Aurelius Caedus
Aurelius Caedus
From commoner to Lord
Aurelius was born to lowly farmers in the region of Blackfield in 1243, but took no interest in farming. Aurelius yearned to be a knight, and he saved up what little gold he had to get sword fighting lessons. At the time, Hemlock was divided into six regions, each owned by a Great House. The Great House controlling Blackfield was House Finch of Braewood Castle. After practicing hard, he impressed the Head of House Finch with his natural skill in combat during a tournament when he was 15, despite not being an actual knight or even a squire. The Head of House Finch, Lucan Finch, was so impressed that he made Aurelius his squire. Aurelius was treated well by House Finch and was made a Knight at age 19. When he was 24, the War of Inauguration kicked off, and the Head Knight of House Finch was killed within the first four months of the conflict. Despite his young age, Aurelius was made Head Knight. Under his guidance, House Finch began to dominate on the battlefield. He quickly earned the moniker "The Bull of Blackfield" because of his muscular build and aggressive strategies. After Aurelius was sent to eliminate a traitorous vassal house of House Finch in 1268, he was given the property and assets that belonged to the House, and he created his own House in its stead, with a Bull as the House sigil. His House was to inhabit the Whiteridge Keep, a modest castle built next to the sea in Blackfield. This was the formation of House Caedus, and this is why the people of House Caedus are sometimes referred to as "The Bulls of Blackfield". In 1270, when Aurelius was 27, the War of Inauguration was ended when House Lambros became the ruling house of all Hemlock, and the other five Great Houses all declared their fealty to House Lambros. House Finch lost very little during the war, which many attributed to Aurelius.
Gaining Power in Blackfield
In 1269 Aurelius had married the Head of House Karas, Adelpha Karas, and she decided to combine her House's resources with House Caedus. When Adelpha moved to Whiteridge and her House was officially dissolved, her House's ancestral seat, Pendragon Citadel, was given to Aurelius's best friend and current second in command, Percival Gideon. This was the formation of House Gideon, the most loyal vassal of House Caedus. After this, Aurelius further expanded his power through more aggressive means. He had continued to get stronger, and House Finch was having succession issues. The Head of House Finch was a feeble woman, as Lucan Finch had died in the last battle of the War of Inauguration. His mother, Agatha Finch, was not an ideal leader, and she made very few decisions, most of them being bad. Aurelius discreetly paid orcish raiders to attack House Finch and their assets, which Agatha Finch struggled to defend against. She continually made terrible decisions on the battlefield, and this led to her people becoming bitter with her. The orcs had razed many villages to the ground, and the people of Braewood Castle were starving. When this had gone on for almost a year, House Caedus stepped in and drove the remaining orcs back, and saved Braewood and its people. After all of this, many people defected to House Caedus, and eventually the people mutinied against Agatha. Despite her being an old lady incapable of defending herself, her own guardsmen dragged her to the highest tower of Braewood Castle, and threw her off. They then welcomed Aurelius Caedus into the castle, and declared it his, much to the peoples relief. Aurelius declared that when the only surviving Finch came of age, he would be allowed to govern the Braewood area, but only as a lesser House, under the rule of House Caedus. It is worth noting that the man responsible for killing Agatha, her Head Knight, was executed by Aurelius for treason. After these events, House Caedus was the leading power in Blackfield, and became a Great House. Aurelius had a successful and peaceful reign, and he died of illness in 1320, at the age of 77. This was the end of Aurelius Caedus, but it was not the end of his ambition, which his descendants seemed to inherit.
Children of the Bull
Aurelius had three children with Adelpha, two boys and a girl. Aurelius had his first child, a son named Cassius, in 1280. Cassius was an incredibly intelligent man, and the heir to his fathers position. Cassius took after his mother in appearance, possessing black hair and a much smaller build than his father. His second child was a son named Atticus born in 1283, a wild and tempestuous man who inherited his fathers strength and skill with a blade. Some say Atticus was bigger and more skilled than his father, but he was also more tempermental, and less intelligent. Aurelius's last child with Adelpha was a girl named Donna, born in 1288. Donna was a free spirit, and was consistently at odds with her parents. Eventually she decided to marry an Elf from Allysium, and was exiled there for marrying someone from another species.
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