Neill Family/Edmund

Edmund; son of Edmond Zaccone; Great Grandson and Heir of Cid O'Neil

Current Age: 36
Class: Warrior
Weapon of Choice: Longsword, Sabre, Cavalry Lance, Bow
Current Title: High Lord of Kindara, Cardinal of the Order of the Elders
Titles Held: Grand Justicar of Kindara, High Lord of Kindara, Cardinal of the Order of the Elders
Religion: The Order of the Elders
Unique Items Held: Dazzling Warhammer of Flame
Realms Served: Kindara

Personal Heraldry

Edmund Neill flew a variety of banners in his life, all bearing some form of heraldry that was symbolic of his station in life, history, and personal beliefs.

At the beginning of his career as a noble, Edmond Zaccone, Edmund's father, presented him with a newly sewn version of the banner that was traditionally hung in the entry hall to the family estate. The banner was quartered with red and gold and featured a sunburst in the middle with a ship overlayed on top. It symbolized not only the Zaccone family's loyalty to Osaliel and Soliferum, but also their rich heritage as a merchant family. The banner was retired upon taking service as the High Lord of Kindara and hung in the entrance hall of his own personal estate.

Initially as High Lord of Kindara, Edmund flew the banner of Kindara and a personal banner that was quartered with the flag of Kindara in the top left, a merchant ship in front of a sun in the top right, three joined rings to symbolize the Trinity in the bottom left, and a book before two crossed blades in the bottom right.

After his conversion to the Order of the Elders the banner was modified to hold an Order rune in place of the joined rings of The Trinity. Upon his decision to stand down from the position of High Lord the banner was retired to the Royal Library.

Miscellaneous Information

While Edmund was fond of the martial arts of a knight, he spent a great deal of time studying the history of the Far East and other academic subjects that were of interest to him. He is said to have maintained cartography and coin collecting as a hobby and developed a rather extensive personal library. Edmund was also responsible, during his tenure as High Lord of Kindara, for the construction of the Royal Kindaran Library which is said to contain texts on nearly every single subject relating to Far Eastern history, culture, religion, and beyond.

Aside from his duties as both a noble and a Kindaran citizen, he also handled some affairs for the Zaccone Merchant Company when time afforded such business.

While Edmund was raised in the Church of the Trinity, the eventual decay and downfall of the Church left Edmund with a poor opinion of the faith and a mistrust in what he believed were gods that abandoned their faithful. He spent time studying other religions before he was invited to study the Order of the Elders by Alpha Aenia of Kindara. Seeing it as a sign from above, he threw himself into studying the religion and eventually converted, becoming a Cardinal of the Order.

Childhood and Teenage Years

Born into the wealthy merchant Zaccone family, Edmund was raised with all the advantages of being a first son despite being the youngest. At an early age he was tutored by the finest teachers in Soliferum while gradually being introduced to the mannerisms necessary for living a noble life and running a merchant business. As a consequence of his upbringing, he spent little time playing as a child and more time simply learning and preparing for the eventuality of either becoming a part of the Zaccone Merchant Fleet or serving in the army of Soliferum; though the latter seemed more likely since Soliferum remained at war for a majority of his youth and would indeed fall just before he was able to join the fighting.

When he came of age, he was sent to the Osaliel Military Academy and trained there under the Soliferan masters of war. Edmund performed well, often ranking towards the top of his class, and excelled in small unit leadership and tactics, preferring the tightly organized method of warfare that can only be waged with a handful of men instead of the overall picture a general would see. The only interruption to his instruction came when the Ecclesiarch of the Trinity began showing special attention in his progress and sent one of his High Clerics to tutor Edmund in politics, history, and matters of the faith. Though Edmund did not realize it immediately at the time, and indeed resented it for the duration of the tutoring, it was to set the stage for his entire future.

Once his heritage and relation to the Ecclesiarch of the Trinity, Cid Neill, was revealed to him, Edmund finished his instruction at the Academy and took on the Neill family name in order to take hold of his noble birthright.

Adult Life

Edmund served for some time in the Kindaran army while becoming acquainted with the political circles of Kindaran nobility. Before long he ran for and was elected as the Grand Justicar of Kindara. He served for several terms which was most notably marked by the introduction of laws that would further the usefulness of the Kindaran Council of Jurors (which was taken up by and added to the realm constitution by his successor Grand Justicar Rosalind Foxglove) and a controversial case involving the subsequent trial and banishment of a region lord who violated his oath to the realm. After the retirement of then High Lady Tissaphernes, he was elected at the age of 25 to the position of High Lord of Kindara.

His service as High Lord of Kindara marked a variety of shifts in Kindaran politics and two major wars. The first war under his reign would come after a state visit with the Cathayan King, Galiard of House Scarlett, ended in the attempted assassination of the foreign sovereign by a rogue Kindaran assassin. Relations rapidly broke down between the two realms and the High Lord declared war to maintain Kindaran pride and sovereignty in light of King Galiard's initial demands that he kneel before the Cathayan King and apologize. While Zonasa entered the war on Kindara side, the forces allying themselves with Cathay were greater and the High Lord sued for peace to prevent Kindara from suffering a worst fate as a conquered realm. The war ended with the signing of the Azros Accord between High Lord Edmund and King Galiard of Cathay.

After a period of reconstruction, the realm returned to prosperity and the High Lord turned his focus to building a relationship with Cathay, strengthening his ties with Regent Morgan of Zonasa and developing or discarding other relationships around the Far East. After the unfortunate sickness and death of Regent Morgan, the Zonasans chose Regent Steel Kirt as his successor and the High Lord signed a short lived federation with the Regent that ended in war after the Zonasan Regent abused the federation and dishonored Kindara's role as a trusted partner.

The war, which was to be fought between Kindara and Zonasa, also attracted Cathay, who was at the beginning of the war bound by alliance with Kindara, due to the presence of a former Cathayan enemy reappearing in Zonasa. Within mere days of the war starting however, the Arcaean Empire moved to respond to the threat of a southern coalition and war with the Empire seemed eminent.