Heraldry

The various noble houses of the Kingdom of Aqoris and some of the Clans of Alba use distinctive **heraldry** as a way to quickly and easily identify families (or Clans in the case of Alba) and individuals. Kings of The North are all represented by their own Heraldry, as are members of the Curator's Guild and Bronze Cloaks.

These heraldic devices are also carried by armies on the battlefield as a sign of status, as well as allegiance to those noble houses. Footmen are allowed to carry the banners of nobles however it is illegal for a simple commonfolk to invent his or her own heraldry. When a knight is knighted (even if he was a member of the commonfolk or was a mercenary and also including knights with no lands), they become apart of the nobility and are therefore allowed to invent their own heraldry as only members of noble families have the legal right to formally display their own heraldry, knights are included in that category.

A majority of the heraldries of the Kingdom of Aqoris are simplistic, consisting of a few colours in a pattern but several include animals, objects and in very rare cases, religious symbols such as House Fortaare in the Borderlands having a symbol of the Old Gods of Alba on their heraldry. The Heraldry of each noble house is accompanied by a set of words which is unique to a house. They can take the form as battle-cries or boasts, such as House Boyce's 'The Fury of Honour' or House Slait's 'Ancient and Loyal'.

## Heraldry in the World

There is not a real, clear set rule toward heraldry as there is in the real world. Due to French not existing in the world of A Shattered Realm, the colours of the heraldry are never referred to as they would be in the real world, e.g *Gules* (Red). Noble Houses have been given free reign to design their heraldry as they see fit and there is not a typical convention.

It is common to see elements of a heraldry on armour, such as a Bear on the armour of soldiers belonging to House Boyce, or uniform colours relating to the colours on the banner of the house, e.g. Pale Red and Yellow Tunics for House Hayard. The Heraldry can be fitted onto flags but since these designs were originally painted onto shields, the shape of an overall piece of heraldry is usually the shape of a shield and that is one of the only defined rules for Heraldry in the Kingdom.

### Personal Sigils

Younger sons of noble houses or other members of the noble family often choose to use their own personal sigils. These are usually a slight variation of the original House banner. Sometimes even the oldest son and heir, or even the current lord, may have his own personal sigil - this is simply a matter of preference and there is no set rule against it. For example, Prince Ronan Boyce is the youngest son of House Boyce and heir to the throne but he displays a variation of the House Boyce Heraldry by switching the Black Bear to a White Bear as he is known as "The White Bear".

### Bastards

Due to the strong anti-bastard social stigma across the Kingdom of Aqoris (with it being slightly more relaxed in the Borderlands due to the Alba not really having the concept of bastardy), noble-born bastards are nor permitted to carry the heraldry of their noble parent's House. On the battlefield, they may carry a flag displaying the heraldry, or use weapons and equipment that display the heraldic symbol - but only as much as any common footsoldier in their noble parent's army may do so. If an acknowledged noble-born bastard began openly displaying the heraldry of their noble parent's House, specifically as a representation of themselves, they would face legal troubles and punishment.

Noble-born bastards are in a legal state between highborn nobles and commonfolk, yet unlike the commonfolk, acknowledged bastards *are* allowed to display their own heraldry - just not the heraldry of their noble parent's House. A very common practice in Aqoris is for bastards to use the heraldry of their noble parent's House but with the colours inverted (which is known as "breaking" the design scheme), though a notable exception to this rule is House Boyce of Winter's Rock where the sigil of the House with it's two background colours inverted is not signifying bastardy but was the personal sigil of Marlon Boyce, younger brother of King Barden I Boyce.

In the rare case a bastard is legitimised by a royal decree, thus allowing the bastard to take the family name, they are allowed to use the family heraldry.

### Exceptions

#### Curator's Guild

The Curator's Guild have their own heraldry, an open book on a white field, which is used to represent every member of the curator's guild. This is used as more of an identification of the guild as an institution as Curators do not take part in warfare or tournaments so have no need to carry a personal sigil or a sigil of a House. When a man joins the Curator's Guild, they revoke all allegiances to their former house if they were apart of one and the Curator's Guild Heraldry replaces this.

As many Curators come from the commonfolk, the coat of arms is seen as a unifying symbol for the men of the Curator's Guild who otherwise would be unidentifiable. The Guild is older than the Kingdom itself so their sacred oaths, traditions and methods are unique to them and have stood for far longer, so their Heraldry is permitted.

#### Bronze Cloaks

The Bronze Cloaks, named for their Bronze coloured armour and cloaks, are the sworn brotherhood of knights who guard the King and the Royal Family. Due to the nature of their duty, they renounce all titles, all family and political allegiances to serve and protect their King and his family. Therefore, the Bronze Cloaks are only allowed to carry all-bronze heraldry, known as **The Bronze Banner**, which is also used to represent the Bronze Cloaks as an organisation; although there have been notable exceptions, Prince Cayle Boyce - Lord Commander of The Bronze Cloaks, also used the Boyce Heraldry during Battles in the War of The Bears instead of flying the Bronze Banner like Bronze Cloaks are supposed to do when commanding armies.

Only Bronze Cloaks are allowed to carry all-bronze coloured banners and shields, they do so during Battles and Tournaments. As mentioned, when a Bronze Cloak is commanding an army, they must carry their own Bronze Banner to signify this.