Mastiff Hall

Mastiff Hall was the former family seat of the Mastiff family (it being common practice for branded families to take the name of their companion breed as a surname). The Mastiff family was considered the most powerful and dangerous of the branded families due to the hulking size and ferocity of their canine companions which commonly stood five foot at the shoulder. 
Fortunately for all, the Mastiffs were a peaceful family wanting only to be left alone, although they acted as a police force when needed to quell unrest, especially when other branded families became heavy handed with unbranded populations. 
Unfortunately, the Mastiffs were also the smallest family in number so in 1433 CE when Falcons, Foxes and Lynxes decided to unite against them, the family was eliminated in a pogrom that encompassed the known world. Mastiff Hall was left to fall into ruin and the Mastiff brand lost to history, as the Mastiff Alpha died under torture before revealing its location. Many treasure hunters, branded and unbranded, searched Mastiff Hall fruitlessly through the years.
In 1973 CE Willoughby Druffin founded the Order of the Unbranded. Initially it was intended to be a movement to support the unbranded against branded oppression, however after only 7 or 8 years (the Order's records leave much to be desired) Willoughby fell under the influence of a few of the more radical members of the Order and it became a militant cult preaching the evil of the brands and covertly attacking branded families and securing riches for their beloved leader Willoughby who in turn funded the Orders operations keeping only a relatively small portion to support his comfortable lifestyle.
Originally the Order met openly in community halls and public pavilions, but by the mid 1980's CE members were driven to hide their membership and the Order only met clandestinely, being considered a terrorist organization by the branded families. Members of the Order were tried for crimes when caught and usually sentenced to capital punishments, although in some of the more oppressed communities they were considered heroic beneficent vigilantes. In response to the persecution and the need to operate in secret, in 1988 CE Willoughby and a handful of his closest counselors infiltrated a sub-basement of Mastiff Hall and discovered a warren of tunnels left by years of treasure hunters. The location was ideal for a secret headquarters with so many escape routes and hidey-holes. None of the branded families will touch the ruins of Mastiff Hall until the lost brand is found, so the Order operates from a protected headquarters until this day.

Purpose / Function

Originally the ancestral estate of the Mastiff family, it now serves as the global headquarters of the underground movement, The Order of the Unbranded. It is referenced by members of the Order as The Seat. The Seat houses the leadership of the Order and has offices and desks for the principle communications liaisons that coordinate the global activities of the Order.

Alterations

Mastiff Hall was stripped of all accouterments after the fall of the Mastiff family. Centuries of treasure hunters left their mark in tunnels and room size excavations accessing basements, sub-basements and cellars. While the roof has long decayed the precision stone construction of the walls and braced floors remain solid to this day.

Architecture

Styled in the classic manner of a gothic mansion, Mastiff Hall still retains its original profile even with the collapse of its roof. Besides carved exposed roof beams and cedar shakes the balance of the construction was of precision cut polished stone including buttress supported stone plank floors. It is the precision of the stonework that is attributed to the longevity of the structure. There is no evidence of any of the outbuildings or cultivated grounds that previously made up the Mastiff estate.

History

Originally the family seat of the Mastiff family, its construction was contracted to the Badger and Pika familes famed for their precision stonework. Both families were interrogated rigorously after the fall of the Mastiff family in an effort to reclaim the Mastiff brand. Mastiff Hall was left fallow, untended until occupation by Willoughby Druffin and his Order of the Unbranded. While the Order made no modifications to the upper stone structure, the sub-basement became a clean efficient organizational hub.

Tourism

Mastiff Hall is acknowledged by all as an architectural marvel, and many stop to take pictures or capture it in drawings or paintings, but the structure itself is not intruded upon by any visitors. The lack of visitors to the majestic house is attributed to disdain of the branded families and respect and reverence by the unbranded. Willoughby Druffin does not consider his occupation to be an intrusion on the sanctity of the main structure. Even though he views all branding as sinful and evil, he does hold a grudging respect for the nobility of the lost Mastiff clan.

RUINED STRUCTURE
1433 CE

Founding Date

50 BCE

Alternative Names

The Seat

Type

Manor house / Meeting hall

Owner

Willoughby Druffin

Characters in Location

• Willoughby Druffin