House Isillideras

## Aspects

* Situational Aspect: A Wall of Stone and Iron
* Situational Aspect: Mastery of the Self, Service to the Collective
* Situational Aspect: Protect, Observe, Learn

## Overview

The people of Sundevalda do not put as much stock in the differences between the races as other nations, and Yosthaven is a melting pot of cultures and peoples. Yet even there, it is rare that the Soulscribed do not garner at least a hard look in their dealings with others. House Isillideras is one of the founding three of Yosthaven, beside Yassir and Yost, and even in its ancient past it was a House of the Soulscribed. Not that the other races cannot find their places there, yet for three hundred years unbroken the Head of House Isillideras has always been one of their number.

While the House has suffered the same fluctuations in power and Craft that all of the Great Houses have endured, it has consistently maintained its position near the top of the pecking order. The bloodied **Oathsworn** of Isillideras have developed a reputation for brutal efficiency in their Craft rivaled only by the of the Black and Red Coats of House Yassir. The other Houses have learned, often to their detriment, that any conflict with Isillideras is doomed to become a brutal campaign of attrition. One in which any meager victory comes at half a dozen small losses.

## History

The founder of House Isillideras, and its first Head of House, was a Soulscribed Craftsmen of extraordinary power named Eli Isillideras. Where most Houses were built by a collection of Craftsfolk working together in contract bound concert, Isillideras alone stood as the foundation for the House which would go on to bear his name. A brilliant negotiator with both mortals and the Eldritch unknown, he built potent institutions of the Craft upon which many of the other Great Houses would go on to base their own grand designs. Eli was also one of the longest lived Heads of House, holding the title for more than 175 years before old age finally took him. As the Soulscribed are not a long lived race, and Eli had not turned to Necromatic Craft to sustain him in undeath, the source of his longevity remains a source of considerable interest among the powerful.

## Domain

Located at the northern most point of Edgewazzar, raised above the Merilang upon a plinth of stone, sits the Great House that serves as the seat of martial power within Yosthaven. The House is a grim twelve story Gothic Chantry with a sharp steepled roof, with pointed towers rising high from each corner. Hewn of dark grey stone, the fortress Citadel is filled with windows that appear to be made of tempered and frosted glass. A cold wrought iron fence decorates the edges of the roof, with another forming a perimeter.

Despite its visibility, most never see what is within the actual building itself, for inside the Chantry is a series of rooms that change and relocate themselves depending on where one is at any given time. For anyone not bound to the House the will find themselves in the Foyer which for them will only ever lead them to the sitting room so that they can meet with a Housebound to discuss business. For those bound by Craft however, more rooms become available. From the Foyer, a Housebound will find a Hallway that grants access to the Barracks, Kitchen and Dining Hall and a select number of offices that belong to higher ranked Housebound. Those trusted with the House's deepest mysteries have access to these rooms as well but also find that the Hallways twist and bend to accommodate them and allow access to various studies, libraries, and storage facilities for their needs as well as the respective offices of those above them in rank. This ever shifting Hallway and the rooms it provides access for can take the form of stairs leading up or down and seemingly bends the laws of geography with how the layout of the building should be. For the Head of House and their lieutenants, the House grants access to certain locked rooms, which when opened explore the secrets of the House and the Building itself.

## Housebound

### **Martin Alonso, Head of House Isillideras**

It is tradition among many of the Great Houses to bestow their Head's of House with additional titles of rank, a reflection of their myriad responsibilities and functions. Not so for House Isillideras, and not so for Martin Alonso, for the House whose name he carries already bares enough weight to bury all but the most resilient of souls. Martin is only the third to hold the House, for while his predecessor was not quite as long lived as the House's founder, the gift of longevity does not appear to have been lost with Eli's passing. Indeed, Martin is well into his 120th year, having been a child during the reign of the House's illustrious founder. Yet the Craft which sustains him is slowly failing, and already the whispers echo through the halls of the House of who he might pick to replace him. A large man, he is never seen without the glyphworked scale and plate that Eli Isillideras himself forged, along with the sword of his own making. It bears no name, but those who have seen it unsheathed whisper that it is a weapon of searing brightness, an artic chill screaming from its edges. The bindings of Scribing have bleached the color from his flesh, and two large horns of bone rise from his brows.

### Oathsworn Esther Rubio

Were she in any other House, Esther Rubio would likely hold some lofty title like "Blademistress" or "Chief Tactician." Within House Isillideras though, her name is more than sufficient, as there are likely none more skilled with a sword than she in all of Yosthaven. She has held her role as first among the Oathsworn for near 54 years, having been bound to the House for longer than that, and the first hints of age are only just beginning to show. One of the Soulscribed, she bares same pale and too rough skin that many within the House hold, with a small set of black horns rising from her forehead, and a tail spiked with vicious barbs that she can employ to deadly effect in a fight. Within the House, she is responsible for training the Oathsworn and Housebound in war, battle magic, swordwork, logistics, accounting, tactics and strategy. Rarely is it that the House commits to any conflict without Esther Rubio being present. Her pride does not require that she be on the front lines, and she understands well when to commit herself personally to a conflict and when she would serve better on the back lines. She demands perfection, both of herself and of those who serve under her. Thus far, she has yet to fail to deliver.

### Oathsworn Luccia Marin

Situated as it is at the Northernmost edge of Yosthaven, the House of Isillideras has often born the brunt of any Kryat incursion. When enemy expeditionary forces break themselves upon the House's wards, they scatter North into the woods of the Vale, the domain of Oathsworn Marin. The greatest tracker in a dozen generations, Luccia knows the woods to the North of Yosthaven better than she knows herself. It does not matter how far the enemies of Sundevalda flee after they are defeated, she is tireless, she is unending, she is inevitable. Although only 79 years of age, Luccia represents many of the old ways of thinking, the House Isillideras that was.

When she is not hunting, she spends her time teaching the other Oathsworn of the House the skills she has spent three lifetimes cultivating.

## Deeper Mysteries (Spoilers)

In secret, the House functions as it does because it was built on a dimensional leyline that converges on various versions and points of time that the Building exist upon at any given moment. This in turn is powered by the fact that the Crafters of Isillideras gave the House a literal Heart, bringing it to life and through the power of the Craft which is fueled by siphoning the ambient temperature of the environment, grants it a subtle immortal life force.

* *Go to:* *The Winter Wound*