The first part of the writeup concerning the Grand Duke. There's more to come.
House Isaren
Yiris Isaren was not the sort of person one expects to become the ruler of a planet, at least not outside of a low budget holodrama. When he began seeking out the adventurous, unlucky, and desperate to join him in founding a new state in the depths of the Periphery, he was nothing more than a man with an assumed name, no past, a pile of gold from unspecified sources, and a silver tongue to make people forget all that other stuff. He was a talented orator, practically a demagogue who painted a picture of a life of peace, comfort, and prosperity beyond the reach of the Great Houses.
And people bought it. Some out of a naive faith, others playing an angle to enrich themselves, but most out of a hope they could find somewhere where humanity wasn't trying to destroy itself. More than a few figured that, with the Early Succession Wars raging, even if they ended up as subsistence farmers in the middle of nowhere, they'd be ahead of the game.
Instead, Yiris Isaren led his followers to Foxhaven, a planet on nobody's charts over two hundred light years from the borders of regular civilization. And, well, nobody really knew how to react when it turned out to be everything he promised. Foxhaven was rich in life and ripe for colonization, a little arid overall, but with a comfortable climate and plentiful space to settle. Isaren's prescience continued when he claimed a site for his personal landhold, and almost immediately uncovered vast warehouses leftover from Stephan Amaris' hidden army. Though little military equipment was found, the abandoned maintenance works, power generators, and civilian support equipment allowed Isaren to build an impressive hold very quickly, as well as buy enough loyal supporters to protect it. Within a couple of years, Yiris Isaren had proclaimed himself Grand Duke of the Free Duchy of Foxhaven and parceled out substantial landholds to his closest supporters, forming the basis for the system that governs the planet to this day. Those who opposed him, as well as those who claimed there was an obvious, sinister reason Isaren just happened to know how to find a lost base of the Rim Worlds Republic, gradually fell silent as the colony prospered under the rule of the new Grand Duke and his Barons.
House Isaren has ruled Foxhaven to this day, though their rule is far from absolute. Successive Grand Dukes have had to play an at times delicate balancing act to maintain the loyalty of their Barons, the happiness of their subjects, and the fortunes of their own House. Insurrections, internal squabbling, even outright revolts have been a regular fixture of Foxhaven politics since the beginning, and if things have changed, it may only be in intensity, as the relatively weak hand of Grand Duke Alexander Isaren has allowed his adversaries to gather unprecedented amounts of strength.
Lands:
Strictly speaking, all of the land of Foxhaven not already granted to another landholder is the property of the Grand Duke. That being said, only a small fraction of that is actually inhabited, productive territory. The bulk of the Grand Duke's population inhabit cities and towns dotting the Ramsay River Valley, the most densely populated region on the planet. Small farms dot the countryside further inland, thinning out to isolated mining communities as the land shifts from rolling plains to rugged badlands. The Frobisher Hills region shows an abrupt increase in population, though not so much livability as the preponderance of coal mines, Hydrocarbon Reprocessing Plants, and their associated waste storage centers creates a filthy, foul smelling environment even as they serve as home to some of the richest Common families on the planet. Beyond that, there is little official population. The occasional Prospector or Homesteader might be found among the badlands or other untamed territories, but for the most part, the only humans that call these lands home are outlaws, bandits, and others who have every reason to want to disappear. Though the government insists such claims are highly exaggerated, it is often claimed that entire functioning outlaw communities can be found beyond the boundaries of "civilized" Foxhaven.
The core of House Isaren's economic power comes from heavy manufacturing, with production of all manner of goods underway in industrial complexes set up along the Ramsay River. This included production of critical military technologies such as advanced combat vehicles and aircraft, as well as critical components for battlemech and industrialmech construction. These industries are primarily fed by raw materials drawn from the various Baronies, though these sources are suplemented from mining concerns strung along the edges of the arid badlands. Fuel is another major industry for House Isaren, with the Reproccessing Plants of Frobisher Hills able to process coal, oil, waste plastic, and many other forms of organic waste into usable fuel. Though inefficient and painfully dirty relative to the ethanol fuel produced by the Barony of Northpoint, shear volume allows Frobisher Hills to hold control over the bulk of the industry, even though Northpoint fuel is generally preferred by consumers.
House Isaren has surprisingly little direct control over transportation, even when it pertains to the entire planet. None of the Grand Duke's settled territories allow for sea access, and Cyrus Isaren chose to privatize the rail network in the late 30th century as a concession to the Baronies after his unbelievable corruption nearly led to a general revolt. Large scale air travel is still an industry in which House Isaren remains a firm grip, but the relatively sparse population of the planet and rather small populated area makes this something of a niche industry.
