June 08, 2025

All Around Lore - House Vaughn's Origins

Chiral Valley Noble Crest Beast Preview

The poll to decide which Greenguard Noble House would be featured in a Boss Release concluded last Saturday night with the Vaughns getting the most votes! Since the event itself won't go live until August, here's a sneak peek of what you're going to be facing in the heart of Chiral Valley!

In the sections below are the contents of the Lore books that will be featured in the actual release. I had text like this prepared for all of the Noble Houses in the poll. Don't fret if the one you voted for didn't win. All of them will be shown in-game eventually! The Vaughns just get an earlier turn.

The King of the Dark

Long long ago, before humans learned how to walk, they crawled. In the Dark woods of Chiral Valley, all manner of monsters and beasts viewed them as prey, and played with their food. 

Nightblind and frail, humankind clung to the meadows during the day, and cowered when the sun fell out of the sky. The forest was made of claws and teeth. Its children feasted on humankind.

One night, the bears would go on the hunt. Another night it would be the wolves. But humankind knew true terror when they were faced with the unknowable.

Chiral Valley gave birth to the King of the Dark. 

Crowned with golden antlers, he shone like the stars, wielding unbound, astral magic. Stepping out of Chiral Valley’s trees, the King preyed on humankind. But, he ate the beasts of Chiral Valley, too. Fire burned them to ash, ice froze them solid, and lightning rained on their heads like water. No one could hide, not in Darkness or Light - for the King loved the chase. He played with his food.

The humans had no option. To survive, they were forced to make a pact.

Every seven years, a newborn was offered to the King of the Dark. This sacrifice bound the King to a promise. Keep beasts far from humankind and ensure their peace. In exchange they would provide a playmate. He would play with them, and raise them, until they grew big enough to eat.

Though humankind finally had peace, the price cursed them with despair. 

When the bones piled higher than the tallest oak tree, a child without roots was born. They were given to the King of the Dark, but fire couldn’t burn them. Ice couldn’t touch their skin. Lightning fled from them. The first child bearing the name Vaughn grew big enough to tear out the King’s heart. It became the noble sword Aquitaine, and tasted first blood when the child beheaded their captor.

The Vaughns were crowned with the King of the Dark’s antlers, and the Black Armorial Fleur sprung from his corpse. Ever since then, the people of Chiral Valley have called the Vaughns their Heroes and Lords - The Hunt that Slays the Dark. 

“With a heart that’s pure, and a body lean, to the hunt I go, through the forest green.”

Lorekeeper Muusa's Interpretation

That legend is the oldest record we have regarding House Vaughn’s origins. Artists from all over the region have immortalized the story in tapestries and paintings. Though they all tell the same tale, every depiction is unique. The King of the Dark went on to have hundreds of different faces.

So, might I regale you with another version of House Vaughn's origin?

The whispers of the fae recount a very different tale. One where the beasts and monsters of Chiral Valley learned what terror was when humankind began to stand on two legs. They built their own settlements, forged weapons sharper than claws and teeth, and taught themselves how to wield the mana in their veins.

Then, Chiral Valley gave birth to the King of the Dark. Perhaps they were Elven, or even a human, or perhaps something else entirely. Whoever they were, the King was abandoned in the hollow of a tree. He never learned how to speak, but instinctively knew how to wield the elements with incredible ease. Mana flowed through their veins instead of blood, only becoming more potent as they grew.

As powerful as this being was, they were playful, curious, and quite destructive when their temper got the better of them. It’s reminiscent of the stories I’ve heard of Princess Tara. The similarities go even further, for the King of the Dark was lonely. Beasts were wary, the fae were scared, and the humans hated him.

Humankind approached the King of the Dark with blades, and were obliterated for their arrogance. Fire burned them to ash, ice froze them solid, and lightning rained on their heads like water. No one could hide, not in Darkness or Light.

Realizing that they had to kneel, the humans decided to offer a pact. A newborn was left out in the woods once every seven years for the King to take as a playmate. In exchange, he would protect their villages, and leave behind miraculous reagents and relics made from his unbound magic.

The King of the Dark raised the offerings as his own family. Despite his sincerity and care, they never grew to see their teens, for his magic would overwhelm their veins, and killed them as he cradled them in his arms. What happened sounds eerily similar to Mana Affliction. 

Though the King would despair over the deaths of the young ones, he could not stop himself from adopting more offerings. The empty darkness was soul crushingly lonely, so the cycle spiralled on and on.

Eventually, the humans decided they would stop giving up their own children. Instead, they captured outsiders, killed them, and gave the orphaned newborns to the King of the Dark. The last of these poor babies was the first who would bear the name Vaughn.

That child grew bigger and stronger, unaffected by the flow of mana. Fire couldn’t burn them. Ice couldn’t touch their skin. Lightning fled from them. Their adoptive father finally found someone that could put an end to the misery.

The King guided his child, urging them tear out his heart, and rip out his antlers. The heart became Aquitaine, the antlers became a Lord’s crown, and the King’s tears of joy ran black, transforming into the Armorial Black Fleur. With their new regalia, Vaughn returned to humankind and made the black hearted cowards beg for mercy.

This was how the Vaughns became the Hunt that Slays the Dark.

“With a heart that’s pure, and a body lean, to the hunt I go, through the forest green.”

Afterthoughts

I don't know if my interpretation is more or less true than the popularized legend. You have to decide with your own judgement. That said, the people of Chiral Valley know the Legend far better. If you find someone from Mobius, Bocklin, or Remedios that recall a tale similar to my interpretation, then you've likely run into a Changeling.

But there are more intriguing mysterious that both stories hint at.

A figure with a name like "The King of the Dark" would have you believe they're connected to Darkness. Anyone who calls Greenguard home would assume so, with how much Darkness has been used to terrorize them. The Elves I'm familiar with would feel the same. Considering the King of the Dark's abilities...I have my own theories, which you have likely guessed. 

That aside, this stories tell of how the Vaughns become Lords, but not where they came from. The root of the matter has yet to be found, hidden in the forest green.