House Othall

Principal House to House Carantus. House Othall rules the Skullfort in The Lance, a location of horrid reputation and wondrous amazement in one. The Skullfort is a gargantuan skull, that of an ancient giant, hollowed out and filled with the town-fort that takes its name from it. Their banner is the color of ruby with two horizontal lengths of golden chain running across it.
Othall possess the Bloodsteel sword Ulthreik.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

• Sir Vel Othall the Scarred (Arjar), an otherwise honorable knight of old age that has been a bannerman of House Carantus for decades. He was forced to kill innocent villagers in the taking of the Gold Grottos years ago during the Battle of Blood and knows the truth of how Carantus is much to blame, alongside Wily Walter, but has been weighed down by guilt since then. Is sick of the Great House’s plotting and politicking and wants to do something good to make up for the women and children killed in the Gold Grottos. Becomes a captain of Sub Rosa, loyal. Distant cousin of the Rinsen House. Sir Vel is uncle to the Caston Othall, and the younger brother of Lukin and Kilth.
• Sir Lukin (Tar'be) Othall, former House leader that rose up against House Carantus. Perished at the Souls of the Inferno.
• Sir Kilth (Bhar'tek) Othall, younger brother to Lukin. Also perished at the Souls of the Inferno.
• Sir Ahuitzotl "Ghaul" Othall. His first name was given to him by his father before him in the tradition of remembering their slave names. Father of Vel Othall the Scarred. Ghaul was an integral part of the Grey Tragedy where his skill as a knight became known.
• Sir Caston Othall, Lord of Skullfort. Sinister reputation but, surprisingly, is well loved by all that know him. He is an open and healthy and talkative man, despite being the Lord of such a place as the Skullfort. Offputs many of his enemies or rivals when they meet him.
• Caston's son, Kywain Othall. Hostage at Radiant Lance. Has grown up alongside the heir to Carantus, Darrik Carantus.
• Tu'Cona "Qatherine" Carantus, of House Othall, Sister to Caston's grandmother. Married Cayle Carantus I, son of Goldbeard and Lord of House Carantus.
• Elayne Lancer, of Othall. Married Sir Wulfgard "Battlelance" Lancer.

Culture

Despite Lord Othall's warm personality, he still pushes a militaristic culture on the nobles of the Skullfort. All undergo rigorous knight training and study to make them the best fighters in the Empire. Because of their history, these efforts are not in vain. The Othall genetics make large men and women with broad shoulders and thick arms and legs, evolved through generations of rowing through heavy storms with no respite, their failure meaning death. They also possess thick necks and traps, rumored to have formed from their times in chains. The Othall people are hard and weathered, but their eyes are filled with a warmth that can only be found in those that know how lucky they are in life to have such freedom, when it could just as easily be taken away. They live in the moment and do not shy away from opportunity. However, newer members of the House have been seen to be more solemn, possibly more brooding. Who is to say that this is not just an effect of the growth of the Empire and slow loss of free will, or if it is the supernatural effects of the Skullfort, that great eldritch horror of a keep that warps them.

Assets

The Skullfort...

History

Long ago, during the settling of Iron in the Storm Age, Othall was a family of sailors along the western coast with noble blood. They ventured too far and were captured by bloodthirsty sailors from across the sea with dark skin who were using the ships sold to them by the seafaring Cayle Carantus. The entire family was captured, then the distant relatives that sought to save them. All were enslaved on the oar for two generations, spending their lives below deck being forced to row their galley through supernatural storms. They were born chained to the oar, and died chained to the oar. This hellish life made the Othall's strong in body and mind. Huge with muscle and capacity to hate, they waited for their moment, and when their captors attempted to attack a ship belonging to the Carantus House and a battle ensued, the Othall's rose up and slew their captors in the confusion alongside Carantus. Saved by House Carantus, the Othall's were taken in and when it was found that they had noble blood their was great rejoice. The ship that saved them belonged to Cayle Carantus, grandson of Cayde who sold the ship they had been enslaved within generations before. Cayle broke their chains and took them back to land for the first time in any of their lives. During this trip, Cayle fell in love with one of the freed slaves, Tu'Cona Othall, who would later become his wife and mother of the entire Cayle line after changing her name to Qatherine.
The Othall's were acknowledged by the Emperor and made an Iron House, and the Othall's, in their innocent gratitude, agreed to be a Principal House of Carantus, their saviors, which they would come to regret. At this time, the eldest male became leader of the House. His name was barbaric, given to him by his slavers, and was Azajz. This meant bull, and was for his massive rounded shoulders and how they strained as he rowed. Azajz kept his slave name to never forget his past, much like many of his fellow family, and they took golden chains on ruby cloth as their banner to denote their past with chains but how they were broken by the golden Carantus, and the blood that was spilled to get their freedom. It was a sign of gratitude and servitude to the noble Carantus House which saved them from enslavement. They escaped the crude chains of pirates, and happily shackled themselves in the gleaming golden chains of nobility.
None of the surviving ex-slaves wanted to see the sun again, so they asked Carantus to travel inland and settle there, away from the coast. Cayle said that he knew of a place that had reasonable land and was extremely defensible. It was in a prime position to protect The Lance from threats coming from the land, but it was a thing of pure evil. Malice and malevolence was pungent in the air there and to even look at the location was to risk madness. The Othall's were unfazed, they had been through much worse. This lead to the settling of the Skullfort. The Othall's carved out a home in the gargantuan skull and defend the entire Lance from the south, but any would have to be mad to risk attacking such a place. To make sure they never became slaves again, the entire House began training in Knighthood, and their discipline pushed them to make many of the greatest warriors in Iron. One such noble Knight was Sir Ghaul Othall, or known by his slave name as Ahuitzotl, who fathered Sir Vel Othall. Ghaul was integral to the Grey Tragedy, and the stories of the tragedy spread the word of the strength of members of House Othall.
Everything changed with the rape of the Gold Grottos during the Taint of Devotion. The House leader of Othall at the time, Sir Lukin Othall (Tar'be) and his brothers Kilth (Bhar'tek) and Vel (Arjar) were commanded by Cayle Carantus the Forsaken to sack and pillage the Gold Grottos, stealing away all their gold, destroying everything they couldn't take, and killing everyone, innocent or not. Chained by their past, the Othall's completed this task, but after returning found themselves looking at their 'saviors' in a different light. They wanted to report to the Emperor in his holy right alone, not to the greedy fools of the east. After decades of strife, the House, under Lukin's leadership, rose up against Carantus in rebellion. They demanded to be treated as a House principal only to Glore, like those of the new South. Political blockages, trade barriers and caravan attacks ensued as Othall forced Carantus towards their terms through diplomacy and cutting off their main routes to the rest of the Empire, the only way to fight back being to siege the Skullfort, where they would need a force of more than 10 to 1 to have any hope of winning. Unfortunately, the Ember Dominance, under the insanity of Fire, the Mad King, marched forth from their volcanoes and attacked the Empire at the same time. The Emperor himself, who had been content letting Othall and Carantus work out their differences without interference, called his banners of every House in the Empire to form an army of Knights to fight the Souls of the Burning King. The trio of Othall knights, thought the best in all of Vaskeer at the time, were honor bound to join, and did so willingly, putting the Empire first. All except Vel Othall, who stayed within the Skullfort, fearing that Carantus would infiltrate and cause a repeat of the Gold Grottos once the main Othall force had marched north to The Shield. He was correct, and Carantus easily sliced through the unmanned Skullfort, seizing the Keep within and ending the short-lived rebellion before it had truly begun. As the Souls of the Inferno goes, only one man survived, Sir Hasting Rinsen, Lukin and Kilth charred corpses among many in the Firelands. Vel attempted to defend his home but was overwhelmed by sheer numbers, thought to have been slain while fighting three knights at once. However, he managed to survive, but came out horribly scarred and on the run. Thus he became known as Sir Vel Othall the Scarred. Abelardus Carantus, Lord of his House, Duke of Radiant Lance and Iron Lord of the Lance won back the Skullfort and was forced to deal with the son and squire of Sir Lukin, Caston Othall, heir to the Skullfort. Caston swore loyalty and fealty to Abelardus and House Carantus in return for continued rulership of the Skullfort. Although only being seventeen, Caston had an infant son. Abelardus demanded his son as penance, and that child, Kywain Othall, is being raised under Carantus in the Radiant Lance as a guest/hostage. Caston's great wit and personality saved him and his remaining kin's life, as he was able to make Abelardus laugh as soon as he walked into the Skullfort's throne room.

Freedom or Death

Sir Caston Othall, Lord of the Skullfort

Type

Political, Family

Leader

Caston Othall

Ruling Organization

House Carantus

Leader Title

Lord

Parent Organization

Iron Empire

Location

Skullfort

Related Ethnicities

• People of Iron