House Vadalis, Pets and the Chimeras of Eberron
Believe it or not, one of my favourite things about Eberron is that I see there being a great love of animals and living things in that world. Obviously, this isn't true everywhere, but you must consider the fact that of the twelve Super-Corporations operating in Eberron, one of the Dragonmarked Houses is House Vadalis, the House of Handling. An entire organization dedicated to breeding, understanding and caring for living things.
Now I tend to see House Vadalis as the House with the fewest out-and-out enemies amongst the other Dragonmarked Houses. There are a couple reasons for that. One is that they are the easiest to underestimate. They had many of the their operations on the fringes of Galifer, which now puts them outside of the Five Nations. The other Houses tend to see them as farmers and "animal people," not the type to get involved in politics or economics (nevermind that in Eberron's post war setting, that actually means Vadalis has a huge amount of political and economic power).
Part of it is that I see Vadalis as taking the Littlefinger approach to money and power. By using it, you can bred it and make more of it. Rather appropriate, isn't it? So how do bred their power and influence with the other Dragonmarked Houses, like say... House Deneith?
Art from Mythical Monsters Revisited
Art by Artist J
Now, I'll argue that if you didn't go "d'waahh" at the above images, you might want to check on the condition of your soul, because small animals, even ones that will be dangerous when they are older, and ones that are completely fantastical, are still incredibly cute as babies. How does House Vadalis bred influence with royalty, politicians, clergy, nobility and the other Houses? Not through their sometimes allies/sometimes enemies directly. They create that goodwill through their children.
"Congratulations on the birth of your son Lord Sadral! It is so wonderful to see the fortunes of House Deneith in Sharn continue. He seems to be such a wonderful young lad. House Vadalis wishes to express our feelings with a gift for the young lord. A clutch of chimeras was birthed not three month ago and this cub has weened on its mother for long enough to be separated from her. Now we know that the permits to own such a creature within the confines of the City of Towers are extensive, but we have taken the liberty of handling that for you. This young one's mother and father are both quite calm and he will be of no danger to the babe. Indeed, one day, this chimera may be your son's greatest companion and guardian, for the bond between them will be strong."
I'm sure most of us have seen how companies like Petland targets children and sucker them into forcing their parents to buy a pet. This is the dire, mythic version of that tactic. First, their's the implicit "We are doing somethings nice for you and I am sure you will return the favour" going on between the House and whatever party is involved. Second, parents get emotionally invested in pets that belong to their kids. Even if they fight it. Tooth and claw. Just ask my dad. This generates good will towards Vadalis and makes it more likely that they will become a long-term customer. Third, that kid will always remember having a pet in their home, which makes it more likely that they will continue to have pets, even after the previous one(s) have moved on to be with the Sovereigns. Childhood memories are powerful things, especially when it comes to your best friend and companion.
Finally, there is symbolism in those pets. You better believe that the first child born in House Thuranni received a baby displacer beast as a gift. For less exotic sigils, the symbolism still resonates. Having impressive heraldry is one thing, but having a living herald of your house standing beside you representing your family is totally different. That is the game that House Vadalis plays so well by providing living heralds for nobles. They tacitly acknowledge the superiority of the noble houses and make them feel good about themselves and their family fortunes, gaining for themselves many powerful allies.
You can also bet your bottom galifer that Vadalis vets (ha!) the recipients of these gifts very carefully. The last thing they want is a cruel master's habits turning their animal or magical beast aggressive and attacking their owner or an innocent. That would be terrible for business and completely undermine their strategy. Anyone receiving a magical beast, paid or no, would be doubly scrutinize since so many magical beasts are actually intelligent, even if they are not quite human level. While most pets are part of their families, this has to be literal when it comes to intelligent magical beasts, otherwise you'd be very close to dealing with slavery, which is prohibited in the majority of post-Galifer nations. A Chimera is intelligent and while they can be trained, you can't just yank it around on a chain. The trainer has to be trained too, and their has to be a respectful relationship between the Chimera and its handler, otherwise you'll get mauled to death.
So what would a Chimera in Eberron be like?
Um, no.
Better.
Good, evil, or anything in between, Chimeras are fierce creatures with large appetites. A wild Chimera is often a blight upon the areas in which they live and domesticated Chimeras can only be supported by the super rich, because they are almost always hungry and can eat anything. All three heads are fortunately controlled by the same mind, but each has a different feeding strategy. The goat head can eat plants, the lion head eats meat and the dragon head cracks bones. Each would then feed into a different stomach, which together meeting in the small intestine. All chimeras require space to fly and hunt. While they prefer temperate plains, they can be found almost anywhere with bushes.
Personality wise, chimeras have a bit of chip on their shoulder. They're none too smart, at least compared to a human, and have a tendency to whine and complain unless they are in a position of power. Often Vadalis handlers will attempt to make the chimera feel like it is coming up with its own plans, when in reality it is the humans who are feeding the ideas to them. Remember that they speak only Draconic, so their words may sound strange to human ears, although I suspect at least a decent number of humanoids can understand them.
Finally, I've always interpreted chimeras as having one of the closest relationships with the Dragonmarked Houses. I'm not entirely sure why, although I suspect it is because House Deneith's business of mercenary work and international law are greatly enhanced when the blademarks are backed by a three-headed, snarling dragon-beast.
Note: This is another article I’m transferring to this blog as part of the centralization of all of my writing. This time it is from @pathfindereberron. This is also one of my favourite things I’ve written, so hopefully you enjoyed it, even if Eberron isn’t your cup of tea.