House of Reuss
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House Reuss formerly held the Margraviate of Eisenwald independently from 1776-1794. After a long while of work as a mercenary company, the family finally settled the Aschenwald in the United Kingdom of Aaun under the leadership of Margrave Leopold I of Velen.
History
Before the arrival of von Reuss to the shores of Almaris, the house lived a life of guarding pilgrims along the roads to holy sites around Aeldin as well as acting as mercenaries to the highest bidder. Not long after their return to the lands of the descendants, they worked posthaste to find a land to call home. They landed on the outskirts of Celianor and created a following as they were hired to kill elves in an ongoing civil war between the High Elven races.
This place was called the Barony of Velen and was established in Celianor in 1885 only to move in 1888 to Aaun under a promise to serve King Charles of Aaun militarily. The wayward sons and daughters of Aschenwalder followed across Almaris to the newly titled Barony of Velen, making it their home. As the colony opened, Leopold von Reuss officially started the revitalization of his pious company of men and women who held loyal to their leader.
In the years following the founding of Velen, the hamlet turned into a bustling colony and bastion of the faith in the western reaches of the continent. Upon reading missives of a call to arms by the Holy Pontiff, Pontian IV, Velen answered the call and joined their fellow pious brethren on the roads to defeat this nefarious threat to the flock of the faith. As the patrols and crusade went on Velen spoke and connected with their fellow man and took what they learned back home.
These connections and talks would lead to the reforms of the company and Velen as a whole in 1890. Leopold brought forth his vision that he worked tirelessly with his wife and consort, Ravenna, to complete these reforms. As they came to a close and were announced at the Velenic Diet, the people of Velen and the House of Reuss were now set on a path to becoming a functioning state rather than a mere colony.
They’d name themselves the March of Velen to match their militaristic prowess and continue to build up until the late 1890s when they’d begin to settle down and into a more steady position in the United Kingdom of Aaun. Leopold von Reuss would then entrust his third-born child with the March in 1901, continuing to privately lead the military of Velen.
Thus, a new era began under Guinevere von Reuss. She was the first female inheritor of the line after she had single-handedly killed all of her other siblings to ensure her inheritance of the March. Around that time, the previous castle built by her father was lost to Petra, so Guinevere began by ushering her people to Cherskavy where the Aschenwald was established. This settlement was like a light in the darkest of forests that commonly bred spooks of all sorts. Guinevere spent the rest of her reign hunting down several of the nastier spooks while also taking back Guise from Petra. In 1914, she stepped down as Margravine to become an inquisitor to continue to protect the Aschenwald from spooks. Stories of her courage are commonly spread amongst young Aschenwalder so they are less fearful of the woods when learning to hunt.
In 1914, Guinevere’s firstborn, Philippa von Reuss, would inherit. Philippa was accomplished in her youth, having spent it before her inheritance away from her homelands. Upon her mother's abdication, she’d return to Velen to finalize the former Margravine’s plans to erect a holding and township just east of their current Margravial seat at the most western border of the Aschenwald. In addition, she was the cause of the republication of the Velen charter with additions and the modernization of the nobility within the vassal. Following a twenty-six-year reign as Margravine of Velen, where the latter half was spent in regency due to her in-habilitating illness, Philippa died at the age of forty. Following her death, her second son was titled Margrave of Velen, the first male inheritor in two generations.
Siegmund von Reuss’s reign was different from the others previous as he had grown up as the second son to the previous Margravine with no plans to inherit. After a line of tragedies in the family beginning with the death of his older brother, Georg, and then his mother, he would be entrusted with the March of Velen. This was around the time of the descendant's move to Aveos from Almaris in which the Aschenwald people were scattered. The house would go unlanded until 1942 when King Edmund of Aaun published Letters of Patent for the March of Velen. It is rumored that the lands and patents were funded by Marlene of Merryweather, the March’s future consort.
It wouldn’t be until 1954 that the new Aschenwald was planted, the town was built, and Castle Kostritz was finished. Thus, a new era of Velen peace was brought in under Siegmund with the help of his consort.
Culture
Aschenwalder, a subset of Waldenian, originated in the forests surrounding Ancient Velen. The abundance of prey in the vast forest led the populace to primarily sustain themselves through woodwork, carving, hound-mastery, and hunting. Adhering to core tenets of honor and virtue instilled from a young age, the people don modest green attire to blend into their natural surroundings. Influenced by Lucienists since the fifteenth century, Aschenwalder's customs and values reflect this foundation. The cuisine, dominated by meat sourced from hunting, is complemented by various vegetables, particularly potatoes and carrots. The Aschenwalder language has modernized over time due to integration into Aaunic culture.
This emerging culture is predominantly embraced by the Waldenian House of Reuss and its vassals, including the Houses of Wexler, Bardenwig, and Reanoux, all residing in the Aschenwald region. Aschenwalders take pride in their strong sense of community and hospitality, surpassing that of other Waldenian Houses. While adhering to the Canonist faith, many Aschenwaldians have adopted Lucienism and the teachings of St. Lucien of Ulmsbottom, setting them apart from their Waldenian counterparts.
In recent times, the displacement of great Aschenwalder houses is common due to the House von Reuss’s lands being placed on top of Mount St. Alexander which was barren of forest. A new forest had to be planted by the people and in the meantime many adopted shepherdy in the vast fields surrounding the mountain.
Patriarchs of Reuss
| Name | Portrait | Birth Parentage |
Marriage(s) Issue |
Death | Coat of Arms | Title(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leopold I of Velen Leopold Ulrich von Reuss "The Bloody Baron" |
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13 Sun's Smile, 1853 Aeldin Eldest son of Rocco von Reuss |
Ravenna Cantal Robert Lothar von Reuss Sylvia Louise von Reuss Guinevere Lucia von Reuss Ada Louise von Reuss Voron Arminius von Reuss Elena Henrietta von Reuss Godfrey Eimar von Reuss |
Deceased | 
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Margrave of Velen Count of Cantal Baron of the Aschenwald Baron of Mons Velena Patriarch of von Reuss |
| Guinevere I of Velen Guinevere Lucia von Reuss "Protectress of the Aschenwald" |
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20 Deep Cold, 1879 Aeldin Second eldest daughter of Leopold von Reuss |
Harald av Velen Philippa Ilena von Reuss Hadrian Leopold von Reuss |
Deceased |
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Margravine of Velen Countess of Cantal Baroness of the Aschenwald Baroness of Mons Velena |
| Philippa I of Velen Philippa Ilena von Reuss "The Sleeping Countess" |
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7 Deep Cold, 1896 Velen, Aaun Eldest child of Guinevere von Reuss |
Leufroy of Virdain Georg Stefan von Reuss Siegmund Otto von Reuss Adelheid Mathilde von Reuss Katharina Elisabeth von Reuss |
2nd of Horen's Calling, 1936 The Royal City of Whitespire, Aaun |
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Margravine of Velen Countess of Cantal Countess of Revedin Baroness of the Aschenwald Baroness of Mons Velena |
| Siegmund I of Velen Siegmund Otto von Reuss "The Hound" |
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16th of Horen's Calling, 1920 Velen, Aaun Second eldest child of Philippa von Reuss |
Marlene of Merryweather Konstancja Illena von Reuss Leufroy Otto von Reuss Guinevere Milena von Reuss Harmonie Luciel von Reuss Siegmunda Agnes von Reuss |
Living |
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Margrave of Velen Count of Cantal Count of Revedin Viscount of the Aschenwald Baron of Mons Velena Baron of Alsace Baron of Arentania Lord of Kostritz Patriarch of von Reuss |
