House Von Adessa

House Von Adessa is one of the noble houses of Cheliax, one of the most loyal families to house Thrune. It was a powerful ally to Queen Abrogail I during the civil war of Cheliax.

The Von Adessas are an old Elvish family, though their ancestors date back very far, the history of the Von Adessa family starts with Siegbirt Von Adessa who led Chelish soldiers during the Civil War. The Von Adessa heraldry is primarily a red scaled hell serpent. The family had been in charge of trade routes and foreign financial affairs for many years but have also been known to have female members join the church of Asmodeus.

## History

### Background

The members of House Von Adessa are descendants of red haired elves, hailing from Kyonin that eventually migrated to Cheliax. After the success of the Civil War, Queen Abrogail I awarded Siegbirt Von Adessa a chair at her table and the title of nobility. The members are descendants of red haired elves, hailing from Kyonin that eventually migrated to Cheliax. The Von Adessas are famed for fighting with greataxes, using the heavy weapons with finesse.

Siegbirt's children all married into human families to centralize themselves as powerful Chellish houses. Many of the modern Von Adessa children were Half-Elves with one of their parents having very distinct bloodlines chosen by Siegbirt himself. Many Chellish households take the human ancestry slightly more seriously since many are xenophobic. This approach of redefining their heritage is where Siegbirt adopted the hell serpent as their sigil. The words of the Von Adessa house ring true to these beliefs, "Just as the snake sheds its skin, we too must shed our past."

The Von Adessa family is possibly the only house in Cheliax that does not own slaves. They pay their servants and actually train them to read and fight. Due to this the servants of the Von Adessa house have a stronger loyalty to the nobility. They still find Halflings repulsive and try to hire human help whenever possible.

After the death of Siegbirt, Ilrune Von Adessa had led the Von Adessa Family into a pretty neutral state. House Thrune grew tired of House Von Adessa and took them less seriously without Siegbirts cruel and determined stances. The seat was eventually removed entirely when Ilrune married a Varisian woman.

In an attempt to regain political strength, Ilrune's sister married the son of a wealthy merchant in Egorian who owned nearly half the ships of the Chelish fleet. Ilrune's oldest son, Perceval, married a powerful HellKnight and joined their ranks, gathering more power for them. The second eldest daughter, Lidia, became a high ranking Inquisitor for the church of Asmodeus, bringing the Von Adessas to the most powerful they had been since the death of Siegbirt. During this time the youngest sister, Allison, left Cheliax to explore her own desires; weakening the house even further. Years after all of Ilrune's children had been born, his brother had altered his memories and was replaced by a Demi-Lich named Shao.

House Von Adessa finally recieved its final blows when Shao was slain on Warlock Island, and Lidia was turned to stone for her insubordination to the Queen. As punishment for their constant descent, Ilrune and all of his children were slain. Olenna's family ties were stripped and all power was handed over to Dario and his noble house. Their twin daughters would inherit everything and not carry on the Von Adessa name any further.

After the events of Hell's Vengeance, Lidia was removed from the stone and placed in the care of Mocha Arancia. When she had heard of all that happened to her father and siblings, she grew fearful of House Thrune's cruelity and decided to serve the newly appointed House Arancia loyaly to avoid any further wrath. Lidia became an effective retainer to Mocha and protected her from harm, swearing to never bear any children to further the Von Adessa name at all.