House Xaran
The newest of the Houses of Tamous, House Xaran was founded with the Shifter Wars of 816, after the general who managed to snatch victory from bad situations over and over. Rather than hand the newly-acquired territories over to the old Houses, the king elected to reward his best strategist and the man who ensured victory, Sir Xaran of the Order of Steel.
House Xaran is now in the hands of Sir Xaran's son, Lord Eldorus Xaran. Though Eldorus was Xaran's second son, Xaran's he inherited when his eldest fell ill of a sickness of the brain, and died twelve years ago. Lord Eldorus is hardly a favorite of his House, which is staunchly military. Lord Eldorus is a wizard, however, having studied with a selection of fine magicians throughout Tamous. He also married a foreigner, Ilidaranna, a sorceress that belongs to an outland sisterhood of some kind. House Xaran lays claim to the easternmost portion of Tamous, including Redtooth and Sothwood. Their heraldry is a dragon, colored green, on a field of yellow.
Holdings
- Drake's Rest: Seat in Eledir City
- Redtooth: The site of the major defining battle of the Shifter Wars, Redtooth used to be a small shifter village. With its fall, House Xaran erected a keep and walls, and it has slowly become more and more prosperous, taking advantage of the extensive lumber resources nearby to do so. Now, most of the wood in use in Tamous comes from Redtooth.
- Sothwood: For a long time, Sothwood was a military holding, a border-watch keep surrounded by small border towns used to keep watch on the threats from the Delannwood. With the success of the Shifter Wars, however, it became firmly placed in Tamousan borders, and part of the demesnes of House Xaran.
- Tumbleleaf Woods: The woodlands between Sothwood and Redtooth include a great deal of territory for this young house. Though its archivists still have not finished exploring the old elven holds within it, House Xaran has already begun logging operations to make the most profit from the territory.