House Medani

Of the twelve dragonmarked houses, House Medani has the lowest profile—and that’s how the house’s heirs prefer it. The half-elves of Medani bear the Mark of Detection. Through the Warning Guild, they offer their services as bodyguards, inquisitives, and sentries to clients across Khorvaire.
Medani is the youngest of the dragonmarked houses to originate within the Five Nations, with the Mark of Detection appearing only shortly before the War of the Mark. The Medani families banded together in pre-Galifar Breland prior to that confl ict, but had few aspirations beyond being left alone. Only in the aftermath of the War of the Mark did Medani’s elders bow to the pressure of the other houses and take their place among the dragonmarked. Despite often strained relations with the other houses, Medani’s collective voice carries weight. The house’s warnings are ignored at the listener’s peril, but Medani’s iconoclastic nature makes it sometimes difficult to work with.

Warning Signs

Though any number of organizations might claim a lock on the truth, House Medani can back that claim. Those who possess Medani’s mark can sense arcane and divine power, the taint of poison, unseen intruders, or magical observation from a world away. All Medani heirs train in the use of logic, perception, and techniques for assembling fragments of evidence into a recognizable whole. As allies, they are formidable; as enemies, even more so.
The Medani alliance existed before Galifar: a collection of families based in the former Medani provinces of what would one day become Breland. Already accustomed to blending into human or elf society, the half-elves of the Medani concealed their dragonmarks when they first appeared. A close-knit society, they were content to use the Mark of Detection quietly, building a reputation as bodyguards and scouts while attempting to avoid the growing conflicts of the other dragonmarked.
House Cannith discovered Medani partway through the War of the Mark. At first, it was thought that the Mark of Detection might simply be a prevalent aberrant dragonmark, but that conjecture was quickly discarded. Cannith finally tracked down the elders of the Medani families and convinced them (some say threatened) to take their place alongside the other Dragonmarked Houses. Even today, distaste for authority runs strong in Medani, giving rise to aloofness that many dragonmarked ascribe to the house. Medani is forthright in its views on house politics and is an active participant in the Twelve, but representatives of the other houses sometimes claim that House Medani works against their interests as often as it supports them.

Friends in High Places

By virtue of its geographic origins and current leadership, however, House Medani has a close relationship with the Brelish crown. The house is based in Wroat, and Baron Trelib (NG male half-elf rogue 7/master inquisitive 2) is a long-standing friend of King Boranel. During the Last War, Medani maintained the same steadfast neutrality as the other Dragonmarked houses. However, it is rumored that a good portion of the wartime intelligence directed to Breland from its allies in Zilargo might have originated with Medani—the house using connections of Sivis to assist its homeland while maintaining necessary secrecy.
Though the Dragonmarked houses are directed to carry on their mercantile operations at a neutral distance from the nobility of the new Khorvaire, Trelib’s close relationship with King Boranel often causes the house to deal more favorably with Breland than with the rest of the Five Nations. Trelib is known to have supplied a number of Medani operatives to Boranel’s court, and is also charged with discovering who assassinated Boranel’s first wife, Queen Chaseva. Those close to Trelib speak of his utter devotion to solving the murder, but all his efforts to date have proved fruitless.
Though this close relationship angers many outside Breland (nobles and dragonmarked alike), some Brelish have their own concerns. Within the King’s Dark Lanterns, high-placed operatives wonder openly whether Boranel is in fact being played by Medani—and whether Trelib’s long years of friendship have enabled him to place deep-cover agents within the ranks of the Brelish court or the Lanterns themselves.

Estranged Siblings

Though both Lyrandar and Medani are made up of half-elves, little love is lost between the two houses. Unlike Ghallanda and Jorasco, Lyrandar and Medani formed at different times, in different areas, and under very different circumstances. Lyrandar is ambitious and ostentatious, while Medani is focused and withdrawn. The former prides itself on its diplomacy and political acumen, while the latter has no fear of playing favorites.
Despite their dissimilar temperaments, the two houses have some common ground. A subtle disdain for those who feel entitled to power shows in their dealings with the other houses (particularly Cannith), as does a preference for working with the common folk of Khorvaire rather than the elite. On rare occasions, they have supported one another against initiatives among the houses and movements by the nobility to limit the power of the Dragonmarked. Such alliances are short-lived, however, and often conveniently forgotten.

History

The Mark of Detection first appeared around the year -1500 on the half-elves of Breland. The Medani were so secretive with their dragonmark that when House Cannith first discovered them during the War of the Mark, they mistook them as possessing aberrant marks. Medani had little aspiration beyond the borders of Breland so when the other houses requested they join them as an official dragonmarked house, Medani refused. The dragonmarked houses were adamant on their membership and so through much negotiation and some veiled threats, Medani reluctantly joined. Even after joining the dragonmarked houses, Medani showed little interest with the other houses and rarely got involved with the politics of them. Through their lack of participation, Medani has earned itself a reputation for being distant, secretive and for being concerned only for themselves. House Medani is now seen as the black sheep of the dragonmarked houses and many have become concerned with their close relationship with the Brelish crown. This perception of the house flourishes to the present day and the suspicion of the other houses has only grown as Medani has captured countless spies who attempted to infiltrate the house in search of their well guarded secrets, many of the spies were House Phiarlan and House Thuranni members.

The Last War

The rumors of Medani having allegiance to Breland over the other houses became evermore solid during the Last War as Medani worked for the crown as a counter-intelligence arm, discovering and apprehending spies and assassins from rival nations. Despite its blatant preference towards Breland, Medani never went as far as to directly supply infiltration services however, due to the war there was a shortage of law enforcers in the country, so Medani participated in a lot of criminal investigations. The connection between Medani and Breland remains to the present day and now the house has a subtle yet broad influence over the ruling of the nation.

Let the other houses bluster and call us 'upstart.' When they realise we hold the keys that can release the secrets of the Five Nations, they will learn respect

Founding Date

-500 YK

Type

Corporation, Business

Location

Wroat

Notable Members

• Baron Trelib d'Medani

Related Ethnicities

• Khoravar