House of the Dragon and Retainers, Tales of Old

Left to right:

* House von Greifstor, of the County of Bamburg-Styrland;

* Royal House Castamira, Kings of Mardier;

* Foremost Princely House Mendoza, of the Grand Principality of Eslandola;

* House Luppino, merchant princes of Gonda

 

The Kingdom of Mardier is long past its heyday where a strong monarch ruled over a unified territory.

 

Years of war, internal turmoil, weak kings and ascendant politically savvy dukes, nobles and trade leagues have decentralized the Kingdom to such degree that royal authority mostly only has real value in the Crown Land of Mardier proper, ruled for centuries by the Royal House of Castamira. In order to uphold a rule of law, the King is forced to play the game of politics that permeates Mardier's upper echelons of power. It is a careful balancing board of rewarding loyal allies and destabilizing opponents, all while ever keeping an eye out for the inevitable stab in the back.

 

The most powerful supposed allies of the King are the Foremost Princes of Eslandola. With the coffers of the King depleted due to war, the House of Mendoza offered to help pay off large parts of royal debt. In return, their territory was raised to near-equal importance to that of the Crown Land of Mardier itself. Currently the Kingdom of Mardier is in effect a personal union between the Crown of Mardier and the Foremost Principality of Eslandola. However, it is whispered that the Eslandolans are not content with near-equal status and have set their minds on becoming the prime House in the Kingdom themselves.

 

The Carmine Counts of the Vale, House von Greifstor of Bamburg-Styrland, are a peculiar lot. Their domain is situated in the northern parts of the Carolean Pale, where the typical flatlands start to give way to the mountainous regions associated with inland Mardier and even Namere. They are Caroleans, but are politically closer aligned with the Crown than most of their kin - of which some are united in the Riverlands Trade League and are known for their anti-royal sentiment. As is typical for the splintered political nature of the Pale, Bamburg is in its own defensive trade league with the city-state of Aden and compete with the Riverlands Trade League. They are known for their conservative nature and the habit of flaunting their wealth, which is also the case on the battlefield, where their well-equipped army is decked out with gold trims and plenty of colorful feathers. In battle they fight in Carolean fashion, focused on infantry squares of halberdiers and pikemen supported by handgunners and crossbowmen.

 

While the Mendozas and von Greifstors are high-standing noble families of the realm, it is vital for the King to curry favor with the smaller Houses as well, such as the Luppinos. A minor House from Namere, they help keep the King's peace where royal authority might otherwise not amount to much. However, in true Namereen fashion, the loyalty pledged can come and go as the ocean's tide.

 

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I got some Griffin Knights, yay! A small figbarf to explore some of the Mardierian political factions and houses, in BOBS Tales of Old. Nothing really new in terms of background.

 

Not too happy with the picture. It looks very crowded because my lightbox was barely able to fit everything. Might adjust or delete this picture.

Done