House Sandoreale
House Sandoreale held the crown four generations ago, when it was seized by the Dillestones and they were cast down to serve underneath them. The resentment has simmered for three generations as the Sandoreales have gathered their strength. Is this their time to strike true and take back their crown? Whom can they trust to stand by them in this hour of struggle?If ever there was a parable about ambition and ruination, one wouldn't have to look farther than the folly of King Robern of Sandoreale. Generations ago, House Sandoreale's rule over Banteave was ironclad, and their holdings stretched from the Lowlands to the northernmost tip of the Seaward Coast. All it took was King Robern's avarice and warmongering to topple a dynasty into the mud, and the Sandoreales have been crawling out ever since. More than half their holdings were sold off by the Usurper King Symund to House Luneste, who had once promised them soldiers to fight in Robern's name. Now they held their coastal estates in Siarque and Enstane and feasted at the king's table in Redehall, further twisting the knife they had planted in Sandoreale's back. It would have been easy for the battered Sandoreale's to fade from the tapestry of Banteave, swallowed up by the moors of the Lowlands to which they'd been consigned, forgotten and faded.
But bitterness is a weed that thrives, even in the lowest places. Far from the royal trappings to which they were accustomed, Sandoreale was forced to embrace a new reality; lords of the moors and swamplands, rulers of long-overlooked communities in the Lowlands. Their lands were filled with thieves, smugglers, occultists and mercenaries, people who fought tirelessly to eke out a life amidst the fetid bogs and haunted forests they called home.
It would take generations, but the oft-overlooked Lowlanders had the potential to be harnessed into a formidable force. House Sandoreale's coffers were depleted, but careful alliances struck with the more unsavoury enterprises that had taken root in their domain could replenish them over time. And if the right leader was put in front of an angry mob of Lowlanders, hungry and resentful over decades of Dillestone rule... who knows what they could accomplish?
We Are and Always Shall Be
Founding Date
1134
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Capital
Leader
Family Leader
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Peace
Despite their tarnished past, House Sandoreale has remained faithful supporters of the Church for generations. Their populist approach to governance has earned them a great deal of clout among the commonfolk, which the Church has taken note of.
Peace
Sandoreale is partly responsible for Luneste gaining a foothold in Banteave. They never capitalized on their mercenary might... but they may have reason to in the future. That said, Luneste's foreign religion could drive a wedge between them.
Peace
Thinly-veiled disdain between the two houses. Oake fought alongside Dillestone during the Usurpation War a hundred years ago, and was instrumental in Dillestone's victory. Sandoreale respects them and their battlefield prowess, even though the old wounds still run deep.
Peace
Bitter and antagonistic, but not openly hostile yet. Dillestone usurped Sandoreale's crown a hundred years ago. They haven't forgotten.
Antagonistic
House Sandoreale has never forgiven House Ildrafn for the role they played in The Bloody Harvest, which was key to the downfall of King Robern.
