Having devices on shields is a widespread custom, brought over from the earliest days, and never laid aside. These are usually worked into banners, though, or sometimes on very, very formal wear.
As for figures, those come and go in some places--this is partly fashion but sometimes law. In other words, sometimes royal houses and ducal houses are allowed to depict figures, but lower ranks have only various geometric patterns. If no figure is mentioned, there are geometric patterns, chevrons being most popular, and quarterings next.
Here's a quick list:
- Calahanras
- lighter violet and white
- Chamadis
- pale sky blue (closer to silver) and midnight blue--sometimes with an edge of purple.
- Colend
- in Lasva's day, sky blue and gold, stars. Colend's symbol has always been the lily, but it has taken many, many shapes over the centuries.
- Dantherei
- crimson and silver (swan?)
- Elsarion
- dark blue and white--gold--twined lilies, called kings-blossom, stylized crown
- Drath
- a princedom, wears purple and gold--gold being only a royal color
- Khanerenth
- in Inda's day, clover-leaf-and-crown
- Lygiera
- blue
- Marloven Hess
- black and gold, screaming eagle
- Merindar
- silver cup, gold/brown
- na Shagal
- symbol: swans (rb, p 306) colors deep purple and white (army wore blue coats in Bartal's day)
- Ralanor Veleth
- green and black w. pale gold
- Remalna
- green and gold
- Renselaeus
- blue, black, white (or silver)
- Sartor
- deep purple--sometimes white/silver (of disirad) but gold added--varied over centuries, four crowns. [No one else supposed to use Sartor's colors--but some do.]
- Savona
- crimson and black
- Sles Adran
- Na Shagal purple (Should be lavender/rose) and white (or silver) five-pointed crown
- Tlanth
- green and white
- Land of the Venn
- banner--the great Yggdrasil tree, green and white and blue and gold banner. The tree has become Ydrasal. (Their philosophy for expanding?) Honor is not quite it, it;s more their imperative for sailing out and expanding. Opposite of Rainorec, doom. The early version of the Eye and the Arm--Yaga (eye), Erama (arm)
- Zhavalieshin
- crimson and gold firebird