Nikolaus Tavaster Af Starck

Nikolaus Tavaster Af Starck
Nikolaus Tavaster, the leader of the Wyvernians is the Margrave of his small fief in frontierlands of Arathia, surrounded by mountains, dense woodland and snow, he wishes to establish himself in this new land by forming new and long-lasting diplomatic relationships while keeping a wary eye of what happens around himself and his people.

Background
Born as a member of the old Wyvernian Noblefamily of House Starck, a man of the frozen lands and of the forests of firs and pines. Nikolaus is the youngest son of the family and thus was not eligible to inherit the lands of his forefathers or any considerable titles other than that of a minor Wyvernian lord. This drove him and some of his closest friends and household servants such as Lucas from the noblefamily of House Honeyclaw to seek out land for themselves, be it near or far.

The Five Knight's Dance And Exodus
His quest to find land to settle and claim for his own started when he offered his services to a powerful Duke within the Kingdom of Wyvern and embarked on a military campaign to the east with a small retinue of mounted knights, becoming the youngest knight to ever be in command of such a mission at the age of 18. The official and legitimate goal of the campaign was to bring justice down upon a rebellious frontier baron and his gang of raiders, unofficially it was to put the lands to the torch and bring back anything worth a few pieces of silver. To the surprise of most people in the Wyvernian court and nobility, Nikolaus completed the campaign with immense speed and had been apparently able to recruit several of the rebel baron's own men to join his retinue that was now dubbed as the Law's Sword And Shield. Equally, Nikolaus had managed to bring back a sizeable fortune back to the Duke, getting a considerable payment in exchange for his troubles. All was not well however, many of the Duke's court members started whispering into the ear of the paranoid Duke who was by that point constantly on edge, waiting for the next rebel baron to raise his banners in revolt. Whispers rang into his ears that Nikolaus The Raider as he was mockingly called was not as loyal as one might expect, he had brought with him a sizeable amount of the rebel baron's soldiers and servants.

Always being one to distance himself from court politics, Nikolaus had no way of knowing of the growing plot to have him either exiled or even executed. As such as one day after being summoned to the court of the Duke, Nikolaus rode out with only a few of his most trusted friends and soldiers, none of which were shielded by any amount of armour, only with their swords by their sides. Stepping into the hall of the Duke, the doors soon closed behind them and the chancellor pointed at the five knights, accusing them of treason and of conspiring against the realm. The Duke lifted his weary eyes from the floor and waved his hand as a command to his guards to seize the five men. Not intending on being betrayed and imprisoned, the five pulled out their swords and against all odds, managed to fight their way back to their horses with only one of their number being cut down. This showdown would come to be dubbed as the Five Knight's Dance and mark the exodus of Nikolaus Tavaster.

His journey began with assembling his personal retinue, gathering as much supplies as they could and then setting a plan for them to follow, the plan showed their way to the west. Not in any of the neighbouring kingdoms or free-cities but to Arathia. Long years passed until the retinue's boots stepped on Arathian dirt and sand. In the distance they could see fresh, untouched and pure woodland as far as the eye could see. Indeed, this shall be our home, Nikolaus proclaimed.

The Arathian Woodland Noble
Much like their ancestors centuries before, Nikolaus decided that a fort on a hill was the best way to shield themselves while they established themselves and laid eyes on the world that was constantly opening in front of them. The Wyvernians had always been castle builders and as such, even with the limited numbers at their disposal, laying the foundations to what would soon become the Castle of Oldstones was remarkably fast. The cold wilderness around them offered very little sustinence in the form of meat or wheat so it was time to turn back to hardy crops such as potatoes and to fish whenever they could from the nearby streams that were populated by remarkably large salmon and trout.

Now that most things seemed to be in order, the question on everyone's lips remained. What lies beyond? All they know was that on another side lie mountains and on another a desolate frozen wasteland, apart from that and a few run down villages inhabited by small flocks of farmers and hunter-gatherers, there was very little in the way of outside contact. Still, with the risks being limited to the occasional pack of wolves, an animal that decorated the personal coat of arms of Nikolaus who had been proclaimed as the Margrave of Wyvern, an ancient title held by Wyvernian nobility in posession of frontier fiefs and backed up by a small, yet hard-hitting contingent of axe & sword wielding knights known as Huskaars, he decided that it would be best to maintain a strong tradition of defense, especially now that the lands around them were so foreign.

No crown-wearing or sword-wielding outsiders would stumble into their renegade fief until one day, a short man dressed in a dark red cape would come riding to the gates of Oldstones, dismounting and against all expectations, extended his hand, saying; "Greetings my good Lord, I believe we have not met before."

This must be the Arathian welcome committee, thought Nikolaus and shook hands with this bearded fellow.

Personality And Traits
Nikolaus Tavaster is considered as being calm, cold-blooded and in-general very rational in the way he administrates his fief and negotiates with those under his rule. Apart from this however, there are traits that are common or as some may say, irremovable features of a Wyvernian, arrogance and mild insanity. It may stem from the centuries that the Wyvernians have spent waging wars near and far or the brutal winters of their homeland but nevertheless this young Margrave has brought this part of Wyvern with him. By no means a man who would seek open conflict or to lead his people into an offensive or unjust war but nevertheless a militarist at heart, everything else comes in second or exists merely to support the former.