House Vadalis

House Vadalis bears the Mark of Handling, which has the power to calm and control animals. The Vadalis Handlers Guild breeds and sells a tremendous variety of animals, and Vadalis handlers serve as teamsters, trainers, and stablekeepers across Khorvaire. The humans who formed the Vadalis family migrated to the Eldeen Reaches about two thousand years ago. When the Mark of Handling emerged two hundred years later, offering the settlers a defense against the many wild animals of the region, it was seen as a gift from the gods. House Vadalis has developed that gift into a lucrative and powerful economic position. Today, the power of House Vadalis radiates from the Eldeen Reaches, and the Handlers Guild has outposts throughout Khorvaire. House Vadalis is a family first and a business second. Patriarch Dalin d’Vadalis oversees house operations from an enclave in the heart of the city of Varna, and the house maintains a number of small towns throughout the eastern portion of the Eldeen Reaches. Vadalis produces remarkable mounts, livestock, and guardian beasts, using natural animals, domesticated magical creatures, and magebred animals enhanced through generations of arcane experiments. From magebred dire wolves to pegasus mounts, Vadalis is the source for all manner of unusual creatures. In addition to breeding and selling animals, the Handlers Guild provides a host of other services. House Vadalis maintains stables in most major towns and cities, provides training and health care for animals of all descriptions, and hires out drivers and teamsters for caravans and coaches. While they are relatively slow, the messenger bird and mounted post services of House Vadalis provide a connection to out-of-the-way communities that are too small to support the operations of House Sivis or House Orien. House Vadalis has always had close ties with House Orien, and Orien caravans often use Vadalis drivers and animals. Since the druids emerged from the Great Forest, Vadalis has done its best to maintain strong ties with the Wardens of the Wood. Not all the Eldeen druid sects approve of House Vadalis. In particular, the Ashbound despise Vadalis and often raid the holdings of the house. In addition, House Vadalis made bitter enemies among the elves of Valenar when it sought to steal a herd of Valenar horses twenty years ago.