Summary
House Oppelstadt was founded in the first millennium when Horren Firax claimed the world Praxis Metataxis in the northern galactic admin circuit to become the first Duke of Praxis Metataxis and the Bannerlord Firax of Oppelstadt. The name Oppelstadt is said to have been derived from a now-extinct galactic-northern Language called Provenziele Krola. It was the name of the city where the House Oppelstadt erected its estate.
House Oppelstadt later became a Designer House when Borobex of Oppelstadt invented the Brunswig in the second millennium.
In the Moltess War of Regrets, House Oppelstadt fought on the side of the Lords of the Comets. They provided the Lords with magnificent war crafts and weapons. It was soldiers sworn to the House Oppelstadt who turned the tides in the Battle of Hegemon Prime, ending the war in favor of the Moltess Alliance. Even now, the grand plaza of Oppelstadt displays a mural to remember souls unmade in aforementioned battle.
For two centuries during the United Empire, house Oppelstadt was the revered Imperial Head. Emperors Firax, Monoleus, Coppotan, Brockling, and Duncan were of Oppelstadt decendance, may the Mother delay their unmaking. The Oppelstadt dynasty was unseated at the Council of Reconciliation, where the House Harkon replaced it as Head.
Founding
During the early Prospecting Empire, part of Majora’s Burghership was divided between the Ur-Kingdom’s heartlands and the outer reaches along still developing Galactic Roads. A group called the Northern Frontier Barons felt a lack of Imperial authority and support entitled them to the freedom to rob and pillage. One of these robber-barons was Horren Firax who had declared a House Firax in his youth, although this House was never formally instated by the Seneschal and was therefore an activity bordering on heresy. Yet, Horren Firax gained a reputation as a fair robber. Many of his victims would testify to Firax’s enlightened Mother-like sense of responsibility and his extreme devotion to the Discipline’s Decree Against Violence. He reportedly only disabled ships in the most non-destructive way possible, entered them, and stole cargo, usually without hurting anyone. Many voidvessel commanders taken by Firax reported that, as the baron’s crew ransacked the cargo hold, Firax would sit with the command crew to discuss philosophy and Discipline. More than once, Firax could rob a Captain, then part ways on such friendly terms that long-lasting bonds resulted.
In his 31st Ete of life, Firax landed on a frigid planet in the galactic North, hoping to extract wisdom and bounty from the population. He found a massive dome city there, whose metal canopy contained a sprawling community of frost-dwellers. Firax called these people the Entodicts, a Marth coinage that translates into Contra as “those who dwell in the cold.” While he had expected a quick ransacking, Firax was reportedly met with such warmth and candor that it softened his heart. Legendarily charismatic, Firax made fast friends with local rulers, learned of local issues. For two Etes, Firax was said to have invested his own ill-gotten fortunes into the dome city. He learned their language, helped solve their social and economic problems. Many of Firax’s crew settled in the city, called Oppelstadt by the Entodicts.
In his third Ete there, Firax’s hunger for enlightenment and discovery led him to build a large adjunct to the Oppelstadt compound, a school of higher learning that preceded the Udhar Academies by almost a millennium. Entodicts, already forced into ingenuity to survive their planet, proved to be gifted in the sciences, leading to a small scientific revolution throughout the Ur-Kingdom with Firax at its heart. The Seneschal, who had many Etes earlier ignored Firax’s petition to instate House Firax, now saw himself forced to reckon with a new power.
Firax is granted Burghership and chooses to honor the people who had become his own by naming the House after their city. House Oppelstadt was founded and the Duchy that was its estate was called Praxis Metataxis, the world of Science and Making.
Early History
Firax of Oppelstadt took to wife the Entodict Princess Marolin in his 37th Ete, elevating her into the Imperial Burghership as the Lady Marolin of Oppelstadt. Quickly, she bore Firax a son whom the pair named Gwenneth, a name from Lady Marolin’s Entodict culture.
During the last stretches of the Prospecting Empire, House Oppelstadt was quickly given a Ressort, so as to maintain the Synthetic Dichotomy. Firax, whose close advisors had reported a rather restless disposition in the Bannerlord, delayed the reception of his Ressort, refused to travel to Norfodl to receive it. Only when the Seneschal assembled a fleet of warships to arrest Firax for heresy did he relent. He met with the Seneschal aboard the Exitus Mallory, the prized Corvette commanded by Lord Bashti Mravnunac of Colehill & Sutton, Seneschal of Her Empire. With him, Firax carried his son, only barely over a Ete of age. The presence of Gwenneth of Oppelstadt was said to soothe relations between the men as they bonded over fatherhood and marriage. Firax was said to have a supernatural charisma. By the end of the meeting, Lord Bashti left the system with his fleet in toe and Firax returned to Oppelstadt to announce the bestowment of the Oppelstadt Ressort. Against odds and estimations, the Seneschal had allowed Firax to officially settle the Ressort on the shoulders of his infant son Gwenneth, with the understanding that execution of the Ressort could only really be expected from an adult, in about 17 Etes. In the intervening time, Firax was reportedly seen all over the Empire, gallivanting instead of leading his House.
Gwenneth of Oppelstadt
Gwenneth had often spoken about his childhood and adolescence, about the absence of his father, about the cruel responsibilities heaped upon him at an early age. When he was only 14, Gwenneth’s father Firax fell into ill health. The Ressort bestowed on Gwenneth just 13 Etes prior, now loomed large. While Firax was cared for by his Entodan staff, Gwenneth took up the mantle of leading the House Oppelstadt. In a later speech, he would reveal that this was the time when he swore to be better than Firax. To lead and to earn respect. Gwenneth contacted the Seneschal after he turned 15. Lord Bashti, himself now nearing old age, agreed to allow Gwenneth to run the House Ressort, but remained skeptical. To safeguard the interests of Empire, Lord Bashti ordered members of his own House to travel to Oppelstadt to give guidance and advice to the young Lord Gwenneth.
First Ressort
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