The Great Houses of Dhul Mabran

The Great Houses of Dhul Mabran are the primary factions that operate in the Grey Realm, the home of the Mortal Elves. The Great Houses have their roots in the tribes that formed during the migration to Dhul Mabran. When the Mortal Elven tribes coalesced into a single kingdom, they reorganised themselves into Houses to allow them to continue to influence affairs in the realm despite loss of their authority. Now, the Houses compete for dominance over one another and seek to put one of their own bloodline on the throne of Dhul Mabran. They often come into conflict with the Yirr Graveth and the King himself. This three-way tug-of-war helps maintain the balance of power in the Kingdom. Almost every Mortal Elf in Dhul Mabran is born in lands owned by a Great House and most are loyal to the House they were born into.

Heraldry and Sigils

The Houses have a strict system of heraldry and the sigil of each House is a source of great pride as they are often very old, some even dating back to the Third Age. Tradition dictates that only three colours must be used in a sigil- black, white and red. This is because in the ancient days of the Elves, when extreme hardship was a fact of life, these were the only colours available. White, the colour of bare cloth, red from the chitin of the Damusfly, and black from the ground-up leaves and bark of Dhul Mabran's unique trees. The designs also tend to be simple due to the somewhat primitive nature of the early Mortal Elves, but several more complex designs have been allowed recently.

The Houses

Minor Houses There are many minor Houses, most of which owe allegiance to one of the Great Houses listed below. Some are so small and insignificant that they exist in name only and wield no true political power. Some minor Houses control a village or small town and have some influence on regional politics. For the most part, they are not worth listing here. House Kholdreed

House Kholdreed is a relative newcomer among the Great Houses and as such is treated with suspicion by the others. It was founded by a disinherited son of House Velun, who was passed over in favour of an obscure relative who supposedly had a slightly 'purer' bloodline. Notably, this House was embroiled in controversy for its somewhat complex sigil design, which House Werod argued was contrary to the traditional rules of Dark Elf heraldry. The sigil is an image of a rare white Damusfly. The white Damusfly holds special importance to the Mortal Elves, as the sighting of such a rare creature usually foretold good fortune in ages past. This House has not yet won the throne of Dhul Mabran. House Velun

House Velun is one of the more senior Great Houses and has a particular penchant for honouring its ancestors and elders. Although ancestor worship is common in Motal Elf society, House Velun takes it to a new extreme. The heir to House Velun is chosen specifically because of their pedigree and ancestry, even if it means forsaking traditional inheritance rules and causing a schism in the process. One such schism led to the formation of its rival, House Kholdreed. Incarnates and Indars are treated as living gods by House Velun. The sigil of House Velun is the horn of Fastroth Indrun, which supposedly drew all Mortal Elves across the world to him to allow for their deliverance to Dhul Mabran. This sigil is a recent invention, replacing another sigil which bore the image of a solitary sword. The old sigil was banned for closely resembling the King's sigil. This new sigil has garnered controversy for its design complexity. House Velun has held the throne of Dhul Mabran on three separate occasions throughout history. House Werod

House Werod is perhaps the oldest House still in existence, able to trace its roots back to the Third Age. As such, its members are staunch traditionalists and regularly act as the enforcers of the ancient heraldry rules. They lament the increasing complexity of Dark Elf banners, although many would call them hypocrites because their sigil is also complex. However, House Werod's sigil is the oldest, and therefore exempt or so they claim. They are renowned as great scholars and record keepers, and sponsor learning and the arts. Their sigil is a red tower in the old Mortal Elf style, thought to be the ancestral stronghold of the House. House Werod has held the throne of Dhul Mabran more times than any other house. House Kaneth

House Kaneth is another senior House of Dhul Mabran, famed for its industrial holdings and vast wealth. House Kaneth owns many enterprises, including dyeworks, smiths, wine presses and all manner of other industries. Although all the Great Houses make money this way, only House Kaneth can boast of such wide-ranging and wildly profitable holdings. As such, it has many assets at its disposal and is known as one of the more active Houses in sabotaging its rivals. Its sigil is the wheel, taken to symbolise the many paths of mysticism and magic. Its rivals claim that the wheel now represents the wheel of industry, that rolls over the ancient Dark Elf customs. House Kaneth, through shrewd political intimidation and manoeuvring, has won the throne twice throughout its history. House Peldric

House Peldric, or the House of Moon-and-Sun, is a senior House that traces its roots back to the Third Age. It is known for its unwavering support of the Yirr Graveth, even when they want to curtail the power of the Great Houses. As a result, the other Houses often see House Peldric as little more than a puppet of the Yirr Graveth priesthood. Nonetheless, the House is respected for its devotion to the ancient god-kings of Dhul Mabran and its patronage of the magical arts which has earned it the moniker the House of Moon-and-Sun. The House's sigil is three crescent moons, and it has won the throne five times. House Nrovan

House Nrovan, the warrior House, is known for its martial traditions and mercenary customs. The heir of House Nrovan is always expected to venture forth from Dhul Mabran to prove his worth as a mercenary before he is eligible to inherit any titles. This ensures that the next generation are always ready for war, but it also has the unfortunate side effect of often causing succession crises should he die in battle. Historically, whenever the contest for the throne of Dhul Mabran came to open war, House Nrovan were victorious. Its sigil is a labyrinth, a symbolic representation of the trials and tribulations that the ancient Mortal Elves had to endure on the road to salvation. House Nrovan has won the throne three times throughout its history. House Tanrynn

House Tanrynn, known to its detractors as the Barbarian House, is a senior House of Dhul Mabran, though it also maintains a significant presence in the contested Dwarven land of Sab Qhua. House Tanrynn supports the Hordes of the South, also known as the Grey Ones, nomadic tribes of Mortal Elves who live outside mainstream Mortal Elf society. They are distinct both religiously and linguistically, and House Tanrynn sees the old nomadic way of life as noble and perhaps preferable to the more civilised ways of the other Houses. As such, it exists as something of an outsider to Dark Elf politics though it has won the throne on numerous occasions and attempted to spread the religion of the Grey Ones in Dhul Mabran. The Grey One tribes are friendly to House Tanrynn, and often come to their aid lending vast manpower to their cause. Some cynics posit that House Tanrynn does not really believe in the nomadic ways of the Grey Ones but merely pretends to in order to win the support, and more importantly, military aid of the tribes. Their sigil is an ancient tribal design, primitive in its construction. House Vymth

House Vymth is a relatively young House, having been founded in the aftermath of the Crown War. It is known for its focus on courtly intrigue and cunning trade, and has something of a reputation for backstabbing and betrayal, even more so than the other Houses. It is also forward-thinking in its views, as it prefers to open Dhul Mabran to outsiders to allow for trade and peaceful relations. More conservative Houses such as House Werod ridicule this approach, claiming that is outsiders who were responsible for all Elfkind's woes in ages past. House Vymth heavily sponsors trade and exploratory expeditions which is where most of its modest wealth comes from. House Vymth has been known to seek aid from outside Dhul Mabran, which has also undermined the other Houses' opinions of it. Its sigil is a knot design which it inherited from another long-extinct house.