I just finished this battle challenge, and I'm going fucking crazy
What a way to start Dragonfable's 20th anniversary month. I love how they brought back Sepulchure, this broken thing between him and Alteon that used to be deep friendship, and how Sepulchure is both lying and telling the truth: Valen is gone, but he was never truly lost
Related to my latest sketches about Valen Pulchure being the Hero's childhood hero, I totally wrote it as something comical because the realization happened during Book 3 for Joanne (during the final arc). But if you think about it more than five minutes this is a fun tragic prompt where you ended up fighting your own childhood hero who participated in the revolution that freed the kingdom you live in from tyranny. At the same time I love the idea that the Hero being similar to each of the Book's main antagonist
With Joanne too, it's also neat that Valen with Alteon and Lynaria freed the Kingdom from Slugwart's reign. Then Joanne with other heroes and fighters fighting against Shadowscythe and Joanne defeating Sepulchure (at a young age too even)
This post puts a spotlight on Houses Vaughn, Cavendish, Bligh, and Granville of Greenguard Queendom. In the near future, there will be an in-game vote where you choose one to be featured in a short Boss-Only release. It'll explore how the chosen House was established, and what the origin of their Crest is. That means you'll be fighting a Crest Beast. I recommend voting based lore mainly, but if you care more about cosmetics, base your vote on a House's aesthetics.
All of the crests, as well as house Vaughn's signature armor were designed by Lae. The design of the other noble families' signature armor haven't been decided yet, but will be assigned once a future release puts the spotlight on them.
House Vaughn
“House Vaughn of Greenguard have been the wardens of Chiral Valley for generations, preventing the expansion of the Sandsea, Doomwood, and Darkovia.” - Lorekeeper Maya
"Its Lord and Knights are so skilled that they're called the Immortals of the Battlefield. During the Rebellion, Duke Henry "Thronekeeper" Vaughn I was captain of the Kingsguard, and stayed loyal until his death by Sir Valen’s blade."
The remaining Vaughns have been stripped of their titles, and are essentially under house arrest because they didn't defect to Alteon’s side. The restrictions were tightened when Chaos Lord Escherion attacked Chiral Valley, and they were forced to watch helplessly.
"House Vaughn’s motto is “The Hunt Slays the Dark,” which proudly declares their duty to destroy the tides of Evil lapping against Greenguard’s borders. It rang hollow during the tyrant’s reign, but perhaps the younger generation can make things right."
"The current Lord Henry Vaughn III (call him H3 for short) admires the Hero of the Alliance a great deal. Should they approach him with a request, he will move mountains to fulfill it, but only if the Alteons let him."
When Lord Henry Vaughn III visited Balemorale, several Nobles and Knights tried to bully him into leaving by force. “Our ten against your five? I feel bad about how unfair this’ll be.” Lord Henry signaled his warriors to lower their blades. “Ten against me. Now it’s fair.”
"Henry III isn’t the only active member of the Vaughn family. I swear, Edward did this on purpose to drive me insane." - Lorekeeper Iamus
House Cavendish
“House Cavendish is comprised of the Lords of Sunset and Sunrise, who protect the lands and people in and around Darkovia. They reside just on the border, and defend the innocent from the creatures who lurk in the dark.” - Lorekeeper Maya
“Despite their personal goal of preventing the spread of endless night, many members of House Cavendish have an affinity for the Moon, and are rumored to be witches themselves. Note that the men of the family were raised as Warriors, but couldn’t ignore the call of magic.”
“Though the previous Lord Cavendish was one of King Dethrix's Generals, his wife found an opportunity to lock him outside of his castle, and took over - immediately siding with Alteon's rebels.”
“With Lord Cavendish's death at the hands of Sir Valen, Lady Catherine Cavendish became matriarch and fell in love with a baker, being the first of Alteon's court to marry a commoner. The King fought to have this union protected by law.”
"The deceased Lord Cavendish was known to attack the Vampires and Lycans of Darkovia, but Lady Cavendish has taken a more peaceful approach. Her daughter often acts as a mediator between humans and those of the night."
House Cavendish’s motto is “What Begins…Must End,” now considered a spoken cliche. It isn't a phrase meant to rally an army. Their motto and crest actually symbolize how their family resides between the Sun and Moon."
House Bligh
“The Noble House of Bligh were powerful Mages who were said to be able to grant any wish. Even experts from Arcangrove and Dragonrune Hall couldn't quite place the origin of the Bligh's ‘forbidden’ magic.”
“Arcangrove was within their jurisdiction, and they were consulted by magic practitioners from all over Greenguard. Yes, their spells were considered profane…but they held a vast wealth of knowledge and were generous about sharing.”
“Even more dangerous, the Blighs were charismatic. “Fun” to the point where even the most moral of Mages found themselves indulging in rituals that required the tears and terror of others.”
"Before Alteon - Whenever the royal family had a problem, they went to the Blighs for advice, blessings, curses, and at one point - marriage. Queen Marjorie Drakath was a Bligh, and was Dethrix Drakath II's grandmother.”
Pictured: The Royal Drakath crest prior to Dethrix I.
“This was possibly why the Blighs were fiercely loyal to the Tyrant King. Duke Lucas Bligh became a Court Magus out of his own free will and gave his life in a last ditch effort to quell the rebellion.”
“Lucas’ death marked the complete eradication of House Bligh…or so it seemed. The spectre of their influence hangs over Arcangrove and Dragonrune Hall - their edifices and libraries built on Bligh generosity.”
“House Bligh’s motto is “See the Stars, They Yearn for Us.” An arrogant declaration to be sure…but there’s something foreboding about it. Their Crest even more so. Is it the gaze of a star? Or is it…a familiar eye?” - Lorekeeper Muusa
House Granville
“As soon as the rebellion began, House Granville joined Alden Alteon in the battle against King Dethrix I. For their honor, valor, and loyalty, they were given custody of the lands surrounding Swordhaven - The Sea of Trees.”
“Some whisper that they're opportunists who decided King Dethrix was likely to lose the war, and took the rebels’ side - not out of principle, but greed. If that’s true, they chose correctly. The Granville’s territory is now the largest out of all the noble houses.” - Lorekeeper Maya
“There's an anecdote about how the Lords of Granville would wait until the real warriors tire themselves fighting each other, before jumping in to plunge knives into their throats - winning the glory of the final blow.”
“It’s not just combat or battle. Many took note of Lord Granville’s relentlessness when it came to finding his daughter a worthy match. He only stopped when Nialla became a trusted confidant of the royal family.”
“That said, people have tested their blade against the current old Lord Granville - and came to regret it after waking up with two black eyes and an upside-down nose. Perhaps the Granvilles are just smart on top of strong.”
“Blades and Blood. No Alternatives.” The motto of House Granville sounds aggressive, but all of its Lords have interpreted it differently. The current Granvilles see it as a call to action. To forge golden age, you must act. There is no alternative.”
“As for the crest, the brave knight is a constant, but they never rest easy on their laurels. The beast this warrior stabs with their lance constantly changes. It’s currently a lion as a jab at the Lionfangs.”
“Following the fall of House Lionfang, the Alteons gave jurisdiction over all that they had to the Granvilles. In a way, the Granvilles conquered the Lion without lifting a finger, but they know and respect the Hero they owe this victory to.”
"By the way, Jadzia and I were chatting about the nobles when the Granvilles came up. Shakaz was nearby, and I felt the air get sucked out of the room. He got up, left, and I almost threw up from anxiety. He might have some beef with the Granvilles." - Hans
Man how awkward must it have been for Alteon to interact with Gravelyn. Like surely he realized who Gravelyn’s mom was. He knew Valen was super in love with Lynaria and she apparently was with Sepuchure long enough to have a kid. He had to have connected the dots.
And what a revelation, your dead wife had a secret kid with your ex-best friend who’s now super evil who also ultimately killed said dead wife. And then said best friend is killed in front of you by the child of the tyrant you three overthrew together.
Now you have to make an alliance with this angry barely adult girl who looks exactly like her dead parents. And she’s trying to be mature and cold but she’s a child, their child, who wants to avenge and be like her evil dad. How do you even act in this situation??
And then you get captured by your own evil general and she comes to save you and you jump in front to defend her when Lionfang tries to kill her.
I just played through the latest quest in the main story in DF and... wow. It was amazing. :D Spoilery thoughts below:
1. Alteon finally accepts that he shouldn’t have listened to Jaania and that she manipulated him, and decides to become a Hero again and confront her. Can’t wait to see him in action.
2. The Gnomes are working for Jaania now... I’m not sure if Jaania is being sincere or not when she tells that gnome that she is trying to make amends for what happened to Propsprocket. It feels like it could be a trick.
3. I’m so happy that I was right about Jaania being broken. I remember writing my thoughts about that in a previous DF post.
4. I’m relieved that we finally got some clarification on certain things that were previously left ambiguous, like Kara’s opinion on Jaania and what she realised after she met her during her captivity.
5. The Warlic and Alex cameo at the very end was a surprise. I guess they will still play a role in the future, since they were once both friends with Jaania and probably knew her well.
Overall, I’m pretty intrigued about where this is going. It feels like we’re in the last stretches of this storyline, since Alteon is finally taking action, things about Jaania are finally being explained, and there’s more talk about stopping Jaania.
Hopefully it’ll all end soon. I have been enjoying the Book 3 main storyline but it’s gone on for so long that I’m getting a bit tired waiting for the story to progress. I just want to see how it ends already.
A concept: When Valen and Alden had their duel for Lynaria’s hand she stopped them because 1 they’re being stupid and 2 she’s polyamorous and if they’re willing to put up with each other then she sees no reason not to have them both
and so the princesses grow up having a mom a dad and a valen and they are eternally grossed out by how mushy their parents are at least til lynaria’s kidnapped and valen fucking dies
This weekend I sat down and played AQW for real for the first time in God knows how many years. Even though I have always been a main Dragonfable player — and I am partial to its gameplay and storytelling — I just had so much fun. It was so nostalgic in the best way
I snorted the Valen / Sepulchure, Lynaria, Alteon, and Drakath storyline like it was cocaine
It was so cool to play and replay the backstory events alluded to in Dragonfable, and my god I just love these characters and their Arthurian themes
It's both endearing and amusing how there are so many retcons stacked on top of retcons, similar to how the actual Arthurian stories developed
There are many things I like and some I really dislike, but I do think that the more recent releases brought the story to its best written and most emotional level
