Brief History of House Rendor

Tribes of Aridisians entered Iradar from the south in 12^th century of the Vÿkstraak calendar. In the year of 1165, they fought a battle against Thane Margyn II of Ar-Hoskigt. The Battle of Sirriksfork, as it came to be later known, marks the start of official Aridisian rule in the north. Some 45 years later, the Aridisians in Iradar were living independent of foreign kings. Thus, 1165 of the Vÿkstraak Calendar is marked as year 1 of the Iradarian calendar.

In that initial migration north for the Aradisian Tribes, the largest tribe, known to historians as the Clevians, established themselves around the fertile grassy plains of the southern mountain passes, now known as the Bordermarch. By the battle of Sirriksfork, they had spread to all corners of what is now Iradar (not including current-day Horwald). The Clevians were far and away the largest, strongest, and best organized of the many tribes of that era, and thus dominated political affairs between and within the tribes. They rode strong horses, bred in the southern regions beyond the mountains. They wore heavy chain mail armor, and bore great broadswords of steel. They plowed great tracts of land and farmed. They raised strong places of stone and steel that dominated the lands about them. They swore fealty to kings, who granted fiefs to vassals, who in turn did likewise.

By year 355 of the Iradar calendar, the Clevians had established their leader as king of all of Iradar, and were based at the formidable Stone Height Keep in Bordeau. They ruled over all Iradar and much of the wide lands south of the mountains in what is today known as Mittelien. But through a variety of failed marriages, in-breeding, and poor planning, the Clevian dynasty was short lived. By 444, the last Clevian ruler died, leaving no heir to the throne of Iradar. A distant relative of the Clevian line, called the Celvian-Herule dynasty, was put upon the throne in 445, but Iradar was already breaking up from internal pressure and external conflict. A costly war with Mittelien to the south cost the kingdom its fertile, rich southern half. By 480, the nobles of Iradar were ready for a new ruler, and joined together in toppling the shaky dynasty from the throne.

A period of sporadic civil war marked the next 25 years, where various nobles and warlords briefly held all or part of the Kingdom and claimed the throne as their own. In 505, the Herloin Family emerged as the ruling dynasty, and the country enjoyed a period of relative peace.

In 733, the Herloin Dynasty was weakened by an outbreak of winter fever, and the last Herloin ruler died childless. Duke Frolard was named King by the noble council. The Frolard Dynasty was faced with immediate problems stemming from the widespread winter fever outbreak that reached epidemic proportions by 740. The fledgling dynasty was saved when the plague suddenly subsided by 742, and a weary populace gave praise to their ruler for delivering them from death.

By 820, the Frolard Dynasty reached its peak in terms of wealth, strength, and influence. In this year, even the Mittelien ruler to the south paid homage to him in recognition of his power.

Economic troubles beset the kingdom in the later half of the 9^th century after a series of poor harvests and uncharacteristically harsh winters cost the dynasty greatly in taxes. The Frolard King was forced to turn to the Nobles for loans, and entered deep debt to finance the building of Stoneseat, his new Fortress-Palace in Bordeau.

In 885, Stoneseat was finally finished, but the ruling dynasty was then so indebted to the nobles that they were forced to call for a royal tax on all wheat products to pay it. The peasants rose up in arms, and rioting spread. By 890, the Frolard King abdicated the throne and attempts to leave Bordeau under the cover of night for calmer lands in the south of the kingdom. But peasants captured him inside the city and he was publicly hanged. So ended the Frolard Dynasty.

The Duke of Bordermarch, Henre Suille, marched into Bordeau and was proclaimed king by the Nobles and Church officials. He appointed his cousin, Oronald Suille-Rendor to take the ducal seat of Bordermarch.

In 955, after one of the longest reins in Iradaran Royal History, Henre Suille passed away peacefully at Stoneseat. Despite clearly naming his eldest son, Orbert, as his heir, there is much debate as to the succession of the throne. Orbert, now well into his fifties, was in poor health, and bedridden most days. His son, Yost, had been fostered in the court of Mittelien in the south, and had spent less than a year all told in Iradar over the course of his life. He spoke the Aridisian language with a very heavy, noticeable southern accent, and was regarded primarily as an outsider by nobles in the royal court.

Henre’s youngest brother, however, was the popular choice to succeed his father. Hugh Suille was a man of about forty years, and has spent much of his life in the royal court cementing alliances and aiding his father. It appeared to many that the nation was again on the brink of civil war as both Orbert and Hugh gathered fighting men and prepared for battle.

The kingdom was spared bloodshed by the timely death of Orbert in the spring of 955. Hugh became king of Iradar. Unfortunately, Hugh reigned only a short time, and died before the year was out. His teenage son, Hugenol Suille, was crowned king and ruled through out the next three decades. His reign is often referred to as the beginning of the high-point in Iradar’s history. Over the next five centuries, Iradar prospered, and rose from a poor, disorganized kingdom with little central authority to one of Northern Aridisia’s most powerful, richest, and most influencial states. The Suille Dynasty lasted over 800 years. It was not until 1101 that the Suille Dynasty finally toppled after Louis Suille, the ruling king, died in a duel with a former friend.

With the death of Louis Suille, the kingdom’s15 Dukes tried to re-assert the power their forefathers had lost to the monarchy. Under the Suille kings had stripped the dukes of much of their independence and power. It was under the next dynasty in which House Gousse came to power that some of that independence was regained. The Gousse ruler, George Gousse, was far from competent. He was very distantly related to House Suille, which was now defunct, but shared no other traits with them. Under his rule, the Dukes began minting their own coinage, raising armies, and fighting amongst themselves. The country was plunged into turmoil once again as civil war broke out.

War did not cease within the borders of Iradar until 1220 when the third and last Gousse monarch was defeated at the battle of Tuillen Crossing and killed. The dukes, their people, and foreign kings had had enough of war, and came together at a great conference, the Council of Words in Bordeau. After much debate, the laws of the land were set in writing, as well as the line of descent from the King through each noble house. The new monarch was chosen to be Gregor Rendor, duke of Sautfield in the south of the country. He was the most powerful of the dukes at the time, and was known to be a powerful forceful man.

House Rendor had recently discovered gold in Sautfield, and were gaining immense wealth from the trade traveling through their lands. Other houses, however, did not all enjoy such immediate prosperity, and hostilities did not cease between them. Rather, disputes were settled in accordance with the Words, which gave detailed instructions to houses wishing to resolve disputes. Most notably were the Rules of Engagement.

House Rendor, in exchange for their crown, had to concede a great deal of power to the Dukes. Dukes could raise and maintain armies (although it is unclear if they were permitted to use them), they could no longer mint coinage, but transactions cold be conducted in other ways, so this victory was mild for House Rendor. Most importantly to the Dukes, they were permitted to sit on a Royal Council and overrule the King on matters of war and taxation as well as settling disputes among other houses. Luckily for House Rendor, the major omission from the mandates of the Words was the frequency that the Royal council was to be convened. As a result, the council was summoned only infrequently, and the king had a free hand to operate as he saw fit until its next meeting.

House Rendor maintains vast estates in Sautfield. They own the rich gold mining regions of Kempor Pass, as well as the populous and fertile Hausalle Reach region. As king, the Rendor patriarch is given authority to administer the royal city of Bordeau and command the levies of the kingdom. In addition to the royal forces, he maintains a force loyal only to his house. These men are considered his house army, and all houses maintain similar forces.

The familial palace at Sautier is referred to as "Chepin" and is as well guarded as any keep in the kingdom save Stoneseat itself. It sits overlooking the Flagen River in Sautfield and is un-approachable from three sides. Its vast vaults are rumored to be loaded with the treasures of House Rendor. The House is also rumored to have vaults in the high places of Kempor Pass as well, although the intelligence of placing gold stores so near to the kingdom’s borders is at best, questionable. House Rendor does maintain two other keeps in addition to Chepin.

The King’s heir is nominally Lord of Sautfield. The once-removed heir to the throne (not a direct descendant of the king, but otherwise closest male relative) is Lord of Chambre, a solid keep overlooking Kempor Pass in which the newly-mined gold of the nearby mines is temporarily stored and valued. The family also maintains a small keep Hausalle. This keep has since been stripped of most defenses, and has become a much more luxurious dwelling rather than a strong place, but the central structure is largely unchanged and solidly built.

On the whole, House Rendor has been a popular dynasty, although any number of other houses would gladly wipe it out in a second if they felt they could gain the throne by doing so. The Rendors are extremely wealthy, and therefore keep the largest and best equipped of the house armies. Their forces are known to be well-trained and effective. These men are used frequently in conjunction with royal troops, at the cost of the Kingdom’s treasury and House Rendor as well. The King can therefore claim to be offering his own forces to the defense of the kingdom, but gets the added bonus of getting valuable experience for his own men that the forces of other houses can not gain until times of war.