House Ortharn

This article, House Ortharn, was written by Ajax 013. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.

House Ortharn are a Knight House dedicated to the defence of the Tyrest Sector. Known for their Chivalric code, and strong martial pride, House Ortharn stride into battle against any and all of humanity's foes.

Culture

The very image of a Knightly house, they have a chivalric code, and a strong sense of martial pride. They have a long history, replete with great heroes, and currently field a variety of Knights, including war machines of great providence, and many Knights of considerable experience.

Ortharn hails from the agri-world of Stannach, which provides food for the forge world of Arkhan. While they are not strict vassals, they have a cooperation pact, exchanging food supplies for Knights.

Appearance

Their symbol is a golden lion, while their machines are dark grey with red decorations, usually with lion pelts attached to it. The members of House Ortharn and their vassals dress somewhat lavishly, wearing decorative armour over well made robes, usually with the pelt of a lion slung over them. Their sacristans dress in grey robes.

Known Knights

• King Dornan Ortharn: King of the Ortharn House, and a warrior of honour, he is the very image of a chivalric knight. Honest, brave, and dedicated to his cause, he fights by a code of honour. While traditional, his individual skill, and bold leadership style, has lead his House to numerous victories. However, day by day, more of his kin fall, and soon, the House will enter decline, a thought that bears heavy on his mind. His steed is the Winter's Bite, a restless knight Errant.
• Baron Gaitel Ortharn: Brother to Dornan, and leader of his vassals, Gaitel is more unorthodox in his strategies, launching feints, and surprise attacks. A known eccentric, he is still a hero of renown. His men are loyal to him beyond question, and his squadron often answers the call of the Imperial Guard, supporting them in battle. His war machine is called Slayer of Fools, and is a heavily armoured Knight Crusader.
• Prince Dannis Ortharn: Son of Dornan, and heir apparent, he is every part his father's son. Loyal, brave, and honourable, he was set to be a great hero. However, the horrors of war have weighed heavily upon him, influencing him. More practical than his fellows, he has begun to dispense with the trappings of honour, becoming a more flexible warrior on the battlefield. While a wildcard within his family, he's the next in line for the throne, and with him, changes will come. He commands a Knight Errant, the Might of Ages, an ancient machine that can be adequately described as cantankerous. However, once roused to a fight, it relishes the feel of battle.
• Baron Eryal Pallianos, Kingsward: Kingsward to King Dornan, Eryal is bound to her sire's life, defending him with all she has. While she is a glory hunter, she knows devotion to his monarch comes first, and she bares the scars earned protecting her sire with honour. She commands the Aegis Eternal, a heavily scarred, but utterly devoted Knight Paladin. Her Knight is much like her, uncaring about the need to throw itself in the line of fire, uncaring for damage, for scars.
• Vassal Rannel Urqhart: A member of a cadet branch of Ortharn, Rannel serves directly under Dornan as his champion. A warrior of deft skill, his incredible will has tempered the mighty warmachine Vanguard's Challenge, a temperamental and aggressive Knight Lancer. Rannel fights the most powerful foes, hunting down the mightiest creatures, and most powerful war machines, slaying them in order to win the day. However, Rannel is not foolhardy, and instead fights his foe with a carefully measured patience, exploiting their weaknesses to deliver a killing blow.
• Vassal Illia Hippolyta: Part of a political trade between the Houses of Ortharn and Hippolyta, her daughter Illia was traded to join in marriage with Dornan's son, Dannis Ortharn. The union of the Ortharn and Hippolyta houses has yet to bring any fruit, but the two have become quite the pair. Initially quarrelsome, the two have since been bonded by their fighting on the battlefield. Despite her marriage into the Ortharn family, she is still a daughter of House Hippolyta, choosing to wear crude, savage, clothing, and still asserts her superiority over the men of House Ortharn. She fights as hard for Ortharn as she does for her own house. She pilots the Knight Warden Unforgiving Zeal, a relic of her house, now marked with the colours of both House Hippolyta, and House Ortharn. Her Knight is mighty, and unflinching, but responds very well was it hears the words of the Imperial Creed.