[hider=Joest Schurman]
[h3]Character Description[/h3]
[list]Name: Joest Schurman
Species/Race: Human, Doel
Sex: Male
Age: 27
Court Alignment: Black Wyvern
Role: Owner of Schurman Manufacturing & Shipping
Appearance:[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/d318YWb.jpeg[/img][/center]
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[h3]Strengths and Weaknesses[/h3]
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Skills:

[B]Schurman Heir[/B] - The sole inheritor of the Schurman Manufacturing & Shipping Company and the accompanying fortune, Joest is one of the wealthiest bachelors in the Union. More relevantly, he is in a position to draft a contract promising supply and delivery of firearms to a potential buyer: hopefully one with enough coin to stay in the good graces of his investors.

[B]Sociable[/B] - Joest rarely has trouble charming his way through any setting; be it in high courts or a dock-side brothel.  His optimism and open sincerity make for easy friendships with most who come across him, albeit at the cost of the occasional broken heart.

[B]Naval Training[/B] - A stint in the navy, and excursions on his family trade vessels, have taught Joest the basics of ship work and navigation. He has training with firearms and pikes; though he greatly favours and excels with the sword.

Weaknesses:

[B]Vice-Prone[/B] - At home, Joest's habits of drinking, gambling, and licentiousness towards both men and women are well known.  A man with less wealth or social capital would have been ruined many times over with his number of scandals, but Joest still barely clings to the edges of polite society.  

[B]Treason[/B] - Being a former naval officer, attempting to negotiate a deal with a wanted pirate has blackened Joest's already muddied reputation in his home country. The council and investors of his own company, along with members of Doel's National Assembly, seek to replace him and prop his sister up as a compliant puppet instead. The support of his friends, family, and countrymen wanethe longer he stays away.

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[h3]Background:[/h3]
[list]Backstory:

The firstborn and only son of Aelbert and Biatrix Schurman, there was never a question as to where Joest's life would lead: The same wealth and prosperity that had blessed their family for generations. What started as a few small trade expeditions with a single ship had bloomed into the Schurman Shipping Company, reputable movers of merchandise throughout the Circle sea.  Three generations in, it was Joest's grandfather who invested their accumulated savings into the innovation of blackpowder and fire-arms, officially adding 'Manufacturing' to the company name as they began crafting the barrels for arquebuses and matchlock pistols. Shortly thereafter, the Second Doel-Calarian war proved the investment a good one. This allowed his son, Aelbert, to further invest in the company's first iron mine.

By Joest birth, the company owned four mines, had dozens of guild workers crafting barrels, and an entire block of buildings dedicated to turning out munitions; in addition to its fleet of ten ships. There was never anything for him to worry about, save finding his own entertainment.  Aside from business lessons with his father, both parents were largely distracted by their own social activities, leaving the spoiled boy to terrorize servants, locals, and especially his younger sister without consequence.

Starting in his late teens, he started accompanying the company’s delivery ships; all as part of his preparation to  take over the family business. He took well to a sailor's life, remaining with his crew throughout their nights of drinking in disreputable establishments, or gambling money away in dark alleyways. These habits followed him back to Doel. Back home, where his pockets were deeper and his status was known, he quickly began to develop a repute as a wastrel. An unacceptable deviation from his father's plans, the family patriarch hurled threats and cut funds in hope of forcing his son into supplication.  Instead, Joest abandoned his wealth and family in favour of pride and independence, and joined the navy.

Military discipline chafed at Joest, but his spite remained stronger and for five years, he sailed as an officer.  His dalliances and poor choices continued whenever he came ashore, but the regimented life and frequent travel ultimately did him good. He found little reward in pirate hunting, but enjoyed seeing the vast differences in culture and wealth throughout the Circle sea.  He also began to bare witness to the consequences of his family's innovations, and didn't much care for them.

Still, when news came of his father succumbing to illness, Joest discovered a long missing sense of responsibility to his mother and sister, and returned home.  Whether Aelbert's heart had softened or simply suffered delirium as a dying man, he forgave his son readily, and wasted no time reinstating him as heir and owner of the Schurman name.  He died within the same year.  

While considering himself older and wiser than when he had left, Joest still lacked the humility to apologize or address his family directly.  Instead, he promised his sister a generous stipend, and relieved her of the duties that had undoubtedly been forced upon her in his absence.  His vices still stalked him though, and as whispers of his abhorrent behavior began stirring among the upper social circles again, so did concern from investors and guild members who thought him too immature and unstable to be entrusted with the position.  

Seeing the writing on the wall, Joest has taken it upon himself to prove his worth by striking a lucrative trade deal. Why he has chosen the wealthiest of the rebels rather than the stability of a deal with the empire is a mystery to all but him.

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