It was during the reign of Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire that Alexander von Ekkehardt was born to the Ekkehardt clan head, Frederick Ekkehardt and his wife, Teresa Ekkehardt, in the city of Munich. His family was strict, almost militaristically so, in how he was to be raised. During his childhood, he was taught the ways of the Quincy, from learning how to use abilities from Hirenkyaku to Blut to Ginto to what their role in the world was, he was never one to slack off. Alex always gave his best when learning what his clan had to offer.

His Quincy training took place throughout most of his youth, consuming the majority of his time, and any free time he had was dedicated to the pursuit of swordsmanship. While not a bad archer, he much preferred a sword, something that could cut and, with the right amount of training, fire arrows. The training was hard, but he felt it was worth it. Yet for all that he had accomplished, it never seemed to be enough, for there was always something else learn, a new technique to master, a sword stance to practice, it just kept going.

Hailed as the prodigy of the Ekkehardt clan, Alexander was thrown onto the social scene with little warning beyond, "We're meeting some friends of ours and you are coming with us. Don't mess up!" and then encountering said 'friends', not that they were very friendly. He was eight years old at the time. These interactions left the young Quincy somewhat stunted in his social growth, as he found himself leery of opening himself up to these strangers who kept going on and on about lucky his parents were to have such a gifted child. Of course they said this after he was pushed out front and ordered to give a demonstration. Naturally he did well, but afterward he wished that he had made a mistake, even with knowing what his parents and the rest of the clan would do to him if he did so that he wouldn't have had to go through that again.

When Ekkehardt reached ten years of age, his training regime was kicked up a notch, and soon he barely had any time left to himself beyond eating and sleeping, and even that was becoming shorter as the clan insisted he not let up for a moment. And so it continued for fourteen more years until, on the eve of his 15th birthday, the Clan received a message from the Freud's, a neighboring Quincy clan, that Bounts were on the move, and they were marching on Italy.

It was with much regret that the young men of the Ekkehardt clan had to part from their family. Now, the only reason that women weren't going was because of the possibility of discovery by the Holy Roman Empire, especially during a time when women in general were believed to be too weak to be able to fight properly, as well as them belonging in the home looking after the house and family. Alexander, as the son of the Clan Head, was put in charge of the 20-odd man group of Quincy as they headed out to join up with the Holy Roman Empire which was also making a move to combat the French, with whom the Bounts were allied.

Alex, like his fellows, was forced to hide much of his Quincy heritage, but was able to get away with carrying his Quincy Cross as many assumed it was a religious item, seeing as its shape was similar to that of the Christian Cross. When the Ekkehardt clan members arrived at the meeting place, they found the field filled hundreds of Quincy, many were around their age, while others were big, musclebound fellows that looked able to crush their skulls in their bare hands.

There was no official leader for the mass of bodies, but it didn't take long for a hot-headed youth to step forward and declare himself as such. Naturally, he was shot down, but it did bring about the suggestion of holding an election. Many able-bodied men stepped forward as potential leaders, and he would sigh as each stated why they were the best choice to lead them all against the Bounts as it was simple posturing, until, that is, a member of the Ritter clan stepped forward and put their rising star's name forward, which, coincidentally, was also Alexander.

The (relatively) young Quincy was near Ekkehardt's height, and sporting blond hair and blue eyes that, while a rather common combination, seemed rather uncommon on him, as his golden locks gleamed in the sunlight and his eyes reflected the color of the sky. His very being exuded charisma and so it was no surprise that he was elected the leader of their little army. The Quincy wasn't too pleased about being pushed into the role, but he accepted it with grace and soon a war council was being assembled.

As the appointed leader of the Ekkehardt clan's males, Alex was obligated to join in, and as such got first-hand experience on how an army is lead. And that is how it started. The group joined eventually met up with the Holy Roman Army along with its allies as they marched on Italy, where the French had already obtained a foothold. No trace of the Bounts had been seen during most of the journey but right before they arrived in a little town called Fornovo di Taro in late June they found their targets. So, stealthily breaking away from the main body of the Holy Alliance, they moved west to another small town called Borgonovo Val Tidone where the Bounts had decided to make camp. Smirking, the Quincy got into position, the archers with arrows nocked and ready to release on command.

Just when the order was given, an ambush was launched on them: it seemed the Bounts weren't as foolish as they had originally thought. The following battle was brutal, bodies flying, friends falling, and general confusion being felt by all. Truly it was not a day for glory. Ritter fought like a lion, taking down any Bount foolish to get close enough. Ekkehardt likewise fought hard, his sword a silver streak as it flew through the air, cutting down the enemy left and right. But for all that they fought hard, it was not enough.

In the hopes of salvaging the situation, Ekkehardt ordered those under him to fire, and soon after a volley of arrows rained down upon the camping Bounts who had thought their ambush would be enough. Several were cut down in the first wave, but most received glancing blows or none at all, and it only served to incite their rage, and so the men of the Ekkehardt clan found themselves set upon; half of their number died in the first attack. It was with a heavy heart that Alex ordered them to fall back.

A nightmare was all it could be called as the survivors watched their army be routed. Alexander Ritter sounded the retreat as barely a quarter of their original 1,000 remained. 50 more fell as they ran, some dead and others unable to keep up due to injuries that were quickly picked off by the pursuing Bounts. The long march home after the fracturing of their forces was filled with the cries of the wounded as they met up with the remains of the Holy Alliance after their own defeat. There were no celebrations of homecoming at their return, only mourning.

With the battle long since past, the Ekkehardt clan began to recover, although it was hard as they had lost so many youths. The fact that Alexander had led them only served to make him the scapegoat in the whole situation, and many of the youth's parents cried out for him to be punished for letting their children die. Naturally, Frederick Ekkehardt refused, stating that the boys had understood what they were getting themselves into; wars rarely leave both sides without a loss in numbers.

The years dragged on, and Ekkehardt trained to make sure that what happened that day in 1495 would never happen again. By the time the year 1540 arrived, Alexander, now aged 70, fought hard to keep his clan together following a massacre that resulted the deaths of both his parents as well as some of the strongest members of their clan just 3 years prior. After becoming the clan head, Alex gained new found for his father, and would spend some particularly long nights wondering how Frederick had managed to lead them for so long and not fall apart. That, of course, would often lead down a spiral path that would bring back to the night of his parents' deaths, and leave him wondering just why and how such a large group of Hollows were able to form such a group in the first place, let alone appear organized enough to actually seek out a lone target and take him out before any form of resistance could be mounted.

This of course took place long after the murders of Erik and Aera Dietrich, the leaders of the Dietrich clan of Berlin, which was perpetrated by the Shinigami. A sobering moment when Quincy everywhere learned that the Shinigami were not above murder when eliminating rivals. Alexander naturally drew similarities, although a difference in his case would be that Shinigami did not stay close enough to be sensed, as when the Hollows had attacked his parents had been in a meeting that had gone on long into the night. This meeting likely saved the lives of the younger clan members, but a good number of them were overwhelmed before they could do anything about the invaders. The few who survived the first wave pushed back, but were quickly overwhelmed themselves, only putting a minor hole in the hungry souls' forces.

The alarm was sounded by the maid who was devoured shortly after, and so Alexander was forced to fight despite the loss of his parents, and with him the rest of the clan fought the Hollows. By the end of the struggle, not a single Hollow remained. The Quincy, enraged as they were, all utilized Blut Arterie whereupon all their attacks grew in strength and in the onslaught none of the invaders had a chance to so much as touch another member of the Ekkehardt clan.

The ensuing years gave Alexander few opportunities to to contemplate that terrible night in lieu of his newly assumed headship. Nothing else seemed to fit. And so Ekkehardt was forced to consider the frightening prospect that the Seireitei was out for Quincy blood. And with this revelation, Alexander began to put plans in place that, should he perish prematurely, would ensure the survival of his clan. Twelve years later his (hoped to be) unnecessary plans became necessary as Hollows attacked them once again, and this time, the Shinigami weren't so cautious.

Twenty Hollows and counting swarmed the Ekkehardt clan grounds with a group of four Shinigami not far behind. It appeared that their previous attempt didn't get the desired results and so they wanted to try again. Alexander struck down seven of the creatures before one sneaked up behind him and clawed at his back, bringing him to his knees in pain, having not activated Blut Vene yet. Of course, his pained cry brought a sobering reality that these attackers were not to be taken lightly, and to forgo an advantage simply because one thought it wasn't needed had lead to countless deaths in the long years past. Fighting through the pain, Alexander activated Blut Vene and immediately the faint pattern began working its way along the veins inside himself, toughening his body to a point of invulnerability. The Hollows didn't last long after that.

With the Hollows dead, the surviving Quincy took stock of the situation, and discovered nine of their number perished in the attack. But before any grief could set in the Shinigami attacked themselves. They struck with impunity, and it was all they could do to simply stay out of the way of the experienced sword fighters. But after five had fallen to the four Reapers, Alex had enough and struck back. His Spirit Blade cut the first Shinigami in half, earning a cry of rage from his fellows. With the death of one of the four, the remaining Quincy grew bolder, and their attacks grew in both number and power as they rediscovered their courage. Only one of the four managed to escape that night, and Ekkehardt had sworn revenge upon the Reaper who dared to attack his family. The night air was filled with the cries of the wounded and the dying as the survivors struggled to move despite their own sorrows and pains.

The next ten years would see four more attacks by Hollows and Shinigami, each one taking more and more Quincy of the Ekkehardt clan to the grave. Finally, in the aftermath of the 4th, Alexander decided it was time to relocate the clan, so the remaining sixteen members members reluctantly packed up their belongings and moved out. Many months later, they arrived in the New World on its eastern shore, ready to start a new life.

For the Ekkehardt clan, life seemed to have taken a turn for the better. No longer were they hunted by raging Shinigami intent on their destruction; no longer were Hollows appearing in numbers too great to quell in minutes and not hours; no longer were they forced to live in fear of Soul Society's "justice". They were free.

Of course, that is not to say life was easy, on the contrary, it was quite hard. But not needing to look over their shoulders constantly allowed them more time to contribute to the work effort. As the years past in their newfound paradise, they found themselves cut off from their brethren in Europe, as they endeavored to move beyond their past troubles. With a smile, the Ekkehardt clan, though small, was able to move forward.

Decades passed, and news of a coup in the Dietrich clan eventually reached their ears. Having long since given up any ties to the Fatherland, the now-close family worked the land to provide for themselves, and isolated themselves from the rest of the world. Sadly, fate wasn't done with them quite yet, as English colonists arrived in 1584 on their island home and declared it Roanoke Island. Thankfully they weren't able to find them, as they had hidden their new home with specialized Ginto. Only a year after arriving, the colonists left after having a rather nasty case of bad luck.

Of course, the English returned the next year, and with more then before. Their leader, a man by the name of Governor John White, tried to establish a peace with the natives, but it failed. Not long after, a rather nosy man by the name of George Howe came across a small group of Quincy as they gathered wood for fires, and attempted to run back to his fellows to tell them about the strangers who also inhabited the island.  He never made it.

When news of the man's death reached the colonists' ears, they immediately moved for their leader to return to Europe to get more help, as they thought the natives had killed him. When he was gone, the colonists packed up their homes and moved to another spot on the large island, obviously hoping that a change in scenery would help them. Unfortunately, it did not, and they were forced to move again as they heard the cries of Native Americans coming through the woods towards them. In a moment of compassion, Alexander appeared before them and offered them shelter, happy at the arrival of a fellow European, no matter his point of origin, they agreed, and packed up their things once again and relocated to the Ekkehardt clan's new place of residence.

Due to the influx of people, the clan had to move to the mainland as they couldn't feed themselves and the newcomers. Knowing their survival depended on the grace of their hosts, the colonists agreed without hesitation. They made their way across the continent, settling in a region that would later come to be known as South Carolina. By the time the English came again, the Roanoke colony had long since been abandoned, no trace could be found of them, as the Quincy had covered their tracks to well for any normal human to follow them.

Over 30 years passed before the English came back again, and this time, they were here to stay. Settling down in the newly established colony of Jamestown, they quickly expanded north and south, and soon enough South Carolina was an established colony also. Fortunately, the British were unaware of them long enough for them to be able to integrate themselves seamlessly, so by the time the new colonists were aware of them, they thought they were British also. It helped that they had developed British accents due to being around the Roanoke colonists for so long.

After all that time, it was natural for them to reveal their powers to their permanent guests, as some had even married into the clan, giving more Quincy children. The recovery period was over, and moving forward became their new priority.

Over a century passed, and news reached them by way of a new Quincy colonist that a Quincy Empire was being founded by the leader of the Dietrich clan and the Ritter clan. The latter of which bringing up old memories for the Ekkehardt clan head. The forming of it sparked debates all across the world, many questioning the validity of such a thing. After all, it had been over a century since even a fraction of the clans united to fight against a common foe and even then they could barely decide on who was in charge. Being removed as they were, the Ekkehardt's did not join the Empire known as the Vandenreich. They did, however, send their congratulations. Being the main clan in the American Colonies, as well as the the first established clan, they had gained a good deal of respect from their fellows, and Alexander Ekkehardt's power was well known in North America. Most that came to North America tended to not return to Europe, due to the long trip required to traverse the seas dividing the two continents so his reputation didn't spread around too much. The fact that he didn't need to use a Cross to use his spirit weapon was only part of what made him so renowned.

A rather unfortunate side effect of being so far removed is that it takes a while for news to reach them, and so by the time news of Alexander Ritter's violent passing reached them a year had already gone by, and 8 more months passed before they learned that the head of the Dietrich clan, one Ulrich Dietrich, had taken up the mantle of Emperor. Sadly, this sparked even further debates, as many had joined under Emperor Ritter's banner, not Dietrichs, and many threatened to split away at a moment's notice. This response, more than anything spurred Alexander to send his intent to merge his clan with the Vandenreich. Sadly, several in his own clan were against the idea, and so a fierce debate began that stretched for five years before Ekkehardt had enough and decided that he would go himself and see how being a member of the Quincy Empire would be.

Annoyingly, moments after that decision was made, things began to pop up that necessitated him staying in America longer. And, no matter what he out up as a contingency, things always managed to go pear-shaped as every time he announced his intent to leave something else would go wrong. Finally, after seven years of this, he had enough, and departed in the dead of night with his things already packed without informing anyone beyond leaving a note on his office desk explaining where he was going and why he was leaving.

Several months later, after journeying across the sea, Alexander stepped foot on the European continent for the first time in two centuries in the port city of Marseille. He made his way to the Imperial Capital with all speed, arriving days later. It wasn't long before he found himself wearing the uniform and battling against Bounts once again. Except this time, they would win.

A couple centuries passed by, and Alexander remained a faithful member of the Vandenreich, much to his clan's consternation, as they sent letter after letter pleading him to come back. He would only respond that he had a duty to fulfill, and, in the latest one he sent back, added, "The First Cross' location has been discovered, and we are working on getting it back." Some clan members were still skeptical, but believed him to be telling the truth as he had never lied to them before and always led them with a firm but fair hand.

Decades passed as the Vandenreich forces under Emperor Ulrich attacked the Bounts, trying to determine Castle Avalonia was indeed where the First Cross was held and if so how it got there but to no avail. It seemed that they were going to have to take it and work things out from there. By this point the Emperor had become much loved by citizens of the Empire, and many of those who opposed Emperor Dietrich's methods had fallen into line. But it all seemed for naught during a confrontation between the opposing forces, for while meeting with a Vizard the Sacred Emperor Ulrich Dietrich died via attack by a Cero. The fact that the Vizard's Hollow-half declared that it wasn't him was suspicious to say the least, as well as the appearance of an Arrancar shortly after, although the beast was killed shortly after while attempting to escape. The Vizard then left and was seen moving toward the Bount camp, which only increased the Quincy forces opinion that he was guilty.

The news had spread like wildfire throughout the Empire, no matter how short a time it was that the Emperor had been murdered, and soon the upper echelon of the Vandenreich were assembled to determine who would be the next Emperor. Seeing as Ekkehardt was already a well-established clan leader and had given the Quincy a foothold in America, he was looked at as a favorite for the position. A younger Quincy by the name of Marcus Burger put his name forward, but (besides the fact no one wanted a Burger Emperor) for all his connections no one had really heard of him before, and so without anyone to back up his claims of greatness, he was ignored and eventually kicked out as he didn't feel they had the right to. Or at least not to him. Not long after this it was decided that Alexander would become the new Emperor, and the news spread that the powerful Ekkehardt was to be crowned. And so the reign of Emperor Alexander II began.