[Neus]

ECHOR

Sigil: A metalworking hammer wrapped in a crown of roaring red flames.
The forges of the red knights are worked by the hammers of their sigil, and the metal is heated in its flames. Like many Zeran noble houses, the flames are in a crown-shape, similar to a Zeran's horns.

Colors: Red, brown, black.
As one might expect, red is a dominant color for House Echor, with earthy browns and deep blacks as complimentary colors, perhaps as homage to their origins as farmers. This trio of colors, when talking about the red knights, is sometimes referred to as the colors of 'blood and earth and ash', all things the House is known for dealing in.

Heirloom: Bloodlode
A war pick whose head is said to be made from the first found veins of Echorite in the farms of Seashire, while the pommel and long-handle are remains of Zera. It was created in commemoration when House Echor rose to the level of High Council members, to celebrate their humble origins. As an heirloom, it's more used for its display purposes, but one look at the war pick makes it clear that it would be as deadly as any other Echor-made weapon.

Size: Medium
House Echor is moderately sized, possessing a good balance of economic and military strength, but not having enough of either to be explosively large. Many members of House Echor fall into one of these categories; Knights, who serve as the fighting numbers, or Smiths, who work metal, typically Echorite, for sale. House Echor also has many subjects that serve as miners and farmers, allowing the house to self-provide resources they need.

Stronghold: Redgate
Seated at the northmost peninsula on Alstalsia, the north of the Godly Stage and west of House Zelag lies the Redgate, a large, thick wall that acts as a barrier separating the Godly Stage and the Echorite mines from the rest of Alstalsia, as well as serving as a strong fortification that protects House Echor's citizenry in Greenhurst and the military-less House Zelag from bandits, monsters, and anything else that wishes to do them harm. House Echor themselves have a keep named Stargazer Step high on the Redcliff, overlooking the water, but the entirety of their domain is commonly referred to Redgate, and it's no wonder why; the Redgate is legendary, serving as the tallest man-made fortification in the entire known world, said to be painted red in the blood of the Red Knight's foes.

The Redcliff itself lies beyond the Sea of Stones, a treacherous hilly area where most of the Echorite mines are located, as well as several precious gem deposits. The naming of the Redcliff is very simple; the soil and rocks of the cliff are an earthy red, and Stargazer Step itself has a grand view of the sea and the rest of Redgate.

Values:
House Echor is a house of knights, and as such, are heavily influenced by honor and chivalry. They do not typically get involved in the politics and plots of the High Council's other Houses, and openly feel such actions hold Alstalsia as a whole back. As rulers of a mostly self-sufficient domain, full of farms, mines, ports, and military men, House Echor has a wider view of the complications of a variety of trades than any other House on Alstalsia, making them knowledgeable and wise.

However, these qualities also make them well aware of betrayls and transgressions towards them, and the honorable knights very rarely forgive them, instead preferring to use blood as an equalizer. Forgiving the inevitable and punishing the malevolent serves as an apt summary of how House Echor operates, a set of beliefs that have earned them the nicknames 'Blood Knights' and 'House Ichor'.

History:
House Echor was originally a family of farmers with no noble titles or importance. After a violent storm ruined the southern land they originally worked, they were bankrupt and only managed to scrape up enough money to buy land north of the Godly Stage. This cheap land was ill-suited to farmwork, due to the multitude of rocky soil, but there wasn't much choice, and so they began making due as best they could. One day, a farmer struck something other than dirt and stone; a red metal sticking up from the ground. This was how Echorite was discovered, named after the family that found it, and it propelled them into a powerful noble house when its qualities were discovered.

While Echorite, in normal circumstances, is very average, being no better than iron, the metal serves as a neutralizer against magical and godly creatures. Where an iron sword would do very little harm to something with a strong hide, like a wyvern, Echorite can pierce it as easily as it does flesh, making it very valuable against those who fight such creatures. It offers similar qualities defensively, being harder for such creatures to penetrate or destroy armor and shields made from it. The red metal is what the Red Knights got their name for, as they wear armor made of Echorite. Some experts have theorized that Echorite is actually iron soaked in the blood of the gods that did battle on Alstalsia, which would make sense, given its properties.

The demand for Echorite lead it to being very expensive after its discovery, and the Echor family used it to buy the land they own today, among other things. The monopoly they hold on Echorite, as well as their close friendship with House Zelag, eventually propelled them to the position they sit in now.