House Ehrhart

House Ehrhart rules over the counties of the Bounding Levels and Reussmouth. Its head is Count Jost Ehrhart. It is a vassal of House Gabel.

History
House Ehrhart is not a particularly old house. It first came to prominence in the mid-590s, having at that time accrued a substantial amount of land within the county of Reussmouth. In 631, the last member of the previous ruling house of Reussmouth, Count Gunther Tecker, died without any heir, other than the most distant of relatives - one of which so happened to be an Ehrhart, via a marriage to a Tecker decades ago. Jost Ehrhart sought to press his house's claim. The matter was presented before House Gabel, the liege of Count Gunther, with representatives of the Imperial Crown present for arbitration. House Gabel saw an opportunity to address the matter of Reussmouth and the Bounding Levels at the same time.

The Bounding Levels are a vast expanse of moorland and swamp, spanning many miles across, along the western coast of the Encircled Sea. The land is terribly poor, with no resources of any consequence whatsoever to offer. Barely anyone lives there. Its sole distinction is that tradition holds that it went through all three Greytides unscathed. Records of the first two Greytides are so patchy and scarce that it is hard to state with certainty what happened then, but by the Third Greytide, many people from miles around flocked towards the Levels. What records survive from that time assert that the Greytide passed around the fringes of the Levels but did not enter.

In the wake of that, Ulrich Otrese named the Levels a county. Rule of the Levels has passed from house to house over the centuries - it is not always a particularly popular tract of land to hold, being that it requires at least a modicum of administration and security lest it be stripped from the ruling house entirely, even though scant few people live there. The Greytides are in the distant past and the potential security offered is of little concern.

In 631, the Levels were under the rule of House Luthe, another vassal of House Gabel, which holds a hilly county inland of the Levels, and has in recent years been beset by more than its share of troubles. It had so thoroughly neglected the Levels - although understandably so, to the minds of most at court - that the moors and swamps had become a popular place for brigands to hide and, worse, pirates established a presence along the coast and begin to raid shipping routes in the Encircled Sea.

House Gabel and the Crown assented to House Ehrhart's request to take over the rule of Reussmouth, under the condition that it also take over rule of the Bounding Levels - much to the great relief of the beleaguered members of House Luthe attending court at the time - and that Jost Ehrhart swear an oath to rid the Levels of the brigands. He duly did so.

Holdings
The seat of power of House Ehrhart is in the town of Oldan, in Reussmouth. Reussmouth is a coastal county at the mouth of the River Reuss, one of the major rivers that flows from the Encircled Sea towards western Elsoth. The land is not on the whole of particularly good quality. Much of House Ehrhart's wealth derives from Oldan itself. Its burghers are the dominant force in trade along the Reuss and no small amount of their income flows into the hands of the Ehrharts. The house maintains a naval force, which is a substantial burden on its coffers, to ensure security of this trade. The burghers of Oldan only engage in limited maritime trade, which is dominated in the region by merchants from the Grand Republic of Thasen.

The Bounding Levels are a burden to House Ehrhart. The few permanent settlements are tiny. One village in the heart of the Levels, Tidestop, has about a hundred residents, and is the largest permanent settlement in the Levels. The people there claim that their home is where those fleeing the Greytides came.

Current Events
House Ehrhart's rule over Reussmouth is generally accepted by the minor nobility in the county - they were a major presence within the county before being named its rulers. They are not particularly well established at the imperial court, for a house that rules as much land as Ehrhart does, and it will likely take some time and effort to become better known among the imperial nobility. They have yet to truly prove themselves in the eyes of both House Gabel, House Otrese and indeed the entire court. Domestically, House Ehrhart has to contend with the problems in the Bounding Levels. The levels are vast and difficult to traverse and the hiding places for brigands innumerable.

The presence of pirates, who have managed to seize seagoing vessels and are now preying on other ships, threatens sea trade in the region, much to the frustration of mariners from the Grand Republic of Thasen. Although the pirates appear to come from the Levels, the trade privileges which the Republic holds specify that it is also responsible for maritime security of its routes. The matter remains the subject of some discussion in the imperial court.