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| | == History of the Graves == | | == History of the Graves == |
| − | The Graves Family, though recent in its rise to fame, can trace its roots back far in the annuls of history. Prominent family members include, or have included: [[Graves_Family#The_.28Short.29_Life_of_Kanali|Kanali]], [[Graves_Family#Jai.2C_daughter_of_Hrothal|Jai]], [[Graves_Family#Erwin.2C_son_of_Hrothal|Erwin]]-- with [[Graves_Family#The_.28Short.29_Life_of_Kanali|Kanali]], just recently dead and the two others, cousins to the dead hero, living. The family spans several continents, several realms, and has many nobles of little consequence living unheard of and unsung-- in obscurity, waiting to make their marks on the world. The family also possesses several bastards, two of any repute whatsoever, who have been raised as awkward black sheep of the well-blooded family. [[Graves_Family#Daniel_of_Graves.2C_Fame_Seeker|Daniel]] of Graves, an [[Adventurer]] with no claim to the title of noble-born, has decided to try to earn the right to be a Graves through his deeds and battles with the undead of the land. [[Graves_Family#Alinys_of_Graves.2C_Ally_for_Short|Alinys]], however, his half-sister (who [[Graves_Family#Daniel_of_Graves.2C_Fame_Seeker|Daniel]] is closer to in status than any other of his "family") has little desire to ever be known for her deeds, though may for all her wishing be known nonetheless.
| + | Due to the fragmentation of the House, and its lack of a long-lived heir, much of its history has fallen from common knowledge, even to members of the House. |
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| − | ====In the Beginning====
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| − | The House of Graves, like many other noble houses, has roots that can be, if so desired, traced back to the dirt of the earth and the peasants who lived upon it. From those peasants it could furthermore be traced back further-- to the very beginnings of time itself, but for simplicity's sake the House of Graves generally claims that the first of their line was a man by the name of Jake Parson who earned his keep on his lord's manor by burying the dead and making sure the graveyard was in good repair. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a barreled chest that he was wont to throw out at times to accentuate his speech. Though common born he had a noble bearing and was often the subject of much gossip for the lord of the manor was fond of him and had him taught well, gave him a decent plot of land near the woods and even license to hunt in the wood at times if he so desired. Life was decent, even if difficult, and Jake grew into full manhood with the status of a noble's bastard son: given certain attentions by his liege-lord, the best of scraps, but ultimately left alone to live out his life among those who plowed the earth.
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| − | Several years into his prime, Jake heard rumors of an impending war between his lord and of another lesser noble over poaching in the woods. His lord's sons, all of them knighted except for the youngest, who was squired off to a family in the north, returned home from abroad to aid their father in the campaign and groups of serfs, bringing what rudimentary weapons they possessed, were organized under them into four groups, the fifth group (of which Jake was a part of) being organized directly under the lord himself. Jake was given loose control over the group in the abscence of his liege as he was considered most able, having become proficient with the hunting bow during his time hunting in the woods, and his lord leaned towards meritocracy in that regard. The campaign itself was straightforward and relatively simple, especially on paper. Three of the groups of peasants-- that of two sons and the lord of the manor-- would circle around the woods, cut onto the other lord's fief, and meet with the enemy east of a gently sloped hill. The other two groups would cut through the woods on foot and hope to surprise the enemy by an attack from the side.
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| − | They met with the enemy as planned and began a steady advance forwards after firing off a short, poorly aimed arrow volley. Jake, who wore a padded tunic and carried a battered wooden shield on his left arm, took up his dull, rust-bitten sword in his right and proceeded with the rest of the serfs across the field, to clash with those serfs who were also coming across the field towards him. The groups met noisy and hectic; Jake's clumsy shield was shorn in half just above the plank attached to his arm and rendered useless by an axe swipe meant for his face. Another stroke gashed his arm deeply but Jake by then had regained his wits and countered with a slash that disembowled the axe wielding man who had just previously rushed him like a maniac. This would later be proved to have been the enemy lord himself who, thinking Jake was noble born by his stature and bearing, had rushed forward to kill him. The battle broke quickly after the rival lord was slain and further ended by the surprise attack from the woods on part of the other two groups.
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| − | After the fight, Jake found himself knighted by an overly eager lord and given a small holding on what had been part of the rival noble's land. He settled down and took as his shield a solid blue field, a black stripe running diagonal across it, with a broken shield off center of the stripe itself. (This was later simplified to a solid blue field, diagonal black strip, and an off center circle.) Several years passed and, though he bore scars to the end of his life and had the hands of a peasant, he married a young girl from the town, who's father had made a small fortune as a merchant, buying and selling among the various noblemen. He gave his house the name Graves after his first profession-- that of the undertaker and gravedigger.
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| − | His wife, Katlian, bore him two sons and a sickly daughter who died only days after her fourth birthday. Jake never got over the death of his precious girl, but his sons grew up strong and strapping-- the picture of their father in his youth, but educated and brought up as young noble men ought to be, even if only poor noble men of birth. Youngest was Keith and after him, two years his elder, was John. John would grow into manhood and become a priest in service of a local pagan cult; it would be Keith, the youngest, who would carry on the fledgingly House and keep it from ruin in the days ahead.
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| − | Kieth would have several sons, his most prominent being his firstborn: Jacob.
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| | ==Notable Members of the House of Graves== | | ==Notable Members of the House of Graves== |
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| | ====Erwin, son of Hrothal==== | | ====Erwin, son of Hrothal==== |
| − | At the age of thirty-five, Erwin is the heir to the Graves family name and the eldest in his immediate family. He is often a bitter man who shuns both his family and his peers, and even the men who serve under him. Despite this bitterness, though, there is at times a genuinely charming streak to him, though it is often overlooked; he was not always so sullen and angry. In his youth he was raised loosely, his mother dead and father often away on business or war, by a nursemaid who was hardly more than a child herself. [[image:Parchwrit.JPG|left]] His younger sister, Jai, was born when he was seven and at first he tried to include her in all his war games; as he aged, though, he lost interest in his sister (though loved her dearly) and they drifted apart. And he was a happy child. He was sent off as another knight's squire, then [[knight]]ed on his eighteenth birthday without much happening in between-- and upon returning to his family's estate, found several things amiss. His sister, only eleven years old, had gone to stay with another noble family, this one living on the [[Oligarch]]ian border of [[Fontan]]. She had been forbidden permission to try, like her brother, to fight by her father and so had decided to leave. The noble family that accepted her as their own daughter (having had none, the lady barren) was considered, at least by Erwin, to be uncouth and crude. His sister, in his mind, had betrayed him and his family, and never forgave her. The rift only worsened when she went on to fight against him for [[Oligarch]].
| + | Erwin served in [[Fontan]], though did eventually migrate to [[Minas Ithil]] to take up an [[estate]] in [[Winwich]]. It did not last long, given his choice of career - he made a poor infiltrator, and paid with his life. |
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| − | His father died when he was twenty-six, a quiet affair, and left the Graves fortune to a cousin nearly a continent away on [[Atamara]]. This rankled Erwin who, despite not wanting responsibility, desperately wanted the power and prestige and respect he thought he would receive for being head of the Graves. And, to his horror, he realized the cousin who was heir over him was a woman. Still, he did not dwell on this too long; several years later he received a letter from an old uncle, requesting one of the Graves children go to [[Atamara]] to bury his dead daughter. Also in this letter, it revealed since Erwin's cousin, Kanali, had died that he had regained his rightful place as heir and head of the Graves family. After bickering with his sister, neither particularly wanting to leave [[Fontan]], he left on a ship and came to [[Minas Ithil]]-- a place he hated from the start, unable to in his mind compare it to [[Fontan]]. He buried his cousin and, as he went through her things, found a letter her scribe had been dictated to write on her behalf. It bade him (or whomever put her to rest) to fight on [[Minas Ithil]]'s behalf until her death was avenged. The letter also charged him, when she had been avenged, to quest for a bastard Kanali called, simply, "Daniel."
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| − | Hating her even more, but honor-bound, Erwin swore an oath to the land of Winwich in [[Minas Ithil]], where he built a small [[estate]], and took up both sword and dagger. His anger, though, makes him reckless-- he cares nothing for most things, not even his own skin. And this proved to be his downfall; he attempted to stab an enemy noble in the back, while the man slept, but a guard overpowered him and, a few days later, Erwin paid with his life.
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| | ====Jai, daughter of Hrothal==== | | ====Jai, daughter of Hrothal==== |
| − | Jai served primarily in [[Fontan]] and during her lifetime held several lordships, her last being the Duchy of [[Akesh Temple]]. Unfortunately, she died defending the region from several realms who had sought to encroach on Fontan territory. | + | Jai served primarily in [[Fontan]] after the fall of [[Oligarch]] and during her lifetime held several lordships, her last being the Duchy of [[Akesh Temple]]. Unfortunately, she died defending the region from several realms who had sought to encroach on Fontan territory. |
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| | ====Daniel==== | | ====Daniel==== |
This page is under construction.
History of the Graves
Due to the fragmentation of the House, and its lack of a long-lived heir, much of its history has fallen from common knowledge, even to members of the House.
Notable Members of the House of Graves
Deceased
Kanali
Kanali Graves sought her fame in Minas Ithil, near where her family had, under the guidance of her father Jacob, relocated their estate. She spent much of her early career as a soldier, seeking fortune and honor but ultimately fufilling the role of what normally the eldest son would have-- upholding the honor of the family through duty to the realm, etc. As the only child of Jacob she was not only entrusted with the family line but with taught much in the way of swords and men. She began to follow the path of the Hero, for before or worse, and survived several wars. Still young, though not as young as she had been when she began, she was appointed as Marchioness of Amdor. Kanali fell in love with Amdor quickly and was never the same afterwards, as Amdor was soon to be given away to the northern realms as appeasement. When Norland attacked and war came regardless, Kanali was Countess of Lothruin. She, with most of the realm, gathered faithfully in Winwich. The first few skirmishes her men, called faithfully The Dogs, did well with no dead and she herself fared fine. Soon, though, her luck turned. She took a wound when a relatively small force of northerners moved across the border in attack and continued to fight. She died, along with twenty three of her men.
Erwin, son of Hrothal
Erwin served in Fontan, though did eventually migrate to Minas Ithil to take up an estate in Winwich. It did not last long, given his choice of career - he made a poor infiltrator, and paid with his life.
Jai, daughter of Hrothal
Jai served primarily in Fontan after the fall of Oligarch and during her lifetime held several lordships, her last being the Duchy of Akesh Temple. Unfortunately, she died defending the region from several realms who had sought to encroach on Fontan territory.
Daniel
A bastard of House Graves, Daniel reclaimed his lost birthright and served in several realms, and on several continents. He was even appointed Baron of Azohib, but after being deported to Beluaterra, was captured and executed by Cimmerian, a vile daemon.
Alinys
...Graves_Family/Alinys
Tarkus
Retired -- But Alive!
Ronald of Graves
Ronald Graves, a short man with broad shoulders, a thick chest, red hair and green eyes, did not look like a typical noble from House Graves. He served on the war islands, a member of Toren, and when those islands sank into the ocean he found himself in Mesh just prior to the daemon invasions. Given lordship of Mokut, he held it until Poitra was recaptured, and afterward became duke of that city, also serving later as Judge of the realm. When Mesh fell, he fled to the nearby mountains, but grew restless and traveled to Dwilight.
Arriving in Aquilegia, he found a stagnant realm being strangled by a corrupt rural lord. After becoming Duke of Flowrestown, he used his influence to encourage others to rebel and reform the realm, but the damage was too extensive and it fell into anarchy several weeks later. Disgusted, Ronald returned to Beluaterra, where he served briefly as General, until he was deported to East Continent. Though he joined the Obsidian Islands and was later elected to the position of Baron of Venas, he soon found paperwork to be tiresome, and opted to retire from the limelight to let younger members of the House make their names.
Living
Katelyn
Currently serving as the Duchess of Wetham in the realm of Lukon, Katelyn is ambitious and reckless, though this is not atypical of the dwellers of the Colonies.
Cassidy
Currently serving as the Marshal of the Army of Narville in Suville.
Waldor
...More about Waldor.
Madison
See: a grungy adventurer with a habit of wandering.
