House Cordaire

• County of Cordaire
• Sworn to the Duke of Vass
• Crest: The Crest of House Cordaire is a White Shield with a black pick and axe crossed behind it, over a tan field.
• Motto of House Cordaire: “The earth Yields to Us.”

House Cordaire commands one of the larger Counties in the Kingdom, and this is fortunate because they give over much of their income to the three adjacent marches that offer protection from invaders.  As a result of heavy taxation to support the Marches and the Duke, House Cordaire is among the poorer Houses of the realm.  They are farmers, woodcutters, and miners, extracting every resource possible from the land in order to feed the needs of the three Marches and their formidable militaries.

The House seat is in the town of Stonewood, in the midst of the famous Stonewood forest.  Stonewood is a local tree that produces a very hard wood thanks to its ability to soak minerals from the ground.  Anything made from Stonewood is especially tough and durable, to the point that Stonewood shields are among the most prized in all the realm.

Culture of House Cordaire

House Cordaire has been forced to find honor in their extraction of natural resources, for their entire purpose is to be suppliers to the Dutchy.  There are yearly competitions within the County of Cordaire where the best loggers and quickest diggers, are recognized and granted awards.  Commoners are given higher regard than usual in this County, with esteem being more the result of a meritocratic outlook than usual.  Knighthoods have even been granted on the basis of being a ‘heroic woodcutter’ or ‘the mightiest miner’ rather than for the usual reasons.  Being a great administrator of a resource is often rated more highly in this House than being a great warrior, and a Knight who can manage the efficient operation of a mine is worth more to this House than one who can win battles..  

Martial Traditions

House Cordaire does not have a strong Martial tradition, as that role is ably filled by the surrounding Marches.  However, they do keep some Knights and have raised forces during times of war.  Their Knights are one of the few who prefer Axes, Picks, and Flails in combat, weapons which have roots in agriculture and mining.

Dark Secrets of House Cordaire

During the war against the Dune Bandits, House Cordaire bribed the bandits not to invade Cordaire County, rather than risk a fight against them.  This was done secretly, with the official story being that they repelled a Bandit force after a skirmish.  The truth of their act of bribery would be considered so cowardly as to possibly cost them their position of authority over the County.