House Drahon

The House of al-Drahoneq, commonly referred to as '''House Drahon''', are a Menaphite noble house situated in the Emirate of Al Kharid. Their founding dates back to the late Fourth Age, yet there are no reliable sources to determine what position they held in Kharidian society. However, it is known that once the southern desert became corrupted and plagued, House Drahon moved their estate north into Al Kharid, situating in the southern part of the city. They still hold these estates to this day.

Just as their rivals, House Caspar, the Drahon are a trading family associated with maintaining trade between the desert cities. However, before their move to Al Kharid, the Drahon were military fighters and skilled spearmen. They trained each of their family members from the age of eight to sixteen how to fight and made soldiers out of children on several occasion. The most reputable Drahon to be a child soldier was Turiqal Drahon, who at the age of thirteen killed seven bandits who attempted to ambush a caravan. Even to this day, the tradition of raising soldiers from children has continued.

House Drahon eventually saw opportunity in trading for their own family and the city of Al Kharid. They contributed to the construction of modern day Al Kharid and have continually contributed to many ‘homegrown’ governments. As Menaphites, they are deeply respected among most Kharidians, yet maintain a resentment towards foreign religions which seek to convert their own people. They are still very tolerable of Saradominism, so long as it refrains from the desert.

Their rivalry with House Caspar began when the latter moved from their home in Asgarnia to Al Kharid and began to establish Saradominist institutions and buying off a mine north of the city. They were known as kalewre to the Drahon, meaning ‘sly men’, for their efforts to establish Saradominism as the dominant religion through good deeds, yet they were still hostile to those of the Menaphite faith that did not tolerate Saradominism. For House Caspar, the rivalry began when the Drahon decided that in spite of Caspar coming to their homeland that House Drahon would expand their trading influence as far west as Kandarin. Not only did they trade between Saradominist nations, but they brought imams along to open ‘green eyes’ to the sandy east. The family benefitted greatly from their success and planned to open a colony on the island of Karamja in order for their assets to be easily accessed from their merchant ships in the west. This is where the violent rivalry between Caspar and Drahon began.

Angered by the sly hand of the Drahon, Falrus Caspar ordered a fleet of warships to set sail for Karamja where the Caspar-Drahon conflict began in violence. Lord Falrus and the Lord of House Drahon, Makra, were killed in the naval battle off the coast of Trekartha. Their sons, Sael Caspar and Deon Drahon, ordered the battle to a halt. Deon ordered his own men to stop once he watched his father’s ship become captured. He then sent a courier by rowboat with terms to Sael, requesting to end the bloodshed by duel between the two new Lords. During the fight, Sael managed to severely wound Deon, leaving the latter the loss of his left arm. Believing Deon to be dead, Sael gathered what remained of his fleet and sailed back to Al Kharid where he further elevated the status of House Caspar from his fearless reputation gained during the Battle of Trekartha.

Deon was stuck on the island of Karamja for several months, eventually discovered by remnants of his fleet from Trekartha. He had been living among Karamjans who found him on the shores and tended to his wound. Once Deon was found by his ships, he set out to Al Kharid where the Caspar were defeating Drahon influence as the latter believed their lord’s to be dead. Upon Deon’s return, he was able to sympathize with the Kharidian government, reasoning that they should maintain the traditional desert faith of the Menaphites. The Al Kharidian government sought to maintain peace between the two houses and gave both, Deon Drahon and Sael Caspar, seats on the Emir’s council. Meetings became long and heated as the two often fought back and forth for hours. The Drahon were charged with building and maintaining a fleet for Al Kharid, while Sael Caspar became a treasurer.

Eventually, religions became the dominant problem for both houses while the Caspar sought to convert Al Kharid and the Drahon believed the Menaphite faith should be spread throughout the entire region of the desert. From this situation, their intense rivalry continues to this day and often involves violent clashes between the two sides throughout Al Kharid.