#oakdown

Guard: *doesn't even acknowledges them*

Theta & Koschei (eldest) child (from a disastrous divorce): *holds up an Oakdown emblem* We are going in and you shall not let anyone else enter.

Guard: *trembling and nodding*

Theta & Koschei child: next time you decide not to let my half-sibling pass I will be sure Lord Oakdown hear about it. And believe me when I say he is not kind with people who mess with his youngest child.

Koschei: somehing stupid and pretentious like

I’m back with another DOCTOR WHO META on another of the Great Houses of Gallifrey. This time the house that my favorite villain, the Master, is from. 

Not much is known about this house, so PLEASE NOTE: This will mostly be my own headcanons and interpretations with this one. 

______________________________________

The House of Oakdown was only mentioned in the BBC Past Doctor’s Novel: Divided Loyalties and indirectly in The End of Time episode when the Master speaks of his father’s estates. 

Facts about House Oakdown: 

This is the only time Oakdown is mentioned in the book, Divided Loyalties.

Other things I’m adding as facts to Oakdown as supported by the Master’s childhood mentioned in the show include:

In the Episode, The End of Time, The Master says growing up on Gallifrey was not something one could call childhood, but "more a life of duty". He even goes on to explain how the Doctor and himself would play in the fields near the Master's father's estates, with pastures of red grass near Mount Perdition. 

The Master used to blame his mother and father for being discontented and angry. (Big Finish Audio: I Am The Master)

_____________________________________

Notable members of House Oakdown:

The Master

The Master’s Mother

The Master’s Father/Marnal (BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures: The Gallifrey Chronicles & The End of Time) 

The Master’s Daughter (The Witch’s Familiar)

_______________________________________

Media House Oakdown is mentioned in:

Divided Loyalties

________________________________________

My Conclusion about House Oakdown:

Being the huge Master fan I am, it’s kinda sad that we don’t have more exploration on the subject of his childhood or family home. So, I’ve developed some headcanons of my own to match with the little bit of information we have to go on above.

The Master’s Parents & the Drums: Obviously it seems he didn’t get along well with them and blames them for always being discontent and angry, which probably doesn’t help with the battle of the drums sounding in his head. With this line alone, it seems the Master didn’t have much of a support system early on in his childhood. He even says that growing up on Gallifrey wasn’t a childhood, but a life of duty, meaning they expected a lot of their possibly only heir. 

Lonely Semi-Rich Kid?: Now with the fact that the Master speaks of his “father’s estates”, implies that they might be a rich family, though not as rich and powerful as a house like Dvora or Tracolix. However, it’s never spoken of anything other than that. Obviously Oakdown follows the rules and scolds those who don’t as seen in Divided Loyalties. I also think that since the Master didn’t have such a great relationship with his parents that his only support system is in his life was his best friend, the Doctor aka Theta Sigma, hence why they became friends. I mean, they are practically a mirror to each other after all. 

Oakdown & the Master’s Fate: Despite being the same as the Doctor, the Master obviously started to take a different path in life from his friend, leaving Gallifrey and becoming a renegade trying to take over the universe. I honestly think this stems from the fact he had no control in his life, so this is him trying to gain it back. Obviously it’s not the right way, but he feels it’s the ONLY way to make things right, so that’s why he is the way he is. He wants to get a sense of control over his life because he didn’t have it growing up, so he controls, manipulates, and hypnotises, trying to take over the universe to bring control and order. As for the fate of Oakdown, it probably was lost in the war, but we will never really know. However, at least he gets revenge back at Rassilon for causing the Drumming all his life and using him as a means to return Gallifrey. YEAH!

I know other people have said this before BUT I have more to add so listen up

Oakdown is new money. They’re up and coming, very wealthy. Koschei is most likely the wealthiest of the Deca.

Lungbarrow, on the other hand, is old money, and losing their wealth status. The house is falling.

Before Theta Signa hit his growth spurt, Koschei would just sneak clothes that don’t fit him anymore into Theta’s closet.

House of Oakdown

This Newblood House is a member of the Prydon Chapter and is one of the most respected and noble Houses on Gallifrey. This House produced the Master.

V: Young And a Menace 

Koschei of House Oakdown is the sole remaining heir of an upwardly-mobile Great House of Gallifrey, among the lesser inheritors of Rassilon’s titles and accolades, and consisting of Karn blood.  The Oakdowns have much to prove, and the so-called “psychological aberrations” of their drum-hearing heir, in her first regeneration as a Time Lady, are a deep dark secret they’ll not soon divulge.  Koschei has lost her childhood best friend, Theta Sigma of House Lungbarrow, to a loveless arranged marriage, and has agreed to matrimonial vows of her own, in order to secure a position of power among Gallifrey’s elite, planning for a glorious future as, one by one, members of the Deca scatter to the winds.  She is cold, clever, and ruthless.  She is proving her mettle to a world that foolishly doubts and shuns her.  She is also a mother, and her daughter, Arcadia, will inherit her prodigal talents with telepathic manipulation.