House Anarawd
| House | |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Founder: | Gorthyn |
| Family tree: | Click here |
| Family feature: | Slender limbs |
| House traits | |
| Traits: | |
| Passions: | Honor |
| Skills: | Men: Folklore, Women: Chirurgery |
| Statistics: | SIZ, Women:+10 APP |
| Heraldry | |
| Blazon: | Gules, three cloak pins argent |
| |
The Anarawd is a rather young family, formed in just the last few generations. Formed through the unions of several tribes and families from south-western Britain and northern parts of Brittany.
The family now resides in Salisbury, in the Hillfort hundred, after being given lands as a reward for their great deeds in war.
Heads of family
- unknown- 402 Neillyn
- 402-440 Gorthyn the Tall
- 440-present Edern
Noteworthy members
- Anchises (Weak claim, supposed ancestry from Anchises daughter Hippodameia, if true. This would give the Anarawd royal blood.)
- Gorthyn, the Tall
- Neillyn, who sailed the channel
- Edern, who gave the family it’s lands
Members
Family traits
Family trait: (men)
+5 Folklore
Men of Anarawd have always had a good affinity with the common folk. They are not a part of them, of course. But they understand them better than most.
Women’s gift: (women)
+10 APP
Anarawd women, slender and white like alabaster, are well known for their natural beauty.
Passion:
Honor: +1
Honor is what sets us apart from the common folk. It is our duty to uphold what is right.
Distinctive feature:
Slender limbs
Traits: (men)
Trusting: +1
Trust amongst men is an integral part of society. Betrayal is the worst crime.
Traits: (women)
Chaste: +1
Anarawd women know that they wanted by many, and are told to save themselves to the right man.
Traits: (both)
Modest: +1
It is the action of men that determines how God judges them, not the recognition he gets from it.
Energetic: +1
He who does not act, gains nothing.
Statistics:
+1 SIZ
Anarawd men and women are taller than average.
Heraldry
The Anarawd shield is as new as the house it represents. Initially the shield had four cloak pins, but one of them is removed as the shield develops through time. The pins also develop from old style cloak-pins to more modern ones.
Anarawd heraldry has been around since the Battle of Carlion, where Edern was given a shield for his family as a reward for capturing the Irish chieftain Niall's banner on the battlefield. The shield is inherited by the eldest son always, and cannot be modified in anyway by siblings, children or kin.
Since no clear symbolism or older family meaning could be found, the shield and it's colors was chosen by Edern himself when he was given the opportunity. Some family members claim Edern looked around and described the first thing he saw: a red cloak that lay draped over a table, with a handful of cloakpins in silver strewn all over the cloth. Edern described it to the herald who promptly made it into a legacy. Others claim the color represent the love and blood of the heart-blade that bonded the family together to begin with. In the end, only Edern knew the reason.
History
Many families and tribes in Britain can track their ancestry far back, Anarawd is not one of them. Although some of the men and women in the family can track their ancestry far back, few care much about their families before they united into the current union.
The name Anarawd was chosen at a union between Neillyn of the Anors (a young Belgae warrior from Brittany) and Anna of the Eriawds (the daughter of a minor Durotriges chieftain). The marriage was said to be of love, a rather unusual reason to be married to say the least, and the new family was forced to leave their old tribes behind.
Roman period
When Neillyn and Anna settled in Dorset to form the new family, many of their former clansmen saw the strength of the bond between them and chose to follow and set up families of their own. The family was small, but grew steadily.
It is said that Neillyn was the first and last member of his family to carry the family heirloom “Heartblade”, since his love for his wife was so strong, that his sword took upon magic properties. When Neillyn and Anna died (both of old age, or so it is said), the sword was hung on the wall by their son Gorthyn. Gorthyn did not see himself as worthy of carrying his father sword, and the strength of the family fell into a bit of a decline. Having no real land of their own, the family stood a real risk of dispersing. Gorthyn saw this, and chose his son to be the weapon to change his families fortune.
Edern rules the family
When Edern came of age, his father sent him to fight under the new High King, Constantine. Edern fought with such ferocity that he was given a place in a unit of strong noble warriors. And after the Battle of Carlion he was granted permantent right to land in Salisbury, after impressing the Warlord of Sarum the Rock.
Many years have passed, and Edern and his family has lived their lives serving the Lords of Sarum the Rock, waiting for one day. When Edern or any of his descendants can lift the blade again. And truly bring fortune on the family.