[quote=@Darkspleen]
[hider=History][b]Bernhardt von Eisenburg (Reigned 1269 – 1295)[/b]
Bernhardt came into power in 1269, inheriting holdings in both Upper and Lower Saxony that had been in his family for generations. These holdings included a castle and several villages distributed throughout Saxony. No fool, Bernhardt recognized the very real potential of war between the two Saxon states and also realized that any such conflict would put his house in a very awkward position; there was also the potential for the rapid expansion of his family’s holdings if he played his cards right. Towards that end he sought to form ties with foreign noble families which could be cultivated into alliances later on. In 1271 he married Stefanie von Feilhaber, the eldest daughter of a minor family residing in Austria. The following year Stefanie gave birth to Bernhardt’s third son, but died in childbirth. Bernhardt proceeded to cultivate ties with the ruling Hapsburg family and other regional nobles over the next few years. In 1290 the von Feilhaber heir died in a hunting accident, leaving Bernhardt’s son as a strong contender for the Feilhaber inheritance. When the von Feilhaber head died of consumption the following year Bernhardt convinced the Hapsburgs to support his son’s claims on the von Feilhaber holdings.

[b]Reinhold von Eisenburg (Reigned 1291 - 1332)[/b]
Thanks to his father’s political machinations Reinhold inherited the von Feilhaber family’s holdings which included several villages. Unlike his father Reinhold was no diplomat and had few aspirations for expansion. On the other hand he was a fairly competent administrator and was able to consolidate his family’s holdings on its new holdings in Austria. Meanwhile his two older brothers inherited the family’s estates in Upper and Lower Saxony when Bernhardt passed away in 1295. While viewed as the lesser of the three brothers, on account of his smaller holdings, Reinhold would amass a small fortune, one that would dwarf those of his brothers. In 1332 he passed away after contracting consumption.

[b]Seraphina von Eisenburg (Acted as regent 1332 – 1345)[/b]
When Reinhold died in 1332 his son and sole heir, Gunther, was only ten. Seraphina, Reinhold’s wife, acted as regent until Gunther came of age. One of Seraphina’s first acts as regent was to betroth her son to Freya von Meyer, the eldest daughter of a noble family that controlled several towns in the region. She also sought to create closer ties with the other families in the region and made various promises and political marriages with these families. During this time she was able to resist a number of attempts to gain control over the von Eisenburg holdings in Austria by the parts of the family in Upper and Lower Saxony.

[b]Gunther “the Stalwart” von Eisenburg (Reigned 1345 - 1370)[/b]
When Gunther came into power at the age of sixteen he found himself in a situation that was simultaneously lucky and unlucky. On one hand he had the massive fortune amassed by his father and the political ties, especially the marriage with Freya von Meyer, created and strengthened by this mother. On the other hand he had to deal with increasingly aggressive family members in Upper and Lower Saxony who sought to take advantage of his young age and usurp his holdings. He managed to fend off their attempts to politically usurp his holdings, but things came to a head in 1348 when his cousin, Reiner, raised an army of six hundred to forcefully back his claim. Gunther’s ability to raise levies were limited as his holdings consisted of just a few villages and he found himself with a mere hundred. All was not lost, however, as Gunther still had a small fortune and strong political ties which he utilized wisely. First he acquired a large number of horses which he used to form a rather sizable formation of light cavalry. He then hired several mercenary companies, most notably Genoese crossbowmen, and asked for aid from friendly noble families in Austria. All in all he managed to raise a force of about five hundred; although his force was still smaller than Reiner’s he possessed more cavalry and competent Genoese crossbowmen. It was in this battle that Gunther proved himself to be a competent military leader, effectively utilizing his forces to their maximum potential, especially his light cavalry, to not only defeat Reiner’s force, but to also capture Reiner himself. Gunther would keep his cousin hostage until a sizeable ransom was paid several years later. 

Gunther, recognizing the potential strength of his cavalry, continued to maintain and nourish a fairly sizable force of light cavalry and heavy cavalry that would later form the core of the von Eisenburg’s fighting force. This cavalry force would prove to be incredibly helpful when, in the 1350’s, Austria erupted into a civil war. Gunther threw his weight behind Frederick III and fought for him in a number of important battles. While the numbers he contributed to the effort were never especially great he knew how to utilize his cavalry heavy force and thus gained some prestige and notice above what was warranted given his contribution.

In 1355 the von Meyer family had something of a succession crisis after having lost many of its male family members in battle. Seeing an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, Gunther had the head of the von Meyer family assassinated. He then went to Frederick III and promised to provide greater support in Frederick’s war effort should he recognize and support Gunther’s claims of inheritance on the ailing von Meyer family. At first Frederick seemed to resist the temptation, but after the battle against Rudolf in 1356, in which Gunther fought spectacularly and earned himself the title of “Stalwart”, Frederick caved in. Ultimately Gunther militarily pressed his claims against the von Meyer family, with Frederick’s blessings of course, and obtained an important town and several surrounding villages.

As Austria continued to fracture Gunther came to recognize that Otto IV was in a stronger position than Frederick III. By the mid 1360’s Gunther had thrown his lot in with Otto IV.

[b]Bernhardt II “the Just” von Eisenburg (1370 - )[/b]
Bernhardt II came into power with substantially more holdings than his grandfather, but also inherited something of a financial crisis thanks to his father’s military exploits. Things only got worse as the von Eisenburg family was called to fight against Austria in the early to mid-1370’s. Seeking a quick solution to his family’s financial woes Bernhardt married the daughter of a wealthy Italian merchant and made several business arrangements with this merchant.  These arrangements allowed Bernhardt II to quickly raise the funds he needed to march to war and set him up to reconstruct the fortune his grandfather had built decades ago.

Bernhardt would prove to be decent, if not unremarkable, military leader and administrator during his reign. Despite this he quickly earned the loyalty of his subjects for his “justly and pious” reign. Ironically Bernhardt would prove to be a better philosopher and artist than ruler. As he grew older Bernhardt spent less and less time on the administration of his family’s holdings, instead choosing to pursue other “subjects of interest”. His sons Bernhardt III and Siegfried would prove to be superior military leaders and administrators. Interestingly his only daughter, Octavia, also held some interest and aptitude in these subjects.[/hider]
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[quote=@Durandal]
[hider=History]
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[b][u]History of the von Habicht family[/u][/b]

[b]Alexandre von Habicht[/b]
Little information is known about the beginnings of the von Habicht dynasty for a variety of reasons, principle among them lack of record keeping. Despite the lack of official knowledge, various family tales have been passed down through the generations forming a series of interconnected stories that lay out the history of the von Habicht dynasty to 200 years ago. Around this time Alexandre von Habicht, known then as Alexandre Hrach, wandered around much of Europe as a knight, offering his services to whatever lord would pay at the moment for a fighting man. A very difficult life, Alexandre was of the poorest, outstripped by even some non-nobles in terms of wealth. This only results because of his keeping his armor, weapons, and horse in order to secure work. Missing the Crusades by a scant ten years, there was seemingly no means for him to make money. The story tells that, desperate, Alexandre traveled to Constantinople in hopes of finding some form of service.
Stunned by the majesty of the Hagia Sophia, Alexandre immediately pledged his sword to the newly risen emperor Baldwin of Flanders in 1204 and then Theodore I Laskaris in 1208. He stayed in this service until his death in they year 1236. In between these dates he sired three children: two sons Andreas (1213) and Fabian(1216) and a daughter named Theresa (1208). Fabian died at the age of three.

[b]Andreas von Habicht[/b]
It is with Andreas that the history of the von Habicht's truly begins. Losing his father at the age of eleven and his mother four years later, Andreas was left a young, family-less Austrian in a predominantly Greek land. Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes, pitying the two younglings and feeling indebted towards them due to the services Alexandre had provided, he arranged spaces for the two in a monastery located just outside Constantinople. Moving here, Andreas took lessons with the monks while his sister learned the ways of being a nun. Becoming a pious man, Andreas could never forget the stories with which his father had regaled him of the Germanic lands. At the age of 30, leading a healthy life as a monk, he begged permission from the abbot to be given leave. The abbot, a kindly man, had taken a liking to Andreas and was hesitant to let him go. By some unexplained reason Andreas was given leave, travelling with his sister to the lands of Austria. Here he worked as a chaplain to a wealthy Burgrave until his death in 1270. Only two of his children lived to adulthood, those being Alexandre II (1240) and Lukas (1243) Hrach.

[b]Alexandre II von Habicht[/b]
Despite the pressings of his father, Alexandre never felt the urge to enter the monastic life. His brother Lukas took such a path, entering a monastery at the age of six and beginning his studies. Alexandre received education from his father who, despite allowing ALexandre to stay, desired to instill piousness in him. His father, having become friends with the Burgrave and his family, secured military training for young Alexandre. Training extensively, Alexandre was knighted at the age of 22 after saving the life of the Burgrave's son during a skirmish with another local lord. Given a small village to manage, Alexandre moved here and built himself a small manor. Running the small area well, fate was not so kind to him as it was before. Disease ravaged the local area, causing Alexandre to flee with his only surviving son Alexandre (1265) to the area which would become the county of Dobersberg. Here, he once again plied his trade as a warrior, earning three villages in the north of the area which to run.

[b]Jonas von Habicht[/b]
Following in the path of his father, Jonas became a warrior at a young age. As Andreas had done to Alexandre II, Alexandre II instilled a deep sense of religious duty into Jonas. He was known as one of the most pious men in the region, receiving compliments from the clergy for his knowledge and education. Upon the death of his father in 1274 due to disease, Jonas inherited the villages that had been his father's. His plans, however, were much more ambitious. Gathering levies from the villages, he left his cousin Noah, Lukas's son, in charge of the villages. He traveled to Spain at the outset of the Aragonese Crusade. Despite being little more than 19 at the start of the conflict, he displayed great tactical aptitude in battle, leading the assault which would break the city of Girona. It was at this time that Jonas would take the title von Habicht. Returning to Austria with much greater wealth, Jonas found his lands much the same as before. Using the loot, he built his household slowly and by the year 1328 had managed to gain control of a castle and a multitude of villages through a series of marriages and gifts in thanks. He died in 1318 in a hunting accident.
He left two sons and a daughter unmarried: Alexandre III (1288), Sebastian (1289), and Helena (1297).

[b]Alexandre III[/b]
All mentions of Alexandre III in writing, despite his recentness, were destroyed by the von Habicht family for an unknown reason. The only known information is that he died in 1344 of unknown causes.

[b]Dietricht von Habicht[/b]
The son of Sebastian von Habicht, Dietricht was born in 1316. Sent to live in a monastery for the first ten years of his life as had become a custom in the von Habicht family, he returned to study under Sebastian. With the education afforded them due to spending time under the monks, many of the von Habichts were literate and versed in history and poetry as well as Scripture. Dietricht was one of the family's most fanatic believers, constantly praying and seeking guidance from God. Given control of two villages at the age of 20 by Sebastian, Dietricht displayed poor administrative skills, focusing much of his attention on religion and warfare, spying some connection between the two that he could never explain to others. Despite the lack of skills to begin with, Dietrich became a competent administrator by the time his father died in 1359. Ascending as the head of the von Habicht family, Dietrich pursued reforms which would place increased value in religion and warfare. By the time Otto IV was named Duke of Manburg, Dietrich had built a sizable military force filled with religious fervor. Fighting alongside Otto IV, he was awarded the county of Dobersberg for the military service provided. He died in 1388.
He left only one heir, Konstantin von Habicht (1350)

[b]Konstantin von Habicht[/b]
The current ruler of the von Habicht dynasty. Has two sons, Konstanin II (1370) and Dominik (1370), and a daughter Isabel (1374)
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You do know you're supposed to post those in the character section of this thread, right?