Roland Family

Biodata

Background / History

The family began centuries earlier, when its ancestor was a low-ranking noble holding only a small village fief in the valley where the ancestral estate now stands 15.

Around two hundred years before Du Wei's arrival on the Roland Plain, a Roland general distinguished himself during a war against northern invaders and internal rebellions. He became the only Imperial Marshal in the family’s history, married the Emperor’s sister, won a decisive battle, and received all land south of the Emerald River in Kote Province as his reward 14.

The Emperor renamed the Emerald River the Roland River and the southern plain the Roland Plain. The names remained in Imperial records for two centuries, embedding the family’s military legacy into the region itself 14.

Under Count Raymond, the family remains closely tied to Imperial military power. Raymond is promoted to Deputy Commander of the Imperial Command after receiving his third Imperial First-Class Heroic Merit Medal, making him the Empire’s second-ranking military official 3. His political standing and naval reputation ensure that even Imperial officers treat his eldest son with exceptional deference 22 45.

Territory and Authority

The Roland Plain’s population identifies strongly with the family. Residents and soldiers born there call themselves “people of the Roland Plain,” rather than people of Kote Province, and regard the name as a source of personal honor 14. Farms salute passing Roland banners, and Du Wei observes that the family is deeply loved across its lands 22.

Military Tradition

The Roland Family built its status through military merit and continues to treat martial ability as central to its legacy. Its men are traditionally expected to be tall, hardy, and suited to warfare; Count Raymond initially expects Du Wei to become an Imperial general and inherit that tradition 3.

The house preserves an old recruitment custom: its guard cavalry, private troops, and even the family head’s personal guards are selected as much as possible from native-born subjects of the Roland Plain. The practice is intended to secure loyalty through shared land, heritage, and family attachment 14.

• The family maintains guard cavalry and a castle guard force. 14 19
• Its retainers include trained knights with prior Imperial military service, such as Robert. 22
• The family’s military prestige is influential enough that its private light cavalry is expected to enter Lier Province during the search for the missing Du Wei. 31
• An attack on a Roland young master is treated as an affront to the entire house’s honor, with potential consequences for both the Imperial military and the Magic Union. 31 45

Ancestral Estate

The family castle’s study functions as both archive and symbol of its inherited authority. It contains family histories, account books, antique weapons used by previous generations, and portraits of successive patriarchs 15.

The estate’s tallest white tower was constructed by a former family head for his astrologer wife to observe the night sky 15 17. Beneath the castle, hidden chambers preserve the legacy of Semel Chira Roland, the wife of the seventh-generation head.

• Semel was a famed female astrologer who took the Roland surname after marriage. 17
• Her hidden records and magical research can only be accessed with a crystal infused with her power and the blood of a Roland descendant. 17
• Her research on stars and divine authority was concealed because it challenged accepted religious beliefs. 18
• A magical copy of Semel remained sealed within an oil painting in the study for nearly two centuries. 16 18 48

Family Succession

Count Raymond initially regards his eldest son, Du Wei, as the expected heir, but Du Wei’s frailty, silence, and apparent lack of talent disappoint him severely 3 6. After Du Wei fails at martial training, scholarship, and conventional mage training, Raymond shifts his expectations to his younger son Gabri 4 6 7.

Gabri is considered a more conventional Roland successor: healthy, martial, trained by Alpha, and publicly treated as the family’s future hope. The marriage alliance originally intended for Du Wei is transferred to Gabri, while Du Wei is sent to the ancestral estate in Kote Province 7.

Despite Raymond’s personal disappointment in Du Wei, the family’s institutional honor still requires a forceful response when Du Wei goes missing after a mage attacks a military garrison. Robert recognizes that allowing the death of a Roland young master to go unanswered would damage the house’s prestige beyond repair 31.

Notable Members and Retainers

• Count Raymond Roland — Family head; celebrated naval commander and Deputy Commander of the Imperial Command. 3 13
• Du Wei Roland — Raymond’s eldest son; sent to inspect and reside at the ancestral estate after being regarded as unsuitable for succession. 7 15
• Gabri Roland — Du Wei’s younger brother; trained as a martial prodigy and regarded as the family’s future hope. 7
• Semel Chira Roland — Wife of the seventh-generation family head; renowned astrologer whose hidden magical research survives beneath the castle. 17 18
• Alpha — Count Raymond’s longtime captain of guards, an Imperial first-class swordsman born on the Roland Plain. 3 14
• Hill — Old steward of the ancestral estate; oversees its administration and finances. 15 19
• Made — Hereditary Roland servant and Du Wei’s attendant; his father served the family as a groom on the Roland Plain. 14
• Knight Robert — Loyal family retainer and fourth-level knight who serves as Du Wei’s protector. 22 28
• Ruolin Moon — Du Wei’s direct honorary knight and the first eventual member of the Devil Knights. 13

Trivia

• The Roland Family has produced only one Imperial Marshal in more than three hundred years of recorded history. 14
• The family’s ancestral weapons are kept as carefully maintained antiques in the castle study. 15
• The family name is attached to both the Roland River and the Roland Plain, a distinction granted by Imperial decree after its marshal ancestor saved the Empire in war. 14