House Vadalis — Services & Prices

"You see a horse. I see which leg will give out first, which nostril is tracking something you haven't noticed yet, and whether she likes you. The Mark doesn't give me that. Years in a saddle gives me that. The Mark just means she'll tell me herself if I ask." — Myrana Grayswift, tribex rancher, Delethorn

Mark: Handling | Guild: Handler's Guild | Symbol: The Hippogriff

House Vadalis is the dragonmarked house of the Mark of Handling. Its services span dragonmark-assisted animal training and behavior, the breeding and sale of magebred creatures, the acquisition and containment of exotic and dangerous beasts, and the licensing and veterinary oversight of most of Khorvaire's livestock economy. Vadalis charges for mark-bearing handlers performing conditioning and behavioral work, for magebred animals produced through generational breeding programs, and for the expertise and care its guild agents provide to licensed farms outside the family.

Prices are listed in gold pieces (gp). Exotic species, frontier delivery, and specialized trait commissions may increase costs significantly. Availability varies by location — Vadalis's most important outposts are often in smaller communities rather than major cities, and some services are only performed at specific enclaves.

A note on the Handler's Guild: Unlike Cannith, which operates through fixed forgeholds and guild offices, Vadalis's business is the house. Every Vadalis outpost is a working ranch or farm. The Handler's Guild is an outreach and licensing body — its agents are largely itinerant, traveling between externally owned farms to perform inspections and provide expertise. A Handler's Guild seal on a farm or stable is an assurance that the establishment meets Vadalis health and safety standards; it does not mean the farm is Vadalis-owned or staffed by heirs. Most licensed farms in the Five Nations are run by independent operators paying annual licensing fees to Vadalis.

From the Handler's Guild licensing agreement, standard preamble:

"The Handler's Guild seal is granted upon inspection and revoked upon failure. It certifies that the licensee's facility meets current standards of animal health, humane handling, and sanitary practice as established by House Vadalis. It does not constitute ownership, partnership, or guarantee of financial obligation on the part of House Vadalis. Unauthorized display of the hippogriff seal is punishable under the trade charter of the Twelve."

What Vadalis Will and Won't Do

The house will: sell magebred animals to any client with coin and no disqualifying restriction on that species; train animals for any lawful purpose and provide veterinary care regardless of the animal's origin; license its standards and expertise to independent farmers; capture and transport exotic creatures under contract; and perform mark-assisted breeding consultation.

The house will not: magebreed sentient species, officially. It will not sell unrestricted breeding rights to enhanced magebred lines — enhanced creatures are sterilized before sale, and possession of unsanctioned breeding stock voids all contracts. It will not provide innovative magebreeding services to outside clients; such work is conducted internally or in collaboration with the Twelve under conditions the house controls. It will not perform acquisition work in Valenar. Any "offer" to obtain Tairnadal horses or beasts is either a fraud or will create a diplomatic incident — Vadalis has been burned here before, and the house's senior leadership will not sanction it. Experimental programs involving humanoid subjects do not exist, officially; the house denies it and will not discuss it.

I. Dragonmarked Handling Services

The Mark of Handling allows its bearer to speak with any beast, to calm or compel behavior, and to influence the instincts of creatures that would otherwise be unmanageable. Handling services require a mark-bearer and are performed at Vadalis facilities or approved client sites. They are not ritual services in the Cannith sense — a skilled handler can work a stable all day — but complex conditioning and behavioral work is intensive and priced by the week or engagement.

Mark-assisted handling improves reliability, not absolute obedience — a trained animal is still an animal, and the mark grants dominion, not puppetry. Intelligent or dangerous creatures require an ethics review before engagement. Awakened beast liaison services are offered at enclaves with known Awakened residents, primarily Grayswift-affiliated outposts; Vadalis does not offer Awakening as a service to outside clients.

II. Veterinary & Animal Care

Vadalis provides veterinary services at its own enclaves and through Handler's Guild-licensed practitioners. Advanced procedures are typically offered in collaboration with House Jorasco at major facilities.

Magical treatments incur a standard 10% Jorasco liaison surcharge at facilities operating under a joint arrangement. Boarding includes exercise and behavioral monitoring. Detailed lineage records are maintained at all Vadalis enclaves; the Foalswood archives hold records of every innovative magebreeding attempt ever conducted.

III. Magebred Animals

Magebreeding is Vadalis's most famous — and most scrutinized — specialty. Magebred creatures are living beings shaped by arcane heredity across multiple generations; they are not constructs, and they are not produced on demand. The house distinguishes between three categories:

Incremental magebreeding is generational selection producing improved breeds suited to specific roles — comparable to the work of skilled mundane breeders, but faster and more precise. The result is a reliable line with a particular trait: enhanced stamina, improved obedience, superior tracking. The Riding Tribex and the Goldenfowl are clean examples.

Enhanced magebreeding uses dragonshard focus items and mark-based transmutation rituals to imbue a line with minor supernatural traits — increased strength and constitution, heightened senses, specific damage resistances, unusual appearance. Enhanced creatures are sturdier and more trainable than even the best incremental breeds. They are sterilized before sale.

Innovative magebreeding is the creation of entirely new species or the application of dramatic supernatural characteristics to an existing creature. Hippogriffs, Pegasi (Vadalis Pegasi are monstrosities, not celestials), and the Tressym represent the public successes of this program. Innovative work is conducted only within house enclaves or in collaboration with the Twelve — it is not a commissioned service for outside clients.

From a Vadalis enclave sales brochure, Shavalant edition:

"The Redleaf Harrier: a magebred hound bred for speed, endurance, and an uncanny nose. Every Redleaf tracks true. Every Redleaf returns. The house stands behind the line — and has for seven generations."

A. Standard Magebred Stock

These creatures are available at major Vadalis enclaves and through licensed dealers. Enhanced versions command the prices below; incremental breeds are priced closer to mundane equivalents.

B. Exotic and Military Mounts

Vadalis supplies flying mounts to all nations and mercenary forces. Hippogriffs are the most common Vadalis flying mount used across Khorvaire; griffons are tougher and more prized as strike mounts. Pegasi are exceptional, rare, and cannot be compelled into service — Pegasus Spire near Sharn is one of the few facilities that trains them, and Breland maintains an elite pegasus rider force.

Magebred creatures cannot reproduce true without Vadalis oversight; enhanced stock is sterilized before sale. Unrestricted flight on hippogriffs doubles base cost. Some nations restrict import or sale of military magebred animals; Vadalis will not fulfill contracts that lack proper authorization. Sentient species are never magebred.

IV. Exotic Acquisition & Containment

Balinor's Blessed are Vadalis's elite capture-and-acquisition unit — hunters trained to locate, contain, and transport monstrosities and dangerous beasts. When a magebreeding program requires a catoblepas or a magebreeder needs a live bulette specimen, the Blessed are dispatched. They have conducted operations into the Mournland and the jungles of Xen'drik. They will not operate in Valenar.

For less extraordinary acquisition needs, Vadalis maintains trained capture teams that work in partnership with House Tharashk for tracking and location services.

Reinforced enclosures are required for dire and exotic beasts; Vadalis will specify and certify enclosure standards. Sentient creatures are excluded. Xen'drik and the Seren Isles incur hazard premiums. The Blessed do not take private contracts from outside clients; their work is directed by house leadership.

V. Agricultural & Licensing Services

Vadalis underpins the livestock economy of the Five Nations through its licensing network. Independent farms operating under the Handler's Guild seal agree to Vadalis health and quality standards, submit to periodic inspection, and receive access to Vadalis-bred stock, veterinary resources, and expert guidance in return.

Lineage licenses include inspections and audits. Trait stabilization requires Eberron dragonshard components; shortages delay service. Unauthorized breeding of enhanced Vadalis stock voids all contracts and may result in the forfeiture of the animal. Vadalis is legally a tenant under the Korth Edicts, not a landowner; its licensing authority derives from house reputation and the Twelve's recognition, not sovereign title.

Notice posted at a Handler's Guild-licensed stable outside Wroat:

"ALL MAGEBRED STOCK ON THESE PREMISES IS STERILIZED AND UNDER VADALIS CONTRACT. Attempts to breed, crossbreed, or magically replicate any animal bearing the hippogriff brand without written authorization from the Handler's Guild will result in immediate forfeiture of the animal, revocation of guild license, and referral to the Twelve's arbitration court. We are not unreasonable people, but we are serious ones."

VI. Hirelings & Specialists

Vadalis hirelings work to house standards and maintain loyalty to the house, not to clients. They cannot be directed to perform unauthorized breeding, to circumvent Vadalis contracts, or to acquire restricted species. A hireling who witnesses a client violating house terms is expected to report it. Senior breeding directors and Blessed-affiliated specialists are not available for general hire; access requires an established house relationship.

Conversation between two Vadalis trainers overheard at the Shavalant enclave, 997 YK:

"The client wants his warhorse trained to charge into fire." "The horse doesn't want to charge into fire." "I told him that. He said, 'That's what I'm paying you for.'" "And?" "I told him the horse is smarter than he is, and I tend to agree with the horse."