Fighting Households of Ealdormere
The Fighting Households of Ealdormere are six large households in Ealdormere which provide a large number of fighters to her army at the Pennsic War. These Houses include House Blacksword, House Fettered Fleur, House de Taahe, House Hrogn, the Marine Guard, and the Ealdormerean branch of the Rozakii.
Traditionally, these Houses fight as units (especially in melees) wearing tabards or surcoats bearing their household arms, to the exclusion of all other arms. In some cases, particularly noted warriors wear tabards with personal arms and household arms quartered.
However, in A.S. XL, King Aaron of Ealdormere issued a request at his coronation directed specifically at the Fighting Households of Ealdormere, encouraging them to make and wear tabards bearing the Kingdom's arms in time for the Pennsic War.
Fighters from other households do, of course, fight in Ealdormere, as do fighters belonging to no house at all. However, these fighters to wear their own arms into battle. Admission into one of the "fighting houses" is reletively easy, (although it varies from house to house) and there have been some complaints by newer fighters that they feel "peer pressure" to join a house if they want to fight. However, no fighting household actively solicits membership, beyond letting unaligned fighters know that membership is available at request.