Heirs to Heaven

It is rumored that the legendary Lyrin Faulhamer was hardly a man when he became of figure of renown and myth. A blacksmith's apprentice, he strove to create the perfect suit of armor to prove his worth to his peers, who believed the boy had too much of a temper and not enough patience for the craft. Seething with frustration with each failure, Lyrin refused to look upon himself for improvement, finding fault with his materials instead. Lyrin spent as much time in the mines as he did at the forge, ripping away at the heart of the earth for a metal he deemed worthy.

Years would go by like this, Lyrin eventually carving great caves or leveling entire mountaintops in his rage. Surrounding villages grew rich off of Lyrin's mining, and the young man's strength bordered on the divine, but he found no peace of mind. Legend says that, one day, a humble man wandered into town and asked to speak to with the infamous apprentice. While other men would shrink before such fury, the man put his hand on Lyrin's head and at once calmed his mind. The stranger spoke words of wisdom and temperament to Lyrin. What had once been white-hot anger had been cooled into tempered steel. Under the stranger's guidance, Lyrin took up his hammer and smote a massive boulder containing a strange ore Lyrin had never seen before. With restraint and further advice from the strange man, Lyrin created in one night a masterwork that would have taken all the village's smiths years to complete. It was an immense suit of armor, which gleaned bright orange in the sunlight but produced a dark green glow when the sun fell below the horizon. When his peers tested the armor, nothing could produce even a scratch on it, and yet the scrawniest of village orphans could don the armor as easily as the finest soldier.

When asked how he had produced such a work, Lyrin simply told his village that God had spoken to him. God spoke of strength that was meaningless without restraint, of labors that bore no fruit without vision.

No less mighty, but now wise beyond his years, Lyrin would continue his works as the leader of his village, conquering man and mountain alike with his iconic armor and hammer. The contemporary heads of House Faulhamer claim to be descended from Lyrin, donning his armor in battle and becoming great patrons of blacksmiths and miners. While no Faulhamers today can level mountains in a single night, family members often demonstrate Lyrin's old temper and ambition, requiring the hand of the Church to temper their passions. The Faulhamers also claim Lyrin's stranger was none other than the same God that governs Ehar, although some grumble that the whole tale is pure fiction.

The current head of the family, Lythric, is one of the few rulers in the family's history to embrace the more tempered approach of Lyrin. A man of industry and the forge, Lythric seeks out immense wealth and prestige through works undertaken by both his House and the peasants beneath him. While largely popular among the population and a generally affable man, Lythric is willing to sacrifice the lives of commoners in order to further his House. His scorched beard and wide-eyed gaze hide the intentions of a man who is constantly calculating, predicting, and planning. To what end, none but his closest advisors know.

Heir to House Faulhamer is Leodric, the so-called Anvil Prince. After being unseated in a tourney, Leodric reportedly struck an anvil until his ears bled from the ringing, earning him the moniker. It's also reported that any man to call him by said moniker will find himself hammered into the ground like a nail. Hard of hearing and short of temper, Leodric has grown into a mountain of a man and barely squeezes into Lyrin's old armor. Some speculate that Lythric gifted his son the armor out of fear that the short-tempered prince would get himself killed without protection of such magnitude. Never again has Leodric mounted a horse, but the Anvil Prince continues to drill with his shield-mates on foot day in and day out. Men unable to meet Leodric's standards are deemed too "rusty" and shipped off to the navy, an unmanly profession in the eyes of the local nobility and common folk alike. A place where no man finds much pride or glory, the navy is disparagingly referred to as the "Rust Fleet".

House Name: House Braxton
House Trait: Warriors
Ruler Name: Lord-Castellan Balon Braxton
Ruler Trait 1: Aggressive
Ruler Trait 2: Trainer
Heir Name: Knight-Commander William Braxton
Heir Trait 1: Aggressive
Heir Trait 2: Trainer

Capital and Claims: (45 capital) Castle Braxton, (36) Pavile, (37) Erlingsworth
Special: Gold Mine (Castle Braxton)

Starting Army/Fleet: Sword Company (Castle Braxton), Trident Fleet (Castle Braxton)
Sigil: A bleached human skull displayed before a bronze cross upon an iron circle of deep crimson. Depictions of the holy heirloom of the house, "Judgement", are commonly inscribed upon the cross.
House Motto: "The Hammer upon The Anvil"

House Braxton is considered to be one of the oldest recognized great houses in Heaven, with a proud warrior lineage venturing far beyond the establishment of God's holy Kingdom.

Originally the feudal kingdom of Brexingtonnia spanning across several provinces, and under the rule of the, then-declared, King Wallace Braxton and his nobility, it came to no surprise that the Braxtons turned to arms when the armies of God massed upon their borders in the north. In fact, King Wallace vowed that he would personally take God's head as a victory prize.

Whilst rumours of God's divine power had spread far and wide throughout the kingdom, they were quickly scoffed aside as wild rumours and enemy propaganda by the nobility, whom began mobilizing their armies to face their new foe.

Brexingtonnia had been at peace for as long as anyone could remember, but that was mostly due to the renowned discipline and skill of the Braxtons in the art of warfare. So, by actively facing them down with arms made the Brexingtonnians view God's imminent invasion as a personal challenge of martial skill.

Upon the northern borders of Erlingsworth, the two armies met. King Wallace called out God after a series of mocking chants to raise the spirits of his men. Out of the enemy lines, and to the king of Brexingtonnia's surprise, God did indeed approach him. Wallace was astounded, if not outright baffled, by the figure's bland and generic demeanor. He could not help but laugh, knowing that this battle was already his. That all this, was but a hoax by a madman thinking he had some sort of divine and righteous duty to fulfill.

King Wallace approached God, his infamous warhammer in hand, whom in turn was unarmed - and spoke "You who dare enter my realm, best prepare to meet with the judgement of my hammer. These lands are mine, and mine alone, cretin!" With these words, King Wallace raised his weapon to strike down God.

Then arose a blinding light. A light which spread across the region, blinding all life for but a moment. When it had settled, and the Brexingtonnians looked over yonder, they could see King Wallace's horse - without him. The king was gone, vanished into nothing. And before them stood God, with their king's warhammer in his hands.

They knelt.

After the unification wars and Brexingtonnia's surrender and integration into God's kingdom, the pro-warrior nature of the Braxtons had taken a wild religious turn. Whilst still maintaining their focus on martial prowess, the population of the land and, to an even greater extent, the very rulers of House Braxton themselves had begun worshiping God with an almost fanatical zeal. Their proud military traditions and the will of God molded together, forming a sort of "righteous crusader" mentality in most Braxtons.

A majority of their kind now spends their time working, praying, training, and fighting in His name. With the death of God, the Braxtons have only become more radical in their ways, as they consider their liege's death as martyrdom - And that he has now finally ascended from his physical form to watch over them from above. This belief makes the Braxtons somewhat unnatural, as they no longer fear death or the horrors of war, as they believe that they will simply go to paradise if they die in his name, and under his will.

Balon Braxton, Lord-Castellan of Castle Braxton, and ruler of the Great House of Braxton, is a pious crusader at heart. After the death of God, Balon began claiming he could hear the voice of God, and that God delivered his righteous will through him. Declaring God's death a martyrdom shortly after the announcements went public, Balon began amassing his forces, preparing to strike down upon anything and anyone whom would turn away from the grace of our heavenly majesty. Heresy would not be allowed, even with the throne vacant.