Stephenie’s Father’s Coat-of-arms – part 1 of 5

Hi, I’m Stephenie from Ted’s novels Mother’s Curse and Daughter’s Justice. Ted and I have been discussing the importance of family and friends and I thought it might be fun to share a few things about my family that you probably don’t know.

I used to spend evenings listening to my father read or tell me stories. I enjoyed the tales of battles and conquest, but my favorites were about my ancestors and the adventures they had. I think he wanted me to learn and gain experience so I could grow wise and act with honor, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

My father’s motto has always been:

Honor through wisdom.

My father also has a coat-of-arms that he crafted to signify important people or events in his life. Each quadrant has heraldic symbols from different aspects of our family’s ancestry.

The black wolf on a green field came from early in the Marn family tree. King Stemin, my great, great, great-grandfather adopted the wolf, which signifies perseverance, to honor his father’s survival of the siege of Antar, which lasted almost two years.

The trident on a blue field came from my grandmother Kara’s grandfather Gravhir Enishson, who was King of Calis when Calis became a great naval power. This symbol of naval power came into my family when my grandfather, King Morgan, adopted the trident to honor his wife Kara and my father kept it to honor his mother.

The prestigious white hawk on a green field came from a more recent ancestor on my grandmother Kara’s side. It came from Duke Urlas Vercima of Esland. Duke Urlas was my great grandfather. He earned the symbol of the hawk from his king for persisting in the negotiation of a peace treaty with Belis, a smaller county on the Endless Sea.

You may not be aware if you haven’t read Ted’s books, but I don’t exactly like my mother. The final symbol was added when my father married her. Her father was King Richard of Kynto. He adopted the castle to show he provided safety to his people. However, his version of safety was through fear and intimidation. My father said he would use the castle to remind us that people deserve safety through honesty and integrity, not hate and lies. I don’t think he ever explained that to my mother.

Ted also has some interesting ancestors, including one who built a log cabin in some land called Wisconsin in the mid-1800s (I don’t know when that is, the is from some calendar I am not familiar with). The amazing part is the cabin still exists today, almost 150 years later! Probably because it was constructed using Norwegian shipbuilding skills.

Do you have a family or personal motto that you live by or a coat-of-arms (real or imagined)? Any interesting stories from your family’s history?

– Stephenie