The Eschendorf Family: A 437-Year Timeline of Temporal Crime
The Murder That Started It All (1588)
Luca Eschendorf, a Venetian clockmaker and natural philosopher, discovers the Frozen Light Singularity — a device that can extract, store, and trade time itself. He builds it to understand the nature of temporal flow. But his younger brother Matteo (who later takes the name Alvise) murders him and steals the device.
This single act of fratricide creates the Eschendorf crime family — a dynasty built on stolen years.
1588–1700 — The Foundations
Alvise establishes the family's control over temporal trade in Venice. The family uses the Singularity to offer "time loans" — borrowing years from the poor and selling them to the rich at 10:1 interest. Temporal capitalism is born in the shadows of the Venetian Republic.
1700–1850 — The Expansion
The Eschendorfs expand across Europe. They establish the Temporal Bazaar — a black market for stolen time. The 10:1 toll is discovered through trial and error, leaving many early users dead decades before their natural expiry.
1850–1950 — The Industrial Era
Industrial-scale time theft. The Scar Zone forms as temporal extraction intensifies — a permanent wound in spacetime. The family moves operations underground as time theft becomes a capital offense in most jurisdictions.
1950–2026 — The Modern Era
Kai Eschendorf is born. At 28 years old (biologically), he has lived 115 calendar years. He inherits the family business at the peak of its power — and the peak of its corruption. Kai is the heir who refuses time. Unlike his ancestors, he questions the morality of temporal capitalism. But the family's enemies are closing in, and the Scar Zone is spreading.
Key Facts
- 437 years of continuous family control over temporal trade
- 87 years of biological debt on Kai's body (115 lived, 28 felt)
- Thousands of victims whose stolen years funded the Eschendorf empire
- The Scar Zone — a growing wound in spacetime that threatens reality itself
