Earldom of the Veil

The **Earldom of the Veil** is an Earldom ruled over by the House of Avernus and is located in the northernmost section of The Bite. A newer installment by the Grayblade regime, the Veil encompasses several land holdings of Avernus power in a crescent. The region is also home to Ravendale, the headquarters of the Order of the Raven where Lady Avernus can be found as the Archmage, the Baronetcy of Ebonhollow and the Baronetcy of the Black Forest. The Veil replaced the Viscounty of the Rise, after the Duke reordered land to avoid conflict with returning Baronets of the Bite.

## History

Prior to the arrival of the first Gilneans, the swath of land that would later become the Veil was known by a different name, *the Greenbelt*, given on account of the dense forests native to the upper-reaches of the Bite. It was home to a number of invasive pagan clans, though years of isolation from one another taught them complacency, ultimately dulling their fangs. Over time, they adapted to the wintry climate, and with the changing seasons numbers began to swell. The seeds of change were slow to sprout, and several conditions conspired to make the now-pressing need for expansion less-than-auspicious.

Many of these clans inevitably encountered others, who began to disagree over the lands they needed. Violence was ultimately the most wide-spread method of settling these disputes, though some merely built pacts to spare themselves bloodshed altogether. Whatever the method, those either unwilling or too weak to fight were absorbed, giving rise to several larger clans stretched across the conjoined territories of the smaller families that composed them. Within the northern expanses lay the pagans of Brackenthorn, leaving the Clan of Breakridge to occupy the centermost regions and the Clan of Ebonoak to settle to the south. Weary of their neighbors, they girded their borders -- but when it became apparent that none vested any interest in invading, their attention simply drifted elsewhere.

Clan Breakridge quickly realized the volatile nature of keeping so many former rivals so closely together, so they decided upon a more efficient manner of keeping some semblance of order. A circle was formed, seated by those recognized as the de-facto leaders of the smaller families, to guide the development of the clan at large. Under this system of rule, their givings to the gods were bountiful, and it seemed the forests were content with their presence. Yet, it was ultimately the scope of their territory that would bring them low. Over the years, the winter seasons became colder, withering away more reliable methods of growing and maintaining food stores. Slowly at first, famine began to trickle inwards, until it was at last able to spark the first of many successions that would ultimately rift the pagans of Breakridge apart. The two nearby clans, smelling blood in the water, found the opportunity to strip what they could from their crumbling neighbor all too enticing. Within a meager years' time, a bloody battle erupted over the Veil, later named the 'War of the Red Basin' after the central river where the debatable majority fought and died. The conflict lasted for a trying five years, ending ending a mere twenty summers before the date of first contact with no clear victor. Those who survived withdrew to lick their wounds, while some disappeared entirely.

### First Contact

When the first Arathorian settlers arrived in the Ashen Coast, the pagans of the Veil were simply unable to muster a proper reaction. They were initially ousted from territories deemed vital to the colonists, who were capable of asserting their dominance through superior training and equipment, and then later deemed useful in settling conflicts without true loss. By result, the House of Avernus was able to settle and establish it's seat atop a rise overlooking the ancient basin carved into the landscape below. To their south settled the House of Carmondy atop Daleford, named after the then-head of the family, while fringing their holding rose the Houses of Bedlam and Ebonhollow over the towns of Greyridge and Seabreeze. The former was given the means to their power as a gesture of gratitude, repayment for loyalty as knights of Carmondy -- a gift they thought ensured a timeless ally, though time would later tell how wrong they were -- while the latter ascended into peerage from the remnants of Clan Ebonoak, casting away but never truly forgetting their pagan roots.

Already resentful of their foreign neighbors for their mistreatment, the native Gilneans were only barely able to keep to a strained form of peace. When word of the War of Thorns erupted out across the Ashen Coast, however, it seemed the final straw had been plucked and that anything lasting was as fickle as the wind. Animosity mounted like never before, and united, the lords led a great and terrible purge. Desperate and unable to stand against them, the Wickers withdrew and hid themselves, thwarting any attempts to discover their whereabouts from the shadows.

With no discernible leads to follow, tensions died down and the threat was dismissed, though contempt began to fester for those who still turned to pagan beliefs back home. They were still viewed as necessary for the boons they offered, but many colonists -- especially those under Bedlam -- yearned for even that to change.

### The Cobalstant Regime

As it were, such a change was not long in tow. The founding of the house of Cobalstant marked not only an end to a terrible and bloody feud, but also the dawning age of the first truly united Ashen Coast -- but not in the name of growth and prosperity. They were abjectly selfish rulers who, through sheer military might more often than not, enforced their regime upon those who would not sink on bended knee. Such was the fate of the baronetcies of the Veil, who found themselves comparatively defenseless in their wake. Each house was burdened with individually heavy taxes, turning almost any form of expansion into a financial nightmare.

As their first edict, the Cobalstants declared worship of the Holy Light the only true religion, compelling their vassals to rid themselves of all who would not abandon their prior faith. While the House of Avernus and the House of Carmondy were far more lenient on their folk, the Houses of Bedlam and Ebonhollow took to opposite extremes; the former siezed the moment to begin another bloody witch-hunt, while the latter felt slighted and isolated themselves altogether. Word of Bedlam's actions, along with a battered trail of refugees spilling into any hold or hamlet that would accept them, would ultimately weaken their ties with Carmondy, who later denounced them for their barbaric methods. In response, the Lord of Bedlam responded in kind, unknowingly setting in motion a chain of events from which his house would not recover.

Recognizing the makings for a proper feud and weary of the potential backlash, the House of Avernus withdrew, staunchly refusing to take part in anything involving the two until they settled their differences. By result, they were left largely isolated in their disagreement, and without allies, they could focus their attention solely on one another.

### The Bloodied Ridge

Over the next few years, hostilities between Carmondy and Bedlam worsened greatly. For a time, they teetered on the brink of warfare, palpably kept in check only by the valley that lay between them. As the winter season neared the bend, however, reports began to arrive. Hamlet towns under Daleford were messily razed and their folk taken, giving the then lord all the motivation he needed to pin the blame on militant forces from Greyridge. Both threatened and rightfully certain of their innocence, the House of Bedlam responded with a warning -- one ultimately ignored. By the time snow began to fall, both houses marshaled all their militant forces and began marching on the other. The opposing armies met in the heart of the valley, where they delivered their final and similarly unheeded warnings.

Then, at the twang of a stray crossbow, fighting erupted and blood soon stained the soil. The battle was evenly sided, as though the forces of Bedlam were better trained, Carmondy was capable of fielding mages. It quickly became apparent that it could not be resolved in one strike. When the day grew old, they withdrew, quickly establishing fortifications to shelter them until the next day. So it went for the next two days, until at last *something* arrived to shatter the balance. A fresh band of warriors crested the ridge at sunrise, men and women garbed in furs, leather and chain, spilling into the valley while the warriors of the feuding nobility fought. Their descent was swift, and their attack a slaughter. Survivors from both armies managed to escape, but their ranks were ultimately decimated and unfit for further combat.

Left vulnerable by their defeat, Greyridge was unprepared for what came next. The unknown warriors from the valley gathered in greater numbers, led by an elderly man gifted in druidic arts and garbed in the trappings worn by the pagans of old, and set upon the town. They were careful to spare those who did not stand against them, offering the weak and defenseless escape and a new home among them -- an offer few readily declined. Flooding inwards, they were able to reach the manor in little time at all. There, they confronted the Lord of Bedlam, who surprised the lot of them by challenging their leader to a duel. He stepped forwards and accepted. The two quickly agreed upon the terms, and then cleared a ring. Theirs was an even match, but the elderly man ultimately triumphed -- though not without cost; for all his experience, his opponent was younger and faster, and to fell him, he suffered a slew of punishment his aged frame could not handle. With the last of his life ebbing from his limbs, he ordered his men to withdraw from the town. Using his strength as the means for a great spell, he sacrificed himself to give life to an overgrowth that rapidly consumed all that had once been Greyridge -- and all who remained within it.

### The End of an Age

With the House of Bedlam destroyed and Greyridge uninhabitable, the roving band of Wickers turned their attention to Daleford, which stood similarly undefended but largely unscathed. But the winter was not kind, and without the guidance of their leader, they were unable to mount an effective assault. They returned to their forests, weakened by the extent of their efforts. Though the families they rescued were a great boon, the nameless clan was unable to weather the change of the season. Safe, the House of Carmondy set about recovering what was lost. Eyes opened by the attacks, the House of Avernus also exploited the end to their bitter feud by offering assistance in exchange for trade and coin. Before long, the two lords settled upon a declaration of friendship, that they might better stand against any future threats. Time itself would prove such measures moot, but it gave them a modicum of much-needed security. The House of Ebonhollow, while still largely isolated, also underwent great change of it's own. A knightly bloodline, Enderlain, headed a largely successful rebellion to overthrow and replace their lieges, supported by the last remnants of the pagan clan of Ebonoak and House Maryn of the Bear's Grasp.

Even bonded as they were, Mistvale and Daleford did not enjoy any lasting moments of comfort. The Cobalstant rule in the neighboring Bite entered a slow-but-steady decline, further wracking many of their vassals with heavy debts, famine and economic depression. Yet, one can only cage a helpless beast for so long before fear turns to anger, and in much the same way did the people of the Ashen Coast rise to overthrow their negligent oppressors. In the sudden absence of what had effectively been the only true semblance of order, the surviving houses of the Veil were taken aback. Having recovered from a coup of their own, the House of Avernus welcomed the change and near-immediately cast their support in favour of those who would replace the old, while the Lord of Carmondy took to a path of weariness and abstained.

This, though they later became accepting of it, slowly dissolved the friendship between both lords.

No longer staunched by terrible deficit, expansion once again became a possibility. The House of Avernus was among the first to attempt it, dispatching scouts to record the lay of the land and report anywhere suitable for their interests. The past, however, did not rest. Seeds of the overgrowth began to spread, slow but largely unstoppable. Magical aftermath forever addled the very roots of the forest, for it lay beneath the tatters of the long-destroyed Ley Line over the Ashen Coast itself. By result, the once-holdings of Bedlam were abandoned entirely, while the few remaining Pagans began to gather around scattered mystical sites, many of which barriers against those who thought them taboo.

And yet, in spite of what seemed to many as new hope, the Veil was more divided then than it had ever been.

### The Fall of Gilneas

Inner-turmoil later weakened the lordship of the Ashen Coast and the lords of the Veil by extension, who began dipping back into isolation. They were, nevertheless, able to take heed of outside affairs once more, taking the side of the King during the rebellion in Northgate, though their assistance was nothing profound. Shortly after such matters of fate had been decided, new rumours began to spread. Word of wolves that howled at the moon, but walked upright as men. The lords were skeptical at first, but quickly realized the threat. Carmondy and Avernus became militant against it, disposing of any potential vectors for the curse to spread before they could fully take root in their lands. Even still, the threat soon became great enough that families began traveling elsewhere in search of safety until it was safely destroyed.

Though, on account of the isolation of their homeland, the situation would only worsen. The cataclysm struck during the culmination of the Worgen infestation at large, opening Gilneas to the arrival of the Forsaken by sea. Because of their position atop the Ashen Coast, the lords of the Veil were always in a position of reacting to new developments. By result, they were largely unaware that the peninsula fell bit by bit, and though they had time enough to ready defenses, they did not expect the encroaching army to reach their lands. When at last the Horde fell upon them, the noble houses and their holds were thought lost in the fighting -- but it had not been so. It was caution that spared the House of Avernus and the House of Enderlain true death, as their heirs were able to survive and escape, while in recent years, it seems the Carmondy family was not so fortunate.

### Reclamation

Some years passed before any would return, and already nature began reclaiming what it owned. The House of Avernus was the first of the Veil to re-settle, though the land at large remained defunct. Over time, the then lady proved her house worthy of elevation, and so began the Viscounty of the Rise. It would persist for a short year, but as more heirs of the families of old returned to claim what was theirs by right, the boundaries were re-ordered. Thus the Veil came to be, now an Earldom in the eyes of the Duchy.

Yet, there is much that remains lost within the forests, and there is much to be done before any of it can be found.

## Houses

W.i.P

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