For all accounts, House Gaspard is a fairly recent house in Ishgard's long and bloody history. Originally stemming from a knight that served under a house that has long since folded, the originator of House Gaspard was offered land and title for his prowess in battle against wyrm and scalekin alike. He ended up taking a commoner as his wife shortly after his ceremony, and had several children.
The family line seems very straightforward for a few generations, those in its employ faithfully serving the church, or focusing on the people in its rapidly growing territory. Gaspard soon found itself a hub of activity for those who could not enter Ishgard proper, be it because of their outlander heritage, or simply a disdain for the city. Regardless of their reasons, their hands found work tilling the soil or fishing along the river waters, and trade flourished.
The next lord of note would be Lonato de Gaspard, who was born to two devout parents, one of whom was a preacher for Gaspard's small church. The boy quickly grew to be skilled in chocobo riding and mounted warfare. Due to being a quick study of both warfare and politics, Lonato, quickly found himself a squire underneath a knight from House Blaiddyd. Here he served faithfully for many years, up until he found his own wife who quickly bore him a son, Christrophe. It was not long after Christophe's fifth nameday that Lonato's father passed into the Fury's halls, and Lonato became Lord of the lands of Gaspard. This saw him retiring from his wartime service to focus on his new land and his heir, who rumors said that he learned to hold a sword before he could toddle.
Lonato was beloved by his people, and he loved them back in turn. It is said that the lord, then in his middle ages, could commonly be found among the smallfolk. Be it tilling the fields or tasting bread from a recently opened bakery, the lord's praises were always sung by whomever he met.
It was five years later that the plague came. It began as a cough at first. Then boils. The delirium set in not long after. It struck both young and old with equal fervor along the western side of their boarder. The Holy See praised the lord in his quick handling of the situation, of blockading the villages affected until what was seen as Halone's Wrath had burned itself out.
And burned itself out it had. It is said that those villages are still a graveyard. Skeletons now buried under snow while laying in the streets, or laying among burned out homes of those who had been seen as the source.
Those that did survive after the curtains were lifted were considered unclean, cursed by The Fury herself. Why else would they have such sharp teeth, or pale hair, if they were not the subject of The Fury's ire? These refugees quickly settled into the underside of the villages, and mostly sunk into obscurity aside from the rare occasion one of these beastly outcasts were seen in the bed of a traveling knight.
These outcasts would be nothing more than a footnote, if for Lord Lonato suddenly taking in three young children and formally adopting them as his own. While this would normally not cause much fuss, the outrage came from the children's long tails and sharp teeth. The adopted miqo'te were quickly deemed 'The Beastly Children of Gaspard', and while the eldest daughter was constantly by Lonato's side, they were shunned by most other visiting families.
Still, Lonato strove to give his new children the best education he could. Quickly going from illiterate kits to fine young children, Lonato was fond of taking them to parties and gatherings to show off what they had learned.
But the true star of these gatherings was Christophe. Long of ear and charming, he was a prime candidate for many marriages and knightships in the area. When he left for the capital, Ishgard, he left swearing he would bring fame to their lands. It was not long before the young man was inducted into the Temple Knights.
And fame he did bring, in the form of claymores and long excursions. Christophe found his calling in the city, and while his father never could quite understand the boy's weapon choice, Lonato supported him nonetheless. Lonato's son brought along high expectations, and one of his childhood friends from a minor noble house rose up in the ranks with him. However, the once spirited young man grew bitter over time, questioning the church and those it sought to punish.
He supported the young elezen to the very end, allowing Inquisitors to paw through his records, to question his adopted children, to question him. But despite this support, Christophe had turned his blade on his superior officer in defense of a heretic. It was said that he spouted rhetoric against the church, against the Temple Knight creed, against those he swore to protect. His blade found the neck of a fellow knight, and from then his fate was sealed. Properly arrested, his execution was set for not long after that.
It is said that when Lonato watched his son swing from the gallows, a husk of who he was, the lord became hollow himself.
The lord never was the same. While still kind, there was a distance in his voice. The two youngest adopted children were seen less and less, but the eldest daughter would be by Lonato's side. She would be seen holding his hand, and servants that survived the events to follow said they would see the girl and Lonato in the gardens at night.
And she would sing.
They would not be able to tell the language, but word said that Lonato's steps would be lighter for the next couple of days. The limp that acted up in the cold winter months would leave him be.
Perhaps that is why Lonato asked the girl to sing to the townsfolk before the letters of revolution reached Ishgard, for the smallfolk fought against Temple Knights as if they felt no pain.
Those that came to crush the rebellion said that those that fought fought like men possessed. They would continue to shuffle to their feet regardless of their injuries, reaching and grabbing at anything they could get their bloody fingers. But no man is immortal, and come dawn, the rebellion was over as soon as it had started.
Some say it was a knight of House Blaiddyd who slew the grief stricken Lord Lonato. Others say it was one of his beastly children, chewing on his bloodied throat when the knights managed to break down the castle doors. Those that survived the initial slaughter, gasping on their death beds, blamed the beast and her sweet song. It had filled them with confidence they had never felt before, a warmth that sunk deeper than any sermon the Halonic priest could offer.
The questioning of the adopted children was almost endless, but the Inquisitors had long since come to a decision. The beasts would be dropped come next dawn, and no one would be surprised if they sprouted wings and took to the skies. There is still debate among the soldiers that day, about who was to blame. Some say the eldest child picked their pockets. Others say she sold pieces of herself for their words. But no matter how much they searched, they never could find the creatures. They stole away in the night, the beastly daughter and her two younger kits, never to be seen again.
No one wanted the land for the longest time, due to its unholy history, so there it festered.
There it sat, come the calamity. Many attempts to re-settle it were made by small lords, but all met the same misfortunes. Bitter cold in summer, blighted crops, tales of ghosts wailing into the night while those attempted to sleep.
There it rotted, groaning under the frost come the war on their doorsteps. Attempts to live in Gaspard were abandoned, the fertile soil quickly becoming buried under snow and ice.
There it crumbled, come the end, with talk of their House of Lords and House of Commons.
It is then that two outsiders, those that had helped with supplying the end of the war effort, came to the councilmen with a plan. One with a smooth tongue and bright green eyes, another with a voice that could make even the most seasoned of veteran's knees buckle. No one is quite sure what was said in the meeting, for the lords pressed their lips together firm. Be it collective shame, or be it something more, the councilmen remain mum.
The two outsiders emerged with rights and dulled crown to a home long taken. It is said that the young lord's laugh could stir even the deepest cracks of the Fury's halls as he picked up his companion and spun him round.
History
October 19th, 2022
February 12th, 2023
Word count: 1,481