The House of Lucan has controlled the Jade Valley for more centuries than men have sure record of. When the earliest predecessor of the Empire of Lirith Kai expanded into the Jade Panther Hills from the valley of the An-Kiu River, they found the Lucans already there, holding the area against the restless mountain tribes by force of arms and control of the powers that were focused in the valley, and when that earliest empire faded, the Lucans were still in the valley, holding it firmly. The Sendori Kingdom at its height did not push beyond the Lucans' border forts on the northeast, expanding instead to the northwest and west.

When the present Empire of Lirith Kai finally gained control of the valley, some eight centuries ago, they did so by indirect means. Allied with the Sendori of that time, they laid siege to the whole range of hills, and priests and mages drew a barrier around the hills which they slowly tightened like a noose. Also, they had chosen a time when the powers were at a low ebb, and then they sent in honey-tongued negotiators. The Warlord of that time, Shal'Hinrah, was said to have yielded finally to the combination of the Empire's promises--for they promised that his line should always govern the valley under the Imperial standard--and the nagging of his lady wife, a noblewoman of the lowland cities who was not pleased with the plain fare left on her tables by the siege. Whatever the truth of that, it is known that since that time, any Lucan who took a wife from beyond the mountains was automatically debarred from inheriting the castle and the rulership of the valley--and the valley has always been ruled by Lucans.

During the Civil War, when the whole Empire was torn with strife and secession, the valley became independent once again--for two generations, while the Empire pulled itself back together, no Adantri of the lowlands entered the valley. Then came Mirgan called the Unshakeable, as emissary to "our loyal governor Lucan"-- No one knows what, precisely, passed between Mirgan and the Lord Shal'Darro tel Lucan...but the valley was once again part of the Empire, and the governor was always the head of the House of Lucan.

Shal'Harrah is Lord of the House of Lucan, Lord Governor of the Jade Valley and surrounding Hills today, and rumor has it that in him may be seen the strength and resolution of the old Warlords of the Jade Panther Hills. The powers are rising in the Jade Valley, and they have always answered most easily to the House of Lucan--it may be that the valley will see great deeds in the near future.