House Grimmir

Based: Barony of Hereford (in
the County of Chester and the Duchy
of Gloucester)
Heraldry: An argent pather (pard)
rampant, on vert and sable quarters.
Leader: Lady Katerina Grimmir,
Duchess of the Court and Steward of Albion

The Origins Of The House

House Grimmir is a house born of humble origins.
House Hunter had a solider in their service named
Tristan … better known as "the Grimmir"
(Grim Hearted in an Elven dialect) by the people
of Gloucester. Shortly after House Hunter had
awarded him knighthood, Tristan was hunting near
his home in Chester with his wife Idellan. During
the hunt Cymrians crossed the border and killed
Idellen in an ambush, ever after Tristan remained
grim and cold even to his children and the family
ever after bore a hatred for "the old foe".

Near the end of Tristan’s life he and his line
were awarded the status of vassal house to House
Hunter as a reward for the family’s defence of
Chester. The family took the name Grimmir as their
surname and took the Panther as their symbol;
according to old Albion Folklore the panther was
a creature that hunted dragons. Like House Hulce who guarded Gloucester, House Grimmir guarded
Chester in the name of House Hunter.

For hundreds of years the house grew strong,
but then in the reign of King Edward 1st the head
of the house, Etain Grimmir, who was Earl of Chester
and commander of the Gloucester battalion, led
an open rebellion against the king with the household
guard and certain rebellious elements of his army.
Turren Grimmir, Etains younger brother, warned
the king who was able to defeat Etain on the field.
House Grimmir was destroyed leaving only Turren
and his family. House Grimmir remained weak but
loyal for years until the civil war.

The head of the House was by that time Caledinn
Grimmir who had taken a Caledonian wife; Seren
McAven. They had met when Caledinn had commanded
an attack on a Caledonian border garrison during
the long border wars before the Gathering Treaty.
Caledinn and his troops had captured the garrison,
mostly occupied by Clan McAven, but were then
set upon by wild forest goblins who would have
overwhelmed the Albione troops had the Caledonians
not been freed, the combined forces defeated the
goblins and the Caledonians were set free. When
the Albion force moved south Seren went with Caledinn.

When the Gathering Treaty was signed, Caledinn
and Seren looked forward to a peaceful retirement.
Unfortunately this was not to be, during the start
of the civil war in 1094 House Grimmir were approached
by both the Harts and Lions but Caledinn knew
that House Grimmir was too weak to survive such
a conflict and thus refused to be a part of the
fighting.

One night soon after, men in the colours of House
Corvidae attacked Grimmir Hall effectively destroying
the household, not only killing both Caledinn
and Seren but also taking away with them Corrigan’s
older, pregnant sister Dinah. Years later it would
be revealed that the people that attacked were
not of House Corvidae but of the Covenant. Two
of the survivors were Corrigan and Logan Grimmir
who spent their teens in exile in the Darkwood.
Logan was killed in 1098 as a Watcher of Darkwood,
on the island of Skald, leaving Corrigan to rebuild
the House.

Recent History

Corrigan began in 1100 after her Majesty Queen
Elspeth returned the family title and named him
Lord Grimmir. Once again wearing the House colours,
Corrigan started rebuilding Grimmir Hall. In 1101
he married Katerina Apriori, the Steward of Albion
and a Duchess in her own right, who became Lady
Grimmir and the heart of the new household. Over
time many very different people joined the house,
not the least of whom have been the Flight, a
group of bird fae from the Mists and a worthy
addition not just to the House but also to the
Faction. This mix of people gave the house a very
cosmopolitan feel that remains to this day, Corrigan
once remarked that he was proud to have a household
of strong individuals as opposed to the usual
army of servants and guards.

The brave sacrifice of Zain Cromwell (Grimmir’s
Captain of the Grimmir guard) at the Gathering
of 1104 to save Albion is one example of the household’s
bravery … and loyalty of its members to the
House, the Crown and to Albion as a whole. Corrigan
was killed in 1103 but his wife Katerina, his
son Tristan and his daughter Elspeth survive him.
The household stands loyal to Albion and will
remain ever so.

Compiled by Torion
of the Greenwood, on the authority of Lady
Grimmir, 1105