The Sigil of House Scarlet is a blood red canvas that has a Dragonoph symbol in the top right symbolizing their connection with the Dragon Worshipping of their Lord House.
Words
"Words are easy. Support is fleeting. Blood is for ever."
House Scarlet is an extremely powerful Vandal House that only appeared in the Kingdom of Lucerne in the reign of James Lovie, and makes its home within their Hold City of Hearthglen. House Scarlet is a Lord House of Lucerne, and in this position they are one of the most powerful houses in the entire Kingdom of Lucerne, and they are in the top level of loyalty and trust with the royal family in House Lovie.
The Sigil of House Scarlet is a blood red canvas that has a Dragonoph symbol in the top right symbolizing their connection with the Dragon Worshipping of their Lord House. The motto of House Scarlet is "Words are easy. Support is fleeting. Blood is for ever." and this motto goes to their belief that everyone outside of House Scarlet are prone to betrayals, and to doing unloyal acts in the hopes of a quick gold.
House Scarlet has become extremely powerful in the form of their Argent Dawn of which is the name for their Honor Gaurd. The Argent Dawn is one of the most elite formations of Honor Gaurds throughout the Kingdom Of lucerne, and their numbers have grown immensily since the days that they were founded by a young Alexandros Scarlet II. The Argent Dawn are commanded by a council called the Crimson Council, and this council controls the different elements of the Argent Dawn and is made up of only members that have proven their loyalty to House Scarlet in some way thus placing honor, and loyalty above all other things.
Orginally from Lorraine they found the moral bankruptsy of the Lorraine elite to be completely horrible and came to Lucerne. There time in Lucerne was somewhat uneventful until the coming of King William Lovie III. who decided their loyalty, size, religion, and perseverance were all qualities that he wanted in the new Lords of the newest Lucernian city of Hearthglen. Following this decision the forces of House Scarlet would grow immensly first with the creation of Hearthglen which exploded their population, wealth, and military power. Following Hearthglen they gained clout in the KIngdom through their involvement in the Battle of Berne, and following this the provocation of the Riverlands which led to them joining the Kingdom of Lucerne. House Scarlet would during the Invasion of Westbridge form the backbone of a section of the attack, and this great effort would once again push their influence forward.
The members of House Scarlet fled Swedan like most other members of the Vandal tribes, but unlike the majority of Vandals who continued to flee south, the members of House Scarlet settled down in Lorraine, and made themselves a home their for many generations.
Lorraine
The members of House Scarlet were well established in Lorraine, and had become one of the premier Houses in all of Lorraine. Unlike most Houses in Lorraine who were morally bankrupt, and for that matter worshippers of the Emperor. House Scarlet silently worshipped the Dragon, and shared a strong commitment to honor. This honor would eventually find them discusted with the ways of Lorraine, and two years following the death of William Lovie II., House Scarlet emigrated from Lorraine and came to live in the Valley of Lucerne.
Following the massacre that was Bloody Supper the now completely mentally unhinged became the Second King of Lucerne. His coronation was a strange and bloody event which during he killed three slaves which had been brought in only for his coronation. Following this madness he begin making outlandish commands which whether he knew could not be followed or not didn't matter since he found with each passing day the people turned more and more against him. At first he had the support of several houses of which the main ones were House Lannister, House Jestife, and House Ordos.
Death of Gragorix Scarlet
Murder of Gragorix Scarlet
House Scarlet during this time was very worried that the member of their house in Katheryn Scarlet who was the wife of John Lovie was taking more and more abuse. There were reports coming in that she was subject to nearly daily brutalized rapes, and an increasingly violent series of sadistic acts. In this worry the patriarch at the time was Gragorix Scarlet and he travelled to Lucerne, and when he arrived he expected to see the same young man that he had known during the reign of William Lovie but what he discovered was a monsterous version of John Lovie. When he attempted to get his sister back John Lovie had his gaurds round up every member of House Scarlet that he could find which included several cousins, and one of Gragorix son's and he had them all decapitated and wolf heads stitched to their bodies. Following his ordering the murder of several prominent members of House Scarlet he lost the support of House Ordos, and following House Ordos pulling out House Lannister begin to shuffle many of its members out of the city of Lucerne. With his supporters dwindling he was unable to stop a rebellion from growing within the Kingdom which was led by House Swan, House Starke, and House Scarlet. As riots spread into the cities John Lovie ordered several houses that he thought were loyal to him to take control of the centers of the major cities. These commands were supported heavily by the military of House Lovie that was spread very thin in these endevors. Of all the commands he sent out though only House Gretter actually followed through, and they took control of the port of Forks but were unable to enter the city as crowds of citizens of the city blocked their way, and House Swan and its vassal houses manned the walls. These houses grouped together and were able to persuade the vast majority of the population to the idea of placing John's young son James on the thrown in place of John and quickly went about retaking the Kingdom.
John Lovie shortly before his capture
Civil War
Those loyal to John Lovie were approached and given a choice to either die beside John, or to accept the rebellion's valitity, and to this end they begin assasinating the members of House Gretter who were the only John Lovie loyalists still operating outside of Lucerne. The Battle at the port of Forks was a complete massacre as the House Lovie forces that were there to maintain the peace turned against House Gretter causing the annihilation of the entire house. With the Kingdom completely lost to John Lovie he ordered House Lannister to hold the pathway into Lucerne and make sure that noone was able to get in. When he made this order House Jestife strongly objected as they believed (correctly) that House Lannister were not in the struggle for the long run. As the rebels approached the city House Lannister did betray John Lovie and allowed the rebels to enter without a fight. With his rule about to end John Lovie ordered House Jestife to hold the palace while he spent the last hours of his rule in Lucerne torchering and murdering the members of House Lannister that had remained in the palace as collateral.
"There were two option when it came to Ezio Ederiz. Option one was that he was a trap. Sean had sent him to make us believe him and we would be caught in a trap of his making. Option two was that he was telling the truth. If this was correct then we couldn't just ignore him, but the real question was how would we ever know until it was too late to turn back."
-William Lovie III.
Ezio enclosed in the message the entirety that he knew about the defences of Berne, and a message that the city was ready to be joined with William. He had hoped that if he gave as much information that Andrew would still attack even if he didn't believe Ezio, but he also understood the distinct possiblity that William wouldn't believe him and would just continue to siege the city. Ezio waited at the tower for some time alongside the rebels that he had gained control of, and waited patiently for a response. He got his anwser when a Lucernian messenger approached the tower, and sent a letter up to Ezio. In the letter Andrew told Ezio that he needed to come down from the tower so that they could discuss this, and that no harm would come to him if he did this. For all Ezio knew Andrew was his fathers son and thus suffering from the same madness as his brother, but he knew he had to do something so he trusted the devil he didn't know over the mad man that he did. Ezio gave command of the tower over to his top man in the form of Martin Arryn of whom had snuck his way into the tower and convinsed the men to join the rebellion.
"I felt fear being pulled alongside those golden armored men. This whole thing just reminded me why I didn't get personally involved in these political matters. As I regretted my decision to put myself in this kind of danger I remembered the brave look in Amber's eyes as she surrendered herself to save her child. If she could have that kind of strength then I could, and would do everything in my power to save her."
-Ezio Ederiz
When Ezio got to the bottom of the tower he was grabbed by some five men all clad in golden armor, and these men escorted him to the Lucernians camp. One of the men idetified himself as James Junnsworth and told Ezio that if he planned to harm the kind he would be doing it over all of their bodies. When he arrived at the camp he immediatly knew which one Andrew was when he saw the golden haired boy walking up to him in his magnificant armor. Restrained by the men around him he saw how little he was trusted by the arranged forces, but he wasn't bitter as he could understand their fear. He spoke as best he could and told Andrew of what was happening inside the fortress, and that every day they delayed the citizens inside were being killed in ever increasing numbers. As the conversation continued Ezio accompanied Andrew inside his tent with Jasper and then spoke openly of the murder of Allison, the rapes, and for Andrew the most horrifying news that Amber Heard was captured and now held in a cage beside Sean's throne.
First Tower of Berne Peak
Infiltrating the tower
"For whatever it was worth I believed him. I looked in his eyes and it told me that he was being truthful. In this world you really have to trust your gut, and my gut was telling me to go all in on this."
-William Lovie III.
With Ezio done telling him what was happening William told him he needed some time to think and that while he trusted him, he needed to plan on the best way forward. Ezio told him that he had control of the first tower, and thus he could get some of Andrew's men inside that tower if that would make him feel better about the whole thing. Andrew liked this plan, and it was then that he asked whether or not Hanna Arryn, and her sister Aria were safe inside the city, and Ezio told him that House Arryn was now in hiding in the city outside of Byron Arryn who was being forced to sit and watch Allison's body be violated by Sean Lovie. Andrew was thankful that Hanna was fine, and because of this he told Ezio that he would have his anwser in an hour. With that Andrew called in his commanders and they discussed their options about how to move forward. After talking for some time it became clear that they needed to gather more troops, and especially Andrew wanted to have some of his up and coming leadership involved so that they would feel important to him. He planned to travel to Forks where he would meet with these leaders and make them aware of their involvement and then they would launch the attack. He got Ezio back in the tent, and he told him that he needed to allow his men to take control of the first tower, and that this would amount to his test of loyalty. Ezio agreed without hesitation and left with Jasper to make the arrangements.
Meeting in Forks
"It took days to travel to Forks, and days to travel back to Berne, and thus it's hard for me not to wonder what might have been had we of just moved against the fortress with just House Lovie's forces. Atleast I got to see Bella, and it was in the comfort that she offered me that I knew exactly why she was the one for me."
-William Lovie III.
After talking to Ezio and having silently infiltrated the first tower with his help Andrew accepted that this was the only plan that had any quick hope of success. In order to do this he needed the most elite force he could get, so he begin calling his banner houses in, as well as commanding several houses travel to Forks to meet him. All the houses that had been called clearly had to send representitives but when they arrived this mission clearly could be seen as a silent attack that didn't require huge numbers. House Clegane, House Swan, House Scarlet, and House Lovie were the houses that would be leading the attack along with leadership from many other houses in Lucerne. As Andrew waited for Bella to arrive so that he could see her, he spent many hours talking with the leadership of the houses that were going to be involved of which included Hedrik Clegane of whom he wanted to one day be a very important figure in the Kingdom of Lucerne. In his talk with Hedrik Clegane he and Hedrik discussed how Andrew was trusting heavily in this traitor of the True Sons of Lucerne, and also discussed how his older lover Amber Heard had been captured likely as a last minute threat to William in order to make him turn back. It was late when Bella arrived in Forks, accompanied by Emmett and when they did he said his quick hellos to Emmett for he and Bella made their way to stay in room in the House Swan estate of which he was technically a member of House Swan. After being together romantically he talked openly about how scared he was of seeing Sean there, and also he feared that he was going to be made to make a choice in that final room between killing Sean and keeping his old friend Amber alive. Bella already knew of the old relationship between the two, as Alice had told her of this long ago, and because of this she undertood that he cared for this girl, but he loved her. Bella tried to make him feel better about it, but there really wasn't much you could say to that horrible of a situation so she just held him while he went through it all with her. The next day he had to leave, and he said his goodbye to Bella before travelling with the main force back to Berne where upon his arrival the Lucerne Civil War would end one way or another.
Sneaking Inside
When William Lovie arrived back at Berne flanked by the forces of House Swan, Scarlet, Clegane, and many of their vassals he entered the command tent and prepared alongside his commanders the method by which they would do this. Ezio told them that the only real way into the valley of Berne was to take control of the towers defending the passes, and this was possible since they controlled the first tower. From the first tower they would attack the second tower, and then the third, and fourth control towers which would allow them to bring the entire army into the Valley where the defenders would be unprepared for their entry. Once this was achieved they must take control of the fifth tower which was inside the City of Berne itself and was connected through a long tunnel which could be locked from the inside meaning if they failed to take it before they were noticed it would be shut and they would have to attack the main walls. With this plan in place William Lovie would send the forces of House Scarlet led by Darion, and Saiden Scarlet to enter the First Tower where they would push their full forces and they alone would be responsible for working alongside the rebels in order to take control of the towers. They would be assisted by the Order of the Golden Dragon of whom was forced to follow William Lovie of whom was going to assist here alongside Edward Cullen and several members of the Order of the Blue Dragon, as well Hedrik Clegane would convinse Andrew to let him join the forces attacking the towers.
"The Towers all held so many moments where everything could have gone terribly wrong. It was by the shere luck of the dragon that we were able to sucede as easily as we did."
-Saiden Scarlet
With the main force now preparing to enter the first pass into Berne they only needed to see the responce from the second tower to know when to move in, and they would get that call the first night as they would be signaled by a flag hanging from the wall set out by the tower forces. The Tower forces would wait until night, and that night as they moved forward the few gaurds meant to make sure such infiltration of the towers were not possible were rebels and thus they allowed the tower forces to infiltrate the towers, and within they found the mercenary forces of Sean Lovie in the form of the Stormblown. The fight for the tower was swift as with most of their forces asleep the few on sentry duty found themselves being attacked by a huge number of troops flooding into the tower. As the Stormblown moved to raise the alarm they found the alarm room locked, and when they finally broke inside they found inside several rebels of whom killed the Stormblown that tried to enter the room. With the tower taken Hedrik Clegane III. would raise the flag thus giving the main force the safe call to enter the first pass. At the third tower they would basically be allowed in as the rebels had taken complete control over this tower, and the few members of the Stormblown that were present inside the tower were barely able to get out of their beds before they were killed by the vengeful rebels and the incoming Lucernians.
"I watched each flag go up and each time a piece of me felt better as I knew my king was safe for yet another moment. It was his bravery that made people love him, but in these moments his braveary was horrifying for those of us who were forced to watch from afar."
The fourth tower was the true test of the attack as while it was held by the forces of House Krinner who was a member of the rebellion the tower held the largest contingent of the Stormblown outside of the city itself. As the Lucernians made their way into the tunnels approaching the fourth tower they were spotted by a Stormblown soldier of whom alerted the rest of the force to a betrayal, and with this becoming clear the forces of House Krinner would assemble under the command of Danzal, and Benjamin Krinner of whom defended the tunnel route heading towards the fifth tower so that none of the Stormblown could warn their comrades, and inside the tower House Krinner under the command of Oskar Kinner the defenders would block the gate into the alarm room thus preventing for a time the forces of the Stormblown from gaining entry to the alarm. A fierce battle would commense between the defenders in House Krinner and the Stormblown. As the forces of Lucerne attempted to enter the fight they were forced to attack through defended barriers quickly set up by the forces of the Stormblown in order to resist the attackers. During the fighting here Davion Scarlet would become famous for defeating the Stormblown second in command in single combat after they entered the last room of the tower and it was held by the Stormblown second in command. With his death the rest of the Stormblown slowly surrendered, and with that the flag was raised and the main army understood that the way into the valley was clear.
The Fifth Tower
"The Sound of that horn going off could have meant the masacre of our entire force. It could have meant the deaths of thousands but the bravery of the three Arryn brothers. They could have stayed hidden and not risked death but instead they did what was right and resisted a tyrant and they saved thousands. History may say that I won that day but I know the truth of who was responsible for our victory."
-William Lovie III.
As the main army moved into the valley silently in the darkness of the night the tower forces moved into the tunnels approaching the fifth and final tower. Ezio had told them that they had to get to the other end without being stopped or elce the way would be blocked and there would be no way in except a truly visious fight for the
valley. As they entered the tunnel and were only two minutes away everyone including the main force heard a massive horn go off, and the rebels told William that someone had set off one of the alarms of the towers. With this all sence of stealth went out the window and the tower force charged into the tunnel in the hopes of reaching the gate controls before it was shut. As they ran down the tunnel they watched as the masive porticul gate was slowly shutting, and then suddenly as they were getting closer it slowed and then stopped and they could hear the cries of battle at the other side, and as they reached it they entered a brutal battle between members of House Arryn and the Stormblown who were trying to shut the gate. With the entry of the Lucernians the battle went away from them, but the Stormblown surivors were able to retreat in good form and make their way towards the Berne Keep where they would blow the alarm horn again and the Stormblown throughout Berne would retreat to the keep alongside those still loyal to Sean Lovie. With the stormblown in full retreat the defenders that were on the wall moved completely into the rebellion allowing the main force to enter through the front gate, as the rebels opened the gate letting them inside. The rebels, and the tower forces would move throughout the city, and kill or capture anyone still flying the colors of the Stormblown and as well as this making sure that everyone knew that the city was Lucernian again and they had nothing to fear.
While the Invasion of Westbridge was split into many different sections with the forces of House Scott, and House Shepard attacking the two major towns south of Westbridge. While they did this House Lannister, and House Starke prepared to invade the main island by use of the Lucernian fleet in the dark of night, of which their attack would corespond with the attack of the main force on the south gate, and the Order of the Blue Dragon on the northern Gate. With all this in wait House Swan would invade Yerness which would block any relief from coming south from the Westbridge forces north of the town, as well as stopping Voldermorte from coming south by boat. While this happened House Lovie moved north towards the Westbridge town of Margrove which had before the battle had started been assumed to be a minor town but information flooded into the high command that Margrove had been fortified by House Pollen and it would now be a major obsticle for the movement northwards. William knew that he didn't have time to besiege the city so he left behind House Scarlet and gave them the charge of taking Margrove and then holding the town until the Invasion was over. The vast army would then surround the completely unprepared city, and once the defenders knew how many were around them they hunkered down for a siege and waited for reinforcements. Only a few hours after surrounding the city House Lovie and the majority of the force would depart and leave House Scarlet, Mien, and Fraizen in charge of continueing the siege.
Castle Scarlet
Main Article :Castle Scarlet
Following the capturing of Westbridge Andrew knew that other then Westbridge the only other means of crossing the Bhrine and entering the land of Lucerne was through the Marshant Gap which was a series of rivers that all led towards a causeway which could be accessed and used to enter Lucerne. Each bridge was historically held by a different town, and they were not willing to join Lucerne, and since the kingdom was about to get into conflict with Westros, or The Empire the time wasn't right to move on the Marshant Gap.
In order to block this route Andrew charged House Scarlet to construct a fortification that would block effectivly the gap. In order to do this House Scarlet constructed Castle Scarlet and manned it will a heavy increase in their personal forces called the Scarlet Brigade. House Scarlet then placed Renault Scarlet in charge of the fortress and with the land they were given as compensation for the fortress they tasked Renault with turning the empty land into a profitable series of farming villages. Above this was instilling the loyalty of those in the region who were under noone's juristiction before Lucerne took control of the area.
Conflict in Bolten
House Cole turns away
Kristen Cole's marriage would seal the arrangement that perhaps doomed the Kingdom of Bolten
"I sat in that meeting and watched as the words of that madman Ramsey Bolten were echoed in Roose. Speaking to him afterwards I got the impression that he was no longer willing to deny his young bastard, and despite my honest chritisims he would not budge. It was in that moment I knew I couldn't watch as my family was destroyed because of the decisions of madmen. It was in that moment I turned my back on the fools in Dreadfort and charted my own path."
-Josh Cole
As the war in Bolten rose to prominence it was Josh Cole that saw the error of conflict with Lucerne, and when Roose commanded all the banners to send their forces to Karhold for the attack on the west, it Josh that begin to bring the elements of House Cole back to Deephome where he begin to plan for what he wanted to do in this new Ramsey Bolten dominated Kingdom of Bolten. He begin sending messengers to Lorderon and would communicate that he was interested in discussing a meeting of the minds, which he wanted to happen on the river border of the two kingdoms. House Scarlet, and House Menathil would arrange the meeting, and would send a few men to join Diane in her hopeful diplomatic mission with Josh Cole. Diane Portmane would go about meeting Josh Cole on a barge in the river bordering the two kingdoms she would arrange the deal that gave House Cole the future control of a huge tract of land south of Lorderon and a position as Noble House within the Kingdom of Lucerne. Josh Cole would be impressed with the generocity they showed him, and in return for this he promiced that when the time came he would turn his forces against Bolten and allow the Lucernians to cross the bridge in peace. He would also demand that his daughter Kristen Cole would be married off, and he was offered Taimen Scarlet as the choice and learning how high up Taimen was in House Scarlet he was beyond happy to accept the offer. As the army of Bolten marched on Jeutenburg it was Josh Cole that lied and said that the forces of House Scarlet were threatening and he couldn't pull his forces back. Following this act of good faith Taimen and Kristen Cole would be married in the Temple of Lorderon thus sealing the arrangement between House Cole and the Kingdom of Lucerne.
Noteable Members
House Scarlet Main Branch
Alexandros Scarlet. Died during the Battle of Lyons
House Scarlet has become extremely powerful in the form of their Argent Dawn of which is the name for their Honor Gaurd. The Argent Dawn is one of the most elite formations of Honor Gaurds throughout the Kingdom Of lucerne, and their numbers have grown immensily since the days that they were founded by a young Alexandros Scarlet II. The Argent Dawn are commanded by a council called the Crimson Council, and this council controls the different elements of the Argent Dawn and is made up of only members that have proven their loyalty to House Scarlet in some way thus placing honor, and loyalty above all other things.
House Moyer is a medium sized Vandal house located in the region east of Hearthglen, and south of the Riverlands. House Moyer ruled over their region for generations but with the Lucernians incoming they allowed themselves to be annexxed and spared themselves the problems that afflicted many of the other regions surrounding them when they resisted. This annexation has meant that House Moyer is now the vassal of House Scarlet, and under this arrangement their has been a heavy growth in the relationship.
House Moyer first came into being in the lands of Norway, and they spent generations there peacefully until the rise of the Andals led them to flee south during the Great Migration. During this time they went south as many of the Vandals did but they did not continue into the Valley of Lucerne and instead stayed in the Riverlands making them a rare breed as the Vandals were not very populous in the Riverlands. During this time the region they founded called Vaedrun became a haven for Vandals escaping lost oppurtunities in the rest of the Riverlands, and thus the rise of the Vandal stronghold in the south of the Riverlands. House Moyer was once part of the larger lands of the Riverlands but after a series of disputes the regions they controlled rebelled during the growth of House Tully, and House Tully ignored this and allowed them to live independantly. This independance was peaceful enough until their neighbors to the east in the form of the Kingdom of Boxearn of House Boxearn became expansionist and thus begin attacking them. This aggression spanned several generations with each generation attempting to finally end the conflict in both peaceful and warlike ways, but the conflict finally ended when the Lucernians arrived and sent messengers to both regions giving them the option of joining Lucerne or being invaded. The Moyer's allowed themselves to be annexxed peacefully but the Kingdom of Boearn resisted, and in the Battle of Boxearn were wiped out along with much of their loyal houses.
House Mien is a large Vandal House that makes its home within the Kingdom of Lucerne inside the town of Hearthglen. House Mien has made its name off being a loyalist for House Scarlet throughout the two houses long history together, and this has continued into the time frame of the story.
House Mien first came into an imporant light when they were annexxed by House Scarlet during the Driving Tide. During this time they had been living in a small farming community and they were approached by House Scarlet who took them in as a vassal house. As a vassal of House Scarlet they stood side by side with House Scarlet throughout House Scarlet's history and were often placed in a position of being a shadow beneath House Scarlet, and this was suprisingly okay to the leadership of House Mien who was comfortable out of the limelight. When House Scarlet rose in power and was given control of Hearthglen House Mien followed them to Hearthglen and took control over one of the districts of the new town.
House Fraizen is a medium sized Vandal House located within the Kingdom Of Lucerne, and operates itself out of the city of Hearthglen. House Fraizen is the vassal of House Scarlet, and is made of a branch of House Scarlet after the sister of Alexandros Scarlet married a bastard and formed House Fraizen thus making it a bloodline member of House Scarlet. House Fraizen is extremely devout in their worshipping of the Dragon Worship and they have become fanatical in their conversion of the Riverlands.
The members of House Fraizen blazon their arms with a copper dagger across a black chevron on white, and it isn't shocking but so important are the words of the house that they have also placed them on their sigil in clear letters for everyone to see. House Fraizen's words are "Behold A Gred Red Dragon." and this is due to the fact that House Scarlet built itself around the Red Dragon element of the Dragon Worshipping religion.
House Fraizen was born after Brenda Scarlet fell in love with Jaisen Snow after meeting him in Stormwind, and after they were married her brother would have her found House Fraizen so that she wouldn't be a commoner whore. House Fraizen was led effectively by Jaisen Snow until his death during the Battle of Lyons, and his son Tirion became the new Lord of the House. Tirion who also was a part of the conflict in France was changed by the conflict and desired a closer relationship with the main branch of the family in House Scarlet, and he found this chance when they moved to Hearthglen. In Hearthglen, and during the expansion into the Riverlands it has been the goal of the members of House Fraizen, and the men under their command to at first attempt kindly to convert the population to Dragonoph, and if that fails extreme violence has broken out.
