History of House Tegredir

House Tegredir has existed in the city of V’elldrinnsshar for as long as anyone within the city can remember. (This is more than two thousand years in some cases!)

Rumours speak of House Tegredir as once being the 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 Lolth in the city. This may explain House Tegredir’s pre-occupation with all things magical, and the pursuit of magical lore.

These days, however, 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 House Tegredir could take a position within 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 House Gereshen of the legendary Weapons-master Canaris. House Tegredir is therefore seen as an anomaly by the city, a House with little ambition. This is particularly true, as the structure of the House is far from traditional either.

Matron Mother Zyphenny Tegredir outwardly appears to be a rather quiet and slightly frivolous Matron Mother, who plays little part in the proceedings, and cares even less. This is, of course, a front and Matron Mother Zyphenny can prove to be every bit as calculating and dangerous as her fellow Matrons. However, due to House Tegredir’s power lying primarily in it’s Wizards, who are by tradition largely males, a council does most of the day to day running of the House and it’s affairs. This council fluctuates in size, but it is generally around 8-14 strong. It includes Matron Mother Zyphenny Tegredir as head of the council, her three daughters, the House Weapons-master, the House Ambassador, the House Arch-Mage, the House Ritualist, and the ranking Battle Mage, as well as the House Head Artisan and the First Sword and the 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. The 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 weapons-masters, 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 beat most Drow with blade alone! Consequently House Tegredir has great influence at the Wizards Academy, and is 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 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 troupes 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 Wizards create in battle. It is considered a great honour to be inducted into the House Tegredir Elite Guards, and once in, troops tend to be fiercely aggressive towards any threat to the House, in an effort to prove there worth at every opportunity. This has led to the once popular snide comment about House Tegredir being ‘the retirement house’ dying out, along with many of those who were heard to say it, as well as others who listened! 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 its attitude towards non-Drow. House 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 Mother Zyphenny Tegredir indicated that several Uruk Hai must prove there 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 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 that are involved there. Given House Gereshen’s similar involvement and attitudes, the rumours seem correct.