A House of Ice
Like many a noble family, House Verglas carved out its position of power through combat. Their iconic mana technique, which some scholars claim was named first, made them infamous as so-called knight killers. A moniker not fully deserved, as they have always treated their opponents with respect, capturing rather than killing or permanently maiming. But none can deny the threat they pose to even the most well-trained knight, when they can pierce through even the thickest plate armour.
It wasn't just this technique that helped House Verglas rise to the position of Dukedom. It was also how they didn't keep the technique confined to just their members or personal knights. All knights serving House Verglas, even indirectly through its subordinates, are given guidance on how to Verglas their weapons, coating them in a thin layer of cold mana that lets them stab through shields and plate. As such, in combat it wasn't just those serving the Duke or Duchess that one should fear, but all of them. No elites could withstand such an army.
This unified front allowed the Dukes and Duchesses of House Verglas to stabilise the western borders of
Mǣdweburh. Knowing they were to be feared, yet did not seek to conquer wildly, over time caused conflict to decrease. From this relative peace rose the dukedoms of Ashwood, Beirn, and Flameheart. Even the wild flame berserkers, that once fought and died at the hands of Verglassed blades, now stood as compatriots.
And in this peace, with the younger dukedoms taking on the border conflicts, House Verglas got to show its warmer side. Warm to their allies, cold to their opponents, and as recently discovered once more, ice-cold furious towards their enemies.
A heart of sadness
Some scholars blame said peace for the slow downfall of House Verglas. Others note that the free sharing of their technique made them less interesting to marry into, as a marriage alliance wasn't needed to learn it. But no matter the cause, or causes, the conclusion is that the family line of Verglas became narrow. By the time the current Duchess, Eirwen Verglas, reached adulthood, she was still an only child. And where her betrothed, Marquis Aodhán Flameheart, was simply the only child to survive to adulthood, in Eirwen's case there had never been another sibling in her parents' arms.
Yet the two had found each other, two magical geniuses that were to be united in a way that made many worry, concerns easily taken away by how the two showed the excellence of their union at the royal court. Until tragedy struck when Eirwen's parents were assassinated. At age twenty-two, she ascended to the position of Duchess, with only distant family members left that had no claim to take her place should she too fall.
This forced the nobles of House Verglas to keep their Duchess away from the frontline, foregoing her direct leadership to ensure her survival. And with peace having softened the Verglas blades, and the crown refusing to support House Verglas in its righteous fight against Flameheart, it turned out be a war they couldn't win. All they could do was lose slowly.
Four years have passed and still the Verglas dukedom is no closer to avenging their previous masters. Their Duchess rules with a cold face, commanding her armies from afar while her former betrothed leads her opponents at the front, capturing and ransoming off any knight that tries to cut him down. An act neither of them may never forgive him for.
Comments