House Taurdain
The Taurdain family has been around since the first founding of Esgaroth - the oldest of the noble houses, by far. Taurdain has a long-standing friendship with the Elves of Mirkwood and, although contact with them is scarcer these days, it is a matter of great family pride. Known for its skilled craftsmen, especially shipwrights and woodworkers, Bard gave the family control of the Craftsmen's Guild of Esgaroth.
Taurdain mingle with the lower class so much that one might not recognize their noble status were it not for the cloaks they wear which bear the crest of their family. This house is the least aggressive politically, and members often express disdain over the politics of power and greed played at by Girion and Arathmor. Taurdains often resent Karath's reliance upon military power to solve problems, and are traditionally distant from them due to the warrior house's association with the Dwarves.
House Taurdain takes great pride in its standing amongst the people of Esgaroth, which is fuelled by the family's concern for issues of domestic trade as well as its lack of haughty potentiousness (at least, in comparison to the other noble lines). In addition to their good standing with Amon Thranduil, they are able to get along with most other non-aggressive peoples, and are of the mindset that you are a friend until you prove otherwise.
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House Symbol and Colors
The Taurdain colors are green and blue. The crest of House Taurdain is a large beech tree standing in the middle of a lake. It has a sliver of a moon above it shining down upon it.
History
The people of the Dale-lands, like the Woodmen of Mirkwood and the Beornings, are descended from the Edain of the First Age. Laketown grew out of a series of ancient Northmen settlements on that site, and most accounts date the founding of the modern town to T.A. 999. In those days, the family Taurdain was already well rooted in Esgaroth society, having migrated eastward along the forest river away from Celebannon. The family was known to bring forth great Masters in all sorts of crafts. As such, the family was closely involved in erecting the first settlement of Laketown, and it's successor (in T.A. 1241 after the first town burnt down), this time at the mouth of the River Running.
Trade soon began to flourish again with the ancient town of Dale. Due to its strategic position at the River Running, trade soon took place with the elven folk of Thranduil who lived downstream. Taurdain rafts were soon going up and down the forest river, and the house grew rapidly in power and wealth due to a lucrative agreement with the Elven King.
Many centuries later house Taurdain anticipated another boost in power when Thrain I settled in Erebor. While not as successful in winning over the dwarven hearts as house Karath was, a fair amount of goods passed from one Kingdom to the other, and indeed some of the craftsman of Taurdain are said to have acquired skills from the Dwarf Lords of these days.
House Taurdain, however, lost much of its strength and glory in the razing of Esgaroth by Smaug the Dragon. In those days, T.A. 2770, Girion of Dale, King of the realm, was slain. This time was also the advent of House Arathmor, wealthy merchants that as a noble family became a large factor in Dale society. After Esgaroth was rebuilt once more, House Taurdain mainly focused on crafts, and used its influence to promote a better life for those that were not of noble blood.
Although not as powerful as in its golden age, House Taurdain has regained a fair amount of wealth and enjoys some popularity among the common folk.
Stances and Attitudes
Here are the traditional views of House Taurdain on:
- House Girion - While Girion is the ruling house of Dale, its power is to a certain extent disputed here in Esgaroth. The King has asked Taurdain to take responsibility for the affairs that involve the various crafts, but our house still sees exploitation of many commoners by the wealthier houses, including Girion.
- House Arathmor - House Arathmor is a very powerful house. It took over the important source of income from trade. However, they still need goods, a lot of it coming from our house. While despising Arathmor's greedy attitude, we do have dealings with them, in which we try to deal with them in a civilized manner. Usually no heads have to come off.
- House Karath - House Karath is one of the more noble houses in our eyes, but they tend to rely a lot on military strength. Being a peaceful house in general, we are not very impressed by their valor and tend to chuckle slightly at their military prowess.
- Dwarves - While not being able to relate too much with the dwarves' desire for weapons and armor, we do admire their craftmanship. We are generally friendly to them, as long as they are friendly to us.
- Elves - Elves have, for many years, been a strong ally of our house, and have come to Esgaroth's aid in the siege of the Lonely Mountain. While most of the other nobles do not understand this folk, our long friendship and trade with them has brought us to a deeper understanding of these almost magical creatures.
- Other Humans - Being a humanist house, we try to approach every human in the same manner, and try to treat them with respect - be they commoner or noble.
Positions within the House
Within the household, there are a number of honorary positions:
- Lord Taurdain - is the highest ranking noble in the house (the one whose lineage is most directly connected to the founder of the house). He serves more as an elder than as a ruler. While he is widely respected under his people, he rules with the assistance of his council, and can be vetoed by it.
- Steward - Steward is an elected position, endorsed by the House Lord. The Steward is in power the second ranking noble in the house, and he has a seat on the house Council. He oversees the daily activity in the house and speaks on behalf of the Lord.
- Counselor - The title of Counselor is born by those nobles that serve on the House Council. The council helps the Lord govern the house, and as such has a say in all house matters. While the Counselors can be appointed by the Lord, they cannot be relieved of duty except by a majority vote in the Council. As such, the title of Counselor is a sign of confidence by the House Lord in one of his nobles.
- Deacon - The deacon is a position of considerable honor in the house. The House Deacon is responsible for the integration of the nobles with the common folk, and has a considerable budget at his disposal to relief the pains of society. There is usually just one Deacon, but the Lord may appoint more as he sees fit.
- Craftsmaster - is a title given to the most able Craftsmaster. There is always a competition going on, and the title can switch from year to year. The title is given out at the annual Craftsfair that the house presents to the city.
Events
There are a number of events which are celebrated by House Taurdain, including:
- Great Feast - Unlike the feast of the other Houses, this annual Taurdain festival is open to all inhabitants of Esgaroth. The feast includes song competitions, wine competitions, and is closed by a grand Masked Ball. While the event does showcase the wealth of Arathmor and Girion, Taurdain nobles still attend, seeing it as a duty to take their place among the other houses.
- Craftsmanship Fair - This yearly event features the most talented craftsmen from Esgaroth, Dale, and the surrounding countryside. Taurdain House proudly hosts and organizes this event, for the finest craftsmen are associated with Taurdain. Fees that are collected are directly used for the Craftsmen's Guild, and the tutelage of up-and-coming craftsmen. At the end of the Fair, the Taurdain Craftsmaster of the year is announced
- House Councils - can be called by the Lord, the Steward or at least two Counselors. The Council helps the Lord make decisions and can even veto or undo the Lord's decisions with a 2/3rd majority. Any house members can appear at the council, but must be given leave to speak by the Steward as chairman of the Council (or by the acting chairman if the Steward is absent).
- Day of the Children - This is the day all young Esgarothians look forward to. The toy-makers of Taurdain create a large number of small presents for the children of the town. Any children assemble in the Taurdain Suites in costumes where they receive lantarns. In a parade they go through the town, returning for a light dinner, each plate served with a toy!
