Stravi Kuznetzov, Captain of the Blackshield Brothers
Let no insult go unpunished. 42
Race: Dwarf
Origin: Wandering mercenary with no fixed address, though the Kuznetzov clan’s family estates can be found in the Ghenna mountains.
Appearance: Stravi is sardonically handsome, especially for a dwarf. The effect of his dark complexion is enhanced by a liberal application of kohl around his eyes, while he wears his hair – grown long on the top of his head and shaved at the sides – pulled back in an elaborate warrior’s braid to draw attention to his high cheekbones. While his flattened nose – broken more than once over the years – heavy brow, and scarred visage might be off putting to some of delicate constitutions there are many - especially amongst the bored Ladies and Dowagers of the aristocracy – who finds that these
imperfections add to Stravi’s appeal. After all, why invite a mercenary to tea if he doesn’t look at least a little dangerous?
He stands tall for a dwarf, just a shade over 5’2”, while a lifetime of wearing armour has given him a robustly stout frame. When he has the option Stravi will always choose to dress in black, though this is less a cosmetic choice than it is a marketing one. A mercenary lord can win or lose contracts depending on their ‘brand awareness’, and Stravi has chosen to tie his band to the colour black. It’s one of the first things customers recognise him for, it’s what they’ve come to expect of him, so it’s what he means to give them. The full Blackshield Brothers treatment, as it were.
Personality: Stravi, firstborn and only son to Kaltner Kuznetzov, patriarch of the venerable Kuznetzov Clan, isn’t your typical Dwarven lord. Pragmatic, taciturn, grimly charismatic and unrepentantly Machiavellian, he seems the complete antithesis to his boisterous kin. Though this is probably unsurprising when one takes into account Kaltner’s unwise spending of the Kuznetzov coffers, and the subsequent realisation that Stravi has had to do absolutely everything within his power to maintain the clan’s tenuous grasp on their holdings and estates.
Over the years Stravi and his Blackshield’s have cultivated a reputation as reliable, hardworking, and effective mercenary company, a reputation he is incredibly proud of, not half because it means he can charge a premium for their services. Another factor increasing the Blackshield’s standing is their commander’s status as an exacting taskmaster who expects the very best of his men, and in return treats them well and cares for their wellbeing. While some mercenary commanders see the men in their ranks as little more than sacks of meat to be stuffed into armour, Stravi actually cares for the men who serve him.
While all this can make it easy to view the Dwarf lord as some kind of unscrupulous rogue or villain, it should be noted that he has his own code of honour, his own sense of morality. It’s just that he places higher value on the lives of his men and of his clan than he does of the lives of others.
History: Kuznetzov was once a powerful and influential Dwarven clan, but with several failed mining enterprises to their name, and the rise of the Crestel’s, Kuznetzov watched their fortunes fall. The fall became a nosedive when Kaltner Kuznetzov rose to position of the Clan Patriarch. A notorious gambler, and terrible business man, Kaltner made bad investment after bad investment, squandering what little remained in the family’s treasury while blaming just about everyone else in the Ghenna Mountains for his failings. Stravi, Kaltner’s only son and oldest child, tried to curtail his father’s spending, but the stubborn old dwarf refused to see the wisdom in his son’s prudence, threatening his heir with banishment if he continued to question him. Refusing to watch his father continue to ruin their clan, but unable to make him see sense, Stravi decided to leave the family estates, to see if he could increase their fortunes abroad to better their standing at home.
He wandered the lands for almost a year before he came upon his solution. What did the lands never seem to lack supply of? War. And what did wars need? Soldiers. Well, Stravi thought to himself, there must be coin to be made for the man supplying the soldiers. With what little goodwill he and the Kuznetzov clan had left he scraped together enough coin to put together his first mercenary company, a twenty-dwarf band, and hired himself out to the King Hagrir, more swords to stand against the Horimir.
Nearly twenty years passed, Stravi’s company, the Blackshield Brothers, growing in fame and renown, serving in nearly every country of the known world, in some capacity or another. One job will find them acting as bodyguards to a rich merchant, another having them hunting down Imperium skirmishers who might have delved too far into Eroammir, every contract taxing their considerable skills, but filling their loot chest in return. The Kuznetzov’s benefitted from Stravi’s success, as the wayward son consistently sent back a percentage of all his bounties, never forgetting why he got into the business in the first place. It might have even helped his clan too, if it hadn’t been for his father, who was still deadest on squandering ever coin that fell into his inept hands. Things soon took a turn for the worse though.
In the intervening years Kaltner had married his three daughters, Stravi’s sisters, off to nobles of opposing families, using his children like currency in his many deals, in lieu of having any actual gold of his own. The youngest of these daughters, Annastasia, was married to Stevros Diadekt, the young head of the Diadekt clan, a family on the rise after a series of particularly lucrative investments in an Eroammir fighting pit. Kaltner was particularly proud of this investment, as it meant he could now pester Stevros for financial aid, wearing the guise of a needy father-in-law rather than a desperate debtor. However, Stevros was more underhand than anyone could have guessed, lending the Kuznetzov’s a massive sum that came with a truly extortionate interest rate, knowing that Kaltner greed would see him readily accept the terms without truly understanding the weight he was about to place upon his clan’s neck. When the first repayment came due the Kuznetzov’s were driven to the brink of beggarhood. Realising the extent of his folly, Kaltner killed himself. Some said his shame at what he had done to his family drove him to do it, while others said it was a cowardly attempt to avoid taken responsibility for his actions. Either way, Kaltner was gone, and now it was down to Stravi to save his family.
The prodigal son returned. And promptly fucked things up even worse.
Stravi approached his brother in law, and instead of asking for an extension on the loan as everyone assumed, he would have to, the new Kuznetzov patriarch challenged Stevros to a duel. Stevros refused, stating he had no need to prove himself to a pauper lord. Stravi calmly repeated his challenge, and upon being refused a second time he even more calmly stabbed his rival to death. An uproar amongst the dwarven world followed. The bounds of noble brotherhood and courtly etiquette had never been so strained. Stravi had to be punished, if not for his actions then to send the message that his heinous antics would not be permitted in a civilised world. The only problem was that he had brought his Blackshield Brothers home with him, five hundred hardened and experienced veteran mercenaries, who made it clear that they would not allow their commander to be executed. So, the issue became what to do with the noble murderer.
The solution came from the man himself. ‘Give me to the Order of the Sacred Flame’ he said. He would give away all he owned to the Diadekt’s in reparation for Stevros’ death, renounce all his claims to the Kuznetzov clan leadership, then hand over command of his beloved Blackshields to his first lieutenant, before heading to join the Order, there to find either redemption or death. All agreed it was a suitable punishment and commended themselves on a job well done. They sent the former Dwarf Lord on his way, and agreed they were all better with the unfortunate business behind them.
Relationships: The Blackshield Brothers: Stravi’s former mercenary company.
John ‘Gentle’ Gemeal: Stravi’s former lieutenant and now acting commander of the Blackshield Brothers.
The Kuznetzov clan: Stravi’s clan. One illustrious in the Dwarven world, now fallen on hard times.
Anna Kuznetzov: Stravi’s youngest sister.
Skills: - Warfare, specialising in small mixed unit tactics and infantry command
- Martial Arts, though he is more experienced fighting in the press of a shieldwall than he is in a one-on-one duel.
- Business Management
- Wildcraft
- Court intrigue and politics
- Noble education, so an understanding of magic, literature, philosophy, and theology
Magic: While he does have an understanding of magic and the disciplines needed to master it – the benefits of a noble education – Stravi himself has no aptitude for the craft at all.
Equipment: All of Stravi’s worldly possessions were confiscated from his upon his arrest, returned to his family for them to sell, all proceeds serving the twin purposes of paying both his father’s debts and his own weregild, so beyond those items and arms given to him by the Order at his induction he doesn’t have a single thing to his name.
- Dagger
- Arming sword
- Round shield
- Gambeson and mail
- Steel helm with visor
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