Superhero/villain Name: The Warlord(Currently inactive)
Civilian Name: Raymond von Lüneburg(Originally Ramman of Akkad)
Origin city/Planet: Akkad, Earth
Hometown: Metropolis
Sex: Male
Race: Homo Magi
Height: 6'3"
Weight: Roughly 170 lbs.
Age: 40(Assumed)/4344
Birth Date: 2325 BC
Civilian Appearance:Never seen in public without some kind of suit, he keeps a professional appearance both in the office and out shaking hands abroad. Foremost about his appearance is his keen fashion sense, trending towards darker colors for the jackets and gentle blues for the dress shirt, though has been known to rock a pinstripe when the occasion calls for it. What most people notice first however, is the steely grey of his eyes and the conviction in them when speaking.
Civilian Personality:Ever charming and punctual, Raymond von Lüneburg is a man who though he does his best to avoid the spotlight, absolutely shines in it. Most recently interviewed by the Daily Planet in an exclusive on the Military Industrial sector, he is described as "the most approachable and open arms dealer on the face of the Earth." and "[...] focused more on saving lives in a business of dealing death." As a man who is the CEO of one of the premier PMCs in the world, a good portion of his public appearance and personality is the product of his PR team, but just enough of his real self shines through to make it genuine. At home the business is left at the door and his only concern is his family, a fact he has made evident to reporters on only two occasions and has since been made another facet of his PR persona. Even in the office, his concerns lie with his family, though it extends to his employees and their families as well. For all appearances, he is a patriot with a focus on keeping his people safe while trying to assist the peacekeeping forces of the world with his company's services.
-SkillsPolyglot - A man who's lived throughout the ages unsurprisingly has a lot of time to learn many languages and become fluent in them. Among those Raymond knows by heart are Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Gaulish, Celtic, Danish, Swedish, German, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, English and Hindi.
Eternal War - Though he may not currently appear as such, Rammon is a consummate warrior skilled in both unarmed and armed close-quarters combat, as well as with a variety of ranged weaponry. In recent years he has had less time to devote to practice however, and so his physical reaction times have dulled. He remains a knowledgeable source on combat theory despite this, and will find ways around such weaknesses.
-PowersImmortal - Achieved through his use of powerful sorcery back in the 24th century BC, eternal youth is at his command and he is beyond the ravages of time or disease. The exact means of how he maintains his immortality are unknown, even to the closest members of his cabal, though it has been purported to be a form of lichdom due to the existence of an object that tethers his soul to his physical body and sustains it through arcane bindings. Should this tether be destroyed he would lose his immortality, and it has been suggested that time would come to take what it's due.
Ishtar's Gift - The primary means through which he channels the arcane, his gift was given to him in two parts and has served him in his lifetime quest to ensure humanity's future and his own personal one for knowledge. As a Homo Magi, the first part of his gift was purely being born with the ability to feel the magical world around him. Finding leylines and tapping into them is as natural to Rammon as the act of breathing, and low to mid level sorcery comes easily to him. The second half of Ishtar's Gift is the ability to speak True Words and understand them without suffering the effects that would normally befall those they are directed at.
True Words - Not actually unique to Rammon, the True Words are pieces of a primordial language that he has been slowly compiling over the years. Operating just a little differently than normal arcane energy and even the metaphysical, each word acts as an instruction to the physical universe to force a reaction or series of reactions to happen. These instructions are directed at specific objects or entities through variations in the tone and pronunciation of the word, operating on the user's knowledge of their target. The more information known about the target, the more specific one can be with their use of the word, with many requiring knowledge of their true name in order to function. Being targeted by a True Word can be quite disastrous for a normal human, and even for those simply within earshot. Those with metahuman or alien physiologies are more resistant to the words, but can still suffer long-term injury if the user was well prepared. Of note about the True Words, is that they can be used by anyone who knows the words and can pronounce them, but only those specifically gifted with resistances to the arcane or given the ability to speak them would be able to do so without ill effect. A normal human speaking a True Word without such safeguards would be subject to the same forces as their intended target.
-ArtifactsManifesto Arcanum - It has gone by many names through the ages, each civilization proclaiming to have held it at one point, and been attributed to the rise and fall of empires in ancient days by those in occult circles. Perhaps the most accurate source comes from the Romans, who wrote of a book that bore the language of the gods, a manual for creating and destroying the mortal realms. In actuality it is a compendium of the language of creation, the most comprehensive codex of spells and True Words to have been written and a source of arcane power in its own right. Because of that, those without magical ability can actually read from it and use the spells or Words within, though with the latter it is at significant cost if they do not have arcane or divine protection.
Civilian OccupationAs the CEO of Lundgrau Intelligence Services and their subsidiary companies, he oversees a wide network of defense contracting, privatized military services and armaments production alongside a fair number of support companies. Most prominently is the negotiation and acquisition of contracts for various national and corporate entities, as well as producing the required items. He also personally advises the training directors for the "wet" side of LIS operations and ensures consistency in applied skills for all field employees.
Character History/OriginArising from the ashes of the Akkadian Empire, the man who would eventually become known as Raymond von Lüneburg in the modern era and the Warlord in various obscure texts, began his life as something altogether more humble. Like his mother and father before him, he was a priest in a temple dedicated to Ishtar, one of the primary deities of the Akkadian faith. For years he devoted himself to the faith and offered blessings to the citizens of Akkad, even serving the great Sargon before accepting a place in the royal court as advisor.
It was there that he took his first step, when the skies lit with fire in the year 2304 BC. Like many at the time, he saw the signs of displeased gods and urged his king to make offerings, yet such adviced was only acted upon partially. Sargon did make the offerings, but did not heed the word of his priests or Rammon, instead increasingly curious of the strange signs and sending out scouts to follow the paths of fire. Mere days afterward Akkad was approached by men with steel skin and eyes that burned with malice. They spoke in a language that only barely mimicked a human tongue, but their demands were clear as they began to cut down all before them that did not bend the knee. Of course, it was only too late that Sargon chose to heed the advice of his court, taking up arms against the strange invaders and managing to wound three of their number before the city guard was routed and he was killed in the defense of the throne room.
Rammon bore witness to all of this as he was made to retreat to the temples, watching the alien men decimate the Akkadian army and take the empire by force. Once safely beyond the palace they found pursuit was not given, and thought it strange, but continued nevertheless. It was only when the fires were lit from the capitol that they found the invaders had already taken what they desired. For several days after the death of Sargon of Akkad, sporadic resistance took place across his empire from those elements that had remained loyal, but the temples to their gods had remained intact so long as those within bent to the dominance of their new leaders. Most merely accepted this as they had done when the empire had first been formed, to them it was merely one conqueror exchanged for another, but to others and especially the Akkadians, they only dug in deeper and took their fight to the shadows.
The priesthoods of each temple were especially keen on removing the alien invader after they revealed their true faces as inhuman monsters. Rammon among them, they observed rituals to their gods to keep their people safe during the day, while at night they silently assassinated targets of opportunity to weaken the invaders. It was slow and often dangerous, but each member of the priesthood was as dedicated as the former soldiers among them. Yet for every one alien they killed, two more fell from the sky to replace them. Over a decade their resistance steadily fought and evaded their overlords until one night they had finally pressed their advantage too far.
Until that night in 2294, the aliens were indifferent to what they felt were primitive beliefs and customs, allowing the temples to stand as long as the people continued to remain obedient and work under them. The consistent resistance to their rule had slowly chafed the inhumans however, and all they needed was an idea on where they were based in order to eradicate them once and for all. Such an opportunity fell right into their hands when a particularly foolish youth had gone out to hunt and forgotten to remove his raiments before leaving the temple. With a fury rivalling that of their first attack on Akkad, they stormed the temples and slew all inside with no mercy or hesitation. Statues were destroyed, carvings scorched from the walls, and holy icons rendered to their base metals. Not even the families of the priests were spared, among them Rammon's own wife and daughters.
It was only by the blessing of his goddess that he survived the carnage, awakening in the center of her temple and feeling a mixture of rage and sorrow at the sight of his people so viciously butchered. His blood boiled with the need for vengeance, and he bargained the last of his worldly possessions for the weapon that would end the invaders once and for all. Anchoring his soul to the single medallion of Ishtar to have survived the destruction, he drunk deep of the arcane leyline that ran underneath the temple, and he strode out into the city streets towards the capitol with fire in hand and hatred in his heart. There the Akkadian Empire ended as a single night of fire and death, alien and traitorous humans alike put to the sword in order to cleanse it of the invaders that had stolen so much from them.
Despite this victory Rammon felt it hollow, for it would not bring back his family or friends who had died in the decade-long occupation, nor could he truly be certain that more would not come to simply resume what they had started. His goddess had given him the gift to allow him to take back his city, but as he looked up into the night sky and at the stars above, he felt there was so much more to do. So it was that he did the only thing that felt right to him. For three days he fasted in the ruins of Ishtar's temple, silently praying to her for guidance while increasing numbers of the faithful came to look on in reverence.
On the closing of the third day, as the sun was setting below the arch of the temple's walls he was given his answer in the voice of his goddess for all present to hear. Only two words were said, but they gave him purpose and rallied those faithful to his cause. "Prepare them." Was all he needed to hear, and without even pausing to break his fast, he bid the new priests to go out and ensure it was done. Years would pass and eventually Assyria and Babylonia would break from Akkadia, each becoming a power in their own right, but dismayed as he was at seeing the division, Rammon knew that peace had only allowed weakness to fester and rot the empire from within. He set upon his great plan, seeking to ensure that when the day came mankind would be ready in the way they only felt so readily eager to go along with.
Centuries past and history forgot the plight of Sargon and the Akkadian Empire, the few records of the events at first discounted as foreign propaganda, and later as the ravings of mad heathens when the Hellenics came to conquer Persia. All the while Rammon shifted more and more away from the battlefield and into the shadows, stirring conflict between rival kingdoms and whispering into the ears of emperors. His powers of sorcery grew with each passing year, until he found the need to write down the spells he learned, those he created, and the rituals that summoned forces no mortal man should ever dabble in. In time certain circles would catch on to his interference, naming him a force of evil which sought to corrupt men and steal away women. Both aspects he encouraged, taking on new names and subtly changing his appearance for each new infiltration.
Yet "The Warlord", as he had come to be called, could not operate as he had forever. Progress marched on ever forward and mankind invented new and terrible ways to kill and hold onto their power. Rammon watched the creation of mustard gas, whispering into the ears of scientists the idea that if used on the battlefield the results would be disastrous for those unprepared. He organized the secret rearmament of Germany alongside those bitter from the loss of the first Great War. When the guns of the Soviets sounded the prelude to the Fall of Berlin, he was already infiltrating their intelligence agencies and helping set the foundation for the KGB.
The modern era and shift from global war to more localized conflicts only allowed him to operate with increasing impunity, eventually seeing his rise to publicly head a small arms corporation in 1990. Calling himself Raymond von Lüneburg and claiming to be a second generation immigrant from West Germany, he quietly supported the Gulf Wars with defense contracts that would allow him to acquire more capital for more plants to produce more weapons. In a decade he grew Lundgrau Arms into a competitor against other major weapons manufacturers, and was able to shift into new markets. By 2006 his company no longer made just pistols or bullets, but had managed to gain DARPA contracts for everything from rifles to missiles. For millennia he had simply acted a warlord, pulling strings from the shadows to coerce others into conflict. Now, with the prevalence of the military industrial complex, he could openly be such and sell his weapons to whoever had the cash and the desire to do harm to their fellow man.
Yet with the increasing ease of doing business, the advent of better and more reliable communications technology meant that he could not simply act rashly and fill the world with bullets and missiles. No, if anything he had to be even more careful than before. For every African warlord that he sold crates of rifles to, he made a show of providing humanitarian support elsewhere. Each peacekeeping mission his company was seen to accomplish hid the backroom deals with rogue states that secured them actual military hardware. When he shook hands with dictators and terrorists in the shadows, he distracted the media with open interviews and played up his love for his family, country and employees.
To the world he was the arms dealer with a heart, taking every measure to ensure the safety of his employees and the innocents of war torn nations. For a chosen few, he was not only allowing the increasing tension across the globe, but he was actively ensuring the creation of new and deadlier hot zones by supplying them the very arms that he publicly spoke against.
Optional information:The Lundgrau Special Operations Center - LSOC for short, or endearingly referred to as "The Big Sock" by those within LIS, it is the 2,675 square mile region that was formerly known as the Utah Test and Training Range and now exists as the beating heart of Raymond's corporate ventures. It only became what it is today after a deal with President Duncan O'Harra in the mid '90s saw the sale of the vast test range in order to fund more of his social reforms. Since then it has seen the construction of three facilities to manufacture small arms, support weapons, infantry fighting vehicles, main battle tanks, missiles and fighter jets to supply government contracts for NATO countries. These facilities primarily inhabit the central region of the zone in the town specifically built for those working them and attending the training centers. Elsewhere the region is used for the original purpose, the testing of ordinance and live-fire exercises.
Lundgrau Intelligence Services NA Headquarters - Where most of the administrative portion of the business is centered, as well as primary meeting point for investors, government officials and their public office. Located on the outskirts of New York City, it allows the company to be close enough to a major city to have a hand in much of the business there, while staying out of the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan. This is also the most likely place to find Raymond at work, as his duties as CEO tend to require him to function more executively than they used to.
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