Rittevon family

Template:Family infoboxThe Rittevon family (pronounced RIHT-ehv-on) was the royal family of the Copper Isles since the Luarin Conquest in 181 HE. In 463 HE, after the raka rebellion and the defeat of the main branch of the Rittevon family, it is still extant in the female line. Dovasary Balitang is the great-granddaughter of a previous Rittevon king.

Members

The main branch

• Rittevon of Lenman was a Marenite nobleman who led a victorious conquest against the raka of the Isles. He founded the royal branch in 181 HE, when he was crowned King.
• Hanoren I Rittevon was a king sometime before Oron and sometime after Rittevon, his ancestor. He ratified a law that forbade a regent from using the privileges of the kingship.
• Oron Rittevon was a descendant of Rittevon of Lenman and a member of the main branch of the Rittevon family. He was King from an unknown date until 462 HE.
• Hazarin Rittevon was Oron's heir and succeeded his father as King of the Copper Isles
• Imajane Rittevon was a Rittevon princess and a half-sister of Hazarin. She was named regent for Dunevon.
  • Rubinyan Jimajen was of the Jimajen family. He married Princess Imajane and was one of the regency council.
• Hanoren Rittevon was executed by his father for assumed and presumed treason and plotting
• Dunevon Rittevon was Oron's youngest son, and king after Hazarin. He ruled with a regency council
• Josiane Rittevon was a Copper Isles princess.
• Valmar Rittevon was a General in the army and was against Tortall in the Immortals War
• Deniau Rittevon was the High Admiral of the Copper Isles and was a part of the Immortals War against Tortall, along with his brother Valmar.

Cadet Branch (Balitang)

• Mequen Balitang was the first cousin of Oron Rittevon, as Imajane mentioned that Dunevon and Sarai were second cousins. Mequen and Oron would have shared a mutual grandparent. It is assumed, as Mequen's surname is Balitang as opposed to Rittevon, that his mother was Oron's aunt and a princess of the Copper Isles, thus making him a member of the Rittevon family through blood
  • Saraiyu Balitang was the second cousin of King Dunevon and his siblings. Sarai was also a carrier of Haiming royal blood
  • Dovasary Balitang was a second cousin of King Dunevon and a carrier of the Haiming royal blood along with her sister
  • Petranne Balitang was a second cousin of King Dunevon and his siblings
  • Elsren Balitang was a second cousin of King Dunevon as well as the King's heir in 463 HE until his and the King's deaths.

History

Luarin Conquest

The royal house of Rittevon was founded by Rittevon of Lenman, a Marenite nobleman from a lesser and poorer noble house. He led the seven year conquest of the Isles, along with his friend, Ludas Jimajen. It started in 174 HE and began with an attack on Malubesang Island. He overthrew the Haiming Dynasty and ended the age of the raka warrior queens. He tried to eradicate all of those with Haiming blood, to avoid full-fledged rebellion. He was successful for all but one cadet branch, the Temaida family, which lived as lesser raka nobility, keeping their royal roots hidden.

The reign of the full-blood luarin Rittevon line lasted from 181 HE until 463 HE. Dovasary Balitang, the "twice-royal" queen who was mentioned in a prophecy that was given to the raka people by Kyprioth to salvage their hope, took the throne. She is of both the Rittevon and the ancient Haiming blood lines.

Succession Crisis of the 460s

Oron Rittevon had many children through his wives, however many of them died and were executed. By 462 HE, his only children left were Prince Hazarin, Prince Dunevon, and Princess Imajane.

The princess would only be able to inherit once all male-line Rittevons and family members were dead. This included the male members of the closely related Balitang family. Imajane, however, would inherit the throne before Lady Sarai or Lady Dove, by luarin inheritance laws, as the woman of the main branch of a family would be higher in line than a woman in a cadet branch. Later, it was revealed that to be queen Imajane would have needed a man of the Rittevon bloodline. It is assumed that Rubinyan Jimajen had Rittevon blood and that the families were closely related.

Prince Dunevon became King in 462 HE. Since the Rittevon family had a very shaky grip on their rule, they fell even harder due to the instabilities of having a child ruler. At his death in 463 HE, his older half-sister Imajane succeeded him with her husband, Rubinyan Jimajen. The monarchy fell even harder, and fights broke out. Rubinyan died by Ulasim's sword, and Imajane committed suicide. As such, Dovasary Balitang would have been the next in line to the Rittevon throne, being the eldest daughter of the remaining Balitang family.

Peace did not come immediately, as there still were many insurgents who were loyal to the full-blood luarin rulers. But, since Dove would have been considered the next rightful queen, the insurgents did not have any figurehead to rally around.

Appearances

The Rittevon family has appeared throughout the Tortallan Universe books, but feature mainly in the Trickster Series as the main antagonists.