House Kaisthurm

House Kaisthurm of the Clōve is the current ruling dynasty of the Alvish Intersolar Imperium, as well as the fourth-largest and third-richest of the Great Houses. The family is originally of Dottish Alvish descent, hailing from the industrial metropolis of Ecken, located on the island of Kunn on Gozich. The Kaisthurms usurped the Ruby Throne from House Dadanos in 511 AC during the Disgrace of Kintsel, when Gildomir I enthroned himself as the first Kaisthurm Zaesir of Alvia.

The Kaisthurm are the historic founders and rulers of the Clōve, the fifth most-populous and third-richest planet in the Alvish Imperium. They dominate the politics and society of their homeworld, and were the first great family to establish themselves as a so-called fourth branch of government, providing networking, training, and financial support to prospective leaders to solidify their control of the government and society of their homeworld.

During the reign of House Kaisthurm, the lingering disorder of the Fifty Years’ War finally came to an end with the death of the last Dadanoi queen, Lo'vala II. Gildomir I stabilized the Alvish realm following his coup and pursued anti-Therian policies of segregation, credited for pushing the conservative parties of the Volthaug to the right as a result. In particular, the Blues, the largest party in the Volthaug, included a program of "soft separation" as part of their platform for the first time in their history as a result of an alliance with Gildomir.

Foundation
The Kaisthurm family was founded by Gildomir Godosald, a struggling chemist working for the Azach-controlled Dadaus Corporation. He worked to create and improve painkillers, but found corporate work unfulfilling and desired to create his own pharmaceutical business. As a member of the Schismatist Vossi Church, he began to experiment with the psionic stimulant Zō, and eventually developed a process to refine the toxic drug into a healthy, consumable stimulant he called Hagenzō. He briefly considered purchasing property on Gozich to produce and refine his product, but later decided to join the colonialist craze of the late 170s and 180s and bought an exploratory vessel.

After marrying a smallborn girl named Dalfinda, he embarked to an unsettled planet that had recently been spotted quite close to the Galven system. According to legend, he arrived on the Clōve and the first creature he encountered was a monstrous Hopfa, which was later confirmed to be the largest flying creature in Alvia, with a wingspan of 10-12 meters (33-39 ft.): he decided to settle the planet due to his discovery of this creature.

As he established his first Zō farms on the Clōve, his wife Dalfinda invented a flavored drink based on his Hagenzō stimulant, and he determined that he would sell this product instead of the drug itself. Over the next twenty years, his new stimulant drink, which he christened Stagl, rapidly spread to become one of the most-consumed drinks in the Imperium. By the 5th century AC, the drink was so popular that human visitors compared it to coffee in its characteristics and usage. As the family rocketed into the wealthiest echelons of Alvish society, Gildomir formally founded House Kaisthurm in 201 AC.

Colonization of the Clōve
The explosive growth of Stagl attracted vast numbers of settlers to the Clōve, many of them arriving to work in Gildomir's earliest farms and factories. However, the Kaisthurms rapidly diversified their business, expanding to produce a variety of pharmaceuticals and drugs, as well as expanding into media & entertainment as a result of their affiliation with the minor churches. They were the most successful non-Zockensian House in history: as such, the Vossi Church, and a variety of other minor churches quickly moved their headquarters to the Clōve and contributed to the growth of the planet as a cultural hub. Dalfinda oversaw this initial cultural partnership, and she later became a massively successful sculptor and architect.