House of Auromere

The House of Auromere was a noble family of northern Lordaeron, close by the border of Quel'Thalas. Until the fall of the kingdom, the patriarch of the family held the antique title of "Earl of Northlight Vigil".

The family was unseated due to the Third War, and the current patriarch is missing. Speaking for the house is his son, Jeremaias.

History
In the years when the Arathorian Empire began to fracture, many nobles and peasants made their way north to settle in the region now known as Lordaeron. Among those were a group of people led by a rather grouchy and stubborn knight known only by the name of Bern. Bern was not tall, not dark, and only considered handsome by some, but his staunchly chivalrous attitudes and principles of self-reliance attracted a following.

Bern led his family and followers far, far north, until they crossed the border into the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. There, according to legend, they were intercepted by high-elven rangers, and told to turn back. Bern asked the rangers where precisely the border was--and when they made the mistake of identifying it exactly, he built a tower within arrowshot of it.

The lands settled by Bern and his followers were far enough north that, during the winter months, the Northern Lights appeared in the sky, so the tower and its surrounds were named Northlight Vigil. Bern himself took a name in the old tongue that reflected this: Auro-, for the aurora borealis, and -mere, an ancient word meaning "watchtower". When Lordaeron finally came together into a single nation, the King, rather than bestowing the title of "marquess" upon the Auromeres, decided to permit them to retain the title of "earl", itself an artifact of an older language.

The Auromeres continue in an unbroken line to this day, though they were unseated and their title made extinct by the destruction of Lordaeron in the Third War.

Holdings
Northlight Vigil lay against the border with Quel'Thalas. Its lands were extensive, although its borders shifted occasionally during disputes with the neighboring high elves. The region is mountainous, often cold, and rather unforgiving, but they were unwilling to trade or surrender their lands in favor of something more temperate. As a result, the Auromeres have, as a family, a reputation for being almost insanely stubborn.

Due to the peculiar difficulties of agriculture, Northlight Vigil had to breed hardier and more specialized crops, and as a result, developed a number of unique strains of grain and fruit. Blueberries were the most notable of these specialty breeds, smaller than average berries but far sweeter and less fibrous than their southern cousins. These special breeds have, for the most part, been lost due to the spread of the Plague of Undeath.

Politics
The Auromere family, with few exceptions, was known for being rather isolationist. The scions of the family were typically reared to view themselves as the protectors of the people of Northlight Vigil, and as a result, viewed with skepticism any potential threat. They often regarded even their own countrymen as "threats" to Northlight, and were notorious naysayers in the Court at Lordaeron City, particularly on matters of taxation and conscription--when they cared to appear, which was seldom. As a result, they tended to attract a great deal of hatred from their political opponents.

The Auromere family tended to work the land alongside their vassals and peasants--and occasionally selected brides from said groups--and other noble families sometimes viewed them as little better than common stock themselves. But it is conjectured that this practice resulted in a tighter bond between noble and commoner, so that many of the abuses that went on in other parts of Lordaeron were almost unheard of in Northlight Vigil.

Famously, Earl Jonas Auromere opposed the taxation of Lordaeron peasants to fund the reconstruction of Stormwind, and proposed that the orcs be shipped to Northrend to create their own colony rather than interned.

Currently
The only known survivor of the House is Jeremaias, who currently lives in and serves the Kingdom of Stormwind. His father, Ezekias, is missing.