House Holdenhome

### Arms

A black bee atop a gold chevron, on a white background. Also seen with the black bee and white background inverted.

### Heir

Carndas Rodin (if Richard does not produce an heir)

### Founded in

TBD

House Holdenhome's lands hold several thorps and hamlets along with a village near Keep Holdenhome itself called Homefast. Orchards, vineyards, and apiaries dot the Holdenhome landscape, and the surrounding forests are verdant, bursting with wildlife and flora.

## History

### Pre-Demon Wars ( - 143 AE)

* Waldemar Holdenhome (-34-42) > Lothar Holdenhome (8-82) > Folke Holdenhome (27-95) > Dietmar Holdenhome (54-129) > Gaston Holdenhome (88-135) > Anton Holdenhome I (11-153)\*
* *\* = Anton had several sons who died from a vicious illness just prior to the beginning of the Demon Wars. He and his wife managed to produce more children, but she died from sepsis after suffering a miscarriage. Anton quickly remarried her maid. Throughout the wars only the youngest daughter born months after his death would survive to carry the name. His children were: Ferlix (129-143), Owain (131-143), Bay (135-143), Rowan (146-159), Dolores (150-166), and the final heir Aster.*

Blurb

### The Demon Wars (144 AE - 280 AE)

* Rowan Holdenhome (146-159) > Dolores Holdenhome (150-166) > Aster "The Blue Queen" Holdenhome\* (154) > Rogan Holdenhome\*\* (185) > Oswin Holdenhome I (219) > Gunjan Holdenhome\*\*\* (240)
* *\*=Aster married Emyr of House Rodin - Rodin blood runs through Holdenhome veins.*
* *\*\*= Rogan married Genevieve of House Vennet - Vennet blood runs through Holdenhome veins.*
* *\*= Gunjan remarried after the death of his first elven wife (who only bore him daughters) in 280. His resulting son never saw the horrors of the Demon Wars in action.*

Blurb

### Post-Demon Wars (281 AE - 1014 AE)

* Behan Holdenhome (287)\* > Ernest Holdenhome (344) > Anesguad Holdenhome (409) > Oswin Holdenhome III (428) > Anton Holdenhome II (451) > Warwick Holdenhome (502) > Oswin Holdenhome IV, "The Widower Drone"\*\* (551) > Barack Holdenhome (600)\*\*\* > Egon Holdenhome (709) > Oswin Holdenhome V (779) > Wulfram "The Hermit" Holdenhome (879)\*\*\*\* > Richardis Holdenhome (935) > Roger Holdenhome (950-999) > Richard Holdenhome (990-1037)
* *\*= Behan married his half-niece Lyssa two years his senior, who was a lowborn bastard half-elf. Their marriage was late in his life. She bore their part-elf son Ernest when she was 59 and Behan 57.*
* *\*\*= Oswin the Widower Drone's line through his son Barack carries blood of House Piers due to his marriage to Melissa Piers.*
* *\*\*\*= Barack Holdenhome was not supposed to be lord. His older brother Basil "The Hornet" Holdenhome was the heir but died in the Brecilidian Revolution in 621 AE before he could produce his own heir. Barack was half-elf, leading to a long life.*
* *\*\*\*\*= Wulfram "The Hermit" Holdenhome closed the Hunting Grounds to outsiders in 909 AE after the land was mistreated by visiting nobles and several deaths occurred.*

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### (1015 AE - Current)

* Owyn Holdenhome (1022-1040)\* > Griff Holdenhome (1024-)
* *\*= With Owyn's death in 1040, the lordship passed to his brother Griff.*

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## Holdings

### The Hunting Grounds

The Hunting Grounds were closed to outsiders in 909 AE after the land was mistreated by visiting nobles and several deaths occurred. (See Wulfram)

### Rivergate

Rivergate is usually the first stop for a traveler passing through Holdenhome lands, or on their way to Homefast. In 1086 it is regarded as a tourist stop by most Homefasters, but was long ago ravaged by demons in 166 AE (See Aster). Nowadays it is a trading hub for wax products, candles, honey, mead, and other bee-associated materials.

### Koboltblod (formerly Mereham)

Prior to 166 AE, Koboltblod was a small village named Mereham (See Aster). After the events of the demon attack in 166 AE, the village was renamed Koboltblood in honor of Lady Aster Holdenhome's defense. This village is less tourist-orientated than it's sister village of Rivergate and has less exports. It's trades are more fishing-orientated and is a great source for nutrient-rich fertilizer.

### Tuskview

Tuskview was originally a military outpost set up prior to the Demon Wars and the construction of Everglow City. Its purpose was to watch for orc raiding parties. To this day is still a strong military training town.

### Demonbreu

Prior to the Demon Wars of 144-280 AE, Demonbreu was only a tiny unnamed hamlet with a few dozen farmers and their families. In 244 AE, Lord Rogan Holdenhome and his forces halted a demon horde's progress as they approached Homefast from the west. The hamlet was wiped out. The battle raged for hours and a massive number of demon bodies piled up in the nearby river - apparently to the point where the demons were able to use their own dead as a bridge. The hamlet was rebuilt by one of Rogan's men and grew into a town after 280 AE, named for the bridge of demon bodies.

In recent years, it is an agricultural village providing crops and livestock to much of Holdenhome lands. In 1086 AE, the Village Head is Hector Umbridge. His wife, Amarika "Amy", runs an apothecary in the village.

### Vadvinge

People always lived in the location of Vadvinge, in scattered settlements or tiny hamlets, but it wasn't officially made a town until 573 AE.

### Honig Var

Honig Var is a sacred location to House Holdenhome. A small sect of priestesses live in the temple here, called the Melisende, and they dedicate their lives to beekeeping and the encasing of the dead in Honig Var's cavernous underground hives. Flowing from this location is a stream referred to as "Sweetwater Ryll" where the waters have a hint of honey to their taste.

Many of House Holdenhome's forebears are encased here, their skeletons eternally part of the colossal structures that support several colonies of honey bees spread across tens of thousands of hives. While these bodies are decaying, the bees opportunistically gather small amounts of bodily material for nutrients. This allows for the occasional case of "necrophoric honey" which is carefully collected by the Melisende and sealed in a jar - much like how other cultures might keep crematory ashes in an urn. This ancestral honey is referred to as Sepulchral Ambrosia and is kept safely in catacombs beneath Honig Var's temple.

It is rumored even the Sepulchral Ambrosia of Aster Holdenhome is kept there.

It is standard practice to wait a year before visiting a deceased loved one so in the caves there is only a skeleton and their Sepulchral Ambrosia is safely stored in the catacombs. Visitors are strictly escorted by guards or the Melisende.

Most Melisende can tract their lineage back to House Holdenhome, although a few are active members in the line of succession, such as Hella Holdenhome.

### Honigherz Sanctum

The temple of Honig Var is deeply rooted in nature. The building's integral structures are formed from ancient living trees, walls bound between them made from woven wattle and dried clay. High in the building's walls and ceiling, thick honey-combed yellow glass allows sunlight in, bathing the halls and sanctums in golden light. In and on the walls are beehives interwoven with the wattle and clay. The scent of beeswax fills the air alongside the gentle hum of bees. There are openings in the walls where bees come and go.

The outside of the Honigherz Sanctum is crawling with flowery vines, the grounds about it littered with verdant flora to sustain the bees. The meadows and forests surrounding Honigherz are some of the most colorful and vibrant in Aradia.

## Timeline / Genealogy

* TBD - House founded.
* -
* 287 AE - Behan Holdenhome born
* 344 AE - Ernest Holdenhome born when his father was age 57
* 409 AE - Anesguad Holdenhome born when his father was age 65
* 428 AE - Oswin Holdenhome III born when his father was age 19
* 451 AE - Anton Holdenhome II born when his father was age 23
* 502 AE - Warwick Holdenhome born when his father was age 51, third-born son
* 551 AE - Oswin Holdenhome IV born when his father was age 49
* 600 AE - Barack Holdenhome born when his father was age 49 alongside twin sister Bebe
* 709 AE - Egon Holdenhome born when his father was age 81, from an exceedingly late marriage
* 779 AE - Oswin Holdenhome V born when his father was age 70
* 879 AE - Wulfram Holdenhome born when his father was age 100, the 12th child but only living son
* 935 AE - Richardis Holdenhome born when his father was age 56, second-born son
* 950 AE - Roger Holdenhome was born when his father Richardis was age 15
* 956 AE - Morgause Warthorne was born.
* 972 AE - Roger Holdenhome and Morgause Warthorne were wed.
* 976 AE - Ann Holdenhome was born to Roger and Morgause
* 990 AE - Richard Holdenhome was born to Roger and Morgause.
* 993 AE - Ann Holdenhome married Ealthe Rodin against Roger and Morgause's wishes
* 994 AE - Carndas Rodin was born to Ann and Ealthe
* 998 AE - Ann Rodin died to an illness, age 22
* 999 AE - Roger Holdenhome died to a bee sting, age 49. Richard became Lord of Homefast.
* 1006 AE - Morgause Warthorne died to an illness, age 50

## Notes

* Naming conventions are typically Germanic and Old English with a few exceptions. Bee and flower themes are also common.
* Blue, green, and grey eyes are fairly common throughout the Holdenhome line.
* Black, brown, and blonde hair are dominant. Very few Holdenhomes have red hair.