House Cudgehl

House Cudgehl

Province: Mythfeild

Leader: Maeric Cudgehl

Economy: House Cudgehl derives its wealth from the management and exploitation of Serf labor throughout southern Mythfeild. They are experts in enforced productivity, leasing entire villages worth of laborers to other Noble Houses or to Gelbvieh’s harvest and slaughter operations. They also operate a growing mercenary enterprise, training and exporting hardened foot soldiers and enforcers who are renowned for their brutal discipline. These soldiers are leased like commodities to Houses across the Oligarchy, especially where unrest brews or rebellion is feared. Cudgehl profits not through creation, but through control.

Military: Cudgehl maintains a compact but fierce force of discipline captains, pike regiments, and the notorious Black-Leash Battalion— a group of contract enforcers clad in black mail and known for their ruthless crackdown on uprisings and riots. Their soldiers are trained in crowd suppression, interrogation, and siege support. Unlike other Houses that field flashy or beast-borne knights, Cudgehl’s forces are grim, silent, and efficient. Designed to maintain order through fear and precision.

History: Founded generations ago as a disciplinary vassal of House Gelbvieh, House Cudgehl earned its place by overseeing vast swathes of serfdom and ensuring no disruption reached the Gelbvieh heartlands. Their methods were harsh but effective, and their noble line was rewarded not for nobility of soul, but for results in quelling unrest. They are widely credited with designing the current systems of labor oversight that Gelbvieh implements across Mythfeild. It was within one of their infamous reeducation camps that the goliath Smartacticus was born and trained. Intended to become a premier enforcer of Cudgehl’s doctrine, Smartacticus instead rebelled, killing his overseer and freeing an entire labor camp. His insurrection spread like wildfire. Serfs, indentured soldiers, and even low-ranking officers rose in what became known as the Rebellion of the Broken Herd. Though the rebellion was eventually crushed under the combined might of Gelbvieh and its vassals, the uprising deeply shamed House Cudgehl. Since then, they have tightened control, increased their reliance on informants, and enacted cruel new laws to prevent another spark. Any mention of Smartacticus is forbidden. His name is struck from records, and his deeds are treated as heresy. Still, among the desperate and the broken, the name persists, whispered between clamped jaws and clenched fists.