House of Brandt
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| House of Brandt | |
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| Noble family and royal house | |
 The Grand Coat of Arms of the House of Brandt | |
| Country | Illusia and Neverendia |
| Place of origin | Osterplatte |
| Founded | 1300 |
| Founder | Emmerich von Brandt |
| Members | List |
| Motto | Per aspera ad astra (Through hardships to the stars) |
| Estate(s) | Neu Schloss Brandt, Franziskehafen |
| Cadet branches |
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The House of Brandt (Illusian: Haus Brandt), or the Brandt dynasty, is a large, prestigious, well-distinguished and renowned royal family from Illusia and Neverendia. The dynasty originates from the Illusian region, having granted nobility status in 1300, but the family's history predates the foundation of their peerage. Recorded history of the family's grand patriarch, Emmerich von Brandt, reaches as far back as the late 13th century.
Initially founded as a family of traders and merchants, Emmerich von Brandt embarked on multiple journeys that awarded him and his family a noble status in the Duchy of Nachtberg in 1300. von Brandt had pioneered in creating cross-duchy trade routes, which would be credited in the future as the vital component for the construction of Illuverendian road infrastructure. The first trade routes were from their hometown of Osterplatte to the Neverendian town of Karlswisch in Santhea, and then after achieving nobility, a route to Nyverith was opened.
The mercantile-oriented dynasty switched to domestic industrial work after the start of the ostracisation of the Duchy of Nachtberg from the United Duchies, which greatly damaged the economic power of the House of Brandt. By 1345, the dynasty gained a major foothold in the Illusian kingdom. At the start of the Illusia-Neverendia War years later, the Brandts' accounted 40–50% of the Illusian arsenal. During this time, the clan also employed mercenaries under the Illusian flag. These mercenaries were known as the Brandtische Soldaten, and the Illusian Army attached them but never incorporated to their own army structure. As the war continued, the Illusian Army struck a deal with the dynasty and incorporated the mercenaries into the army.
The dynasty was involved in the cross-country Friedenzirkel that promulgated the Treaty of Enigmastadt, which ended the Illusia-Neverendia War and ushered peaceful relations between the two states. After the war, 454 years after the mercantile operations of the Brandt dynasty ceased, it restarted once again, resuming old routes and creating newer ones. Intermarriages, as a consequence of the peace treaties, also occurred in the dynasty – which then created the three prominent cadet branches: Brandt-Mottehausen, Brandt-Rossweisse, and Brandt-Lusaminia.
The dynasty rose to its highest prominence when Franziska of Brandt-Mottehausen rose to power in 1900, ushering the Franziskanic era. After her death, in which it saw the cessation of the Brandt-Mottehausen branch, the Ekelepoche began, prompting the two remaining cadet branches to lay low and be private. The subsequent Illuverendian Revolution and the Stratocratic era did not help them any further. It was only until the accesion of Alyssa that the Brandt-Lusaminia branch came out of hiding and re-established the dynasty's reputation.
The present reigning branch carrying the dynasty's prestige and royal peerage is the branch of Brandt-Lusaminia, headed by Heinrich Augustus of Brandt-Lusaminia along with his firstborn, Prince Friedrich of Brandt-Lusaminia.
Etymology
The dynasty's name comes from Brandt Castle, known in Illusian as Schloss Brandt. It was constructed in 1322 at the behest of the clan's patriarch and founder, Emmerich von Brandt, 22 years after he obtained nobility. The castle is in central Osterplatte in the county of Niederskastell, and has been well-preserved ever since.
History
Foundation and early years
Dynasty patriarch Emmerich von Brandt was born to a family of retainers working for the dukes and duchesses of the Nachtberg royal court, in 1252. Using his family's wealth and connections, von Brandt created his own family at a young age of 20, which distanced from work oriented within the royal court. Having a fascination on commerce and trade since he was young, he used fortunes granted to him to plan the creation of a trading company. From there, von Brandt negotiated with explorers and journeymen to survey routes, as his visionary desire was to create a functional land trade route between Nachtberg and the United Duchies.
At that time, trade between the two states was done via sea trade, the termini cities being the port towns of Agresteburgh (present-day Wellingtonia) in the Gathorean region of the United Duchies, and Enigmastadt, respectively. Land trade was non-existent, which greatly hampered progress. von Brandt aimed to resolve this, and began the Osterplatte Expedition of 1276, where he, his family, and a large party of Illusian explorers and journeymen trekked long distances to find a city within the United Duchies.
Using location markers, they laid down their paths, and by 1278, after trekking through perilous terrain, the team reached the United Duchies through Santhea, ending up in the small havel of Karlswisch. They were welcomed by the Santhean populace, but were arrested and sent to Nyverith, the nation's capital. There, von Brandt stated his intentions, which pleased the United Duchies, and immediately released him and his crew. Replenished and now had assistance, von Brandt created a route between Nyverith and Karlswisch, which then connected it to their pre-existing route bound to Osterplatte.
Upon their return to Osterplatte in 1279, von Brandt created the Osterplatte Handelsgesellschaft, boasting its trade route achievements to attract customers. As land trade was a relatively new concept and met hesitation, the first years of the company were poor. After the Nachtberg royal court approached them, however, the company's demand spiked rapidly, and soon enough von Brandt extensively had to ramp up more equipment and manpower.
This achievement made him and his family, now larger than ever, ascend to the nobility after being conferred with such in 1300. Emmerich chose the surname von Brandt to identify his dynasty, and named their castle after it.