House Halad
Buck leaned back in a chair that seemed unsure of its ability to hold his weight, yet was determined to give it its best go. He took a long, slow draw on his long-stemmed pipe, and blew a ring of smoke into the air. I had asked him about House Halad, being the House of the Queen herself, and as I'd grown up much further north than the capital, I knew less about it than I should have.
"Well," he said, quietly, "They're the ruling House of the land, as ye know, but yer also used to the Great Houses goin' back to the days of King Sothar kesGalen hisself. Halad doesn't though, but it does have that old blood."
History in Brief
"So this here land we call Kingsland now, that the Queen rules directly? Her family has always been 'ere, and Hawksbridge 'as always been their home. Well, mostly, but well get to that. But they were minor players among much greater ones. 'Ave ye heard of the Barrel Rebellion? No? Well, in 1139 some people, well they were sick to death of the king--that was Alfor I, I'll have ye know, so stop looking confused--and they rose up. Long story, but the short of it be that it was down with Alfor and his whole House, and up with Aelfeth II and the start of a shiny new dynasty. As for the Halads, well, they tossed their coin in with the wrong merchant in that matter, and they had to git goin' while they still could." "So they hid out further south, in Kalabarshire--that's the Southlands to ye. And they kept hidin' for so long they almost forgot who they was an' where they started, but they did keep some kinda evidence. No, I don't know rightly what. So now we need to skip a few years way up to when Gendar, the first one that is, was king, and there wasn't much left of the Halads. Most had long since gone native and married commoners--see? Maybe there's hope fer ye, boy!--and only one son of the original line was left, fella named Rath. And he gets conscripted because over in Akaryth their king figures he wants a bite out of the Keledoni apple. I mean, they always do that every generation or so, and sure but don't they end up runnin' home gelded!" I laughed, and so did the rest of the folk gathered around. Sure but it was true--Akaryth had invaded, or tried to, more than once, and never had they ever gotten anywhere with it. I've often thought we should celebrate a holiday for every one of their failed invasions, but we'd not have time enough to sow the fields, harvest them, or do anything but celebrate. "Well, anyway," continued Buck, "as it goes Rath gets hisself conscripted--which is a fancy word for volunteering without a choice--into the levies of the local lord, and marches off t' war. And they're away fightin' up north in Arvendur when the heir t' the throne, Prince Sern, gets himself into a real mess, and it's Rath who manages to save the day, gettin' hisself a knighthood outta it. Pretty good for a supposed farmboy. And eventually ol' Prince Sern ends up on the throne, bein' that kings die like the rest of us, and becomes King Seiðr II. And Rath gets to ride those coattails, keepin' his mouth shut about where his family came from. And sooner than ya kin blink he's in charge of the king's personal guard and suddenly his backside sits on silk cushions instead of good Keledoni wood." Buck paused to tap out his pipe and load it again, calling for another mug of his famous house ale. He leaned towards the fire, drew out a burning brand, and puffed life into the bowl. "Where was I? Ah, yeah. So Rath has a good ole life, and gits 'imself to the end, and while he's layin' there dyin' he calls for the king, who comes to visit him. And for whatever reason, he tells the king the whole blessed tale, and gives 'im whatever the proof was he had, wantin' better for his son Koruð. An' he gits his pardon, and then drops dead. But his son is a knight now and was raised alongside Seiðr's son Gendar, who ends up being king hisself, second o' his name, and when Koruð turns a quarter century old, he restores his lands, titles, the whole thing, shoving out whoever was holdin' Hawksbridge in the meantime. And if that ain't enough of a blessin' to the lad whose father shoveled cowshit for a livin', the king marries him to his own bleedin' sister!" "And now we flip a few more years and a few more reigns, y'see, and Gendar's great-grandson, also named Gendar, but this time the third o' that name, is dyin'. Round about 1672, twas. But he has no children--no, I dunno why, he just didn't--but he's got a nephew he really loves named Tharun Halad. And Tharun gets to be king next, the first Halad king. And guess what name he takes? Gendar IV! Sure it be they had a lot of affection 'tween em all, but not a lick o' imagination regardin' names! And ye all know all about Gendar IV, so little left to say on that!" "And so each king or queen since then has been a Halad, including our Lady 'erself, Queen Heulyn II, and there it be. From rags t' riches to cowshit to riches to the throne, that's Halad. And sure it be that there ain't no bloodline in the land that coulda pulled that off in finer fashion."
From Ashes we Arise Anew
Founding Date
ancient Keledon
Capital
Demonym
Haladan
Leader
Leader Title
Family Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Palace economy
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Comments