House Hoensbroeck

The von Hoensbroeck Family, also referred to as House Hoensbroeck, is a prominent family of Hallengard and was at some point one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses of The Hales. They are known for their wealth and grandeur, as well as their many descendants on the Hallengard throne. Unlike most Hallengardians, most Hoensbroecks are dark haired.

History
The family was founded by Jurgen von Broeck and Nicolaes Hoen, from Hallengard and The Winterlands respectively around 130 BD (~September 2016). Both founders would later be slain in the Battle of Lord Lewis. Due to their stature and military importance, many successors were born into high ranking positions, such as Karl von Hoensbroeck, Jurgen's son.

Karl von Hoensbroeck was a major figure in the family, re-establishing relationships with Aedwin and Greenfields. After his marriage to Aleida Bleijenbeek he had six children, being Klemens, Josef, Rudolf, Charlotte, Yuri, and Kristoff von Hoensbroeck.

Kristoff's political conquest of The Hales and further development of Hallengard (as well as his highly supported marriage with Victoria Bianco) pushed the family to be important across the kingdoms. He was the first Hoensbroeck to claim the Hallengard throne.

Raven Conflict
Originally hired as mercenaries to serve The Winterlands during the White War, the Ravens have continually appeared in Hallengard making attempts to overthrow the current rulership. This happened particularly during the Hoensbroeck reign, where in one case Charlotte von Hoensbroeck was captured and taken hostage, wherein she was tortured and partially disfigured.

There have been multiple instances and close-combat situations in which the Ravens attempted to usurp Kristoff. A final plot was attempted not so long after a failed assassination against him in Aedwin, where he was kidnapped and forced to renounce his titles whilst the Ravens were under the command of Myle Royce.

Most Ravens have now been killed, imprisoned, or simply drifted apart and House Hoensbroeck has since had multiple individuals on the throne.

Aedwin Relations
Relations between House Hoensbroeck and Aedwin have always been reserved, however during the prime of the family there were many attempts to strengthen bonds. This particularly came with Kristoff's ventures beyond Hallengard, where he met and befriended Raumund Pallus, who served as king of Aedwin for a short while before his assassination. This, as well as the marriage of his wife's sister, Victoria Bianco, set him in good standing with the kingdom.

After Kristoff's death tensions rose between them, and their tolerance of one another effectively ended after Klemen's reign after their support aided in him securing the throne. After many years and a growing political divide between Hallengard and Aedwin, they are no longer considered to be allied.

In recent years, Hoensbroeck descendants and Aedwin royals have greatly disliked one another, and a major conflict arose when Jurgen II von Hoensbroeck (the current Lord Marshal of Hallengard) sieged Aedwin and captured Marcus II, vassal of Aedwin. After a complication and botched rescue, he fell off the cliffs of Hallengard. These relations have continued to grow colder as Sigurd von Hoensbroeck has continued to show a lack of respect or empathy towards Aedwin, often compromising their well-being for his own affairs.

Kristoff von Hoensbroeck
Kristoff was the second son of Karl, and was considered a founding father of the Hoensbroeck distinction. He initially served under Ellyn Froyce and Aron Royce as a Royal Knight alongside his brothers, Yuri and Rudolf. During Anderhall's reign he was granted Lordship and became king himself after his death due to his overwhelming popularity within the kingdom of Hallengard. His popularity was particularly due to his loyalty to the kingdom and its people, such as aiding in the evacuation of Hallengard during an avalanche and slaying the murderers of Aron Royce. He also made strong relations with Aedwin, befriending Raumund Pallus and Alesta Bianco. These relations helped strengthen the bond between the kingdoms, and they were at peace throughout his reign. This also led to a decisive victory against Smitty and his soldiers during the Siege of Aedwin with Aurore de Poignard.

He was known to be a stern but kind man, with a particularly long mustache and distinguishable bascinet. He married Victoria Bianco later in his life, however both died before having any children. After a long dispute between the Ravens and House Hoensbroeck, Kristoff was forced to revoke his titles as king and was left as a lord of Hallengard. In later life, he established relationships with Ethededra Ward, queen of Aedwin, and King Forthwind of the Ghost Kingdom.

He was the wealthiest of all Hoensbroecks, possessing around 800,000 gold upon his death. Much of this gold remains distributed among the Hoensbroeck family. Kristoff's was slain by a thief whilst preparing a soup dish in the farmland just beyond Aedwin-de-Steinberg. This caused a major outcry and disrupted peace across the kingdoms.

Yuri von Hoensbroeck
During his time in Hallengard he participated in many major events, at one point even saving Kristoff’s life during a hunt for the Zo Loraqs.

On a search for the remaining Black Capes he was captured and held as hostage in the deep caves before managing to deceive a guard into freeing him, and killed three Black Capes before returning to Hallengard.

In his lifetime he married Else Jensen, a farmer from the Winterlands, and had three children. His death came about when Astrid the Assassin was discovered within Hallengard. After orders from Anderhall to slay him, a group of four men went to search for him. This led to a battle along Hallengard’s bridge, where Yuri was shot and ultimately fell to his death from the bridge.

Klemens von Hoensbroeck
As the eldest son of Karl von Hoensbroeck, Klemens was deemed wise and discerning. His wealth and title of Hoensbroeck is arguably what brought him the Hallengard throne, despite criticism for his lengthy absences and erratic behaviour.

During his time on the throne, both Elizabeth Froyce and Roland Garroal also sought the throne. Roland Garroal was forced out of Hallengard after accepting the offer of King of Aedwin. He returned as a guard in Hallengard after accusing Klemens of the death of Holly Brualis, his wife. Shortly after this, Klemens was usurped by the the Frost and Roland Garroal was made Regent of Hallengard under her rule. Lord Gefroi, the ‘grandfather of House Hoensbroeck’, died in this time as a member of the Frost, which ultimately forced Klemens to seek support from Aedwin after he was unable to withstand Queen Elizabeth’s forces.

He returned to Hallengard leading an army of his supporters as well as men from Aedwin, supplied by King Geoffrey. As Elizabeth was absent at this time, Roland Garroal was overthrown and exiled from Hallengard, and Klemens made himself Regent in her absence.