Archduke Vagran Holt
Archduke Vagran Holt (a.k.a. King of the Ghostlands, The Dull Ember)
The red-skinned man leaned forward onto the cold stone battlement that provided cover to the patrols that made their way along the outer wall. His advisors always chided him for walking the wall in the early morning on his own, but Vagran was no coward. His worn hands ran along the course stone of the parapet, there was a silver sheet of fog rolling in from the west that blanketed the rolling fields around the fortress and masking the ground from his sight.
From here it felt so oppressive. the fog was like a noose taught around his neck. What monsters could approach the hold through that cover? The thought made his bald head begin to sweat. His free hand cleared his brow and his deep green eyes squinted to look harder into the wild. The lands of his holds had been taken in the absence of the empire's presence after the fall of Stockton, and much of the ground south had been taken from the north of Andover. His fortress, Bleakgarden, was in the middle of that deadzone, and if the creatures and fiends that had taken hold wanted to challenge him then he would be there.
Waiting.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Vagran is heavyset with a large brow; even in his middling years he maintains a strong physical form though he has some old injuries in his legs that make them hurt in the damp weather. As well as suffering from powerful migraines from the injury to his head he took as a child.
Facial Features
Vagran's left tusk was shattered and is much smaller than his right tusk even now after decades of growth.
Identifying Characteristics
Vagran has inherited heavily the skin tone of his mother which was a deep blood red. Beyond this his nose has a sharp bend from the break he suffered as a child along with the smaller, shattered tusk.
Specialized Equipment
"Bleak Morning" is a custom long barrel rifle that Vagran had made after the retaking of Bleakgarden. A mixture of dwarven engineering and orcish enchantments. His arms is supplemented by the weapon he used during the taking of Bleakgarden, "Redvein" an heirloom greatsword left to him by his mother; the hefty blade shines red in daylight and in darkness can be made to glow with a dim crimson carnage. Vagran is a master marksman and fierce melee fighter even in his middling years.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born to Vangress Holt and his lover, a captain of a navy vessel from The Ironbrand Empire, Dragessa Redvein, Vagran was raised within the boundaries of the city of Lactown. He spent years studying his realm, the effect and tactics of the not so distant war that left over 50% of his realm a desolate wasteland to be overcome with monsters and beasts. As such he grew up a stern child with a keen eye for tactics, numbers, and a cold demeanor towards the necromantic arts.
It is not so rare for a half-orc to be born into the noble families of the empire since the founding of the Ironbrand Empire in the middle of the Age of Separation, but for one to be raised to a position of Archduke is often seen as an oddity in the courts of Aldabryn and Warden where the larger bulk of nobles are pure blooded humans. As such the inner circles around the empire have always viewed Vagran, and the other non-human or part-human archdukes/duchesses with a bit of disdain or, at the very least, with distrust. As such Vagran has had little love for such meetings and things that would pull him away from his hold. Choosing to only interact with the Empire outside of Helfdome when forced to, though, the Empire within Helfdome has proven to be great allies. The Archduchess of New Wharf had been crucial in aiding him solidify his hold on The Fortress of Bleakgarden after the passing of his father, and the council of Couthshou had provided access to their skilled wizard and mounted forces to aid in the retaking of Stockton.
The first, real, military accomplishment that Vagran earned was the retaking of the fortress of Bleakgarden, his ancestral home and the fortress stronghold that was the might of the country. In the wake of the Seven Year War and the scouring of the North the fortress had been abandoned and a powerful clan of hillgiants had taken control of the bastion, using its walls to protect themselves from the horrors of the ruined Stockton and the monsters of the waste.
In the thirteen years since capturing the fortress with the aid of the naval bombardments from the navy of Raif and the forces under his command out of northern Andover lead by the Countess Vinegarn the regrowth of Andover and the settling of the land north of the scar has been steady. And while Andover recovered the momentum has been building for a great reclamation effort to dive north into the lands of Stockton to reclaim the holy city.
Gender Identity
Male.
Sexuality
Vagran is a bisexual man, though he has not taken many partners or pursued many romantic interests. He did eventually marry in his late thirties, the second daughter of the House of Grengully, a noble-line from Andover who is in control of a number of lumber yards and fisheries along the rives that empty into the westran sea.
Education
Vagran was trained primarily by his father, though he had tutors of many different languages and had learned from several generals and knights who had survived the gem war. Much of his training came from the practicality of battle, and the understanding of what is required of him as a ruler in the extent of keeping his nation safe. As such he can often come across as a little cold, and unlike the stereotype of hot-blooded orcs he approaches all things with a cold detachment that unnerves his political rivals.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Vagran's greatest military accomplishment was the retaking of the fortress of Bleakgarden, through the use of keen tactics and advanced strategies blending both a distant naval bombardment and ground assault; Vagran had managed to slay the hill giants with minimal loses of life, his forces suffering casualties in the low twenties. An assault that by all accounts should have suffered much heavier loses had they been lead with inferior leadership.
Beyond this, he has proven to be physically adept, having in his youth before rising to the position of Archduke made the month long journey across the ghostlands to the mountain Feln where he scaled the mountain alone to arrive at the monastery at its peak. There he made an offering of ales and liquor that he had made himself and offered prays to the Brewmaster to aid in the recovering of the realm.
He is considered a friend of the monastery, though not a member of an active worshipper of Dunethoin, Vagran has shown a keen understanding of the religious beliefs of others and is remiss to intentionally insult others for the beliefs and passions they hold.
Failures & Embarrassments
In his youth, Vagran, while play wrestling with other boys who lived within the keep in one of the training areas used by the soldiers was struck quite hard in the head that sent him reeling, after the blow his memory went blank and he woke up several days later bedridden with a broken right tusk, a bent nose, and a broken left arm. Apparently the blow had rattled his senses and fully concussed him and in his confused state he had entered into a blind rage, it had taken two of the veteran soldiers to hold him down and only after a great bit of physical force.
He did quite a number on the others he was wrestling with, and one ended up losing an arm due to an infection caused by the wound. He has a deep regret for this moment and has strove to keep that violent side of himself controlled and focused but when he sees those men, as they are now, replacing the positions their father's had within the keep there is a deep remorse.
Mental Trauma
After the concussion he received as a young man (he was twelve at the time), Vagran has suffered from severe headaches and an accurate over sensitivity to light and sounds. It is the medical opinion of the healers who have inspected him that this all stems from stress and anxiety he has the potential to fall into when his mind dwells on those moments, and that they seem to be not physical, as if the brain is reliving the blow randomly.
Species
Year of Birth
4070
-4072 Years old
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Deep green
Hair
bald, eyebrows are a thick black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
dull muted red
Height
5'11
Weight
254lbs.
Ruled Locations
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