Haerthorne Family/Aerywyn

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Aerywyn Haerthorne
Aerywyn-older.jpg
Status: Dead
Continent: Far East
Realm: Arcaea
Titles Held: Duke of Topenah
Lord Protector
Marshal
Imperial Chancellor
Arch Priest
Count of Larmebsi
Class: Cavalier
Honor: 124
Prestige: 24
Age: 31
Height: 6'2"
Weight: Roughly 185 lbs
Eyes: Cerulean Blue
Hair: Wavy Dark Brown-Black
A storm cloud which had been brewing over the camp suddenly thrust its way through, crackling with thunder and rage as Aerywyn flung the tent flap aside. For a moment he stood just beyond the threshold, long dark strands of lank hair clinging to his head and neck, as rivulets of water ran down his chainmail and dripped off his predatory figure. His face was darkened and his blue eyes were cold as ice, and when they locked with a stunned Madelena he found himself in a battle simply to maintain his composure, until finally, slowly, he found the words to voice his frustrations...

The Steelclad Sparrow

Tall and comely, Aerywyn holds himself with easy grace and relaxed nobility, his cerulean blue eyes reflecting the beauty of the sea underneath the long, dark brown waves of hair. A bit on the skinny side when considering most warriors, Aerywyn's lithe and athletic physique belies the wiry, almost animalistic strength that marks out the man born with a passionate heart and a sway between civility and wildness. His demeanor mirrors this, as the internal conflict so often does, for his dreamy, poetic nature and the often cruel landscape he was thrown into have clashed and mingled over time to create a cunning although sardonic statesman, an experienced warrior, and a mind unparalleled in the Far East.

It is often said that there could not be a more kind soul to his friends, nor one so cold and dark to his enemies. Decades of warfare and personal strife have taken their toll on him, leaving the residue of emotional distress and morbid self-sacrifice in the mindset that marks his very method of thought and action. He has lost some of his idealism for changing the ways of others, but fortune and the strange workings of the world have encouraged him to push forward to create a land worth living in. Indeed, holding the weight of the heavy bastard sword in his hand and the banner of Arcaea high over his head, there are few knights who have given their heart, their strength, their years, and sadly their life so wholly to a cause.

In all things he was the King's right hand left unfettered to do it's bloody business; his most loyal companion and subject.

Early Years

The middle child of the family, Aerywyn was born to the minor nobleman and professional soldier Gaerrant Haerthorne and the mysterious Gwydda Seyt'ial, the younger brother of Tirilyn by a space of two years. As he was grew up in the modest comfort of their home, he was taught largely by his mother and tutors for his brother showed to be the healthier boy, and as the eldest child had the duty of being heir to the familial estates. As the years passed he was blessed with a sister to love and to protect whilst his brother was living dreams of being a great warrior, and from his mother he gained a love of music and poetry, and the fine loving shapes of beauty in all forms.

At the age of 14 he was praised by some of the palace musicians as having one of the richest voices and the best ears in the kingdom, yet his father merely looked down disdainfully at the overly innocous child he had. Gwydda had a bewitching heritage stronger than his father, however, and she noted with an often mischievous smile and a glimmer in her green eyes that he had his mothers charms. Unfortunately, she proved to be right. Being squire to an old knight, with eyes full of mirth and a drooping moustache which hid the sly curling at the corner of his lips, Aerywyn was weighed down with few duties and lax discipline, and often found himself chasing pretty faces through the gardens and kitchens.

Eventually the old knight introduced the Haerthorne brood to his nephews and nieces, El'rinal, Malakas, and Kath'lanar Veanne'aedin. Of the tales of their fosterage from the city of Palnasos, the short lived romance between Aerywyn and Kath'lanar is the most famous yet least talked about in the Haerthorne household. From their relationship a child came, Willam, yet the shame of their son's illegitemacy prompted him to be taken away and fostered as an old friends by Gaerrant. Within the space of a few months Gaerrant died, and patriarchy passed to Tirilyn, who loved his brother enough to allow him to raise his son as his own; an ironic twist of fate. Yet the two young lovers were still forbidden to see each other for the cost of their passion, and all would soon be swept up by the winds of fate and the flames of war...

A red sparrow, the personal emblem of Aerywyn.

To Take up Arms

Soon after becoming a fully-fledged knight, the call to war came to Arcaea for the first time since she was reduced and impoverished by her neighbours. The small and ancient kingdom went to war with her allies, and so Aerywyn eagerly marched to the distant city of Anacan, afire with the vigour of youth. A gargantuan struggle between the Feudal Republic of Lasanar and the Antoza Commonwealth had culminated in a long and bitter siege of the city, and Arcaea joined the Federation in the final assault upon the walls. The battle heralded the end of the Antozan's power, and brought about the creation of Cathay in it's place.

Over the years, Aerywyn's hatred of Cathay would become more and more vehement.

With the decisions of Queen Trinity and the nobility, Arcaea became a mercenary realm to offset the disadvantages of her small size and isolated position. By a chain of events, Aerywyn watched as the realm he lived in and loved was thrown into a war over the Duchy of Lasop, her former allies seeking to destroy the small realm. The war would last over a decade, and in that time his fortunes rose and fell, once being named Count of Larmebsi, once made Arch-Priest of Arcaea, and once being deported to the frozen wastelands of Thalmarkin in the north of Beluaterra. The cruelty of war and the passage of time taught him many things, and through study of the tales of the Far East, he changed from the innocent boy he was at the beginning of the chaos.

A year passed. Quickly he had risen in the small daimon ravaged kingdom of Thalmarkin, gifted with lordship over the Oeipud coastal plain, although he could not stand to stay any longer. When he returned from his exile, Aerywyn came to find a place most changed. Soon he discovered that in his time away that Lasanar had dissolved into numerous squabbling states, that Sartania was being beaten back, that the hated Ethialans had become Arcaea's ally... and that the Northern Federation had been split asunder.

Aerywyn is particularly fond of waterlilies, keeping a pond full of them in the family home at Remton.

Peace

After his arrival and the signing of a peace treaty with Sartania due to Cathayan intervention, Aerywyn found himself in a land of peace. During this time the borders slowed their shifting and soon stopped with the end of Svunnetland and the absorbtion of Ohnar into Ohnar West, and although Arcachon and Sartania were still at war, most of the continent was able to enjoy peace. During this time Aerywyn was elected as Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea, and began his long standing friendship with the soon-to-be King Jenred Bedwyr, and the Lady Madelena Rossini, which would be the first time he had truly felt fondness for another woman since his fiery Kath'lanar had dissapeared. Although he felt a liking for Madelena, it was her sister Cypreana, recently arrived from Sartania, whom he would fall hardest for.

With the signing of a lucrative trading deal with Arcachon to support Arcaea through the long, hard winters, Aerywyn began to dabble more into the world of politics. He formed quick friendships with the Banker of Papania, Sir Gregor Eyewolf Serpentis, and from there managed to study the changing atmosphere of the northern realms. He saw Arcachon's desire for Arcaea to rejoin them in the war against Sartania, and witnessed the horrible desolation that struck Ethiala. For months he stood on the borderlands, watching as hundreds of peasants fled across the borders and listened to reports of thousands dying due to famine and plague wrought by the merchants and the nobility's greed and incompetance.

For a time things were happier though, and Arcaea grew to be more just a strong realm, as would show in the coming months. However, Ethiala's aggression against Papania brought matters to a head, and amongst all the wrongs done to Arcaea in the past, Ethiala's misdeeds and those of their Archduke Keffer were well known to the new guard of the realm, those nobles who had grown up to a land locked in an on and off war with their neighbour. It was due to Aerywyn's analysis of the Ethialan economy and their ability to fund a war that the army had the confidence to go to war, and the Imperial Chancellor knew true satisfaction for the first time in many long years.

He That Lives By The Sword...

The first months of the war saw the quick securance of the two alliances; that between Arcaea, Papania and Ohnar West, and that between the realms of Ethiala, Greater Aenilia and Cathay, by far the larger opponent in the struggle. Both forces had not seen war in a long while, and it was up to the Arcaean army under the command of High Marshal Thalathafn Urominiel to carry the burden of the war. Co-ordination between the northern alliance was poor at best, and the enemy was confident that the smaller nations would crumble before their combined might, yet the Field of Honour, under the command of Mar Crow, and the Tribute Collecting Army under Aerywyn served bravely and with exceptional valour. All was going well however until the defeat at Lantzas, where a decision by Thalathafn to fight the enemy with only half the available forces cost Arcaea dearly. With Greater Aenilian, Cathayan, and Ethialan soldiers standing between the TCA and home, and many nobles scattered between Remton and the isolated city of Talex, it was clear that High Marshal Thalathafn could not live up to the demands of such a difficult war.

Being one of the loudest voices in asking the High Marshal to pass the mantle on to another, Aerywyn gave up the position of Imperial Chancellor and ascended to Generalship, renaming the position to Lord Protector of Arcaea. The immediate difficulties of unifying the divided forces resulted in a shaky but successful defeat of the Aenilian forces present in Lantzas, and the a new philosophy was taken on by this new strategos: the invincible army. By harrying the enemy whenever they were still, Aerywyn used the arrogance of his enemies against them, leading them death and defeat in countless massacres. Co-ordination between General Esorp of Ohnar West allowed the combined forces to win every battle they came across, and the superior strength of numbers on the enemy side was gradually eliminated as the casualties mounted. After a relatively short term as General he had managed to lead the Arcaean armies to victory until, after passing the reins to Marshal Mar near the end of Ethiala's destruction due to illness, the enemy had been forced to cower behind their walls and Topenah was taken.

At the age of 29, decades of exposure to war and strife had changed him from the boy. Still he loved poetry, but a thirst for war had grown strong in his heart.

The Arcaean General surveys the dead after the Fifth Battle of Larmebsi.

The Duke of Nothing

When, after the bloody assault upon the walls of Topenah that saw the fall of the city and the victory of the Northern Alliance, Aerywyn found himself virtually alone within the devestated legend. Much of the army had left again for the Sartanian front whilst negotiations went on with the Aenilians, for the local council of Topenah had pledged their loyalty to them during the siege, so for a time things were very quiet. What had been a city of thirty one thousand people was now home to a mere two thousand, four hundred and sixty one people. Though the pride swelling in hearts of the soldiers who had won so many victories was great, the prize had been destroyed by their enemies before they could reach it.

With Ethiala dead and a new General, Mar Crow, to take up the mantle, Aerywyn took the time to pull aside the debris and rebuild the shattered remains of what the former-Duke Primus Baraedor had called the Jewel of the Far East.

The End

Events at the end moved too fast to fully understand at the time. Eventually the infamous Deathwyrm Tomarsen returned to Arcaea, sending those few in Topenah into a rage of anger and a desire for revenge. He had insulted Arcaea many times before and had betrayed the person who trusted him most, the Queen Edara Kindon, switching the allegiance of Treror back to Ethiala in it's death throes out of spite. After killing the Lady Emma Octavius in a duel on the Saffron Bridge in a cold and early winter, Aerywyn swore that the vile cur would die too. With Lord Tenal Quasath as his second they met on the same bridge the following night, a fight that saw the Duke dead as well. He left behind a fiancee, a son and a realm in mourning.

Thus he died...