House of Darkwood
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The House of Darkwood is a noble heartlander house from the Holy Orenian Empire. Members from this house are notable for their service to the Imperial State Army & other branches of the imperial government. In 1808, the title of Baron of Darkwood was given to Velhrun Darkwood for his loyalty & long service to the Empire. While the title Baron of Darkwood once belonged to House of Horen & House of Okenhert, House Darkwood shares no common bloodline with either of the two houses.
Contents
History
Arcas
House Darkwood first emerged on Arcas when Velhrun Darkwood arrived in Helena & joined the Imperial State Army in 1760, the same year the Rubern War ended. Undoubtedly, Velhrun rose quickly through the ranks of Recruit & Private as he caught the eye of several military officers for his talent of military strategy. It was during the Battle of Boomhill in 1764 where Velhrun's work went widespread throughout the military, even catching General Alren DeNurem's attention as he drew up various strategies for assaulting the Boomhill encampment.
For the next decade, Darkwood continued serving the Empire through multiple recon, patrol & special operations missions. All of this saw him a promotion to Captain of the 3rd Brigade upon the former captain Peter d'Arkent's ascension to imperial general. It was then in 1775 the Sutican War broke loose. The Captain spent sleepless nights committed to defending the outskirts of Helena where the ferrymen frequently roamed. On multiple occasions, Velhrun helped lead small scall skirmishes with the bandanna-wearing foes.
The Sutican War came to a close in favor of the Inferi War which ravaged the Korvassian desert & threatened an invasion upon mainland Arcas. It was here where Velhrun's talents were put to great use. Over a dozen recon missions were led by the Captain throughout the war. Along with this, the Captain led various missions, soldiers, in his unit deemed as suicidal. Fortunately for both Velhrun & his units, no fatal wounds were inflicted on those involved. Around this time, Velhrun was promoted to Major along with keeping his role as Captain of the 3rd Brigade until 1794 when Jacquelyn Cenobia took over his position.
Almaris
When Arcas collapsed, House Darkwood followed the rest of the descendants to Almaris where he then settled down in Providence, Oren which is the same place the Imperial State Army made its new home. Velhrun Darkwood retained his position as Major in the Imperial State Army & continued to lead units against the banditry attacks Providence experienced between 1796 & 1801.
It was during this time, Velhrun's son, George S Darkwood made his appearance as a Cadet in the military. George quickly rose up the ranks to Captain of the Second Brigade where he commanded for a few years before eventually leaving the army & joining the Ministry of Justice where he eventually become Assistant Solicitor-General.
In 1808, Velhrun Darkwood was issued letters for the Barony of Darkwood [1] which elevated his house to the nobility of the Holy Orenian Empire. It was in the same year the Edict of Sunholdt [2] which stated "...with respect to ‘unlanded’ peers (henceforth categorized as Barons of the Empire), who shall be limited to the rank of baron and no higher, and shall have, in place of a territorial designation, the surname of the individual for whom the letters were originally issued" thus limiting the House of Darkwood to baronial status until they obtained land within the imperial realm. With the letters for the Barony of Darkwood also came Velhrun taking the imperial name, William.
In 1812 the now William Darkwood, took upon the role of General of the Imperial State Army,submitting and completing serveral reforms to the brigade system it held. He lead the Holy Orenian Empire through the Tenth Nordling War to a decisive victory solidifying his name as a great General of Imperial State Army. However only a few years after this victory he fell victim to illness and passed on his title as Baron to George S Darkwood.
George held the title of Assistant Solicitor-General until the MOJ was taken over by one Rev Vuiller, who made several reforms, causing George to retire at his grand age. He spent his last decades trying to resolve the infighting the family was experiencing between George's own children. His eldest, Charles decided he did not want to inherit the Barony and left with his wife Adrianna Barclay and their son Lorenz Darkwood. William Darkwood, the second oldest, was disinherited dying soon after this occured, this meant the youngest child, Quinn was left to inherit the title of Barony, of which he did, when his father subsequently died years after the infighting ceased.
Quinn took up the mantle of Baron of Darkwood, and using his family's experience and childhood training joined the Imperial State Army, working his way up quickly achieveing the rank of Captain of the Second Brigade. He married Roberta Galbraith solidifying the two family's strong relationships as they welcomed Drako Darkwood into the world and soon after the other three children, Viktor, Seraphina and Garret. Soon after they were born Baron Quinn became Viscount Darkwood as the family received Viscomital letters [2] for their prolonged service to the Empire.
Quinn acheived the rank of Major in the Imperial State Army, however this was short lived. The youthful teen, Drako Darkwood found his father's body dead outside their house, killed by bandits in 1867. After a grueling few years Emperor Phillip III decided that he put faith in the young boy and demote the family of only the boy and his siblings, to a Barony instead of removing the peerage as was suggested. Drako worked hard for those months, even though he was so young, this being noted by his cousin Orelia, who would eventually visit him to discuss the forgotten history of their family. Together they made a pledge to continue the investigation of this history and work to rebuild the family.
The effort they put in, however, was completely in vain as mere months later Emperor Phillip III died and his son, Fredrick Charles Novellen, attempted to usurp his brother Emperor Peter IV and form the Kingdom of Oren. Both Drako and Orelia had fundamentally opposing views on who they should fight for during the Brother's War and went their seperate ways as Drako took his family to Fort Imperium to fight with the Imperialists. While they were there, the Darkwood manor was burnt down by the Galbraiths and Rivians, thereby initiating a longstanding grudge the Darkwoods would not soon forget.
Upon the loss of the Loyalists at the Battle of New Providence, the Darkwoods joined the mass exodus of the Loyalists, following the future King John I of Balian to the south. There the Darkwoods found themselves a new home, eventually purchasing the Tavern there, as the family grew in status and reputation over Almaris, making various familial connections and marriages, namely to Vuiller and Bishop, they would gain the new title of Viscounty of Renduzzo, having previously been Barony of Renduzzo.
Notable Members
- Sir Velhrun Darkwood: Taking the imperial first name William, Velhrun was the General in the Imperial State Army & Captain of the Third Brigade. He possessed two titles, one as Knight of the Order of the Lion which he was given as a reward for his work during the Inferi War and the second being Baron of Darkwood which he was given in 1808 by Emperor Joseph II.
- George S. Darkwood: The son of Velhrun Darkwood, George held the position of Assistant Solicitor-General of the Ministry of Justice. Prior to him working at the Ministry, George served as Captain for the Imperial State Army's second brigade where his duty was to train recruits & cadets. George was the second Baron of Darkwood upon his father's passing.
- Quinn Darkwood: The third son of George Darkwood, George held the position of Major within the Imperial State Army, helping in many of the reforms it underwent in it's final years of existence. Quinn was the Third Baron of Darkwood upon his father's passing, and eventually progress to being the First Viscount of Darkwood with the ascent of Emperor Phillip II.
- Drako Darkwood: The first son of Quinn Darkwood, Drako led the family's exodus to the Kingdom of Balian, eventually becomming a Leftenant in the Company of Balian, Royal Smith and Taverneer. Geroge was the fourth Baron of Darkwood upon his father's passing, later the First Baron and Viscount of Renduzzo.
- Viktor Darkwood: The second son of Quinn Darkwood, Viktor was the first Captain and founder of the Balian Army, and led a large portion of Emperor Peter IV's loyalist army throughout the Brother's War despite his young age.
