House Délámhoin

The House of Délámhoin was its own kingdom before the Drakonians landed on Andoras. They were a small, yet cunning house which had attained its crown through intrigue and fabricated claims -- never actually directly going to war, as it would certainly be tragic for the Délámhoin, sparse as they were.

When the first Drakonians under Draegon I Dragomyr landed on Andoras to conquer it, the Délámhoin were the first to actually bend the knee without conflict immediately after the conquest of the Kingsland and the death of House Dayton, as they were very aware of the Drakonians' power and knew they would lose much if they resisted. After submitting to their new lieges and giving up their kingdom title, the Drakonians decided to allow the Délámhoin to retain the title of Highlord, and they were permitted to continue to rule their lands if they continued to swear fealty. Many houses and minor lordships weren't so lucky (mostly as a result of fighting back), but for sparing their people and lands, the Délámhoin owe their respect and loyalty to the Drakonians and still do to this very day.

Life after the conquest for the people of the Wetlands was mostly peaceful, with the exception of rebels who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Andorasi crown. Many of the other houses saw House Délámhoin as nothing more than boot-kissers, and yet, they ignored all mocking from outside the realm, instead remaining close to the Kingsland. As time went on, house Délámhoin would forever be loyal to House Dragomárus, even in the face of certain defeat -- in particular, the Civil War.

Civil War

Main article: The Civil War

In the year of 346AC, the Houses of Karthmere, Grimolt and Stone saw the ever-growing tyrannical status of Aegor IV and his war-hungry nature harmful to their houses, and perhaps all of Andoras, and decided to take up arms against their liege. In two years, much had passed during this time; battles were fought, lost, and won. However, even with the combined forces of the loyalist armies, it was not enough to fight back the rebels for too long. Though he fought beside his king in the Second Siege of Dragonspire, Rolland Délámhoin failed to protect Aegor. He watched as his king, the very man he and his family swore to protect, die in battle. In a fit of rage, Rolland spotted a Karthmere soldier fighting against two Délámhoin footmen. With a swing of his sword, he sliced the man's tendon. Rolland then violently heaved the man into a lit forge and closed the gate behind it, watching the man roast in his own armor. For the unfortunate Délámhoin and the Loyalists, the civil war was lost. The Dragomári were either killed and exiled, and the reign of the Dragomári was ended.

After the Civil War

The years following after the war took its toll on House Délámhoin They had no liege, and they had failed their duty given to them centuries before as the ubiquitous defenders of the realm. Rolland blamed himself for the death of his beloved liege and the royal family, and suffered from bouts of depression for years. Rolland knew not how many Dragomári survived -- or if they were even still existed -- but if they were, he made himself and his whole house an oath to never lose hope, and to vehemently vie for their rightful place on the throne once more.

Not too long after the Civil War's conclusion, one rivalry in particular was allowed to manifest into a war -- House Karthmere of Thyllanor, faced off against House Grimolt of Thunder's Shore. After the Civil War made all Andorasi realms independent, these two houses, both of which were the closest in proximity to the shattered union of vassals in the former Kingsland (now known as Ember's End), became aggressive towards one another and eventually declared all-out war. The name of the war, the War of Embers, is often attributed to Rolland, in a mocking tone; he was very vocal in his belief that the Kingsland was still de jure territory of the Dragomári, and it was folly to wage war over it. Of course, the War could not stay contained within one border; near the Wetlander border town of Riverbay, the Duke of Alham Larys Gallomont of House Gallomont was killed in action trying to repel both sides, which led to international criticism of the war, and also led many in the Wetlands to believe that they would be dragged into this conflict. Rolland was the first to suggest a diplomatic summit between the three nations, in an effort to figure out what could be done to minimize the effects of this war elsewhere -- secretly, he harbored more compassion for the Grimolts, and would arrive with a Shoreman-centric view.

Loss of neutrality; officially taking a side

They first gathered in Vicarshall, Thyllanor to discuss the loss of Lord Gallomont, and what amends could be made. The argument shifted from the Gallomont's side of the story, claiming the seeds of unrest had been planted as a result of his death, to Dalan's side, who then argued that war is prone to happening between two factions at any given time, and that war is not clean; that the lands were rightfully theirs; and that he questioned why Lord Gallomont was even involved in the conflict in the first place. Evera Gallomont also attended this meeting, sister of the lord who died.

By this point, all sides admitted to this truly being a war and recognized it as such. The talks continued, leading up to a discussion about how both the Grimolts and Karthmeres vied for the Throne of Embers, and how a conclusion was soon to be reached. Dalan had a constant smug attitude about the meeting, and often took shots at the other two present. He presented his own side again, saying that this conflict did not stem from hatred of the Grimolts or Gallomonts, and that his family did not desire the Throne of Embers in particular. More specifically, they wanted the power and renown that came with the title of Kingdom of Thyllanor. He claimed that in order to secure the de jure lands of Thyllanor, he had to war with the Grimolts in order to achieve the land that his father had caused to be lost, and the land that was lost generations before him, to get a foothold on the title's legitimacy and cement their position as the most powerful nation post-Civil War. Most men at the meeting scoffed at the idea, believing that no Karthmere could ever keep his lion's paws out of the grasslands of politics for any given time without strict sanctions and restrictions.

When the conversation turned to the inevitable topic of the Dragomári and their legitimacy, Rolland fought for them, but ended up being the lesser man in the argument, as both the Karthmeres and the Grimolts viciously denounced any connection with the Dragomári and their crown. Dalan Karthmere, Highlord of Thyllanor, then accused Rolland of worshipping Aegor's dead body and imagining him in his head when he made love to his wife. This led to a communication breakdown; Dalan stormed off, angry and beaten when the Grimolts took the Délámhoin's side in the name of diplomacy.

With Dalan gone, the two quietly forged their own alliance in Vicarshall, and the Délámhoins agreed to support the Grimolts in the war if things got out of hand, even though their own infrastructure and levies were both severely damaged.