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Name :
Cadieux du Lierre
(pronounced CAD-ee-euh doo lee-air).
Meaning :
Little Fighter of the Ivy.
Colors :
Cerulean blue and ivy green.
Culture :
Ithanian.
Lineage :
Mainly Carnvaal, with Drahl, Akkadian cousin lines.
Symbols :
The winged lion, ivy leaves, lily of the valley flowers, verdant plains.
House Words:
De la terre aux étoiles.
From the land to the stars.
Religion :
Vultarin Priscelle Unionist.
Capital :
Vattanais.
Holdings :
Archduchy of Vixhall; Marquisate of Montelmar.
Title Level :
Archducal, Marquis.
Main Trades :
Gems, printing, cartography.
Values :
Fairness, loyalty, laughter, well-hosted parties, fine drinks.
Wealth Level :
Upper high class.
Quick Links :
Family traits and lineage.
Application information.
Application status.
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History.
Known as the Lions of Vattanais, House Cadieux traces its origins from the fallen Leutz-Vixe House du Brierüst, a relatively minor noble house that has skyrocketed into fame in recent years. Hailing from the southern coastal holding of Maraisburke, the du Brierüsts are known to have equal parts of liquor and blood running through their veins, thanks in part to Constanze du Brierüst's wildly popular Buck and Bramble liquor distribution company. The rose-and-brambled Elk of Maraisburke were also famed for Constanze's tenure as Lord Chancellor of the Empire, and infamous for the Archblood Duke Leufred that followed once she abdicated its titles.
House du Brierüst fell during the spring of 308 AC, unable to support itself under its own weight and continue forward in the wake of the Clicker Crisis. In a dramatic gesture, the then-Baroness of Maraisburke signed off all lands, holdings, and titles to House Typhonus and stepped away from the realm of nobility for three months to recover.
House Cadieux was born as an unintended product of the union of the Baron of Maraisburke, Francis du Brierüst, and Florence Archambeau, the third daughter of then-Countess Elaine Archambeau, who bore strong ties to their motherland of Ithania. Their two daughters were raised in a blending of their cultures, with the eldest daughter Constanze adopting a far more Leutz-Vixe view of the world. The younger daughter Milena, however, attached readily to the Ithanian ideals passed down to her from her grandmother, and was named matriarch in accordance with cultural custom - largely an internal affair, though it did see the official inheritance of the Archambeau gem trade upon Milena's twenty-fourth birthday, which would later come to be House Cadieux's main trade.
This would only truly come into play upon the succession and loss of the du Brierüst titles and the falling of the House as a whole. During these months, Milena, the acting matriarch at the time of its fall, would combine her matriarchy over her father's family with the ideals and culture of her mother's family. She penned her family home in Maraisburke, asking them to come to the City. Together, they would rebuild into something grand, something better than ever. Something that would honor their past, but allow them to move forward into the present and the future. A new identity. A new start.
Both Houses' ancestries can be tied back to figures of folklore and legend, passed down and honored by the family's later generations. House Archambeau claims its ancestry to come from Rosaline Archambeau and her Homme d'Coeur, Charles the Pale Knight, whereas House du Brierüst's line was begun by Aloys the Briar Knight and his wife Liliana. The tale of his origin is told quite often, be it at weddings or in the bars after a few drinks …
The tale of the Briar Knight begins with a Bloodcast fellow named Aloys. Like many Cadieux now, of course, he was known to be warm, enthusiastic, gregarious, and boisterous - especially at grand feasts. For Aloys, no bet was too foolhardy, no competition too low, no man despised to the point where he would refuse a drink with them. His revelry was unmatched in all of Maraisburke, and he was known as Three-Drinks Aloys far and wide. For the low, low price of only three drinks, you'd have a night from which you could tell stories until the end of your days.
Now, during this time in Maraisburke, the great Lords of the realm were infighting and always at each other's throats, as Leutzmen are wont to do; instead of Empire politics, they drag each other down before they can ever leave. The Houses of Ebron and van Vellberg, then, were warring this time. Both grand Houses, both with everything to lose to each other after the close of one battle. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the fate of the losing House was a fall, and thus both Houses and their armies readied to fight with everything they had to preserve themselves and build a legacy to last.
The night before this grand battle, House van Vellberg had a feast to celebrate and boost morale at the eleventh hour. The men sang and danced and rejoiced, knowing in their hearts that the night could very well be their last. And from across the hall, Aloys caught the eye of Lady Liliana van Vellberg, the Count's youngest daughter. His heart was stolen the moment he laid eyes on her, and under her watchful gaze, he regaled the hall with tales from the battles he'd fought, standing up on the tables and gesturing with his hands to embellish the stories.
He told stories of men far more prepared than he was, but by virtue of mere skill and luck, he managed to come through - his armor dented, and he spoke of the story of each as he thumped his hand over his chest piece. Aloys was not a man of means, but he was a man of heart and honor; he told his stories with the hopes of impressing Lady Liliana, considering he had no blue blood of his own. This went long into the night, and Aloys stumbled out of the hall as the sun's rays began to stretch over the hills. In his drunken stupor, he tumbled into the bushes and fell asleep, still fully dressed in his shining armament.
When Aloys next opened his eyes, he was greeted with the midmorning light - and the sounds of the battle, down the hill and in the valley. He dragged himself up and from the bush he'd tumbled into. Aloys didn't have the time to disentangle the roses, thorns, and brambles that had clung to his armor in his slumber. Instead, he tugged down his visor and rushed down to the battlefield!
The van Vellberg and Ebron armies had been fighting for some time, then - the forces had been there since the dawn, and morale and energy both had dropped dangerously low on both sides. But Aloys came rushing down and cut a terrifying swath through the enemy. He took command of the left flank, and his presence - as well as memories of the night before - drummed up just enough courage in the van Vellberg men to push on.
His fervor caused them to rally around him, and they made quick work of the Ebron forces, which quickly fell to their knees. But still - those still standing were offered a hand up and tended to, no matter whose force they were. The battle was won, and they were all Leutzmen in the end, weren't they?
After the battle, Count van Vellberg honored those who had fought for him with special boons at the banquet he hosted. For his role in the battle, both as his own force and as a rallying cry for the other men at the battle that day, Aloys was given Liliana's hand in marriage and the little castle town of Sumpfort to lord over. He was named Aloys du Brierüst, or Aloys of Briar-Armor, for his deed, and word spread from thereon of Three-Drinks Aloys du Brierüst, the Briar Knight and Lord of Sumpfort.
With the split of House du Brierüst into successor Houses Cadieux and du Triege, a new age seems to be dawning amongst the nobility. While the future is uncertain, it's clear that these two new Houses have come to fill the space left by their shared forefather, growing into the roles of the sigil of their birth - roses and brambles, respectively.
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