House of Hartvale

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The **House of Hartvale** is a family that hails from The Bite in the Ashen Coast of Gilneas. Originating from a recognized bastard of the House of Cobalstant, the Hartvales emulate their progenitor clan in attitude, thought and appearance. An immense family throughout the ages, the consistently large size of the Hartvale family has caused severe amounts of in-fighting, resulting to the various cousin branches fighting at times for control of The Hartreave, their seat of power within the Baronetcy of the Hart. As a result, the lead branch of the family has swapped numerous times. During the age of the Baronets of the Bite, the Hartvales were possibly the most ambitious and dangerous baronets, absorbing lands quite frequently only for their infighting to break them back down. Staunchly loyal to the Cobalstants that they admired, the Hartvales were known to never receive the appointment of the House of Grayblade to Marcher Lord, believing it was rightfully theirs as they were recognized by the Cobalstants as a form of distant family. This animosity grew during the early years of Lord Berenal Grayblade's reign, when he became absentee to join the Gilnean Military.

The Hartvales are currently led by Abner Hartvale, an aged man in his sixties who had lived through the last Cobalstant lord and the time of Haverin Grayblade, Xavier Gregor and Cail Greyfield. Under Abner, the Hartvale has been rebuilt in their lands, which are now constituted as the south eastern section of land just below the Viscounty of the Rise. Refusing to acknowledge the House of Avernus' rule, a family that was originally another Baronet of the Bite, the Hartvales have declared they are loyal to the Duchy of the Ashen Coast, but will never accept the rule of a family they believe inferior.

The family is known to be vastly wealthy due to the Veinstone Mines that run underneath the Hartreave. Below one can find luminescent and extremely desired gems known as Hartstones, which have been desired by many jewel craftsmen due to their bright pink color and durability which makes them perfect for faceting into complex ornaments.

The family is split into three major branches, the Hart, Ashwood and Dragon's Tooth. The Hartvales of the Hart are the main central family, lorded over by Abner Hartvale. The Hartvales of Dragon's Tooth, a knightly branch, are subservient to the Hartvales of the Hart and are led by Sir Thurman Hartvale. The final branch, the Hartvales of the Black Forest (or simply just Ashwood), are led by Abner's son, Brutus. Brutus has directly opposed his family after discovering the involvement of the other Hartvales in the death of the House of Ashery, the house of Brutus' mother. Since then, Brutus has refrained from obeying his father's wishes and has joined with the Duke's Wolf's Guard as a sign of casting his lot fully in with the duchy. The rest of the family has begrudgingly accepted the Duke's rule, though they only offer token support in many cases. Several lesser Hartvale branches have attempted to cause issues within the Barony of Graston, but have so far failed. The immediate family has rejected any support towards these upstarts, despite disagreeing with the duchy's rule.