Higwalding

Higwalding is the name of a noble dynasty. Originally one of the twelve royal houses of Talor, the Higwaldings now hold the kingdom of Scanbrough as their own.

## History

House Higwalding has ancient ancestry, traceable back past the Great Gap and into the 1st Century BCE, as is the case for most of the other Talorian royal houses. The earliest record of the house casts them as craftsmen in eastern Varhold. It can be gathered that, over time, the family came into wealth and, some time during the Great Gap, they relocated to the new nation of Talor and settled in Cenholme. House Higwalding made this new settlement into a craftsmens' hub, creating most of Talor's arms and armour as well as crafted goods and, through a Higwalding-owned mint, Talorian coin.

By the time the Great Gap ended, the Higwaldings were one of the most prominent royal houses in Talor. They fielded over three hundred Fyrdmen, dwarfing the retinues of the next three largest houses, and had enormous influence over the voting masses of Eorlsburh.

The Higwalding candidate for the throne, Leofgeist Higwalding, lost out narrowly to Byrnhorn 'Ironhands' Norrhelm in the election of the second Cyng. This was a matter of great shame for the near-omnipotent house Higwalding, and Leofgeist ran again for Cyngship when Byrnhorn died in 418. This time he lost to Beohrtsige Gothelm, and it is recorded that he stalked out of the throne room 'like a beast subdued but not defeated' when the votes were counted.

The Higwaldings, in preparation for Leofgeist to run for Cyngship yet again once Beohrtsige died, did everything possible to get in Beohrtsige's way, boycotting the government and vetoing the Cyng's decisions. As such, people were understandably suspicious when, while in Fenwich during a tour of Talor, Beohrtsige was killed fending off a raiding party of several hundred horsemen. Many of Beohrtsige's Fyrdmen, as well as those of Ornwulf Hardwalden, testified to seeing the Higwalding banner flying above the horsemens' heads.

Though they protested and denied any involvement - and indeed, to this day no solid evidence of Higwalding involvement has been found - house Higwalding was stripped of its assets and exiled for the regicide. They found refuge in Faramond as political refugees, the responsibility of the Caped Man of Sturlmere, Yeowine Granthias.

House Higwalding applied to become Riding Men multiple times, but the Kings of Faramond denied their requests out of fear of souring relations with Talor. House Granthias defended the Higwaldings, keeping the matter on the forefront of debate for decades.

Naturally, the original matter of house Higwalding's applications to become Faramondian nobility was sidelined as nobles all over Faramond picked sides and argued for their own profit. Meanwhile, house Granthias went extinct after failing to produce a legitimate heir. House Higwalding stepped up to fill the gap and, while they were supported by the Riding Men of the area, the event went unnoticed by the Faramondian King, who was busy juggling demands by the increasingly rebellious nobility.

In 634, after consolidating their power base and gaining the support of the entire region, house Higwalding, as the masters of Sturlmere, declared their independence from Faramond. They were followed by two other Caped Men, and after losing several battles the three Caped Men decided to unite their forces. In the Battle of Shepsted Hill, the other two Caped Men were killed, presumably by Faramondian forces, and house Higwalding assumed direct control over the entire region.

Faramond was forced to a peace deal, and the head of house Higwalding, Aldric the Great, was crowned Throned Man of the new country of Scanbrough. Since then, house Higwalding has been stable and have maintained their rule over Scanbrough.

The Higwalding coat of arms is 'Chevronny Azure and Or, Counterchanged per Pale'.

## Notable Members of House Higwalding

Leofgeist Higwalding (380's - 429) - Representative of house Higwalding for the second and third Talorian Cyngship.

Aldric the Great (590 - 651) - First Throned Man of Scanbrough

Stalric the Brash (723 - Present) - Tenth and incumbent Throned Man of Scanbrough