House Aquilia

House Aquilia
House Aquilia is a noble house in Valreach. Its current head of house is Heaven Aquilia. It is the primary house in control of the region of Athelric, with its capital estate in the city of Nidaros. It has close ties to the House of Aulian, which has its main residence within The City of Nidaros.

The House Motto is 'In spite of Destiny, we forge our own Fate'. Another common phrase is 'Fortes Aquilia', which roughly translates to "Power be with Aquilia!"

Founding
The house's true historical origins are unknown, but the first written records of 'Aquilia' date back to the formation of The Kingdoms of Valreach. They speak of a legend involving the supposed founder, Lunden (now referred to as Lunden The Great/The First):

"... The gods had forgotten the people of Nidaros. Famine, disease and ceaseless cannon-fire threatened to end them all...

The assailants would not give up the siege, giving them only the choice of surrender, or starving within their beloved city walls. Many had already succumbed to hunger, the rich desperately trying to peddle their wealth for even the tiniest slice of moldy bread. All hope was lost.

One cold and unforgiving night, the citizens were jolted awake by a strange sound... Was it screaming? Laughter? It crept closer, and they realized it to be naught but the whistle of eagles. The sky darkened with their arrival, the flapping of wings deafening, they thought the end was nigh, that it was an omen of the end, till they realized what the soar of eagles were doing. One by one, they dropped bunches of grapes, peaches, apricots and many fruits that the people had never seen before. They scrambled to catch them, treating every single drop of sweet juice as if it was gold...

'Twas a miracle, one that saved thousands of poor souls from starvation, but the story does not end here. It is said that one day, as the eagles were bearing fruit once more to the city, they had brought a brave young man named Lunden from ███████. He took pity upon the population, and decided to help drive the assailants of the city away.

He made a deal with the eagles. They stormed the enemy army brutally, ripping them limb from limb, leaving naught but one soldier alive, so he may tell his superiors what had transpired. They would stand guard near the city since that day, eventually spreading to the entirety of the Eastern Drakaesland. In exchange, Lunden and any of his succesors were to ████████████████████████████.

The people hailed Lunden as a hero, and thus was born a great and respected noble house, the House of Aquilia, based on an ancient name of the eagles."

Sensitive information and house secrets have been obscured.

The practice of Falconry, too, is said to originate around the same time as the supposed founding of House Aquilia.

Current Affairs
Currently, House Aquilia mostly engages in the administration of The City of Nidaros, and is in charge of most cultural displays inside Valreach. They earn their wealth by taxing the citizens, and by donations from the many sponsors that their many balls, feasts and markets attract.

Currently, the Matriarch of the house is Heaven Aquilia, a title they have inherited from their father, Lunden III Aquilia through ultimogeniture (succesion law specific to the house, in which the youngest child or grandchild of the deceased House Head inherits the throne). Heaven's mother and siblings hold purely ceremonial roles and functions, the House Head having absolute authority over all of its functions.