Frederick Drach; Baron of Riftview
Baron Frederick Morgan Drach
The younger son of Baron Heinrich Drach of Riftview; Frederick was born five years into the Demon War, two years before its conclusion.
Heinrich was known as a good, wise leader to his people, and was greatly respected both at court, and at home in his barony. At that time, the Barony of Riftview stretched over a much larger area of land than it does today; spanning the length of the western arm of the Rift Mountains and as far west as the Drakeseat Mountains. In the final year of the war, Heinrich and his brigade joined the young King Aegic Enarren, then only a prince, for his great march into the Auric Wastes to the ruined dwarven city of Auricheim, to confront the Arch-Demon Val'Gorath. The day was won, and the war ended, but Heinrich was mortally wounded in the battle, leaving young Frederick without a father. The title of Baron of Riftview fell to Frederick's older brother, Arvan; himself only fifteen years old at the time.
While his brother ruled the barony from Riftview, Frederick, seeing little likelihood of gaining the title himself, travelled to Valliné as soon as he was old enough to be able. There he lived a life of leisure and debauchery, squandering a good amount of the family fortune.
At home, while he strove to be as benevolent and just as his father at ruling over the Barony, Arvan lacked the business acumen and wisdom of his father. Through a long series of poor decisions and botched trade agreements, the treasury of the barony slowly dwindled, and Arvan was forced again and again to cede land to his neighbours and debtors in lieu of gold payment. Writing to Frederick, he explained that he could no longer afford to foot the bill for his brother's carousing.
Forced to fend for himself to fuel the lifestyle to which he was accustomed, it was during this time in Valliné that Frederick found himself socialising with some less-than-savoury members of the citizenry. He learned to cheat, swindle and intimidate those who could be leaned on to get what he wanted. Finding his calling in life at last, and determined not to repeat the mistakes of his brother, Frederick quietly began to amass a private fortune of his own, and to gather around him a sinister collection of thugs and henchmen who would carry out his whims.
In 1281, at the age of 51, Arvan died unexpectedly, following a bout of fever. Fully ensconsed in his life in Valliné, Frederick was surprised to receive the news that he was to be the next Baron of Riftview. He returned to the family's ancestral home of Drach Manor, in Riftview; itself barely more at the time than a small village around the manor itself. During his last years of life, Arvan had overseen the shrinking of the Barony to covering not much more than the village of Riftview, a couple of dozen square-miles of uninhabitable mountains, and two other small farming communities in the wider valley that led up into the mountains and to Riftview itself.
Drach Manor was not in great shape, and would require a large amount of Frederick's personal fortune to return to its former glory. He brought in his own people from Valliné to assess the property. During this inspection, as the foundations of the manor were being checked, a strange, irridescent, never-before-seen mineral was discovered; exposed by a recent landslide. Consulting with a wizard in his employ, it was found that the mineral was saturated in magical energy of an unknown origin. If it could be processed, then it would be most valuable in the production of all things arcane. Sensing a business oppurtunity of unparalled potential, Frederick set about consolidating his control of the area, now the only known source of an incredibly valuable magical material (which gained the name Glowspar).
Twenty-five years later, Frederick ranks among the more wealthy of the Barons of Vallanna. Putting his criminal background to use, he rules over the Riftview Glowspar industry with an iron fist, profiting greatly from everything that happens in the now-booming mountain town, through taxes, tariffs, shady employment contracts and intimidation tactics. He owns a controlling interest in the town's inn, stables, and many other businesses.
He lives in Drach Manor, with his young wife Cara and their son Nathaniel, travelling to Valliné for court business. Unlike his father and brother before him however, he is not particularly well-regarded by his subjects, who fear a visit from the many thugs in Frederick's employ who enforce his will and collect his dues.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Paying lip service to the crown, Baron Frederick's main motivation in life is greed. Not afraid to use and then throw aside those whom he belives he can profit from, and miserly with his money to an extreme degree (perhaps in an effort to not repeat his brother's financial blunders), the growth of the Riftview Glowspar industry under his direct control has been everything that he could have dreamed of.
As Baron of Riftview itself, and the controlling owner of all of the Glowspar mines in the area, he has been able to charge exorbitant taxes and force completely draconian working contracts upon all those who come to Riftview following tales of riches to be had. For every gold piece that a miner might make for themselves, he makes a hundred.
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