Blut und Herz

Characteristics of the family von Tannen

Members of the von Tannen house—whether by birth or marriage—generally fall into one of two groups both physically and psychologically.

The first group is generally referred to as the war eagle and is generally considered the classic physical type of the family. Within the group the physical similarities between members both male and female are so great that their adult height and weight can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy.

The war eagle is tall and lean. The hair is generally of an ashen colour that looks dirty if unkempt but shines like silver if carefully prepared. Facial features include deep-set eyes and a narrow, straight nose, a generous mouth, and a well-defined chin.

This is not particularly good news for women, because the build is too slim-hipped for easy childbirth—most choose to forego the option, of those that have tried most die in childbirth; often taking the child with them.

However the wiry build is generally quite strong and works well with armour and weapons, feats of athletic prowess, and so forth. It is also accompanied by the ability to take large amounts of damage, and great powers of recuperation.

While there is some degree of variation in the psychology of war eagles, they are typically well adapted to war and privation.

The second group is called the dove mostly due to the marked contrast with the war eagle. Where the war eagle is lean and hard, the dove is soft and warm. When born into the family many doves have light brown hair, but most doves are brought into the family by marriage and whether by coincidence or design have blonde hair which often leads the ill-informed to speculate that colour is the defining feature of the dove.

In reality it is the personality that really defines the dove, as all doves revel in things of beauty and shy away from all things martial (if given a choice).

Current members of the family von Tannen

Of the family members which survived the War of the Cross, there are three war eagles and one dove.

The two males, Stefan and Franz are so alike as to be mistaken for twins. Strangely enough, while younger, Franz shows more signs of age—perhaps his experiences during the War of the Cross were more harrowing, or perhaps he was just less emotionally prepared. Stefan is trained in the Steil school, while Franz is trained in Eisenfaust.

Eva is the the third war eagle. Trained in the Höpken school she is a lethal shot with a crossbow. While quite similar in appearance to her brothers, one thing that distinguishes Eva is a scar running from her forehead, past her left eye and down her cheek towards the back of the jaw near the ear that resulted from a Montaigne swordsman who closed before she could change her crossbow for a sword. While the daintier women of other nations would have had their beauty destroyed by such a blow, somehow on Eva it adds a strange warmth to the otherwise cold war eagle aspect, and acts as a strange lure to men (often to the chagrin of supposedly more beautiful women in the room).

The final child is Kirstin, the dove. To most it would appear that Kirstin emerged from the War of the Cross untouched. While it is true that the psychological scars are relatively shallow for an Eisen, there are some fairly obvious signs of hardship beneath the layers of skirts. For while fleeing from the Vaticines on one occasion, Kirstin fell and was run over by a wagon. Both her legs were broken and there was no opportunity to set them properly. As a result there is a noticeable angle in her thighs (not that many get to see...) though by the blessings of Thea both breaks match perfectly so that there is no other sign of the injury—she walks without a limp and, indeed, is a most graceful dancer.

Having taken a place at court, Kirstin is used as a point of contact by her more nomadic siblings.