Jules Merula
Major Jules Arvin Merula
Major Jules Merula has been the Castellan - the ranking officer in charge of the Keep's military and civil governance - for the past nine years. He was appointed to the position by the Countess Saris Marjoleine, whose lands these are, after the death of Abbess Marthe who had managed the Keep as an Abbey in the days of a more religious-minded queen and her family. The Castellan is not of noble birth, but his second wife, Elsinore, is a distant cousin of the Countess.
Major Merula is a no-nonsense administrator whose talents and interests lean very much further into the military than the civilian side of things at the Keep, to the point that he has from time to time toyed with the idea of appointing a burgess or some kind of mayor to run the town proper. But the keep's military population outnumbers the civilian citizenry, and from his position at the keep, the civilian parts in the lower bailey really exist for the upkeep and service of the military aspects, either providing goods and material directly or by generating revenues paid as tax and tribute.
His military career in the field was good enough to raise him to the rank of Major, and there was always plenty of fighting the further east and away from the trade road that one goes. These were generally more like cavalry skirmishes against savage orcs or bandit fighters, not normal battlefield warfare, and this guerilla style has served him well in maintaining a mostly unbroken peace during his career. A few exceptions include the recent Lizardfolk incursion, which was more a fault of a hard winter than any lack of planning or control on his part, and six years earlier, a dispute that arose between the Countess and her brother-in-law for which the Castellan had to supply several infantry units and one unit of light cavalry, but it all came to naught when her sister found herself a widow under mysterious, but then not so mysterious circumstances. The soldiers were returned to the Keep but the Castellan doubled down on his commitment to run the Keep and stay as far away from the vicious internecine politics of the Realm as he possibly could.
Keterina, his first wife, was the love of his life. She was delicate and fragile in all the ways that he was grizzled and rough, and he loved her deeply, knowing she made him a better man, and doing all he could to provide her with a stable and safe home on the edge of the wilderness. The greatest joy of his life became the greatest sorrow, unfortunately, when his wife and unborn child both perished during a difficult breach birth, a loss that hit the Serene Mistress nearly as hard as it hit him. Though he knew that Alba had done all she could, it has forever since put a distance between them - and between him and the rest of the world, for that matter. Keterina had lost consciousness several times and stopped breathing long before the delivery was complete; the only way to rescue the child was a procedure that would be certain death for the mother. Merula agreed to it, never forgiving himself for doing it and knowing full well he could never forgive himself if he hadn't. Unfortunately the child had already perished, suffocated on the umbilical cord, and a darkness settled over the Keep that seemed to last for years after this event. The Castellan virtually disappeared into his work then, with the structure and distraction of military duty his only real comfort.
Eventually Saris Marjoleine tired of his morose reports and sullen responses when she made the attempt to be civil, but rather than replace him with someone she couldn't trust, she decided to bring him mandatory joy by arranging a marriage between him and her third cousin once removed on her mother's side, Elsinore Calumet. Not surprisingly this solved nothing, really, but seven years have helped to bring a certain normality back to his life, even if joy still seems inappropriate to him.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
About 30 lbs of fat over 265 pounds of muscle, but Jules is getting a bit florid as he ages. His nose shows the telltale blood vessel swelling of too much drink, and he's put on more than a little extra weight on the sides.
Facial Features
Usually wears a scruffy goatee that's an attractive feature in his lack of concern or effort with it.
Mental characteristics
Sexuality
The trauma of losing his wife in childbirth may have had lasting effects - it's far too indiscreet to ask about, but his current wife of three years remains childless.
Mental Trauma
The loss of his beloved wife and their only child deeply scarred him in ways even he can't see. He has never been able to bring himself to take down the paintings he had made of Keterina, and has as yet found no painter worthy to paint Elsinore, though he plainly doesn't feel for her what he felt for Ket. In its way, however, this is perhaps a more real love, born of commitment and personal sacrifice, not based on feelings or how she made him feel about himself.
Current Status
Castellan of the Keep on the Borderlands
Current Location
Age
61
Date of Birth
9th of Ninthmonth
Date of Death
19th of Sixthmonth
Life
3272 A3
3332 A3
60 years old
Circumstances of Death
Beheaded during a banquet for the adventurers who defeated Camazotl at the Caves of Chaos
Birthplace
Marleven
Place of Death
upper bailey castle festhall
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
brown
Hair
White hair with a salt and pepper beard
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Ruddy skin a little nicked and scarred, and well weathered
Height
6'4"
Weight
295lb
Belief/Deity
Marktus, God of Battle
Related Reports
Ruled Locations
Comments