Template:Spoiler Within the works of Jun Mochizuki, there have been set social structures between prominent families, each with varying powers and jurisdictions. The following lists these noble structures as they appeared within the universes of Pandora Hearts and The Case Study of Vanitas.
Pandora Hearts
The King
The King is mentioned by Reim Lunettes in Retrace XXXIV: Noise of Echo, and exists as an absolute power within the universe of Pandora Hearts; being the only one outside of The Four Great Dukedoms permitted to allow anyone to approach The Hole in Sablier. Presumably, The King thereby has an understanding of the powers of the Abyss and was the one to bestow political power upon The Four Great Dukedoms, as well as later take it away following Jack Vessalius' second attempt to drop the 1st Dimension into the Abyss. Despite this, The King remained an unseen character within the series.
The Four Great Dukedoms
Following the Tragedy of Sablier, Jack Vessalius helped establish a new world order under the guise of the hero of the Tragedy of Sablier. In addition to the role he played in moving the capital to Reveil from Sablier and obtained four of the five Doors to the Abyss in order to position the Vessalius Dukedom a top of the noble hierarchy. In addition to this, he gifted one Door to the Nightray Dukedom, the Barma Dukedom and the Rainsworth Dukedom - providing them each with equal standing above other noble families. Together, the Four Great Dukedoms would be made aware of the powers of the Abyss, which they could access through the Doors so long as they formed a Contract with their respective Doors Black Winged Chain. This lead to the creation of Pandora, an organization run by the Four Great Dukedoms in order to ascertain the powers of the Abyss in pursuit of the truth of the Tragedy of Sablier.
Following the near destruction of the 1st Dimension, for a second time, by Jack’s hand, the Four Great Dukedoms were forced to take the blame for the resulting chaos and destruction that it caused; resulting in the Four Great Dukedoms being stripped of their political powers.
Vessalius Dukedom
Prior to the Tragedy of Sablier, the Vessalius Family had been a lower-ranking noble family lead by Viscount Vessalius. Viscount Vessalius was known to have had two sons prior to having an affair with a commoner – who would in turn bear him a bastardized son in the form of Jack Vessalius. Viscount Vessalius left his mistress and never returned – likely not wanting the scandal that the incident would have produced reflecting upon the Vessalius name. This drove Jack’s mother mad, ultimately pushing him away from her and leading him to run away from home. While living on the streets of Sablier, Jack encountered Lacie – of the Baskerville Clan – who showed Jack the world from her perspective in order make Jack feel as though life was worth living. When the two were attacked by child traffickers, Lacie attacked the traffickers in return with her Chain, and had to part ways with Jack in order to return home.
This encounter inspired Jack to return to his mother’s side until her death, after which Jack worked toward creating a name for himself in society in hopes of on day reuniting with Lacie. As per Lacie’s suggestion, Jack utilized his looks toward his advantage and engaged in prostitution in order to raise himself through society – collecting secrets about the upper-class along the way. As time passed however, Jack began to lose sense of who he really was because of the various faces he wore in order to get to where he was. This lead Jack to hate Lacie, blaming her for making him feeling so hollow, as he’d only truly felt alive during the time they’d spent together; becoming dependant on her in order to feel alive.
Eventually, Jack would reconnect with the Vessalius Family, moving into the estate and being formally recognized among their ranks. Soon after, Jack encountered Arthur Barma, whom he used to get close to Arthur’s sister, Miranda Barma. With Miranda’s help, Jack managed to infiltrate the Baskerville estate by posing as a musician from The Barma Homeland during an event Levi was hosting in Arthur’s honor. Finally, Jack reunited with Lacie, and spent much of his time from this point forward on the Baskerville estate with her, her brother Oswald and Levi.
Eventually, Lacie was dropped into the Abyss by Oswald once he had formally succeeded Levi as Glen Baskerville. This plunged Jack into a great depression until Levi retrieved him from the Vessalius estate a month later. Levi told Jack much of the powers of the Abyss, including the Chains of the World, during their carriage ride to the Baskerville estate. Levi also explained how he’d impregnated Lacie for an experiment in which she gave birth in the Abyss before being destroyed – which turned out to be a success. Alice and the Intention of the Abyss were the result of that experiments, and with that – Levi passed his experiment onto Jack to do with it as he pleased.
Shortly after meeting Alice, Jack was forced to view Lacie’s memories of him; which had been delivered by Oz – a black rabbit doll with two bodies and a shared consciousness. Seeing this made Jack believe that Lacie had become one with the Abyss rather than being destroyed – and thus he set to work manipulating the Intention of the Abyss to create a Chain that possessed the power to sever the Chains of the world in order to drop the 1st Dimension into the Abyss. The only catch was that Jack had to open one of the Doors to the Abyss in order to get Oz the B-Rabbit to the 1st Dimension – and so Jack went to Miranda for advice. Together, Jack and Miranda conspired to manipulate Vincent during Gilbert’s first Succession Ceremony so that he would use his powers as a Child of Ill Omen to open Jabberwock’s Door.
Jack’s efforts proved successful, and Jack formed an Illegal Contract with Oz, subsequently severing the Chains of the World. However, Oswald sprung into immediate action, sending out all of the Black Winged Chains to mend the Chains of the World from breaking further, all while tasking the Baskerville Clan to slaughter all the guests on the estate in order to send them into the 100 cycle rebirth rather than mutate into Chains when Sablier dropped into the Abyss. Upon learning this, Jack attempted to reconnect with the Intention of the Abyss so that she could resupply Oz with the power necessary to sever the Chains yet again – only to be thwarted by Oswald and Alice; both of whom sacrificed their lives to prevent Jack from furthering his plot. As a disembodied soul, Alice took Oz’s body and powers from him in an attempt to destroy her sister’s memories of Jack; thereby ending Jack’s hold over her. However, The Core of the Abyss saw this as a threat toward the Intention and intervened instead. Jack got caught in the crosshairs – warping his soul to be foreign to the Abyss. Thus when Sablier dropped, Jack was left behind, and his body entered into a constant cycle of regression and aging which would degrade his soul with each new cycle.
Being the only one remaining who knew the truth, Jack set to work fabricating a story that painted the Baskerville Clan as the instigators of the Tragedy of Sablier, while the newly established Four Great Dukedoms became recognized as its heroes. While Jack would go into hiding, the Vessalius Dukedom would carry on through his brothers under the false heroism Jack provided the Vessalius Dukedom with.
Almost 100 years later, Jack would return, striking up a deal with Xai Vessalius to replace his stillborn son in order to spare his wife – Rachel Cecile – the pain of losing her child. Xai reluctantly agreed, and Jack’s consciousness faded back within himself, allowing Oz’s amnesiac consciousness to come forward as “Oz Vessalius”. Upon learning the truth about Jack, Xai would later seek out those of the Baskerville Clan who had escaped through Jabberwock’s Door in recent years. Together they bombarded Oz’s Coming of Age Ceremony, and Xai used Gryphon’s powers to drop Oz into the Abyss. Unknown to Xai, this was Jack’s intention, as it allowed Oz to reconnect with Alice – who had also lost her memories. The Illegal Contract between Jack’s body and B-Rabbit’s powers was reformed, and Oz returned to the 1st Dimension 10 years later.
Jack then proceeded to send Oz on a mission to retrieve Alice’s memories – a venture which gradually saw Oz taking in more and more of B-Rabbit’s powers from Alice. While Oz’s powers had not fully returned to him yet, the Baskervilles had discovered the reincarnated soul of Glen Baskerville in the form of Leo. As such, when Jack saw an opening, he took control of Oz and forced him to impale Leo – ultimately reclaiming his body so that he could sever the Chains of the World once again. With Leo willingly stepping back within his subconscious, Oswald took the reigns – formulating a plot to execute Oz in the present and then Lacie in the past. Thanks to help from Gilbert and Oscar Vessalius’ sacrifice, Oz managed to escape with his life so that he would later attempt to stop Oswald from rewriting history. During this time, Xai also sacrificed his life in order to save Ada Vessalius when she was forcibly dragged into Sablier by Noise. Additionally, Oz made a deal with Jack – when the Incuse of their Contract made its full rotation Oz would be forced to give the body back to Jack, and he wanted Jack to go to the Intention and tell her the truth, and in return Oz would prove Jack wrong by showing him the Abyss for what it truly was, the world which Lacie loved.
Ultimately, after Oswald was no longer a threat, Oz forced his Incuse to complete, thus bringing the group to the lowest level of the Abyss. While Jack attempted to double-cross Oz yet again, he found himself unable to and instead followed through with telling the Intention the truth. Soon after, the Intention formed an Illegal Contract with Oz, who then used his powers to destroy her – with The Core of the Abyss allowing such a thing to pass because it was what the Intention really wanted. This restored the harmony of the Abyss, which made Jack realize the mistakes he’d made upon seeing it, and as a result Jack offered his body as a vessel for The Core of the Abyss moments before his soul degraded to the fullest extent and blinked out of existence. Additionally, since his Contractor had died, Oz died as well; which also allowed Alice’s soul to finally move on, as it had been clinging to Oz for more than 100 years.
With the world no longer in danger of dropping into the Abyss thanks to Leo and Levi’s efforts in mending the Chains of the World from within the lowest level of the Abyss – where it had the greatest effect – the Vessalius Dukedom received the blame, alongside the rest of the Four Great Dukedoms, for the near cataclysmic event, and was stripped of its political power. With Ada left as the only surviving member of the Vessalius Dukedom, she eventually got married in the years that followed and lived out her days in a quiet family life.
Nightray Dukedom
The Nightray Dukedom once had a close relationship to the Baskerville Clan, and thus whenever there was a Succession Ceremony, for which all Baskervilles were meant to attend, the Nightrays would take the place of the Baskervilles who guarded the Doors to the Abyss temporarily. Duke Raymond Nightray was also close to Oswald, and even provided him with insight on occasion – being the one who asked that Oswald withdraw invitation toward the Barmas and Vessaliuses, as he did not trust Jack Vessalius and Miranda Barma.
Raymond’s warning went unheeded however, and when the time for Gilbert’s first Succession Ceremony came, Raymond personally kept a close eye on Jack. Unexpectedly, the two came across Miranda Barma around the same time a loud explosion resounded throughout the estate. While Raymond and Miranda would return to Raven’s Door, Jack would sneak away to Jabberwock’s Door; having orchestrated a plot to drop the world into the Abyss by severing the Chains of the World.
As a result, a cataclysmic event ensued in which the majority of Sablier was dropped into the Abyss. In the time that followed, a new world order was established in Reveil and the Nightray Dukedom was invited to join the Four Great Dukedoms, being gifted Raven’s Door to the Abyss in order to establish their position of power. Jack had once again orchestrated this, as he wanted to keep an eye on the Nightrays given their previous relationship with the Baskervilles, providing them with Raven’s Door because Raven had made a tie with Gilbert during the Succession Ceremony and Gilbert had been lost to the Abyss during the tragedy - thereby making it impossible for anyone else to form a Contract with Raven; thus putting the Nightray Dukedom at a disadvantage.
As a result, Raymond’s descendant, Bernard Nightray, was known to revile the Vessalius Dukedom; knowing well what they had done to the Nightrays generations before. However, Bernard soon came across an opportunity, when Vincent was found in front of Raven’s Door 100 years after the Tragedy of Sablier; promising Bernard information in regard to the tragedy in exchange for his adoption into the Nightray Dukedom. Furthermore, it would be Bernard’s job to locate Vincent’s beloved brother, Gilbert, whom Vincent promised was the only person capable of finally forming a Contract with Raven. In addition to adopting Vincent, Bernard also connected with the Baskervilles in the ruins of Sablier – where they had recently also begun to emerge from Jabberwock’s Door – in order to form a secret alliance.
Following Oz Vessalius’ Coming of Age Ceremony, where he was dropped into the Abyss, Bernard adopted Gilbert – who had previously been taken in as Oz’s valet. Gilbert and Vincent were hated by Bernard’s children Fred, Claude and Ernest Nightray – an opinion which only escalated when Gilbert formed a Contract with Raven. As threats against Gilbert’s life became more apparent, Vincent took his own action and beheaded Fred with his Chain, Demios the Executioner, with his maternal uncle following soon after; and thus the “Head Hunter” was born.
Around the same time, Claude and Ernest had brought their youngest sibling, Elliot to The House of Fianna in Sablier. Here, Elliot met Leo – and while the two often butted heads, they eventually came to se each other as equals and Leo became Elliot’s valet. Soon after, during one of their visits to The House of Fianna, Elliot and Leo learned that several orphans had wandered into The Hole. Intent on rescuing them, Elliot and Leo delved into The Hole – only to find that two of the orphans had been murdered after John had formed a Contract with the Chain Humpty Dumpty. Elliot attempted to defend against Humpty Dumpty, but Humpty Dumpty viewed this as a threat to Leo – whom he identified as the reincarnated soul of Glen Baskerville; subsequently impaling Elliot as a result. Through guidance from Levi and Oswald in his subconscious, Leo had Elliot form an Illegal Contract with Humpty Dumpty in order to temporarily seal his wound; something which Bernard saw as a trump card against the other Dukedoms.
However, when Claude and Ernest threatened the lives of Gilbert, Vincent and Leo – Humpty Dumpty took control of Elliot; forcing him to murder his elder brothers under the guise of the Head Hunter in order to protect Leo. With the deaths of her brother and three eldest sons, Bernice Nightray’s became vulnerable – allowing foreigner Isla Yura to coil around her. While Bernice joined Isla Yura’s Cult, Yura personally pursued Bernard in hopes of striking a deal in which he would fund experimentation on the orphans at The House of Fianna – all of whom had parents connected to Chains in some way that made them attract the powers of the Abyss. Reluctantly, Bernard agreed, and Yura oversaw the orphans as each became Illegal Contractors to Humpty Dumpty.
In the time that followed, Oz had escaped the Abyss after 10 years and encountered Elliot at Lutwidge Academy by chance. After several chance meetings, the two became friends despite what Elliot had been taught about the Vessaliuses by his father; wanting to ultimately change the relationship between the two families.
Elliot attended Oz’s second Coming of Age Ceremony alongside his elder sister Vanessa Nightray, the ceremony being a ruse orchestrated by Oz to allow Pandora to search Isla Yura’s estate for the third Sealing Stone he was rumored to possess. However, before long The Feast began, in which Isla Yura’s Cult moved in on the ceremony alongside the orphans from The House of Fianna – blocking off all the exits and beheading the guests at the ceremony in order to recreate the Tragedy of Sablier. During this time, Vanessa told Leo that she would kill him if he ever came close to Elliot again; blaming him for everything that had happened under the belief that he was somehow involved with Isla Yura’s Cult. As a result, Humpty Dumpty took control of Elliot once again and beheaded Vanessa. While Xerxes Break attempted to seal Humpty Dumpty’s power with Mad Hatter – Gilbert argued that Elliot couldn’t be the Head Hunter. Seeing this, Vincent decided to have some fun with Break and had Demios behead two guests nearby to dissuade suspicion from Elliot. In the end, Leo was captured by Isla Yura’s Cult with the intent to be used as a sacrifice for the recreation of the Tragedy of Sablier. As a result, when Elliot helped Oz storm the ceremony, Elliot sought out Leo – only to find that Bernice was about to personally sacrifice him in order to reunite the Nightrays as a family by dropping the world into the Abyss. Seeing the threat against Leo’s life, Humpty Dumpty once again intervened and killed Bernice, revealing the truth to Elliot. Then, Elliot proceeded to reject Humpty Dumpty as his Chain – killing Humpty Dumpty all while unsealing his own wound. Elliot ended up dying as a result of his injuries, though because of his actions Leo had been saved.
Upon receiving word of what had happened at The Feast, Bernard promptly went into hiding alongside two of his valets. Vincent later met with Bernard – who demanded protection from the Baskerville Clan. Knowing how Bernard had sacrificed his own family in pursuit of power, Vincent revealed his true nature as the Head Hunter and killed Bernard and his valets, thus ended the Nightray lineage.
Barma Dukedom
A foreign nobility, the Barma Dukedom had been exiled from The Barma Homeland after having lost a power struggle. As such, the Barmas immediately began attempts to make good relations with high-ranking nobility in their new home, with Arthur Barma pursuing the Baskerville Clan. Around the same time, Arthur was approached by Jack Vessalius – who had only recently emerged as the long lost son of Viscount Vessalius. While dumbfounded by Jack’s interest in him, Arthur allowed himself to be used by Jack, who had his eyes set on Arthur’s younger sister, Miranda Barma. Together, the two struck a deal: Miranda would aid Jack in reuniting with his beloved Lacie, so long as he helped her obtain the head of the man she coveted, a man with black hair and violet eyes. With Miranda’s help, Jack was successful in infiltrating the Baskerville estate during a ceremony in Arthur’s honor by posing as a musician from The Barma Homeland, ultimately leading to his reunion with Lacie. At the same time, Jack discovered that the man Miranda sought was none other than Oswald – Lacie’s elder brother.
As time passed, and Lacie was dropped into the Abyss – Jack was once again reunited with Lacie in the form of her thoughts and feelings toward him, as delivered to him by Oz from The Intention of the Abyss. As such, Jack formulated a plot in which he would sever the Chains of the World in order to drop the world into the Abyss for Lacie. Miranda was integral to his plot, as his co-conspirator, she provided Jack with the information he needed in regards to the Doors to the Abyss, while also actively furthering his plot by manipulating Vincent into using his powers as a Child of Ill Omen and opening Jabberwock’s Door during Gilbert’s first Succession Ceremony in order to allow Oz the B-Rabbit to reach their world to form an Illegal Contract with Jack and subsequently sever the Chains of the World. As a counter measure, Oswald sent out each of his Black Winged Chains to mend the Chains, ensuring that only the majority of Sablier would drop into the Abyss, while also ordering the Baskerville Clan to slaughter any non-Baskerville on the estate to deliver them into the Rule of 100 Cycles rather than having them become Chains when Sablier dropped. Miranda successfully evaded death, eventually coming across Jack, who had incapacitated Oswald using the powers of B-Rabbit, thus allowing her to take Oswald’s head as he’d promised. However, Oswald pushed through his injuries and wounded Miranda instead – making sure to keep her alive as he viewed her as unworthy of the Rule of 100 Cycles, being that she was Jack’s co-conspirator.
Thus, when Sablier dropped into the Abyss, Miranda’s body became saturated with the power of the Abyss and became mutated into the form of a Chain, becoming Demios the Executioner. Meanwhile, Jack orchestrated a cover up of the event where the Baskervilles were identified as the instigators of what became known as the Tragedy of Sablier. Jack then obtained four of the five Doors to the Abyss and used them to achieve a position of political power within a newly established Four Great Dukedoms. One of these Dukedoms was in fact the Barma Dukedom, which received Dodo’s Door to the Abyss for the role they played in Jack’s plot. Furthermore, Jack approached Arthur sometime after and explained the truth of the event, while also revealing that his soul had been altered when it came between a reaction of power from The Core of the Abyss and B-Rabbit’s power; making his soul foreign to the Abyss and casting his body into a cycle of reverse rebirth that would degrade his soul gradually. Knowing that he couldn’t reveal what Jack had done because of Miranda’s role as his co-conspirator, Arthur reluctantly chronicled false events of the Tragedy of Sablier in his Memoirs in order to help cover up the atrocities Jack had committed. However, unbeknownst to Jack Arthur secretly hid the truth of the tragedy within his memoir’s final chapter, hoping that one day someone would uncover the truth.
Arthur then played a role in making Jack disappear, as Jack’s body was already beginning to grow younger – gathering four mages and using magic to bind the soul of Glen Baskerville – thereby preventing Glen from returning in-full. Jack’s body was said to be the conduit used in the ceremony – however Arthur was forced to use Oswald’s severed body instead, following his death during the Tragedy of Sablier, to create the Sealing Stones of Glen Baskerville; dying of a high fever shortly thereafter.
More than 30 years later, a descendant of the Barma Dukedom feverishly sought to destroy the Red-Eyed Specter, who had been terrorizing Reveil with their Chain, Albus the White Knight. Though it became his obsession to stop The Red-Eyed Specter, Kevin Legnard, it is implied that he instead died by Legnard’s hand during the pursuit, and Legnard went on to butcher 116 souls for Albus to consume before finally being dropped into the lowest level of the Abyss with the full revolution of his Incuse.
Nearly another 30 years later, Rufus Barma was born. Rufus would go on to become the head of the Barma Dukedom, forming a Contract with Dodo at the age of 37. Soon after, Rufus fell for Sheryl Rainsworth, and attempted to propose to her – despite being thoroughly rejected. Rufus then extended his mother’s earrings to Sheryl, which he happened to have hidden Dodo’s Key in, as a gift. In response, Sheryl gave her silver locket, which contained Owl’s Key, to Rufus – in order to symbolize an alliance between their two Dukedoms and ensure that neither of them could ever betray one another.
Rufus spent a large portion of his life collecting information and using it as a form of currency; ultimately with the interest of discerning the truth about the Red-Eyed Specter and the Tragedy of Sablier as his main goal.
In the end, Rufus was successful at uncovering both truths – identifying Xerxes Break’s true identity as Kevin Legnard and deciphering Arthur Barma’s Memoirs to learn the truth about the Tragedy. Upon discovering the latter, Rufus formulated a plot in order to earn the Baskerville’s trust all while protecting those he kept closest to his heart; beginning with subtle hints to Oz. From there, Rufus attacked Sheryl with the power of Dodo in order to steal back Dodo’s Key – under the guise of Owl’s Key – while leading the Baskervilles to the fourth Sealing Stone that had been hidden within Pandora Headquarters. During this time, Jack severed the Chains of the World a second time and the truth of the Tragedy of Sablier was revealed. In the chaos that followed, Rufus destroyed Dodo’s Key while suppressing the flow of power to Owl’s Key, making it appear as though he’d destroyed Owl’s Key instead. Thus, when Sheryl, Break and Sharon were taken into custody by the Baskervilles they could use their Chains to escape once Reim deciphered Rufus’ messages to him and found Owl’s Key; which he had sent to Lutwidge Academy.
Not trusting Rufus, Oswald - who had taken control of Leo - brought Rufus to Sablier along with Vincent. When Rufus failed to summon Dodo in order to protect himself from falling debris, Oswald attacked him, having figured out Rufus’ deception. Rufus managed to make a hasty escape, diving off of a cliff within The Hole, from which he crawled to the edge of Sablier, arriving in time to save Sheryl from an attacking Chain. Following Oz’s success at preventing the world from dropping into the Abyss and the reestablishment of the harmony of the Abyss, Rufus and Sheryl were held responsible for the chaos that had resulted from Jack’s actions, and thus the Four Great Dukedoms were stripped of their political power. Three years later, Rufus died peacefully, thus ending the Barma lineage.
Rainsworth Dukedom
A matriarchy that had been completely uninvolved in the Tragedy of Sablier, Jack had chosen the Rainsworths as the final component of the Four Great Dukedoms. The Rainsworths had been chosen by Jack because of their long-descending royal lineage, in addition to having them as an unbiased third party should Jack have run into a quarrel with either the Nightrays or the Barmas.
The Rainsworth Dukedom has been rather close with the Barma Dukedom for more than 40 years. While Sheryl Rainsworth had been at odds with Rufus Barma for many years, this ultimately ended up attracting Rufus to her. As a result, after Sheryl had been married, Rufus approached her with a proposal – one which had been immediately shot down. As Sheryl detested the roses Rufus had brought for her, Rufus extended a pair of earrings to her instead – which contained a rare flower and had previously belonged to his mother; while also acting as the vessel for Dodo’s Key to the Abyss. Shocked by this gesture, Sheryl accepted the earrings, and in turn, gave Rufus the silver locket in which she had hidden Owl’s Key to the Abyss to symbolize an alliance between the two families, so that they could never betray one another.
Eventually, Sheryl would give birth to Shelly Rainsworth, who would herself get married and give birth to Sharon Rainsworth. When Sharon was 9 – she came across a man covered in blood in front of Owl’s Door to the Abyss. This man would come to be known as Xerxes Break, and while he began his days slumped in a deep depression after learning that the Sinclair Family had been eradicated, Shelly eventually managed to get through to him and open him up to the world around him. Five years later, Shelly grew gravely ill, requiring Sheryl to miss Oz Vessalius’ Coming of Age Ceremony – though she sent Sharon in her place alongside a plethora of floral arrangements as an apology for her absence. Eventually however, Shelly succumbed to her illness and died. Sometime after her mother’s death, Sharon was motivated to form a Contract with the Chain Equus.
Upon getting wind of what had happened at Oz’s Coming of Age Ceremony, the Rainsworth Dukedom – named Sharon and Break, conspired to retrieve Oz from the Abyss using his friend and valet – Gilbert, who happened to be the brother of the Nightray Dukedom’s adopted son, Vincent. Gilbert allowed himself to be inducted into the Nightray Dukedom in order to forge a Contract with Raven so that Raven could open The Path and they could reach Oz – however it took Gilbert 10 years to do so. Upon readying the ceremony, Sharon, Break and Gilbert were surprised when Oz freed himself from the Abyss; having formed an Illegal Contract. From then on, Oz was under the protection of the Rainsworth Dukedom, and would often conduct missions for Pandora under them, all while searching for Alice’s memories along the way.
Following the chaos of The Feast at Isla Yura’s estate, Sheryl and Rufus would be confronted by the Baskerville Clan. Rufus would then be revealed to be aligned with the Baskervilles, resulting in his concentration of Dodo’s powers into his bladed fan so that he could attack Sheryl and steal back Dodo’s Key – which he masqueraded as Owl’s Key. Unbeknownst to Rufus, Sheryl had created a tether to Rufus through Owl that would lead anyone holding it directly to him and the Baskervilles; later giving it to Break, who gave it to Sharon, who gave it to Gilbert, all in pursuit of the Baskervilles. Sheryl was relocated and treated medically shortly thereafter – where it was revealed that none of her wounds were made to kill and that she would make a speedy recovery.
After the destruction of the second last Sealing Stone – revealing Oswald to have been used for their creation rather than Jack – Rufus revealed the truth of the Tragedy of Sablier, in which Jack was the true villain who had framed the Baskerville Clan. As well, Jack severed the Chains of the world once again, in an attempt to drop the world in its entirety into the Abyss. As the Baskervilles scrambled to take control of the situation, Rufus allowed Break to attack Dodo, while also destroying Dodo’s Key – all while suppressing the flow of power to Owl’s Key – as a ploy to deceive the Baskervilles. Rufus would later orchestrate it so that Reim Lunettes would reinstate the flow of power to the Rainsworth Contracts, allowing Sheryl, Sharon and Break to escape their imminent executions by the Baskervilles.
From there, the three then traveled to Lutwidge Academy to reunite with Oz, Alice, Gilbert and Reim, before making their way to Sablier on Owl in order to stop Oswald – who had taken control of Leo’s body, as the reincarnation of Glen Baskerville – from rewriting the past by killing Lacie. In Sablier, Sheryl stayed behind with Pandora in order to fight back the Chain invasion as Chains poured into the 1st Dimension through the tears in The Path created by the breaking Chains of the World. Sharon and Break proceeded through Sablier – though they were separated; resulting in Sharon coming face-to-face with Lottie, Dug and Lily. Meanwhile, Break discovered the Courtroom Dimension where Oswald and Vincent had been sealed inside, breaking through with his powers as a Child of Ill Omen. Break then continued to fight both Oswald and Vincent – cutting off Leo’s hand in the process – all while condemning Vincent for trying to erase his existence in order to make Gilbert’s life better. All in all however, Oswald escaped into the past, and Break is left dying as a result of how much power he had used. But, before he died, Break brought Oz, Alice and Gilbert into the Courtroom Dimension so that they could pursue Oswald in his place. Sharon and Reim arrive later, and Break explained how he didn’t want to die, and how he wanted to stay with them; though he died moments later.
In the events that followed, Lottie and Dug continued on through Jabberwock’s Door after Oz, Alice and Gilbert, while Lily and Ada Vessalius remained with Reim and Sharon as the Courtroom Dimension collapsed around them. Sharon acted as a means of contact through Equus – who she’d placed in Lottie’s shadow, while Lily defended against the Chain Invasion with Bandersnatch, all so that they could get Break’s body out of Sablier in order to lay it to rest properly.
With the Oz’s success in preventing the past from being changed and the mending of the Chains from the lowest level of the Abyss, the remnants of Sablier which had appeared in The Hole shattered into a flurry of golden light, allowing Sharon, Reim, Ada and Lily to safely escape The Hole. Meanwhile, The Paths around Sablier closed, allowing the members of Pandora under Sheryl’s command to wipe out the remaining Chains. Surprisingly though, one Chain attacked Sheryl – only for Rufus to hit it over the head with a rock. While Sheryl condemned Rufus for his attack against her, turning his proposal down yet again, she was grateful to see that he was still alive. In the time that followed, the Rainsworth Dukedom had to take responsibility for the near cataclysmic event alongside the rest of the Four Great Dukedoms – and were stripped of their political power as a result. As Rufus died 3 years after the event, Sheryl would often spend her days drinking tea with him at his grave. Meanwhile Sharon’s age finally began catching up with her inexplicably, and Reim proposed to her soon after. Though Sharon initially refused Reim, she ultimately accepted, marrying Reim 4 years after the event.
Previous Dukes
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Dukedoms
The Baskervilles
Coming Soon!
The Manibels
Lead by Duchess Manibel, who attended Oz's second Coming of Age Ceremony in The Barma Homeland and was subsequently murdered by Isla Yura's Cult during The Feast.
Countships / Earldoms
The Lunettes
Count Rafton and Count Tees at Oz's Second Coming of Age Ceremony
Lead by Earl Lunettes, the Lunettes Earldom has had a long history of serving as valets of the Barma Dukedom. Calum Lunettes was well known for being Rufus Barma's valet throughout his childhood and into adolescence; having even attended Lutwidge Academy alongside him. Always loyal to Rufus, Calum would often tease Rufus about his feelings toward Sheryl Rainsworth. Calum eventually resigned from the position after taking a bullet for Rufus during an assassination attempt of the Barma heir's life.
Reim Lunettes - second son of Earl Lunettes - would later go on to replace his grandfather as Rufus' valet. Reim would become an integral member of Pandora and eventually form a Contract with March Hare. In the end, Reim would marry Sharon Rainsworth, uniting the Lunettes and Rainsworth families after the Rainsworths had been stripped of their political power.
The Raftons
Lead by Count Rafton, who attended Oz's second Coming of Age Ceremony in The Barma Homeland and was subsequently murdered by Isla Yura's Cult during The Feast.
The Teeses
Lead by Count Tees, who attended Oz's second Coming of Age Ceremony in The Barma Homeland and was subsequently murdered by Isla Yura's Cult during The Feast.
The Airys
Lead by Count Airy, who was descended from one of the mages who had helped Arthur Barma bind the soul of Glen Baskerville within the Sealing Stones. Having been in possession of the final Sealing Stone when Rufus Barma sent the Baskervilles to the Airy estate in order to destroy it, it is unknown whether or not Count Airy survived the ordeal.
Viscountships
The Vessaliuses
Lead by Viscount Vessalius, the Vessalius Viscountship was known as a lesser noble family in the age of the Baskervilles. Viscount Vessalius had two legitimate sons and one illegitimate son by an unnamed mistress - whom named the child Jack Vessalius. Viscount Vessalius swiftly left his mistress, knowing that the scandal would reflect poorly on the Vessaliuses - promising her that he would return to her one day; though never doing so. After his mother's death, Jack claimed a position in society by joining with the Vessaliuses after having risen through society through prostitution and blackmail. Jack's actions eventually lead to the rise of the Vessalius Viscountship in terms of status.
Other Nobilities
The Sinclairs
Formerly lead by Lord Roman Sinclair, who was originally murdered alongside the majority of his family, save for his youngest daughter, by unknown assailants. Their bodies were discovered by one of their knights, Kevin Legnard, and their youngest daughter, who had been out at the time of the attack. In his time of grief, Kevin made an Illegal Contract with Albus the White Knight in pursuit of altering the past so that he could prevent the deaths of Roman and the rest of the Sinclairs. While Kevin was successful in doing so, the ripple in time made it so that Roman's eldest daughter was assassinated as tensions between the noble families rose. In an act of grief, Roman's youngest daughter then proceeded to form her own Illegal Contract and sacrifice Roman and the rest of her family to her Chain, until being dropped to the lowest level of the Abyss herself. As a result, the Sinclair family lineage became extinct, where it would have lived on had Kevin not altered time.
The Wests
Lead by William West, who was married to Mrs. West and had one child, Phillipe West. After the death of Mrs. West, William found himself in a great deal of debt that eventually lead to the repossession of their home and the abolition of the family's noble status. Not wanting Phillipe to have a sad life, William formed an Illegal Contract with Grim in order to change the past. In pursuit of doing so however, William was shot and killed by Vincent Nightray - to whom he'd previously been associated with and who wished to prevent William from revealing that the true identity of the Head Hunter was in fact himself. While Phillipe West was relocated to The House of Fianna in Sablier and forced to form an Illegal Contract with Humpty Dumpty - this Contract was severed by Oz during The Feast. Fortunately, Phillipe's Incuse had not progressed far enough, and Phillipe survived the ordeal, allowing the West lineage to live on through him.
The Garlands
Previously lead by Dansen Garland, the Garland family was a nobility shrouded in mystery to most. After Mrs. Garland died during childbirth, Dansen formed a very close relationship with his daughter, Dahlia Garland, and the two were not known to leave the Garland estate very often. Eventually, Dansen died in his sleep, leaving Dahlia distraught - though she had the Garland Butler for support, all the other valets left the estate soon thereafter. Seeing Dahlia in a vulnerable state, The Great Mother, leader of a cult, tempted Dahlia with promises of their god being able to resurrect her father. Accepting The Great Mother's proposal, Dahlia became "Black Widow" - luring men into becoming sacrifices to the cult's god. This eventually lead Dahlia to make a proposal to the Nightray Dukedom to become a suitor for Gilbert Nightray. Unbeknownst to Gilbert - he was intended to be a sacrifice to their god in order to appease him in return for the resurrection of Dansen Garland. When the plan backfired, Gilbert severed his ties to Dahlia, not condemning her, but never wanting to see her again. As a result, the Garland lineage lives on through Dahlia.
The Basils
A noble family seeking to usurp the Nightray Dukedom, believing that that it would be easily deposed. The Basils fell captive of their own ambitions and had been sniffing around the Nightray estate. Initially, Vincent Nightray wasn't bothered by the fact that The Basils internal affairs were under investigation at the time, but if they interfered in any way with Vincent's plan to use of Ada Vessalius, it would be troublesome. While Vincent had attempted to trip up The Basils after their actions were reported, it proved ineffective, as The Basils were used to acting craftily. The Head of the Basil Family, identified merely as "Basil", was an associate of the crime syndicate - Gray Snake, worked alongside them in order to kidnap the commercial association president's son, Ojji. Having mistakenly identified Ojji as Oz, Gilbert infiltrated the Gray Snake's headquarters, only to realize his mistake too late. Gilbert then proceeded to kill each member of Gray Snake, as well as mortally wounding Basil and leading him into a hasty escape in his carriage - although his body was found soon afterwards.
Knights
Knights existed to serve nobility of higher standing, possessing status above commoners as a result. Kevin Legnard was a knight of the Sinclair family, though because of his role in meddling with time, his status has been revoked with the subsequent extinction of the Sinclair family; donning a new identity as valet to the Rainsworth Dukedom as Xerxes Break instead.
Several knights were also coaxed into aiding the Baskervilles in their hunt for Oz, Alice and Gilbert following Oz's escape from execution after the truth of the Tragedy of Sablier was revealed and Jack Vessalius made a second attempt to drop the world into the Abyss. It can be assumed that these knights serve under The King.
The Case Study of Vanitas
The Queen
The Queen is the utmost reigning governess of Altus, taking residence within Castle Carbuncle while in her frail condition. The Queen has been said to have appointed Count Orlok to act on her behalf in Paris within the human realm - seeing to it that the order kept between mankind and Vampires remains intact. The Queen had also appointed Count Ruthven as a member of the senate and Veronica de Sade as an acting Beastias.
Grand Duke Oriflamme
A position of power among the noble rankings of Altus only rivaled by The Queen herself. The position is meant to be filled by Luca - though because of his young age his duties have been entrusted to his uncle, Lord Ruthven, who is also an appointed member of the senate. Luca quickly made friends with his uncle's Bourreau, Jeanne, and together they pursued Vanitas in order to destroy The Book of Vanitas in hopes that doing so would cure Luca's elder brother as a Curse-Bearer. Realizing his mistake, Luca now wishes to work with Vanitas in order to save his beloved elder brother.
Marquesses
The Machinas
Lead by Marquis Machina, who is known for his fascination in human technology and behavior.
Countships
The De Sades
Lead by Count de Sade, the De Sade Countship is a noble family of Vampires with high standing in society. Count de Sade is the son of The Teacher - renowned for his power and identity as "The Shapeless One". Count de Sade also has three children: Veronica de Sade - a man-hating feminist and one of The Queen's Beastias with a close relationship to Marquis Machina - Louis de Sade - born a Curse-Bearer able to resist the temptations of Naenia, Louis was sent to live with The Teacher to be further studied until his untimely demise by The Teacher's hand when he finally lost control of himself - and Dominique de Sade.
Clans
The Archiviste Clan
The Archiviste Clan was a collection of Vampires who were able to read the memories of their prey through the ingestion of their blood. Little is known about the Archiviste Clan, apart from their near obliteration - save for one child, Noé Archiviste. Through unknown means, Noé escaped extinction when he was abandoned in the human realm at a young age, only to be found and cared for by two humans, a man and his wife named Elaine.
The Blue Moon Clan
The Blue Moon Clan came into existence after Vanitas of the Blue Moon was shunned by his own Clan for being a Child of Ill Omen. It appears as though the Blue Moon Clan is composed of prey for the Blue Moon Vampire to feed on, which he keeps imprisoned against their will. Vanitas is known to have been a member of the Blue Moon Clan - growing to hate the Blue Moon Vanitas for his mistreatment. Vanitas would later obtain The Book of Vanitas himself by unknown means and use it to tarnish the Blue Moon Vampire's reputation by curing Curse-Bearers rather than afflicting them; being able to do so because he is a kin of the Blue Moon Clan with a portion of the Blue Moon Vampire's power embedded within him.
Trivia
- Hans was Vanessa Nightray's valet, and Vanessa was against the idea of having a commoner as a valet, as her brother did. Which noble family Hans would have came from as well as the family's noble rank were never revealed before Hans' death.
- As students of Lutwidge Academy, Turner, Gerald, Marcel, Josephine and Mia would all have had to belong to nobility - however which noble families they belong to was never revealed.