House of Serpents

If one were to sum up the House of Serpents, an overly stylish group of gentlemen and fair ladies totting guns from horseback and reveling in the arts of dance and fencing with near excess is a fast way to explain them. Clad in brown, black and green, biege and yellow, these dragon-loving scholars, warriors and architects roam the steppe of the Dyskhari Imperial provinces where they build mighty forifications of clay and stone. They are also most eager to drink of the blood from anyone who seeks to take away the freedom that their father brought them.

Structure

Highlord: The official leader of the Household and also the commander of it's forces.
Court Mage: The grand magus in charge of the Household's magical wing.
Warrior-Poet: The diplomat in charge with signing treaties and handling cultural events.
Handmaid/Houselord: Minor nobility titles which aid the Household in various things, all from leading forces to leading horse breeding industries.

Culture

Heritage

The house of Serpents have a mixed heritage between the Morstein and Waldebris cultures. Their Household formed from the escaped slaves of the Crows Mountain during the Sylvhar reign. Among the high steppe of the Sundown Ledge they hid among the hills while encountering some of the Waldebris clans that were fighting back against the Sylvhar occupation. With the naturebound expertise of Waldebris they mastered horsebreeding and foraging, while the Morstein brought with them the skills of alchemy and architecture.

Fashion

The Dragonborne from the House of Serpents enjoy sharp, regal and traditional garbs. The Morstein culture adapted a lot of tailcoats, waistcoats and buttoned up high collared shirts, mixed in with the robes, capes and feathered hats common with the Waldebris. They are great enjoyers of buckled up boots, belts, insignias and buttons all over as it's seen as more proper and fancy to have well decorated or ornamental clothes. Their colours are a mix of brown, symbolising warmth and the earth, green representing peace and nature, yellow meaning happiness and optimism and finally biege... simply because it's a good base for the other three.

Tradition

Reiterstag is a celebration of companionship and horsemanship. This celebration is set during the late spring and is a nationwide contest where the best riders of all the minor houses take part in a great race across the steppe, which while hosted by the Great Household itself, is a combined effort where the contestants will ride through most settlements and the central city of the lands owned by the Serpents. Though this tradition is endemic for their Household, it sometimes happen that members from the House of Crows and House of the Bear participate alongside them. Though these minor houses usually lose hard in compare to the far more experienced Dragonriders. Even then, the competition is mostly for fun, rather than ruthless competition. Furthermore, though it's considered the riders day, the feast and race continue for an entire week, as to not harm the horses by overworking them.
Day of the five dragons is a celebration of the elements held during the change from Summer to Autumn. It consists of an evening of song, dance and a show of fire supposed to encompass all the five element. Energy is the lifeforce of the hearts pumping from the celebrating people. Water is the dancing, partying and moving to the beat. Wind is the song voices brought along from the merryment. Fire is passion and love, which can be romance as much as the practice of arts in itself. Finally, Earth is the bonds inbetween one another, the food on the tables and the spirit of all the resources set in to plan the celebration.

Public Agenda

The House of Serpents are revolutionaries through and through. Their agenda is a quest to unifiy the Great Houses while still breaking the Imperium apart through mostly peaceful means to reform it into a republic where a council of all the Households get a vote, rather than serve the orders from the House of Spiders. Furthermore they wish each Household to have free reign of their own territory without any other of the political factions being able to force their influence onto their own or anyone elses culture.

History

Origin

The House of Serpents was formed and named by the great dragons which soared in the mountains above. The escaped miners from the east had with the help of Black Dragons also threatned by the likes of Sylvhar, settled up little camps among the hills and grasslands where they were mostly hidden from their enemies.
All around the steppe, the woodlands surrounding them proved good grounds for hunting and it was easy to mislead the Sylvhar forces away from their actual encampments, by drawing them to the depths of the trees. Which is when the Morstein Dyskhari accidently ran into their fellow Waldebris groups, that they had accidently lead their old captors into. Though believing it folly to seek vengance for the accident when they were both fighting the same enemy, the two groups helped the forest delvers to successfully fight back the elven slavers.
After a few battles won, the two groups realized that they eventually couldn't hold forever against the Sylvhar armies, unless they upgraded their own arsenal from mere bows and stealth tactics. Hence, they all escaped to the steppe that their Black Dragon allies valiantly protected. They would then use what few weeks they had at taming horses and training themselves in the arts of mounted archery to ride out and fight their foes whenever they approached close to their newfound lands.
The Sylvhar eventually had too many losses against the groups, than what their resource scarce lands were worth dying for. Thus they left the steppe to focus on easier targets, while the House of Serpents came to rise through an age of glory, arts and fortifying architecture.

Dominance

During the prior Dyskhari war, the House of Serpents was the first Household to recieve the ire from the House of Shadows for nearly thwarting the Shadow Patriarch's plot, before it could bear fruitation. Though their own Patriarc father was executed and most of the house's regions subjugated and imprisoned, the three brothers Freomund, Celwyn and Aegelric Wurmholz managed to lead a revolution through the streets of various Imperial towns and cities which helped prevent the forces at play from recieving much needed supplies to reinforce their armies with. Eventually, the brothers managed to reclaim their legacy by allying with the House of the Bear and the House of Crows, where they serve as the central force for the reformed Dyskhari faction. - More of this can be read within the article The Three-headed Hydra

Determination in bonds of blood.

Military

The Orden Militarius for the House of Serpents are all themed after cavaliers and riders, with the black crest of a five headed dragon attached to them, which symbolises their draconic allies which also reside within the steppe.
The Dragonriders serve as the cavalary elite among the House of Serpents. They utilize both magic, firearms and fine rapiers to lay their enemies low with swift and destructive attacks. Lead by Aegelric, they are the pride and honor of their Household.
The Dragonlords is known as a subgroup of the Serpentine Circle which consists of a council from all the Handmaids and Houselords of the Greater Household along with their own milita. They uphold law and order within their territory. This group is lead by none other than Freomund himself.
The Scalecloaks is a magic circle lead by Cenwyn, which practices the fine arts of blade, alchemy and magic to provide both cures and protection to their fellows, while still packing a punch themselves. They are known to take up a more shamanistic route to their practices thanks to intertwining cultures, rather than plain arcane and order.
The Blackcoats are a regiment lead by Black Dragons, which serve as the special forces of the household.

Religion

The Household holds an aversion towards the Cult of Excess due to their more prudish nature. They are believers of both the Harbingers of Sarak and the Followers of Draghânir though with a focus on shamanistic spirituality. Successfully so mixing the three types of faith into one temple.

Leaders:
The Three-headed Hydra

Demonym

Dragonborne

Ruling Organization

Dyskhari Imperium

Currency

Mynt

Legislative Body

The Serpentine Circle

Judicial Body

The Serpentine Circle

Executive Body

The Nightbringer Knights

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Blackcoats

Controlled Territories

• Balgar Sienstulpis

Neighboring Nations

• House of Crows

Related Species

• Dyskhar

Related Ethnicities

• Morstein
• Waldebris