Lionheart Family

**SPOILER WARNING!**

### Members

* Vermouth Lionheart (Founder)
* Gilead Lionheart (Patriarch)
* Ancilla Lionheart
* Carmen Lionheart
* Ciel Lionheart
* Cyan Lionheart
* Deacon Lionheart †
* Dezra Lionheart
* Dominic Lionheart †
* Doynes Lionheart †
* Eugene Lionheart
* Gargith Lionheart
* Genia Lionheart
* Genos Lionheart
* Gerhard Lionheart
* Gion Lionheart
* Klein Lionheart
* Hansen Lionheart
* Juris Lionheart
* Nathan Lionheart
* Palago Lionheart

### Former Members

* Tanis Lionheart †
* Eward Lionheart †
* Hector Lionheart †

The **Lionheart Family** are the descendants of Vermouth Lionheart, one of the five heroes who battled the Demon Kings who ran rampant across the world 300 years ago. Together with his comrades, Vermouth successfully killed three of the five Demon Kings and although failing to kill the remaining two, managed to negotiate a “Promise” with the Demon King of Incarceration to put an end to the Demonfolks hostility to humanity.

The members of the family can easily be recognized by their hair and eye color which they have inherited from Vermouth. No matter how distantly related they might be, it seems that each member of the family has gray hair and golden eyes.

## Structure and Hierarchy

The family is split between a single direct line and multiple collateral lines that have split off from the main family over time. Only the descendants of the legal wife were recognized as the direct lineage of Vermouth. Although collateral families were also "Lionheart", that was only in name. Even so, it wasn't like collateral families were destitute. Although not comparable to the Main State in the Capital, the collateral families still lived lavishly.

Members of the direct line are often in contention for the seat of the family head. The children that do not manage to become the family head and decide to marry and have children have to leave the main estate once their child reaches the age of 5 and start their own collateral line.

Collateral Descendants are not allowed to train their mana, but neither were they allowed to neglect their training.

The patriarch / matriarch of the family does not hold full authority over the family matters. Most decisions have to be addressed by the council which is made up of people that have made a name for themselves.

The Lionheart family also controls two Orders of Knights that are known throughout the continent for their power - the 'Black Lions' and the 'White Lions'.

## History

After his journey, Vermouth would settle down and take wife and 10 concubines and have numerous children, setting down the roots for the Lionheart clan, which would rise up to become one of the most powerful and prestigious families in the world.

Vermouth’s eldest son would succeed him as the next Patriarch of the family after his “death”. Many of Vermouth’s children would then leave the main family and start numerous branch families, many of whom became formidable and famous on their own. One of these branch families, the one founded by Vermouth’s second eldest son, would inherit the techniques of Vermouth’s companion, Hamel, after he perserved them and taught them to him. This son would then go ahead and found the Black Lion Knight order in order to handle the Lionheart Family’s internal affairs.

Many years later, there had been an internal struggle within the clan concerning the succession of the direct line. This struggle led to the rule that murdering a relative is a grave taboo.

## White Flame Formula

Being the **Lionheart Family's** ultimate technique, it is only taught to the direct line. To this day, the most accomplished user of this technique was Vermouth himself, who unlocked 10 stars.

### 7 Stars

* Doynes Lionheart
* Eugene Lionheart (Currently 6 Stars)
* Gion Lionheart (Currently 6 Stars)
* Gilead Lionheart (Currently 6 Stars)

### 5 Stars

* Dominic Lionheart
* Klein Lionheart
* Genos Lionheart
* Cyan Lionheart (Currently 4 Stars)
* Ciel Lionheart (Currently 4 Stars)

## Red Flame Formula

Red Flame Formula, a technique that been passed down from the Great Vermouth and the only technique that the members of the collateral lines can learn.

### 3 star

* Dezra Lionheart
* Gargith Lionheart

## Council of Elders

The Council of Elders is a council of 5 senior members of the Lionheart family that decides on the family's course of action and rules. The members of the council are said to be exceptional individuals who have engraved their name upon Lionheart history.

### Members

* Doynes Lionheart (former leader)
* Gilead Lionheart
* Klein Lionheart (current leader)
* Carmen Lionheart
* Genos Lionheart

## White Lions

The White Lions are a knight order of the Lionheart family. It is similar to other knight orders on the continent with the sole exception that it is considered very powerful in comparison to them.

A clear difference between the White Lions and Black Lions of the Lionheart clan is that unlike the Black Lions, outsiders can be recruited and trained to join the White Lion Squad, swearing loyalty to the Lionheart Family.

## Black Lions

   The Black Lions are a knight order that is referred to as the 'hunting dogs' of the Lionheart family as they enforce the rules and deal with other pressing matters. For this reason, the Black Lions are made up only of members of the family itself as outsiders could not be trusted with the matters of the family. Only the most skilled and powerful members of the family are allowed to join the Black Lions, which gives the order a fearsome reputation. However, this greatly limits the amount of people in the order. According to Carmen, there are about 60 members in the Black Lions. Still, compared to the White Lions, the Black Lions are much more infamous. They reside in the Black Lion Castle, deep within the Uklas Mountains in the Kiehl Empire. The Black Lions are organized in a total of six known divisions, each with a different captain.

### Members

#### Third Division

* Captain: Carmen Lionheart
* Nathan Lionheart
* Palago Lionheart
* Ciel Lionheart
* Dezra Lionheart

## **Direct Line**

The direct line of the Lionheart Family resides in the main estate of the Lionheart family. It started with the founder Vermouth and his legal wife and continued to be the line with the most authority throughout time. For one, the patriarch / matriarch of the family is always selected from members of the direct line. Members of the direct line also get several advantages over members of the collateral lines. Apart from the main family being known for its wealth, the children of the family are allowed to train with real weapons and mana before the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is held. Furthermore, only members of the direct line are taught the White Flame Formula. Only members of the direct line are allowed to have the family's sigil sewn onto their left chest.

* Gilead Lionheart - Patriarch
	+ Siblings
		- Gerhard Lionheart - adoptive brother to the patriarch
		- Gilford Lionheart
		- Gion Lionheart
	+ Wives
		1. Tanis Lionheart (Deceased)
		2. Ancilla Lionheart
	+ Children
		1. Eward Lionheart (aka Iode, Deceased)
		2. Cyan Lionheart
		3. Ciel Lionheart
		4. Eugene Lionheart (adopted)

## Collateral Lines

### Dezra's Family

Despite being a collateral bloodline, Dezra's family had gained quite the prestige. Dezra’s branch family is shown to primarily be skilled in the use of spears.

* Dezra Lionheart

### Gargith's Family

Despite being a collateral bloodline, Gargith's family has gained quite a lot of prestige. Gargith’s branch family is known for their creation of unique elixirs (anabolic steroids) that “assist” (enlarge) and develop the muscles of the human body.

* Stellord Lionheart
* Gargith Lionheart

### Gerhard's family

The family branch of Gerhard and Eugene split off from the main family hundreds of years ago and was forced out into the countryside. It is said that no member of the family has made any impact so far. The family has refined its Red Flame Formula to the 2nd star.

* ~~Gerhard Lionheart~~ - moved to the main residence with his son
* ~~Eugene Lionheart~~ - adopted at the age of 13

### Hector family

Among the collateral lines, Hector’s family was an ordinary one.

* Hector Lionheart

### Genos family

Genos family were the descendants of Vermouth’s second son. Although he cannot pass down the White Flame Formula to his own descendants, he pass down Hamel’s techniques that were taught by Vermouth. Thus, they are so called the discipline of Hamel’s.

* Unnamed Second Son (Founder)
* Genos Lionheart
* Genia Lionheart

## **Former Members**

* Eward Lionheart - killed by Eugene Lionheart.
* Tanis Lionheart - Killed by Eward Lionheart.
* Hector Lionheart - killed by Cyan Lionheart

## **Traditions**

### Bloodline Continuation Ceremony

The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is a ceremony that is held every 10 years and acts as a sort of 'test' for the young members (those that are between 10 and 15 years old) of the direct and collateral lines. The test differs each time, but is ultimately used to determine members of the family that show great potential and is among the first steps in the race for the position of the next Family Leader. According to Eugene its purpose is merely to suppress the collateral descendants, who are only allowed to learn about mana and train with a real weapon after the ceremony.

Due to the limitations placed on to the collateral lines and branch families of the Lionheart clan, this ceremony was noted to be the root cause of the dissatisfaction they have towards the main family and the council of elders, as this ceremony allowed the main family to bully and abuse the collateral descendants and easily overpower them due to receiving better training and preparation than them before the ceremony as children, an attitude which is then carried over into their adulthood as it establishes their dominance over members of the collateral descendants.

Eventually the dissatisfaction and unhappiness the collateral families had towards the main family reached a point that a splinter group formed in the Lionheart family that openly rebelled and assisted Dominic, Hector, and Eward in their attempt to revive two Demon King remnants. With their defeat and failure, the collateral descendants that supported them disappeared before the main family could capture them.

This issue was in turn finally addressed by Eugene Lionheart, who brought up the problems caused by the ceremony to the Lionheart Council of Elders, who agreed to abolish the ceremony and its limitations to the collateral families.

### Coming of Age Ceremony

When a Lionheart youth reaches the age of maturity and becomes a adult, the clan would typically hold a coming of age ceremony that officially acknowledges them as adults. This ceremony has also been shown to be used by the council of elders to gauge the overall potential of the Lionheart youths, especially those who are slated to inherited important positions within the clan, such as the next patriarch/matriarch of the family. As shown with Cyan and Eugene’s ceremony, their coming of age ceremony included a test that made them navigate the dangerous wilderness filled with various traps and monsters surrounding the Black Lion Castle and reach it safely.

### Hunting Contest

The Hunting Contest is an event for the young generations of the Lionheart family that is held in Kiehl forest. Unlike the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony and Coming of Age Ceremony, this contest is not mandatory and any Lionheart youths is free to decline to participate, however it is considered an opportunity for a young Lionheart member to show off their skills and abilities gained through their training, giving them opportunities to impress the Council of Elders and members of the Black Lions and White Lions and be possibly given a high position within the clan.

## **Trivia**

* It's been theorized by Eugene and Sienna that the true reason why Vermouth took so many wives and had so many children was in order to ensure a large number of descendants in order to ensure Hamel’s reincarnation. Vermouth would later confirm this theory to be true.
* Due to the fame and influence the Lionheart Clan possesses and the immense power and skill its members have, it's been stated that the Emperors of the Kiehl Empire where the Lionheart family resides feels threatened by them and worries that they have too much power and will undermine their imperial authority.
	+ However thanks to the immense, independent military power possessed by the Lionheart clan, the Emperors of the Kiehl Empire was never able to put them under their direct control. With the Lionheart and Imperial Families having a strict relationship, where the Lionheart family independently guarded southernmost Uklas Mountains from invasions for the Empire using their own wealth and resources, allowing the family to operate independently from the Empire and preventing the Imperial Family from directly meddling in their affairs.
	+ As shown, after the debacle caused by Dominic, Hector and Eward Lionheart, the current Emperor of Kiehl took full advantage of the aftermath to try and limit the Lionheart Family’s power and influence, having argued with Gilead Lionheart that the Lionheart Family had simply become too large for its own good and demanded that the knight orders of the Lionhearts should be integrated directly under the Kiehl’s imperial palace in order to avoid such an incident from happening again. Gilead however, successfully refused the Emperor.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chapter 2
2. ↑  Chapter 324:Return (3)
3. ↑  Chapter 324:Return (3)