House of Marks
The House of Marks is one of the oldest noble families in the Northwestern Empire, along with the House of Drake, House of Kallistos, and House of Illikoni, and they are also among the founding families of Illikon. An old and proud house, the House of Marks traces its lineage back to nobility in the Imperial Heartland. How they ended up in the Northwest instead is a attributed to a young patron of the family swearing fealty to a member of the Illikoni house before Illikon itself was even founded, as did many other Northwestern nobles. The House of Marks rules the city of Eloh. Their current patron is Cassius Marks, not to be confused with one of his sons well known in Illikon: Cassian Marks.
Heraldry
The heraldry of the House of Marks is a bright blue fish on a field of yellow, generally with silver trim. They decorate much of their architecture and armor in fishes, sometimes in sets of three, and fins adorn most of their family helmets.
Ancestors
The House of Marks traces their heritage back to ancient warriors in the plains of the Achaean Heartlands. They claim their ancestors originally hailed from Coronaria itself and ruled assorted farmlands in the surrounding area. When the House of Illikoni traveled northward to settle new lands, the ancestors of the Marks family went with them and several other noble houses. When the first cities were established, the House of Marks claimed the mountainous regions just west of the Forest of Shadows, determined to create a mining city there and become rich off the wealth of precious metals in the mountains.
Present Day
Today, the House of Marks rules over Eloh and its surrounding farmlands, as well as overseeing some woodlands in the area. They are among the richer of the noble families in the Northwest. They, like their counterparts, frequently spend time in Illikon - though Cassius Marks, head of the house, spends far less time there than does one of his sons, Cassian, who married Anne Drake, eldest daughter of Warren Drake. The House of Marks has a reputation for being shrewd traders and, more negatively, they are sometimes accused of hoarding their great wealth.
