08-06-2022, 03:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2022, 03:24 PM by NzothofVoid.)
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House Vedralu
Traditionalists and stubborn at heart to their chosen ways, the now fallen House Vedralu were some of the last of the Faeborne families to leave the forests and ways below the heights of Mount Pavonis to join with the greater Faeborne society of Delphina. A motion that what was believed to bring advancement and a prosperous future by members of the minor house, but would lead to their ruin through their inability to detach themselves from one taboo segment of their traditions and end the house's prominence with the the fall of the Golden Age of Necromancy.
Pre-Golden Age
Originally the Vedralu were known to be skilled hunters, practicing their art out of not only necessity to sustain themselves, but as an act of worship and honor in Nemea's name and the forest, particularly seeking hunts of foreign beasts that disturbed/threatened the forest, native creatures (more so predators) that were shown to more ferocious and bloodthirsty than by the rest of their kind's behavior and on rare occasion, occultic influences that tainted the forest.
The more dangerous the hunt, the more sought after it was, and beasts that proved tricky to catch were among the most cherished of prey. For the Vedralu held a belief that one's perseverance despite the odds was a virtue and beauty, and held the suffering, struggle, and hardship of life as the whetstone for the perfection of one's being, extending this out onto the danger of the more challenging hunts. Scars from these experiences were highly valued, both physical and mental, being seen as progress in the carving of an individual into the fullness of life. Often it was only in times of extreme pressure or struggle for their House that the Vedralu would change their practices.
Although these two traditions were not the main cause of their own of the house's downfall, they would play an aiding part in the final and sole taboo tradition of the Vedralu. The Vedralu were a very familial people, with the oldest of their kind holding the greatest sway over the actions and advancement of their family, with it being said that once the head elders of the tribe chose a decision, the rest would quickly follow suit in their leader's steps. The wisdom, guidance, and experiences of their forebears and kin were honored, and in a similar manner of how they wasted nothing of the prey they caught as an act of respect and worship, the same would be done for their dead.
While old rumors' disputed them going as far to eat the flesh of the deceased, what was verified was the practice of preparing (though most would call it butchering) the body for skin to be fashioned into leather and the bones to be made into various 'jewelry' (with bones holding markings or scars being made the most prominent part of them) and in some cases made into effigies and other ornaments. This act was held as one of the most noblest within the house preceding their departure from the forests, as giving one's self to provide for their kin was seen as a great duty and sacrifice. The use of one's bones in death were also seen as reconnecting generations of those that came before to those of the present, and it was believed by the Vedralu that the spirits of those used would watch and guide the descendants and kinsmen that wore them.
It would be this tradition that would make House Vedralu be seen as somewhat of an outcast. Responses to the stigma led to a tamer version of the practice being adopted, yet accusations and suspicions of necromancy remained onto them. The house's prospects declined severely, and the course for their dissolution was set if not for acceptance and spread of necromancy brought about by Ozmandius Tal.
Golden Age
House Vedralu's members had suffered in number before the rise of Ozmandius, with the traditional leadership of a council of elders falling to one head directing the state of the affairs of the house, Endryn Vedralu. Their revival from this sorry state would be brought with brought with Ozmandius' success with necromancy against the expeditionary force of Barsburg bringing a new view of the art of working with the dead. Endryn seduced with the dream of a revitalization of their tradition in ways impossible by his predecessors, along with seeing the opportunity to bring themselves back from it's dying state, led his House to reorganize itself into a new specialty that allowed it to thrive off the age.
The skill of butchering and preparing bodies brought them glories in trade of corpse preparation and processing for the progressing art of necromancy. For among the many bodies being brought in, not all were in such condition to be suitable for necromancers. Skeletons missing bones and joints which lead to unstable and weak reanimations and more intact corpses that could be raised into zombies, but were missing limbs and pieces could be brought together into a prime working state through both magical and physical means such as sewing and binding bones/crucial joints led for perfect corpses for novice necromancers to use for their beginning studies as well as bodies in a prime state to create more resilient undead champions among more experienced necromancers.
A new niche that they excelled in brought in by Ozmandius within Delphina brought Vedralu's stalwart loyalty to the lich, for it was and his art of necromancy that brought a society for them to revive their House within. The house-head's close-kin in the coming years soon took upon the art of necromancy for themselves, with the most prominent of them taking leadership and holding the teachings of Litany Undeath to the House's necromantic apprentices fervently. All was well until the latter years of the Golden Age of Necromancy at which the art was beginning to fall out of favor, putting pressure onto House Vedralu once again.
The Fall
The House-Head Arelas Verdalu, eldest son of former house-head Endryn was faced with the falling of Necromancy from public favour. Concerns of another vulnerable period of House Vedralu began to spread, and with the heavy involvement of them in the advancement and supply of the art, it was feared that it would be the ultimate downfall of the House. This fear was all but confirmed with the leader of Delphina's condemnation against Ozmandius, and House Vedralu would place their forces with the lich during the conflict.
The act of betrayal against the crown resulted in the revocation of the Verdalu as nobility and shamed the name, and by the end of the Seven Deaths it was effectively sundered. Remaining members who did not partake in necromancy found themselves eventually assimilated into other houses, while Arelas and his close-kin retreated into hiding and exile. House Vedralu degrading into nothing more than a footnote of the time.
IC Notes: In the third age, House Vedralu remains shattered and not present within Delphina, only consisting of the shamed and disgraced in exile.
Pre-Golden Age
Originally the Vedralu were known to be skilled hunters, practicing their art out of not only necessity to sustain themselves, but as an act of worship and honor in Nemea's name and the forest, particularly seeking hunts of foreign beasts that disturbed/threatened the forest, native creatures (more so predators) that were shown to more ferocious and bloodthirsty than by the rest of their kind's behavior and on rare occasion, occultic influences that tainted the forest.
The more dangerous the hunt, the more sought after it was, and beasts that proved tricky to catch were among the most cherished of prey. For the Vedralu held a belief that one's perseverance despite the odds was a virtue and beauty, and held the suffering, struggle, and hardship of life as the whetstone for the perfection of one's being, extending this out onto the danger of the more challenging hunts. Scars from these experiences were highly valued, both physical and mental, being seen as progress in the carving of an individual into the fullness of life. Often it was only in times of extreme pressure or struggle for their House that the Vedralu would change their practices.
Although these two traditions were not the main cause of their own of the house's downfall, they would play an aiding part in the final and sole taboo tradition of the Vedralu. The Vedralu were a very familial people, with the oldest of their kind holding the greatest sway over the actions and advancement of their family, with it being said that once the head elders of the tribe chose a decision, the rest would quickly follow suit in their leader's steps. The wisdom, guidance, and experiences of their forebears and kin were honored, and in a similar manner of how they wasted nothing of the prey they caught as an act of respect and worship, the same would be done for their dead.
While old rumors' disputed them going as far to eat the flesh of the deceased, what was verified was the practice of preparing (though most would call it butchering) the body for skin to be fashioned into leather and the bones to be made into various 'jewelry' (with bones holding markings or scars being made the most prominent part of them) and in some cases made into effigies and other ornaments. This act was held as one of the most noblest within the house preceding their departure from the forests, as giving one's self to provide for their kin was seen as a great duty and sacrifice. The use of one's bones in death were also seen as reconnecting generations of those that came before to those of the present, and it was believed by the Vedralu that the spirits of those used would watch and guide the descendants and kinsmen that wore them.
It would be this tradition that would make House Vedralu be seen as somewhat of an outcast. Responses to the stigma led to a tamer version of the practice being adopted, yet accusations and suspicions of necromancy remained onto them. The house's prospects declined severely, and the course for their dissolution was set if not for acceptance and spread of necromancy brought about by Ozmandius Tal.
Golden Age
House Vedralu's members had suffered in number before the rise of Ozmandius, with the traditional leadership of a council of elders falling to one head directing the state of the affairs of the house, Endryn Vedralu. Their revival from this sorry state would be brought with brought with Ozmandius' success with necromancy against the expeditionary force of Barsburg bringing a new view of the art of working with the dead. Endryn seduced with the dream of a revitalization of their tradition in ways impossible by his predecessors, along with seeing the opportunity to bring themselves back from it's dying state, led his House to reorganize itself into a new specialty that allowed it to thrive off the age.
The skill of butchering and preparing bodies brought them glories in trade of corpse preparation and processing for the progressing art of necromancy. For among the many bodies being brought in, not all were in such condition to be suitable for necromancers. Skeletons missing bones and joints which lead to unstable and weak reanimations and more intact corpses that could be raised into zombies, but were missing limbs and pieces could be brought together into a prime working state through both magical and physical means such as sewing and binding bones/crucial joints led for perfect corpses for novice necromancers to use for their beginning studies as well as bodies in a prime state to create more resilient undead champions among more experienced necromancers.
A new niche that they excelled in brought in by Ozmandius within Delphina brought Vedralu's stalwart loyalty to the lich, for it was and his art of necromancy that brought a society for them to revive their House within. The house-head's close-kin in the coming years soon took upon the art of necromancy for themselves, with the most prominent of them taking leadership and holding the teachings of Litany Undeath to the House's necromantic apprentices fervently. All was well until the latter years of the Golden Age of Necromancy at which the art was beginning to fall out of favor, putting pressure onto House Vedralu once again.
The Fall
The House-Head Arelas Verdalu, eldest son of former house-head Endryn was faced with the falling of Necromancy from public favour. Concerns of another vulnerable period of House Vedralu began to spread, and with the heavy involvement of them in the advancement and supply of the art, it was feared that it would be the ultimate downfall of the House. This fear was all but confirmed with the leader of Delphina's condemnation against Ozmandius, and House Vedralu would place their forces with the lich during the conflict.
The act of betrayal against the crown resulted in the revocation of the Verdalu as nobility and shamed the name, and by the end of the Seven Deaths it was effectively sundered. Remaining members who did not partake in necromancy found themselves eventually assimilated into other houses, while Arelas and his close-kin retreated into hiding and exile. House Vedralu degrading into nothing more than a footnote of the time.
IC Notes: In the third age, House Vedralu remains shattered and not present within Delphina, only consisting of the shamed and disgraced in exile.