Dietric Kessel

The Black Baron of Maethas Dietric Kessel is one of the most despised men on the Isle. The survivor and leader of the uprising against Dane Reise and a wanted regicide, the Black Baron faces flaying unto death should the King of Highdunn or his men ever get their hands on their old master-at-arms.

"Why? Because I had to, that's why. And them who're left are damn fools for not realizing it by now!"
Kessel on why he killed Dane Reise.

Description


Kessel is a man in the dawn of his seventh decade. Once powerful his advanced years have cost his weight and breadth but he remains strong and sound. His face is hard, stern and heavily lined but with firm set jaw and alert intense eyes, and his skin is ruddy and leathery. His hair, once dark, is now iron grey and thinning. Still tall and imposing the Black Baron is seldom seen in public without full mail and an axe at his hip and whip in his fist since the coup. Despite his age those who have tested him have found him still deceptively powerful and lightning fast, and more than once he has bested assassins sent against them after they have bypassed his guards.

Personality


The Black Baron is a quiet, intense man. Most describe him as grim, and indeed this was true long before the coup. He is extremely serious and seldom minces words or makes idle conversation. When he speaks it is concise, to the point and without unnecessary pleasantry. A manner that makes many find him rude or uncouth, but his brutal honesty and common tongue have made him popular with the men who follow him. Despite his popularity he keeps very much to himself, appearing only when he needs to and talking with very few people. His manner seems sad and tired to the few that meet him, and he has the mannerisms and tendencies of a man who has a lot on his mind.

History


Born into a minor noble house along the boarders of the Tresser Veldt, Dietric served in the Kingsown and eventually rose to its command under Dane Reise. His military career was illustrious, with his crowning glory being his defeat of the goblyn warlord Jhala-Gunda of the Killing Claw. He and a small contingent of Kingsown repelled the goblyn’s entire warband and held Madagar Keep, where Dane’s Queen Ivine, pregnant with Eldin, were trapped by the goblyns for two days and two nights. By the time a relief force under Alvin Roen arrived only Dietric and five men remained, and hundreds of goblyns lay dead on the slopes of the hill and around the keep’s gates. Kessel’s leg was badly injured by a goblyn arrow that day and he has walked favouring his left side for all the decades since. After this he was retired and made royal master at arms, responsible for training the child Eldin in all aspects of what it is to be a man and a warrior. The rest of the Black Baron's history is known all over the Isle. During a night now known as the Maethian Coup he rose up with a large rebel force of Kingsown in Thairon, stormed the palace and killed Dane Reise, then fled to the Maethian Arm just half a day ahead of the relief force led by the Earls of the Veldt. There he remains to this day, still no one is really sure what happened that day, but Eldin Reise has sworn bloody and protracted vengeance.

Associations


As ruler of Maethas the Black Baron is not well-liked. Anduin Derrowmere, his second, fulfils all of his duties, the Baron is totally inaccessible to his people. He never appears in public or aids them in their time of need and generally just remains locked away in Doraust Keep with standing orders for his garrison to open the gates to no man. His soldiers on the other hand are almost fanatically loyal to the old man. Kessels wife Amelia died giving birth to his first son Adam, and Adam is now a senior member of Highdunn's Kingsown and has sworn to bring his father to justice and clear his family name. Of course Odo of the Roughlands considers Maethas an enemy for usurping a part of his domain alone, but it is Eldin Reise and Alvin Roen who truly hunger for the old baron's blood, the King in particular howls for his vengeance. It is said that Reise is often unable to sleep for the thought that Kessel is still a free man. Despite this Kessel has tried to make few allies, though he does allow trade with the goblyns of Yar-Dorash he won't lower himself to having personal contact with them, and he is openly hostile to pirates and bandits. A few Roughriders do act as agents for the Baron on occasion when he has the gold, but they tend to be a strictly vetted few.

Statistics


Race Male Ahlonian Skills
Age Old (61) Skill Points: spent/total
Profession Soldier (3) skill value rationale
Faith Church of the Dioune (5)
Class Rebel Regicide (6/8)
Talents Inventory
Fast n weapon cap threshold reach
Graceful n
Hale n
Strong n
Tough n armour hard tiers enc/limit
Clever n tool cap test
Insightful n
Knowledgeable n attire environment
Perceptive n
Wilful n
Brave n
Persuasive n
Forceful n
Lucky n

Character Traits


Regicide (3)

Kessel killed a King, and ran. No one knows his motives, and few have taken the time to care. Dietric Kessel is likely the most hated man in Highdunn, loathed beyond even the Black Sarith or the Goblynking, and with Eldin Reise baying for his blood like some crazed hound, the people aren't likely to forget their hatred.

In The Company of Thieves (2)

Kessel has long refused to keep the company of the thieves and outlaws who crowd Maethas, and this has effectively cut him off from the people who call themselves his subjects. Many observe that that is the height of hypocrisy for a king-slayer, but he holds himself above the violent rabble of Kalis still, and Derrowmere garners more and more support from the folk of that place.