The Ynnraile Coat of Arms is part of the bloody legacy of Niphton Kres, the Elwy warlord who invaded Goldendown a few years after the Brookshirean conquest. Kres, known as the Prince of Pain for his shocking barbarity, rarely suffered defeated enemies to remain alive. But when he did, he ensured that they would never trouble him again by cutting off their sword arms.
During his first few battles, he merely left the severed limbs to rot. But soon he began taking them as grisly mementos of his victories. As his reputation spread, he realized it was in his best interests to project as fearsome an appearance as possible, and thus would occasionally display them before enemies in the hopes of cowing them to surrender. For this purpose, he instructed his tanners to develop a method to preserve them from rot, and they were wildly successful.
This led to Kres' most famous and most brutal creation. After a particularly awful battle, he ordered his realm's greatest tailor to sew the severed arms together into a coat. When he wore his foes' severed limbs into battle, the opposing army would often simply turn and run, so fearsome was his appearance. And when he did give battle, the bones in the coat were better than even chain mail at deflecting swords and arrows.
Kres eventually submitted to the Kaiser of Shireroth, after realizing there was no other option. He reigned briefly as Count of Diarsanta, and then died. His infamous coat passed down to his descendants. Eventually, his great-grandson, Habtor Kres, murdered one of the Kaiser's emissaries, and in the resulting struggle an army led by Gwynnlir Wintersong and Unnros Au subdued Goldendown and put the Kres dynasty to an end. Their many treasures were given as spoils to the victorious army, and the Coat of Arms, which was, by this point, already a legend, went to Gwynnlir. She brought it back to Wintersong Keep, where it was put on display for the populace.
Even today, the Coat of Arms remains on display in the Museum of Baronial History in Avakair. Though the original arms have long since decayed down to the bones, it was restored during the reign of Kaiseress Carol I using plaster of paris and looks to the casual inpsector just as it did during Kres' time. It is now classified as a National Historical Treasure of Shireroth - one of only a few from the Ynnraile area - and is a source of Ynnraile pride. Cartoonish caricatures of Kres in his coat are one of the most popular symbols and souvenirs of the Goldendown area.
