House Tegredir has existed in the city of V’elddrinnsshar for as long as anyone in the city can remember (which is in excess of two thousand years in some cases). Rumours speak of Tegredir as once being first House of the city, but being crippled by ongoing wars with the worshippers of The Elder Elemental God, who created fearsome creatures to send against the loyal followers of Llolth in the city. This may explain House Tegredir’s pre-occupation with all things magical, and the pursuit of magic lore.

These days, House Tegredir is thirty third House of the city, a position it regards as symbolic since there are sixty-six Noble Houses overall. Indeed it has not objected to several Houses being elevated over it in recent times, but few doubt that Tegredir could take a position in the top ten Houses if they so wished, and possibly even a seat on the council of eight. It does of-course help that they are close allies of House Gereshen, an alliance that was recently strengthened militarily by the arrival from Gereshen of the legendary Weaponsmaster Canaris. House Tegredir is therefore seen as an anomaly by the city; a House with little ambition. This is partially true, as the structure of the House is far from traditional either.

Matron Zypheny outwardly appears to be a rather quiet and slightly frivolous Matron Mother, who plays little part in proceedings, and cares even less. This is, of course, a front and Matron Zypheny can prove to be every bit as calculating and dangerous as her fellow Matrons. However, due to Tegredir’s power lying primarily in it’s Wizards, who are by tradition largely male, in fact a council does most of the day to day running of the House and it’s affairs. This Council fluctuates in size, but is generally around 8-14 strong, and include Matron Zypheny as the Head of the council, her three daughters, The House Weaponsmaster, The House Archmage, The House Ritualist, and the ranking Battle Mage, as well as usually the House head Artisan and The First Sword and Shadow Masters. In this way, areas of individual responsibility are handled by the best person to deal with them, or the best combination of people.

As previously indicated, House Tegredir is somewhat Magic-obsessed, and this has several key advantages for it; first and perhaps foremost, many very powerful mages from other Houses move to House Tegredir rather than wait for a younger rival to make their fatal case for advancement. Secondly, the same thing seems to occur to seasoned fighters and weaponsmasters, often who have realised that their failing speed can be compensated by magical mastery. This in turn leads to House Tegredir having a pool of excellent instructors in both Martial and Magely spheres, and a sizeable group of Wizards who can best most Drow with blade alone. As a result, House Tegredir has great influence at the Wizard’s Academy, and is also wealthy from well paid use of their Wizards for Patrols and Merchant Caravans. This caused some embarrassment recently, when an Academy Patrol was found to have no Academy Wizard Trainees with it, all of them having been replaced by Tegredir Battle Wizards as several of the top Houses had Noble trainees amongst the fighters, and each had hired a Tegredir Wizard to ensure their kin’s survival.

However, as any Mage will tell you, casting spells takes concentration, and that can better be achieved if one does not have to defend oneself at the same time. To this end House Tegredir has one of the finest groups of Elite Guards in the city. Also known as The Mage Guards, these troops are extensively trained to fight alongside Wizards and defend them from physical attacks, as well as following up any advantage the Wizard might create in battle. It is considered a great honour to be inducted into the Tegredir Elite Guards, and once in troops tend to be fiercely aggressive toward any threat to the House, in an effort to prove their worth at every opportunity. This has led to the once popular snide comment about Tegredir being ‘The Retirement House’ dying out, along with many of those who were heard to say it. Also held in very high esteem are the Tegredir House Guards, from which most of The Elite are taken, and the Tegredir Crossbow unit, whose armoured archers make a fearsome sight.

Another peculiarity about House Tegredir is it’s attitude toward non-Drow. Tegredir is not thought to have a large slave force, if indeed it has one at all. Recently, following the somewhat bizarre and perverse demise of her mother Matron Nicaarles, Matron Zypheny indicated that several Uruk Hai were to be treated much the same as any other House Troop. Understandably, this caused some dissent amongst the commoners, two of whom were sent to (quietly) protest the matter to the council. The council, largely at Matron Zypheny’s direction, decided that Uruk Hai must prove their worth to the House, so one was summoned and the situation explained. Twenty heartbeats later, both Drow Commoners were unconscious on the floor of the council chamber, and the Uruk Hai requested permission to go and stitch the single shallow cut he had received. There appears to have been no dissent since that time. Rumours from within the House indicate that much of this has to do with the House’s recent expeditions to the surface and the power structures they are involved in there. Given Gereshen’s similar involvements and attitudes, the rumours seem correct.