House Harrowmire

**Head of House**
 **Heir**
 **Seat**
 **Lands**
 **Overlords**

**House Harrowmire** are the current rulers of the Barony of Caldain on the northwestern coastline of Elwynn Forest. Lord Tion Harrowmire purchased the lands from Duke Maxen Montclair in the summer of 629 K.Y.

With a good deal of effort and access to the right ancient manuscripts and archaeological expedition notes, one can trace the history of House Harrowmire back thousands of years before the opening of the Dark Portal, when men roamed in nomadic Tribes and were only just beginning to settle and claim lands as their own.

One such Tribe was led by a barbarian warlord by the name of Folcard the Pale, so called because of the flaxen blonde hair that has marked those of House Harrowmire ever since. His viciousness and ambition are also said to have marked those of House Harrowmire, and Folcard certainly displayed those characteristics as he and his Warband cut a bloody swath through human and troll tribes alike before finding a home for themselves in what is now Tirisfal Glades.

The heavily-forested, fertile land was much sought-after by other nomadic Tribes looking to settle and become part of an agricultural community, hoping to see the days of hunter-gatherer society behind them. Folcard expanded his Tribe by accepting strong young men who left poorer Tribes, as well as women of child-bearing age and those who had specialized skills that would become necessary for this new way of life. Other human Tribes who attempted to settle unwanted in the land Folcard's Tribe claimed were educated in bloody, violent fashion as to how solid Folcard's claim on the land was; survivors were put to labor in the newly tilled fields and resource-rich forests for the benefit of the pale-haired Tribe.

Troll raids from the Amani Empire proved more difficult to repel than the often under-prepared humans who would attack from time to time, so the forests of Tirisfal were put to use, providing lumber for walls and weapons. Folcard the Pale was a cunning ruler who believed there was no such thing as 'overkill', and soon his roving bands of heavily-armed Tribesmen had convinced the Amani raiders to seek less prepared and vicious humans to prey upon.

While Folcard's Warband was settling and adapting to an agricultural lifestyle, other Tribes of humans were doing the same nearby, finding fertile lands to farm, coasts to fish, mountains to mine. Against the growing threat of the Amani Empire, King Thoradin of Arathi sought to bind the human Tribes into an Alliance, with himself as King. Many of the Tribes found this amenable and banded together for defense and mutual aid, to the benefit of those who joined. When King Thoradin approached Folcard the Pale about joining this Alliance, he was rudely rebuffed, with many of his escort killed; Folcard had no interest in giving up his position of power.

His son Tescelin, however, saw things differently. He saw the raids of the Amani being stepped up as the Empire grew in both power and numbers, and the trolls used their strange magics in battle to the devastation of those who opposed them. It was only a matter of time before the Amani set their sights again on Tirisfal, so Tescelin assumed command of Folcard's Tribe via assassination, slitting the throat of his own father in a public display of prowess that earned him the respect of the Tribe. It also earned him the name 'the Treacherous'. Tescelin the Treacherous agreed to ally with King Thoradin and pledged the loyalty of the Tirisfal Tribe. The seat of Tescelin's rule wound up being in a land locals called Llovre, between Lordaeron and Alterac, which is where the High Seat of Harrowmire remains to this day.

Tescelin the Treacherous became a General within Thoradin's rule, as did many other Tribal leaders who allied beneath this new King. He and those under his command earned great glory in battles against the Amani Empire as the Troll Wars began. This started a period of nearly-endless warfare against the troll threat, where the viciousness and ambition that marked the ancestors of Harrowmire proved of great benefit both against the enemy of the human Kingdom and within the beginning turmoils of politics that started to take place between the Generals and the wide-spread lands barely held together by allegiance to King Thoradin.

For generations, the only thing marring the rule of General Tescelin and his descendants was an unusual number of deaths within the growing and spreading family. Some whispered that Tescelin's treacherous actions had brought a barbaric curse upon his family line, while others assumed that it was merely a matter of assassination for position, a tradition that Tescelin himself had begun with the murder of his father.

* \*  \*

1200 years before the opening of the Dark Portal, history was about to repeat itself. In the almost startling peace that had cautiously settled after the end of the Troll Wars, civilization had begun to further assert itself and the Kingdom of Lordaeron was born. Elsewhere, more cities were growing from the agricultural hamlets that settling Tribes had formed, and alliances rose and fell with the generations and the needs of the times.

The name of the Harrowmire leader at the time has been lost to history, but what is known is that Menethil was attempting to assert her rule over the human Kingdoms, attempting to once again find the unity that had helped humanity survive against the Amani Empire so long ago.

Harrowmire, as had happened in the past, was resistant to the idea of having another ruler above them, especially one so distant. But in a repetition of the ancient Tribal days, the son of the Harrowmire ruler disagreed with his sire. This disagreement was settled by tradition; the ruler ate something that disagreed with him to the point of death, and acceptance of Menethil rule was given by his successor.

Also tied back to the past, mysterious deaths seemed to stalk the Harrowmire family. Again, there were whispers of curses brought on by sons who would dare to kill their fathers for power, but the less superstitious members of the population agreed that it had simply become Harrowmire tradition to settle grievances or gain power through assassination. Thus was Harrowmire's tendency toward ruthless ambition cemented in the minds of the populace.

* \*  \*

Approximately 400 years prior to the opening of the Dark Portal, Clovis Mayer Harrowmire came up with a way to garner even more wealth under his prestigious family name. He started financial systems in Llovere, Kul'Tiras, Gilneas, and Dalaran. Such systems were relatively new, and offered financial advising, bookkeeping, and a location for well-guarded savings. Thus did banking become a House Harrowmire tradition that still carries over to this day.

* \*  \*

Approximately 300 years prior to the opening of the Dark Portal, Lord Amschel Harrowmire expanded on the banking systems that were already in place, founding Harrowmire & Co. This company served as a private banking establishment for noble houses. Along with the services offered by Clovis Harrowmire's version of banking, the ability to transfer money was applied. Money (along with a somewhat hefty fee) would be given to a bank in one city, and rather than transport the money to another city, a task that carried a large risk of robbery by the bandits that stalked the roads, a note was simply carried to the city where the money was supposed to go, where it was withdrawn from the banking establishment already present there. Later, the use of portals sped such transfers of funds up to mere hours instead of the days or weeks it used to take. Also made available were loan systems, which greatly built up Harrowmire's wealth.

During this time, House Harrowmire took care to arrange favorable marriages for its heirs, making certain to ally with families who lacked ambition but had access to rich resources. These arranged marriages rarely were loving, more like business deals than matrimony, but they served to keep the Harrowmire fortunes within Harrowmire hands.

In Llovere, rich deposits of gold and copper had been discovered, adding to the wealth of Harrowmire and letting them mint coin for themselves and the Kingdoms they answered to. With the additions by marriage of other ores and minerals, House Harrowmire was able to start manufacture of arms and armor, using such goods as tithe to the Kingdom rather than hard coin or food as most others provided. Each small hamlet under Harrowmire control was ordered to provide for a blacksmith chosen from among the local population, who was thoroughly trained at Harrowmire's expense, then set to work manufacturing this new lucrative trade good, while a mining company was formed to go after the raw metals. Small deposits of gemstones provided a basis for several jewelers in the area, thus giving a luxury item to be taxed and further add to Harrowmire's coffers.

Along with the mining company, House Harrowmire established a very popular and elite winery in Llovere, as well as a shipping company. These, along with Harrowmire & Co. banking, ensured plenty of wealth and prestige for the House.

* \*  \*

The First and Second Wars were nearly enough to destroy the human Kingdoms entirely. The Kingdom of Alterac fell, and the newer city of Stormwind was just shy of completely demolished. The opening of the Dark Portal and the Orcish hordes nearly spelled the end for mankind's carefully built civilizations. Despite the wanton destruction that did considerable damage to parts of Tirisfal, Llovere remained almost miraculously untouched.

Their comparative safety wasn't enough to lull Harrowmire into a false sense of security, however. Once again, there was a horribly dangerous enemy on the horizon, and evidence of their ferocity was everywhere to see. It was then that House Harrowmire started investing in the rebuilding of Stormwind, assisting with arming and armoring the standing army of the city in the hopes that further invasions could be repelled.

Some short while after the construction of the Greymane Wall --an ominous note in history-- rumor reached Llovere of a strange plague that was sweeping through the Eastern Kingdoms. At first it was taken with a grain of salt like any rumor, but soon that rumor was on the lips of all who passed through Harrowmire territory.

Then came more alarming rumors; news of the Culling of Stratholme finally reached the ears of House Harrowmire. In response, Harrowmire closed the mountain passes around Llovere and isolated itself from the horrors that were only just beginning nearby. Refugees were allowed to pass through, but Harrowmire was not known for altruism; refugees were only permitted to pass if they were able to pay a fee. By this method did House Harrowmire avoid the ravages of the Plague.

It was during this tumultuous time that Lothaire Harrowmire began funding and supplying the relatively new Scarlet Crusade. House Harrowmire held several beliefs in common with the Scarlets, especially those of racial purity and always putting humans first in any circumstance, and Lothaire hoped that the Scarlet Crusade would be able to put a swift end to the Plague and those that rose up in its wake. That the dead were walking was no longer simply a rumor.

It was only once it became clear that the Scarlet Crusade had failed that House Harrowmire was finally willing to pledge loyalty to the Alliance. This time, no assassination-based change of leadership was necessary; the threat of the Orcs and the walking dead was more than enough to make a Grand Alliance seem like an ideal circumstance. With the failure of the Scarlets, House Harrowmire resumed investing heavily in Stormwind.