House Astrea

House Astrea (アストレア家) is a noble house in the Kingdom of Lugunica, currently headed by patriarch Heinkel Astrea. They are the direct descendants of the first Sword Saint, contributing to the Sword Saint role and title which they have continued to pass down through generations.

Information
The House of Astrea is among the most acclaimed Houses in the Kingdom of Lugunica. Four hundred years before Natsuki Subaru's arrival, Reid Astrea, the forerunner of the Astrea bloodline, aided the Sage, his apprentice and the Divine Dragon in defeating and sealing the Witch of Envy. Ever since then, one member per generation has been chosen as the next Sword Saint; a knight who inherits the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint, which can only be inherited by a member of the Astrea family. Sword Saints are regarded as the Kingdom's greatest weapons and are only called in action when the situation is at the most desperate. Many Astreas and Sword Saints have been killed in action in service of the kingdom, in most recent memory being Theresia van Astrea, who was lost in the disastrous Great Conquest. The current generation's Sword Saint is Reinhard van Astrea.

House Astrea possesses an auxiliary residence in the Royal Capital's Nobles District which matches the grandeur of the other mansions located there. In contrast to the appearance of their side mansion, the family itself is not particularly wealthy, nor is their domain grand. The main Astrea Manor is located in the small southeastern town of Hakuchuri, the only fiefdom within the Astrea Domain. It has a modest size compared to the Royal Capital's mansions, the iron gate at its entrance shows signs of age and rust, and the mansion itself reflects the gate's signs of age.

Some members of the household have heavily involved themselves in the ongoing Royal Selection. The Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, Heinkel Astrea, is a backer of the Priscilla Camp; conversely, the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea is the primary benefactor of the Felt Camp, personally working as Felt's knight and protector. As a result of the ideological split, Reinhard and Felt live in the Astrea Manor, whilst Heinkel resides in the Barielle house.

Dragon Sword Reid
The House of Astrea is in possession of the strongest of the Ten Enchanted Swords, the Dragon Sword Reid. The Sword has been passed down through generations ever since the days of the first Sword Saint, Reid Astrea, of whom the sword was named after. It can only be unsheathed by a Sword Saint, thought most Sword Saints have never gotten an opportunity to use it, let alone see the gleaming blade of the Dragon Sword. The weapon was said to be given to Reid Astrea by an unnamed master swordsmith, with the sword's sheathe being covered in golden claw marks which were stated to have been made by the Divine Dragon Volcanica itself. Reid used it to cut down numerous dragons back in his day, though nowadays the sword rarely makes its appearance unsheathed.

It is said to be the most beautiful blade known to man. The blade is abnormally sharp and is nigh unbreakable; Reinhard was able to block Regulus' Authority of Greed with its sheathe alone. Capable of destroying the world and able to cut through space and mana itself, the weapon is without a doubt the strongest Sword, if not the strongest material item in existence. All in all, the Dragon Sword Reid is the House's most prized and cherished possession, with a rich history and countless legends surrounding it, though no one knows how many of these legends actually hold true to the actual events that transpired all those years ago.

History

 * Note: The characters within the story rarely describe historical events within helpful context, so the unit BA, “Before Arrival”, and AA, “After Arrival”, will be used to place moments in time with the best available knowledge. Both are in reference to Natsuki Subaru’s arrival in the new world. Also note that the units are not official.

400 years BA

 * Reid Astrea received the Dragon Sword, a legendary sword passed through generations, only being able to be drawn by the Sword Saints.
 * Reid Astrea teamed up with Volcanica and Flugel in order to stop the Witch of Envy's rampage.

Roughly 50 years BA

 * Fribal van Astrea loses his Divine Protection of the Sword Saint and senses that Theresia, his niece, had inherited the Divine Protection. This occurs shortly before the outbreak of the Demi-Human War, and even though he is left significantly less able, Fribal takes up arms to fight for the kingdom.
 * Refusing to wield a sword at first, Theresia and her inaction as Sword Saint were indirectly responsible for the deaths of both her brothers and Fribal, among many others killed in the fighting. Two years before the end of the war, Theresia was forced to overcome her disgust of fighting and killing and participated in the Battle at the Trias Estate. In her first battle, she accumulated 1000 confirmed kills. Over the course of following years, the Sword Saint Theresia van Astrea single-handedly turned the tide of the war which eventually concluded in the Kingdom's total victory.
 * Two years after Theresia's debut in the army, Wilhelm fought and defeated her on her own celebration hosted by the King himself. She gave up the title of the Sword Saint.

Roughly 19 years BA

 * Reinhard van Astrea is born to Louanna Astrea and Heinkel Astrea.
 * Roughly two years after Reinhard's birth, Louanna Astrea suddenly falls into a comatose state. She was repeatedly examined by numerous healers but to no avail. Her "disease" was referred to as the sleeping beauty state.

Roughly 14 years BA

 * The King of Lugunica orders a squad of elite soldiers led by Heinkel Astrea to eliminate the Hakugei. In an unprecedented turn of events, Theresia is sent to battle instead of Heinkel.
 * Amidst the fearsome battle, Theresia suddenly lost her Divine Protection of the Sword Saint which was the main cause of her death.
 * Reinhard van Astrea becomes the next generation's Sword Saint at the age of 5.

Roughly 4-5 months BA

 * The King of Lugunica, Randohal Lugunica sends Reinhard to the Pleiades Watchtower in order to make contact with the Sage and ask him for the cure of the illness that had plagued the Royal Castle. Unfortunately, Reinhard was not able to break through the Sand Time and was forced to return empty-handed.
 * Reinhard, Julius Juukulius and Ferris Argyle escort Council of Wise Men members Miklotov McMahon and Bordeaux Zellgef to the Crystal Palace, located in the Vollachia Empire's Imperial Capital of Lupugana. After an unfortunate turn of events, the three knights find themselves in a situation in which could escalate into a war between the two nations. They managed to resolve the issue and prevent a bigger conflict.
 * About a month later, Reinhard van Astrea crosses swords with Vollachia's Blue Lightning, Cecilus Segmunt, in possession of two of the Ten Enchanted Swords. The Dragon Sword, unprecedented in history, recognized Cecilus as a worthy opponent and so Reinhard was able to fight Cecilus with the unsheathed Dragon blade. The duel resulted in a tie.

Roughly 0-2 months AA

 * Reinhard located the whereabouts of the fifth Royal Selection Candidate, Felt.
 * Two months after, the Royal Selection Ceremony takes place. Reinhard swears his sword to the fifth candidate, Felt.

Roughly 1 year and 2 months AA

 * Alongside the other four camps, Felt camp is also invited to the Watergate City of Priestella by Anastasia Hoshin. Soon upon arrival, the city is sieged and taken over by the Witch Cult. Both Reinhard and Wilhelm play a key role in the liberation of the city.
 * The Witch Cult takes control of Theresia van Astrea's reanimated corpse and use it to siege the Watergate City. It's later defeated by Reinhard.

Members

 * Reid Astrea
 * Fribal van Astrea
 * Veltol Astrea
 * Tishua Astrea
 * Theresia van Astrea
 * Thames Astrea
 * Carlan Astrea
 * Casilles Astrea
 * Wilhelm van Astrea
 * Heinkel Astrea
 * Louanna Astrea
 * Reinhard van Astrea

Trivia

 * Ever since Reid Astrea, every member born into the family has had flame-red hair.
 * There have been roughly 7 or 8 Sword Saints following after the first Sword Saint's death.
 * Distinguished members of the family are given the honorary title of "van".
 * Despite Heinkel being the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, he's not popular and disliked for his unscrupulous behaviour. He has yet to receive the title of "van" from the Astrea family either.
 * Reinhard is stated to be the strongest Sword Saint to ever exist; even more powerful than Reid Astrea.
 * Reid Astrea was so skilled with the blade that he received an honorary title of the Heavenly Sword; a title only given to the most skilled Swordsman in a generation.
 * Cecilus Segmunt is currently trying to achieve the title of the Heavenly Sword.
 * Despite Reinhard being stronger than Reid, the first generation's Sword Saint is more skilled with a blade than the current generation's Sword Saint.
 * While not outright confirmed, it's heavily implied that Toska is a member of House Astrea and Reid Astrea's younger brother. Just like his supposed older brother, Toska had flaming red hair and was inhumanly strong, though not nearly as strong as Reid.
 * It's been heavily hinted that the current members of House Astrea are in fact direct descendants of Toska rather than of Reid.