Noble Families of Ostland: Part 2
Many are the stories of feuding noble families both fiction and reality, and if one were to think of the most obvious example in Ostland you would have the Whitsomheimers and Skellans. Of course compared to most fictional and historical feuds the one between the two families is rather subdued for the most part.
Boven was originally ruled by the Schnabels but centuries past the family was in decline which paved the way for the Sellans to take power. Since then they have ruled the town and region well as is expected of any noble family. Of course in their efforts to improve the state of their realm there have been times they have had land disputes with the nearby Whitsomheimers who rule over Brizban.
This has developed into a cultural rivalry between the two families over the parts of the large Selonian Hills they wish to turn productive that both families have some rights in, and to a lessen extent Steinhof who are less interested in the area.
The Selonian Hills are one of the few regions Ostland that is within the former Forest of Shadows that is not dominated by the forest like the Northern March, North Spur, and Korver Hills. This lack of forest has for before Ostland's creation made it an attractive place to live and work while having means to see incoming threats on the open hills. In present day it is still used for farmland and even holding a couple mines with common but plentiful ores that both families have made great use of.
Of course this has led to at least a few times a generation for some spirited land disputes as both families wish to develop a certain part of land for themselves which usually requires the current count to settle.
Because of this state affairs the families and their people have developed a rivalry of always seeking to one up each other and perhaps one day lay claim over the entire region, despite the obvious fact that no count would grant the entire Selonian Hills to one family. They compete in nearly everything from sending their knights to tourneys specifically to seek each other out, who throws the better party among the nobility and peasants, and sometimes ridiculous things like drinking contests if one side insults another's drinking ability.
Nobles are not peasants and should act with more decorum, despite it's cultural importance drinking to decide major agreements should be discouraged.
Thankfully rarely does this rivalry ever turn overly bloodly or else earn the wrath of the current count who would be enraged to hear his vassals fighting each other so close to Ostland's border and embarrassing the province.
The family crest of the Sellans is of a bull charging over a hilly field..., the same with the Whitsomheimers with only minor differences separating the two and leaving most but those knowledgeable in said crests unable to tell the difference. This is simply another point of the rivalry between the two families and legend said the ancestors of the houses made a deal that if one truly won dominion over the Selonian Hills the loser would have to change their family crest to that of an ass. This had lead to some confusion and more than a few fist fights over people mistakenly calling members of families by their rivals.
The Otterbeins of Birkewiese are a departure from most Ostlanders due to the fact they rule a town within the Northern March and thus the culture of it's inhabitants is quite different. For as long as they family records go back the Otterbeins rarely had to tangle with the common issues regarding the Forest of Shadows due to not living within it and instead contested with the Norsii/Norscans who would raid deep into the Northern March during their raids.
It is rather a point of pride for the Otterbeins that they fought against the raiders in tactical retreats to the forests when they couldn't win outright with their chariots and always stubbornly returned later to rebuild. Today while they no longer ride chariots into battle they are one of few noble families in Ostland who take part in prime horse raising for war and are some of the best riders in the province.
Alongside their horse raising the lands of the Otterbeins are rather rich simply due to fact their main town sits squarely on the Middenheim Erengrad Road and thus has grown rich through trade and travelers for centuries. Today that prosperity has only increased due to the close relations between Ostland and Kislev which has had many more traders of Kislevite blood passing through to sell their wares everyone in the Empire up to Middenheim itself. The Otterbrains have also benefited from buying many prime Ungol horses to mix their blood with their own horses to make even better specimens they use and sell in equal amounts.
The Otterbeins are quite well known among nobility and peasants alike to host various horse races and encourage many to compete, that the Otterbeins usually win due to lack of horse riding traditions with most Ostlander houses has nothing to due to the joy they take out of it.
The family crest of the Otterbeins is a great bull pulling a ancient war chariot like their ancestors before them and legend says in ages past they specifically breed bulls to do just that, thought in truth they simply armored their horses in such a way that made them look like bulls with bardings that gave them horns.
The Pirkheimers are another family rich on trade tax due to traders moving through their territory, specifically the town Levudaldorf which is a stop along the road between Grenzburg and Wolfenburg itself. In older times the town acted a bulwark for the provincial capital even before it was built but has become less militarized over time, though it still serves of military important by hosting both patrols of the Armies of Ostland and Forest. They also rule over the smaller but still productive farming village of Krust located nearby.
Many of the Pirkheimers can roughly be summed up to being of a rather conservative bent in general.
They originally were quite against many ogres moving into Ostland centuries ago and still in general have a dislike of nonhumans in general. They dislike the fact the count is married to a foreign priest and see magic as a deadly tool at the best of times. Not to mention their religious devotion they can come across as being quite unwilling to bend to anything, or less politely put "have a large stick up their collective asses."
Of course they are still highly loyal to Ostland and haven't felt the need to overly state their complaints to the current count due to the success he has made so far, and not an insignificant amount of fear for him as well. Still, under their leadership one of the major settlements near the provincial capital has remains quite productive for generations and can doubt their sense of duty.
The family crest of the Pirkheimers is two red bulls charging each other on a rising sun, many are not sure about the symbolism but some theorize it has some deeper meaning stretching back to ancient times
The Öbelsteins who rule the village of Öbelstein within the the North Spur truly live up to the Ostlander cultural identity to what even Ostlanders would call a ridiculous degree. For as long as anyone can remember the family and the people they ruled over never backed down from any challenge up to and including the various threats that constantly assaulted them in the western part of the Forest of Shadows to a near suicidal degree.
Even the Vampire War that nearly wiped the family out did not keep them down for long as they called in cousins, married various strong neighbors, and threw themselves to reconstructing themselves to an unbelievable degree. Today the family actively encourages the lumber industry to "finally counterattack!" the forest and are eager supporters of local Army of the Forest divisions. It is as if the family and their people have actively been at war with everything from the trees to the dirt itself thinking it was part of fighting them, and it is a war they intend to
win.
The fact that they seen the current count as a man to admire and live up to has many other nobles families slowly step back from them in social events for fear of catching their no fear madness. However no one will say they are not glad to have them on their side on the field of battle regardless of the foe being faced.
The family crest of the Öbelsteins is described as a literal stampede of bulls eager to crush all in their path and leave nothing behind.
The Kessels who rules the town of Lubrecht are another family noted for their military history and tradition, and are indeed close friends with Grenzburg while also being close to their neighbors in Vandengart who are more interested in taxing trade coming into province from Grenzburg border. The Kessels have managed an impressive balance of seemingly able to get along with many groups of people in general and being surprisingly diplomatic despite their relative isolation in their lands.
Their social gatherings are noted to be rather impressive and must go events for all the important nobles in Ostland.
The Kessels are also noted to be rather ambitious and eager to expand their power, a prime example being funding an effort to make a path through the forest to the village of Smallhof in order to better connect them to roads and profit from trade taxing. Any reasonable Ostlander will say that such a task would require lots of time and resources no matter how better the forest has become but if successful would make Kessels local heroes for pushing said forest back.
The family crest of the Kessels is a bull head on top of a tower which is an unsubtle show of their desire to rise up in the world.
