House of Manstein

When the schism of civil war erupted between the various provinces of the Arathorian Empire and its central authority, many provencials took up arms in a quest for independace from the rule Empire's dominion. Marius Manstein, a relatively unknown soldier at arms within the province of Azeroth, was one of many men who rose up and took arms under Logan Wrynn I in the rebellion. Although not much is known of what occured, it is thought that Marius excelled in the field of battle, and, in return for his bravery, was granted a small barony within the high mountains east of Stormwind. Such was born the House of Manstein.

History
The House ruled over the lands of Barony of Faulkenburg for many generations and was generally reclusive in nature, prefering the quiet pleasures of hard work to the rousing politics of Stormwind City. As the decades passed, however, vast veins of gold and silver were found within the dusty mountains of Faulkenburg and suddenly the family found itself pushed into the center of Stormwind's aristocratic society.

Adapting well to their newfound wealth and role within Stormwind's nobility, the family prospered, with many of its sons serving honorbly in Stormwind's military, the King's ministries, and the Church of the Holy Light. It was not until the First War and the arrival of the orcs that the family would face its greatest injury.

The defeat of the Kingdom of Azeroth after the First War forced the family to flee its meagre holdings. Upon returning in the aftermath of the Horde's defeat at the end of the Second War it was found that the orcs had, rather industriously, totally mined out the entirety of the House's gold and silver mines, leaving what little land the family had in tatters.

Current Status
Never a family known for a great deal of prodigy, the House has yet to fully recover from the calamity of the First War. Lead by its current head, Erich Gottfried Manstein, the family has seen itself dwindle to a meagre one heir, Erich's son, Arminius Marius Manstein, who has yet to marry or produce any children.

Although the numbers within the family have dwindled to a radically endangered level, the family has managed to lay claim to a truely vast amount of wealth. Erich's marriage to Wilhelmina Cartres, daughter of the Count of Northdale, and his subsequent skill in managing to evacuate the Cartres family's extraordinary wealth from Lordaeron before the kingdom's total fall to the Scourge, has left the House financially sound.

Using the wealth of the Cartres family, Erich has managed to grow the House's wealth to that of enormous, and strangly undocumented, proportions. Records within the House of Nobles taxation rolls show that the primary source of this newfound magnificent wealth may involve several investment ventures undertaken by the House of Manstein, including mason's guilds involved in the reconstruction of Stormwind Harbor, several private-venture shipping companies, and a number of banks heavily involved in the loaning of money.

Acquisition of the County of Eastvale
On January 31, 622 K.C., the House of Manstein was given the responsibility of governing the County of Eastvale with its current head crowned the Count of Eastvale.