Name: Józef Rajunc
Character Bio: Józef was the third-born son of a Duke, in the bountiful western region of Pálensk, and, as the youngest child, he had almost no chance of inheriting. His father diverted him from possible scheming with rigorous martial training, filling his head with talk of strategy, honor, and chivalry. The young noble dreamed of becoming a noble knight, slaying the steppe monsters beyond the mighty Matéc to the west. When he came of age, Józef, already one of the great swordsmen of the east, hand-picked 50 lancers and headed west for the Matéc, promising to return a hero, or die a legend.
Decades passed, and the situation in Pálensk crumbled. Despite his best efforts, the elderly Rajunc could not hold back the tide of monsters from the dark steppes, and he died in his bed, a stressed and broken man. Antonin, his eldest son, would naturally be the next Duke. He was a brave leader, often sallying out against the forces of darkness, and a brilliant administrator, taking over after his father's health began to crumble.
Unfortunately, Piotr, the middle son, didn't agree with this state of affairs. A subversive layabout, the decadent prince often snuck off to the eastern lands for wine and women. Believing, somehow, that his rightful place had been "stolen" from him, he secretly poisoned his brother's nightcap, a goblet of wine. Thus, the great Antonin, the man best equipped to save Pálensk, was killed by squabbling greed.
According to legend, Piotr the kinslayer, the evil traitor, was so distraught with his evil act that he couldn't possibly forgive himself. An evil presence sensed the turmoil in the Bastion of the Matéc, and saw his opportunity. He wormed his way into Piotr's mind, and, using dark magic, corrupted the kinslayer into a terrible, murderous beast monster. A gheist. The monster smashed the door of the prince's bedroom down, and wreaked havoc in the castle, eventually battering down the gates and escaping into the woods.
In the far west, beyond the mighty river that helped hold back the eastern scourge, Józef Rajunc continued his crusade against the steppe hordes. His motley force of lancers had been reduced to 20 by years of fighting, even though he had attempted to raise new recruits whenever possible. Although he hated to admit it, Rajunc was finally forced to ride home, and ask for help from the Duke.
When Józef rode into Ciemstróż, the ancestral Rajunc castle, he was rather surprised to find that there wasn't a Duke. Not at that moment, anyway. Antonin's son, Natan, was embroiled in a succession conflict. The Sejm, nobles with elective power, had not gotten the opportunity to vote before Antonin's death, and since he wasn't officially Duke, Natan was not the Duke's son. Thus, they argued that they were allowed to choose from any of the dead duke's family, including his brother, a merchant in the east. Józef, naturally, paid little mind to this political bickering. After hearing the story of Piotr's betrayal, he took two of his most trusted lieutenants, and rode into the woods, after the gheist.
Pálenski historians say that, during the meeting of the Elector-Counts, the two evenly-matched factions argued for hours. As the argument became tense and heated, men on both sides drew their swords. Before it came to blows, the door was thrown open, and Józef stumbled in. To the shock of the Electors, the wounded knight held the gheist's head in his arms. He dropped it on the round table the men sat at, before passing out from his injuries.
The surgeon managed to save the warrior, albeit with great scarring. When he woke, days later, the story of his battle shocked him. The gheist had ambushed him and his men, tearing his lieutenants apart in seconds. The hideous creature spooked his horse, sending it flying off into the woods without him. In a true miracle, the master swordsman managed to fend off the monster, and eventually trap it in a copse of trees too close together for it to maneuver. After half an hour of heart-pounding combat, he had decapitated the beast. He managed to stumble home, with some nasty gashes.
Even more surprisingly was the news from the Elector-Counts. They had reached a compromise. Józef Rajunc would be the next Duke of Pálensk. His heroics in defeating the monster had proven he was the most worthy Rajunc to rule the western land, and drive away the scourge.
Naturally, this was almost entirely lies. They figured that this foolish knight would be a tool, a weak duke that they could manipulate. It is now a year later. Józef has recovered from his injuries, and is determined to lead the crusade to retake Pálensk, and cleanse it of the monstrous filth from the west.
Character traits: Leadership: 13 (Józef has been leading men for years, and that, along with his legendary reputation in Pálensk, has given him a great ability to manage people.)
Marksmanship: 8 (Józef has no experience whatsoever using ranged weapons, and his habits are so deeply ingrained that it'd be almost impossible to learn.)
Swordmanship: 16 (Józef Rajunc is a legendary warrior, one of the greatest on the continent. His exploits, the beasts and champions he's slain, are told throughout the land.)
Strategy: 12 (Józef has spent most of his life leading troops on his crusade against evil. Although he has little experience leading full armies, he is a fine cavalry leader.)
Charisma: 8 (Józef can be gruff, and unfriendly, but he isn't the worst conversationalist. Unfortunately, his common sense can't make up for a dire lack of any political knowledge.)
Subversive: 8 (Józef, an honorable warrior type, sees little use for backstabbing, and has no experience in intrigue.)
Logistics: 10 (Józef is decent at logistics, managing to keep his band of hussars supplied in hostile territory for a long period of time.)
Administration: 8 (Józef is completely clueless at administration, knowing nothing about taxes, laws, or the people under his yoke. He leans heavily on whatever advisors he has.)
Name Dynasty: Rajunc
Dynasty members (up to 3 in addition to head of the house):
Natan Rajunc (17): Józef's young nephew. Raised in the backstabbing politics of Ciemstróż, this cunning young man is Józef's link to political power.
Witold Kulnow (28): Józef's adopted son. Eight years ago, this adventurer crossed the Mátec and joined Józef's party. He quickly proved himself a deadly swordsman, and, overall, a perfect right-hand man.
Description of dynasty and domain:The Rajunc dynasty is a proud noble family, with a great warrior tradition. Warriors from the eastern continent, they headed far, far inland to the west, to the banks of the river Mátec. Great warriors and great generals, soldiers flocked to their banner to fight the western monsters. Thanks to the protection of the Rajunc, farmers moved in, and began to raise great, bountiful crops on the wide open plains.
Pálensk is a wide, open land in the far west, flat and fertile. Composed almost entirely of flat plains or forests, it's cavalry territory, a factor that the human inhabitants use to great effect in their wars against the western scourge. The plains are protected from the monsters of the steppe by the Mátec, a great river that proves a formidable barrier. Occasionally, a monstrous host will be raised in the steppes, and cross the Mátec in rafts and ferries. Under the watchful eye of the Rajunc fortress of Ciemstróż, built on a high, rocky point overlooking the river, these hordes are spotted and turned back.
The fertile plains make Pálensk a breadbasket, supplying large amounts of grain and livestock to the more densely populated east. Although farming is still widespread in the east, a notable majority of all grain and cattle is raised on the Pálensk Plains, by Pálenski serfs. These fertile plains provide the coin needed to protect the western farmers.
More so than anywhere else on the continent, feudalism is deeply rooted in the earth of Pálensk. In order to pay for the armies that protect the plains, the serf must toil, and the count must pay his tithes. The vast plains of Pálensk are divided into many, many feudal holdings, belonging to various counts and noble lords. not including the Grand Duchy itself. These electors, the Sejm, have a say in the election of the next Duke. Traditionally, the Duke is chosen from among the dead Dukes sons, but the electors do not always stick to tradition.
Pálensk has always maintained a large army, due to the constant threat on its doorstep. Most of the army consists of eastern mercenaries, and conscripted serfs, trained to form a solid, if rather small, infantry core. The westerners never truly adopted archery, or the use of siege weapons, instead focusing almost entirely on a professional infantry force, backed by large amounts of cavalry.
The pride and joy of the Grand Duchy has always been the Husaria, the Pálenski shock cavalry. Lesser nobles and wandering knights are recruited, and trained for years, learning to wear the heaviest of plate armor, and wield lances longer than any infantry spear. The hussars charge fearlessly into the enemy, ripping apart the front rank with their lances, before retreating to do it again. The heavy plate worn by hussars, and the barding worn by their horses, turns away most strikes from enemy troops. The strangest fixture of all, though, is the Husaria's "wings." Wooden structures attached to their backs, covered in features, the hussar wings provide a strange, but valuable service. As they charge full-speed at the enemy, the wind flying through their wings creates an unsettling, shrieking whistle, capable of unnerving even the stoutest veteran.
Fantasy Poland? Super WIP, by the way.
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Topic: Lords of Eseria [6/6] - Claim the land! (Read 4907 times)