House Aimonne

Historical Overview

Founding

The Blossom Fields are dotted with villages within and atop hilly valleys, known as the valeside. These villages are significant producers of crops, ciders, ales, and wines, which give the Fields their fame. As the main territories of the Fields, these villages are carefully guarded by their lords through a series of hilltop fortifications. Early in Anhara's history, this region was particularly violent, and saw bands of knights and lords fighting over every village and vale around.
To protect early Surlee, House Braelea elevated the family atop Aimonne Hill to the status of an appointed minor house, deputizing them to guard the eastern approaches to the ruling seat of the Blossom Fields. In doing so, they became the most trusted lieutenants of House Braelea.

Butlers of Aimonne

Besides defense, House Aimonne was responsible for the management of the market of Oldtowne. Now part of Surlee proper, this area was formerly a market village south of the city, and the main location for trade that stayed within the Fields. This was opposed to the Arm, which hosted a market based around exports, most of which were wine-related. One such export was ale, produced at the Buttery of Aimonne.

"Word has come south from Surlee Rock that House Braelea has fallen. I suspect I am the last Aimonne, and the order will send me into the Eastmarches for my own safety" - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

The Buttery of Aimonne, the only remnant of which is its tower of Caskkeep, was the source of much desired beer and ale, popular even as far as the northern Eastmarches. This provided the main source of income for the family, thus allowing them to take a gentler hand with market duties.

Fall

As the loyal lieutenants of House Braelea, responsible for guarding the eastern approach to the city, House Aimonne was a major combatant in the 1st Semillon Usurpation War. The Lord Aimonne led the defense of the southern suburbs before falling back to his family seat at what is now Caskkeep, formerly a larger complex. There he, and his entire family, women and children included, took up arms in the defense of their city and house, all falling to the Semillons. The only surviving Braelea was a cousin of the ruling Lord, Brother Guy d'Aimonne, a member of a religious order in the southern Vinelands. He fled to the Eastmarches, writing a chronicle of events along the Vinelands-Eastmarch border, and became an important historical source on the subsequent Braelean Hedge Wars.

"At the reception we were let into the city by a man of the Semillon court using the apparently ceremonial title Butler of Aimonne. I was as taken aback as you surely are reading this my dear, to learn our poor cousins' name is still in use by their killers." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

Following the taking of Surlee by House Semillon, the title of Butler of Aimonne, formerly that of the Braelea's chief lieutenant, became part of their attempts to create a more ancient legitimacy for their house, and was adopted as a ceremonial title. The Butler of Aimonne was responsible for extracting taxes and tariffs from a recalcitrant population, though by the present day this has been delegated to a detested tax-collecting bureaucracy.

Location

Surlee