sex.

Despite numerous attempts by subsequent male holders to change the succession to male primogeniture, the original wording of the letters patent has been upheld. With agricultural lands in excess of 7,000 acres due to an advantageous marriage between the 2nd Count and the Viscountess of Starfall, the subsequent Counts seldom had to worry about an income. The estate grew larger still, thanks to a number of carefully-planned political marriages in the centuries that followed. Since the title's creation, there have been 18 holders. Erzsibet Mara is the 18th and present Countess of Myrewood.

Subsidiary Titles
Only those titles in the Stormwind Peerage are shown here.
 * Viscount/Viscountess of Starfall - Used as a courtesy title by the heir apparent, the title takes its name from the Duskwood estate of Starfall. The present Lord Starfall is Andras Mara II, the six year-old nephew and heir-apparent of Countess Erzsibet Mara.
 * Baron/Baroness of Mara - Often used as a courtesy title, it's territorial designation comes from the village named for the Mara family who first settled it during the earliest days of the Kingdom of Azeroth. The title is presently in use by Andras Mara, brother to the present Countess.

Land and Wealth
With a total of fourteen thousand acres in three counties, stretching from Stormwind proper to Duskwood, wealth was not an issue until very recently. With so much of Duskwood cursed and so much of their land in the region of Duskwood, the Countess of Myrewood and her heirs will have lost nearly three fourths of their agricultural land and the incomes such land once provided. Much of their income today is derived from their vineyard, Myrewood's single silver mine, and timber. harvested from the heavily-wooded region.

Military
In times of war, the Count/Countess of Myrewood traditionally serves as Lord/Lady Marshal of the local troop levy, known as the Myrewood Brigade. The present Countess has given command of the brigade to her uncle, Captain Bjorn Stromvyr in light of her limited experience in matters of war.

State
The Count/Countess of Myrewood holds a hereditary seat in the Stormwind House of Nobles and is directly responsible for the appointment of all Myrewood's local government officials, including the County Magistrate. Unlike her late father, the present Countess has personally authored legislation to be considered in the House and seems eager to make a name for herself.

Primary Residences

 * Myrewood Castle - The hereditary seat of the Countess/Count of Myrewood, it is a small castle, built some time after the year 60 K.C. Myrewood Castle was opened to the public in 625 K.C. after the establishment of the Myrewood Castle Trust.
 * Myrewood House - The Stormwind City residence of the Countess/Count of Myrewood, used for convenience when the house of nobles is in session.
 * Starfall Manor - Left in some state of disrepair for more than a century, Starfall was originally a great Castle, and after more than twenty separate rennovations, it became a luxurious manor in 439 K.C. It was the residence of the 17th Count's daughter, Erzsibet Mara during a ten-year period of her estrangement. In its glory, Starfall played host to numerous gatherings of Stormwind's high society and served as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the first and second Orcish wars. Plans have been made to open Starfall to the public, with a large portion of the house to be used as a museum.

Line of Succession
As the present Countess remains unmarried and has no legitimate children of her own, the line of succession favors her younger brother's children. Despite a history of animosity toward his sister and being pushed even further down the line of succession after the birth of his first daughter, Lord Andras Mara has made no attempt to alter it via Stormwind's Courts. Although the present Countess is with child, it remains unknown whether she will legitimize the child conceived during her affair with Lord Blackwood while so many legitimate descendants of her father's line are available.
 * 1) Andras Mara II, Lord Starfall (Nephew of the present Countess)
 * 2) Victor Mara (Nephew of the present Countess)
 * 3) Elizabeth Mara (Niece of the present Countess)
 * 4) Andras Mara, Baron Mara (Brother of the present Countess)