The Tragic Deception of King Robern

We of Ildrafn began to feel the weight manacled yolk that House Sandoreale  had placed around our necks as one of the younger houses with an almost direct correlation to the lightness found in many of our bellies at the time. It was through our resourcefulness and skill that we leveraged our connections and changed our crop so those who we were responsible for had less need to tighten their belts. Yet it was this very resourcefulness that drew the eye of King Robern , and soon his ire that we did not have more to share with his court – even had we wanted too it would never be enough, what was the Sixth supposed to do? I’ll tell you what we did, we drew his eye somewhere else, and that was Ostamber, which, admittedly didn’t turn out as planned, but we made the best of it as we always do.
It was Illdrafn that lead Robern down his now follied path. It was Illdrafn that through the grace of the Red Sisters, would rise higher before it was all said and done, or would be the architect of Sandoreale’s fall and take vengeance for their acts long forgotten by many of their house alive today. It was Illdrafn that sowed the seeds at Robern fields about ancient documents that could be presented to the Great Houses for support and levies.
With an overinflated sense of self-worth paired with, between us, an under inflated intelligence, it was a trivial matter for Robern to believe it was his idea. It wasn’t long before we marched over the Backbone, and well, we all know the outcome there. Illdrafn did not escape unharmed, although we did fare better than most. Due to our foresight in the fields we were able to argue to keep more of our people at home. Through to the understanding of our ancestors we of Ildrafn understood that while it is true any fool can hold a sword, that one is even foolish still to hold it and not know how to use it. Our numbers were small, but they came to feared by the Ostamber Army when they saw our sashes of red adorned by three rows of two. The rest of the Houses think this is for the Six, for as the Sixth House we have always thought to be blessed by them, but two by two by two is for the Sisters Three, and we allow then to watch us each through these eyes. We tell them the red is so we need not worry about the blood staining out crest, but it is for the Sister in Red. We were few, but mighty, stalking Ostamber from the fringes, and we hunted down their saboteurs as advanced scouts, but sadly even the best of training cannot balance the scales of that much incompetence, and with the rest of the Houses, and Robern, as the Red Sisters decided, we fell. We all fell, yet none so far as Robern and House Sandoreale.
If we knew then what we knew now would we have done a few things differently? Sure, and while it became a hard few years afterwards, we recovered, like we always recover. It isn’t these walls around us that is your birthright. It is tenacity and cunning of House Ildrafn. It is the drive to learn and do whatever it takes to succeed. Our ability to converse and compromise with that which appears untamable. It is our faith and service to the Three. In time you will come to understand what this all means, but for now, speak of this to no one outside of these walls, and always keep your ears and your eyes open.

-As told to me as a child by my mother, Maeve Dearg

Written by Patrick S.