House Ursa
House Ursa is one of the 5 great houses of The Aleanza made up of the former great dwarven holds that made up the Ironfist Concord of old. The house makes its living from the abundant iron located in the mountain range known as Bjorn's Rock and their production of fine weapons and arms. The house has a long history of honor and are renowned for being great warriors, but most famously for their rivalry with House Attilius whose bad blood goes back centuries and has recently reached a boiling point with the capture of Saros Ursa the eldest son of the household.
Structure
House Ursa is very traditional with its structure and hierarchy in that the eldest male of the Ursa family will take up lordship over the house. A female has never been a lord of House Ursa and males will always have priority in lordship, the only time a female could become the lord is if she is the last possible option. Unique to other households the lord also takes on an individual they call a thane to be their advisor and bodyguard. This is a tradition carried over from the days of the Ironfist Concord. Like other houses they also take on a Court Wizard to be their advisor and physician and have the ability to grant knightship to worthy prospects.
Culture
House Ursa has a culture of honor above all else. The Ursan people prefer not to lie, cheat and prefer fair combat over using tricks. They are also a people of grudges, when a slight is made against them or their house they take it very personally and will not rest until it is settled whether that be through an apology or blood.
Assets
House Ursa isnt the wealthiest house by any means, but they do posess a considerable amount of resources. They have a standing army of about 10,000 soldiers armed and trained. The average Ursan soldier is equipped with a set of chainmail and a hardy breastplate along with a square shaped helmet giving them an advantage to most houses in armor. They also posess a small number of Gryphon Knights who are most often knights chosen by the lord or thane as well as the lords family who train their gryphons from birth.
History
House Ursa and its liege lords in the northern region known as the Hochlands are the remnants of the old kingdom known as the Ironfist Concord which was a collection of Dwarven holds, Gnome Holds and human cities in the northern regions who banded together to settle the Hochlands after the war between the giants and dragons ended thousands of years ago. When The Scourge began Adonis l spoke to the most powerful leader in the Concord at the time Astar Ironfist and convinced him that in order to defeat the coming evil they must unite under one banner and thus they were let into The Aleanza and each hold and city became its own house with the Ironfist hold becoming House Ursa and since it was the most powerful house given the title of Great House while all the other swore fealty and became Minor Houses
Demography and Population
The population in the lands House Ursa controls is mostly made up of hardy dwarves, gnomes and humans. There are no large cities, simply scattered villages and rural communities as well as the town surrounding Arkouda Hold. These northern lands are harsh with long and unforgiving winters, but these people are hardy and know winter better than anyone say for the nordlings. The population is quite low compared to other great houses, but the ursan people like to think that one northerner is worth 10 southerners.
Territories
House Ursa itself controls a large region of the Hochlands along the nearby river and stretching to the nearby Bearswood Forest. Their hold is built into the side of Bjorns Rock and acts as their seat of power. These are their ancestral lands retained from the old Ironfist Family.
Religion
House Ursa allows the worship of The Order Tide only, but they especially worship Moradin given their history of mining and forging.
We do not break
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Capital
Demonym
Ursan
Leader Title
Family Leader
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
