House of Grayblade

The House of Grayblade is an affluent Gilnean noble house that primarily makes its home in the Bite, a region of the Ashen Coast of Gilneas. Founded by the warrior Tybalt the Gray, the family has served Gilneas and its people from the inception of the kingdom.

The house rose to power following the death of Lord Balfred Cobalstant of Bannhurst, following the revolt of the population that resulted in the House of Cobalstant being made defunct. The land was granted to House Grayblade following the family's leader, Lord Haverin Grayblade, serving beyond the call of duty during the Second War and his strives in the small land the Grayblades owned in the Fallow Crest. They were granted the title Marcher Lords of the Bite, and their residency moved to the city of Bannhurst.

Under Berenal Grayblade, the house was elevated to the status of duke, and resurrected the defunct Duchy of the Ashen Coast. The House possesses one cadet branch in the form of the knightly House of Wald, which the bastard son of Haverin, Aeydan Wald, heads.

Beginnings
The House of Grayblade was founded by Tybalt the Gray, a warrior from the region of Gilneas. Tybalt had been a supporter of the young would be king Aderic I and raised his banners behind the man once Gilneas had separated from Arathor to deal with the Lordaeronian menace. As with many families of the time, Tybalt and his kin tamed some of the local wolves to domesticate them, beginning a tradition of strong hound breeding in the family.

Tybalt played a valuable role on the field, acting as one of Aderic's many generals as they scoured the reaches of Silverpine Forest during the War of Aderic. Alongside his kinsmen, Tybalt led the Gilneans to several victories against the Lordaeronians before being crippled during a battle along the shores of Lordamere Lake. Following the end of the war, Tybalt was granted a lordship and a town in the Fallow Crest. At this point, now landed with his own House, Tybalt took up the surname of 'Grayblade', thus beginning the lineage.

Though Tybalt and his family enjoyed prosperity in the small town, it would not last as his family once again raised their banners to the call of Gilneas in the War of Silverpine to fight against the Lordaeronians once more. Due to his crippling injury in the previous war and his age, Tybalt's sons represented him instead. While Tybalt remained out of the fighting for the most part, he bore arms against Lordaeron once they had swarmed Gilneas towards the end of the war when Lordaeronian soldiers sacked the town and raided his manor. Tybalt and his wife were slain during the raid, and his eldest son returned home after the war had ended to find the town in ruins and the manor in shambles.

From there, the family began to fall into relative obscurity. The original residents of the town had been mostly slaughtered and those that remained migrated north towards Pyrewood Village or south into the heartlands of Gilneas, away from the frontier with Lordaeron. The Grayblades were able to fund the building of a small manse near their former seat, but a lack of motivation within the family never led to the family returning to their promising roots; their most notable quality being the fierce mastiffs the family was able to breed. They were granted the low title of Baronet due to their inactivity, one of the lowest ranks of nobility in Gilneas.

Marcher Lords
During the Second War, Lord Haverin Grayblade enlisted in the Gilnean armies that went out to aid the Alliance of Lordaeron against the Orcish Horde that had destroyed the Kingdom of Stormwind. Showing himself a capable leader and skilled marksman, Haverin quickly rose through the ranks, eventually commanding a large force of Gilnean troops during the conflict. Haverin's troops were known to be accompanied by fierce hunting hounds that the Grayblades had bred, and the regiment had won much success during the war. At the same time, the Grayblade family managed to secure several business agreements with local industries and sold parts of their land to be mined out for resources, bringing the family wealth.

Near the end of the Second War, Lord Balfred Cobalstant and his house were slaughtered during a revolt in the city of Bannhurst, a large yet extremely poorly maintained region of the Ashen Coast. These lands were later granted to Lord Haverin, whose continued dedication to the crown, show of martial skill, and his show of intelligence with business won him favor over the region. Over the course of a few years, Bannhurst was revitalized into the forefront of Ashen Coast society, being a massive contributor to the Gilnean economy. The Grayblades moved into Cobalstant Manor, renamed Grayblade Manor, and were given a much higher position of Marcher Lord. During these years, Haverin became a leader in the Ashen Coast, with the House of Gregor and House of Greyfield swearing fealty to the Grayblades.

Unfortunately, such splendor was short lived. In the coming years, Gilneas would end up walling off from the rest of the world, and as the Gilneans looked inward for their supply needs. The Ashen Coast' self sustaining economy that had been established under Haverin boomed with the closure of importation. The triumvirate that had been established in the area supplied the nation with much of its materials, with such areas as Brandon's Stead supplying iron and building materials, The Bite supplying industrialization through factories and manufacturing, as well as the Gold mine having been restored, and Gregor's Crossing handling exportation throughout the Gilnean countryside as well as supplying engineering ideas and finalization of products to be shipped off.

While averting economic downfall, Bannhurst's success attracted the attention of a group of bandits known as the Seventh Skull Legion. Lordaeronian deserters turned marauders, the group terrorized the country side of Gilneas, striking small farming villages, forcing gold out of them, or destroying those who refused to comply. Seeking a bigger pull, they turned their eyes to the bustling Bannhurst.

Should they control heart of the Ashen Coast, it would bring them further to controlling Gilneas' economy. However, Haverin refused to bend to their will. In a blood bath of destruction, Bannhurst was razed to the ground, and its population butchered. So bloody was the destruction that despite the hundreds, if not thousands, living there, less than ten (adults) survived the ordeal due to the burning of homes and barricading of the streets.

During this time, Haverin and his wife Erleia were slain in their home, and their two young boys left unaccounted for. With the heirs missing, the House of Darkoak rose and took control of the march and were made Marcher Lords of the Bite. Seeking to keep his newly found position, Lord Balaforth Darkoak scoured through the few remaining survivors to discover the Grayblade children had survived. Hiding their existence from the rest of the region, the Darkoaks left the Ashen Coast in economic turmoil. Refusing to restore the city of Bannhurst, the Ashen Coast' triumvirate crumbled, leading to Brandon's Stead and Gregor's Crossing's economies to take substantial hits.

Meanwhile, the Grayblade children were both young beyond right to rule or govern. With Balaforth's scheming, the children were kept from their birthright and left on the streets of Gilneas City in squalor.

Resurgence
Nearly twenty years after the destruction of Bannhurst, a man by the name of Berenal Grayblade began to make a campaign on the streets of Gilneas City. Aided, ironically, by his best friend Galin Darkoak, the two set out to revive Berenal's claim to the regions of the Ashen Coast that had been taken from him. When brought before Lord Balaforth, the lord denied fervently that Berenal was truly Haverin's son, declaring that despite the boy's visual similarity to Haverin, the Grayblade children had perished long ago. After further research it came to light that Balaforth had been behind Berenal's fading into obscurity, and demanded justice.

Before Berenal could set a proper plan into motion, his estranged brother Eredin returned. Using dark magic, Berenal was mind controlled and slaughtered both Balaforth and Galin, ending the Darkoak family. Trialed for murder, Berenal spent one year in Stoneward Prison before being released on citation that an unknown party had proved he was framed for the murders. Acquitted of all charges, Berenal was also granted legitimate claim back to the title of Marcher Lord of the Bite, as well as regency over Rosefield until another family could be appointed. However, his experience with politics left a bitter taste in his mouth. Shunning his noble roots, Lord Berenal's first edict was to place regency of the areas of his family under Lord Greyfield and his sons. He then joined the order the Blades of Greymane and left the Ashen Coast alone.

Once more, Bannhurst's ruins were left untouched, and the Ashen Coast triumvirate was not revived. Lord Xavier Gregor pleaded with the young lord many times to return to the Ashen Coast and restore the area to its former glory, but such cries fell on deaf ears until the Second Shattering.

Second Shattering
Just before the Second Shattering rocked Azeroth and began the fall of Gilneas, Lord Grayblade had been serving within the Blades of Greymane. On duty with his squad in Gilneas City during the Worgen outbreak, it was believed he had perished after the Worgen had over run the city. In truth, he had been swarmed by the beasts saving a small child and her mother and turned into one of the wolvine creatures. When the shattering finally came, Berenal resurfaced in the town of Duskhaven and continued to serve Gilneas' forces.

It was not until midway through the fall of Gilneas that Berenal finally accepted his role as Marcher Lord. Sending word to the Ashen Coast of his survival, Berenal had hoped it was not too late for the region. Alas, Lord Grayblade arrived in time to find that the Orcs had arrived to reinforce the invading Forsaken armies. With his lands of Cobal's Hold, Karnsburg and Rosefield already destroyed, Berenal rode for the town of Gregor's Crossing, which had held out against the orcs. Alongside Lord Xavier Gregor and his men, the group rode for the town of Brandon's Stead, which had been one of the first areas sieged by the Orcs but had not yet fallen. They arrived to find the orcs finally breaking the lines of the town, and charged towards Greyfield manor, hoping to find Lord Brandon Greyfield and his sister Sieglinde still alive. The group burst into the manor to find that Lord Brandon had been slain, and in a short but fierce battle, the group saved Sieglinde moments before the orcs could end the Greyfield bloodline. During the battle, Lord Xavier suffered a crippling injury that would later haunt him.

With the Blades destroyed and Gilneas in disarray, Berenal vowed to revive the order of the Blades and restore Gilneas and the Ashen Coast to their former glory. To this, Lord Xavier and Lady Sieglinde renewed their ancient vows to his family, pledging their support to the Lord and the Blades.

In the years that followed, the group would eventually come to reclaim and restore the Ashen Coast as a frontier for Gilneas' rebirth as a kingdom. Though Xavier would later perish in battle and Sieglinde would abdicate to her half brother, Derrik Greyfield, the Ashen Coast remained strong under Grayblade rule. Facing many a peril, the dynasty would eventually elevate numerous lords, of old blood and new, to fill in the gaps of the shattered nobility that once governed over the region.

Current Status
The House of Grayblade continues service to Gilneas in the form of Berenal Grayblade, leader of the Blades of Greymane. As their request to the king was granted, the House restored the Duchy of the Ashen Coast, where it rules as duke. They have since expanded their holdings to also include the march of The Fallow Crest, across the Ashwake Gulf. While they also technically rule as sovereign over the Rignweald de jure, the location has since been allocated to governance by the crown as a gift due to the destruction of the crownland provinces.

Traits
The Grayblades were known for breeding fine warriors and militant men, nearly every Grayblade can be traced to having a career in the military, even during the time of their obscurity. The Grayblades were also known for their hound breeding, with a long line of mastiffs stemming from Tybalt's own personal mastiff. Their hounds are known to be extremely hearty and vital companions on the field. The line of mastiffs remains unbroken to this day.

Grayblade men are often tall with wide shoulders and verdant green eyes. They often have ebon black or dark brown hair colors.