Haerthorne Family/Caim

Caim Haerthorne
Status:	Alive
Continent:	Far East
Realm:	Greater Aenilia
Titles Held:	Captain General of Greater Aenilia, Marshal of the Aenilian Expeditionary Army, Baron of Ahael Prince and Lord Commander of the Akadian League Marshal of the External Revenue Service Lord Protector of the Akadian League Lord Justiciar of the Akadian League
Class:	Warrior
Honor:	57
Prestige:	26
Age:	22
Height:	6'2"
Weight:	Roughly 168 lbs
Eyes:	Icey Blue
Hair:	Ash Blonde

A stunted beech stood besides a path that had once seen better days where it swayed in the wind, its bare branches seeming lifeless in the stillness of the snowy backdrop. Shivering in the cold air, a sparrow with a red chest clung all alone on the tree, a single dab of colour in the forest. Caim smiled weakly as his ice blue eyes followed the confused bird in his flight to a better place to shelter. The poor creature had never expected a winter to arrive so swiftly, but at least it did not find itself freezing in the biting winds of the north. It passed under Vaurkan's nose in it's search which sent the horse snorting in annoyance. Instead of finding humour in it though, the fair blonde youth could only think of the sad symbolism of that.

The sparrow had been the crest of... of the man who should have been his father. A foolish man who had died and left it to his mother to tell her grandson the truth.

The General's Son

Born from the tryst between Aerywyn and a young noblewoman by the name of Kath'lanar in the midst of the Great Northern War, a bastard growing up in an age of chaos. The two lovers were split up by their families for the sake of saving face, yet upon their request the child was accepted into the Haerthorne household as a bastard of Gaerrant, Aerywyn's estranged father. Given the name Willam by his grandfather, he was taken on as a page and taught how to be a knight, yet at the age of seven his foster father died. During this time his mother had died as well, leaving the remaining members of the family to take care of the boy. Unsure of revealing the truth to his son, Aerywyn brought him up as his squire.

As Arcaea grew and Aerywyn took on greater roles and earned both glory, fame and honour fighting for his home, Caim was taught largely by his grandmother Gwydda and aunt Aeriel. Although Aerywyn often found himself embroiled in the duties of planning strategy and almost unceasing warfare he did still manage to impart much of his knowledge to the boy. Both eager and intelligent, Caim did well in his studies in strategy, history, literature and the arts as well as his training to be a knight. Ironically he came to see Aerywyn as a father-figure in that time.

Thuriaskos, sired by Vaurkann.

However, at the age he was knighted, Aerywyn died at the age of thirty-one. Whilst Caim was grieving the truth was revealed to him, along with his true name. Unable to comprehend this, struggling to understand why his father could have been too cowardly to tell the truth, Caim left Arcaea in a daze.

Having inherited his father's wit and grace (or lack there of), Caim can be seen to be a lighter version bereft of the torturous anguish that Aerywyn suffered during his life. Graced with a clear and instinctive mind, he is an amiable individual who tries to stay out of the shadow of the families legacy, however his heart can be fickle, taken as it is by the fae nature of the Haerthorne line.

Highlander

After joining Ohnar West soon after finding his home of Arcaea to be too stifling for his liking, Caim quickly became embroiled in the intrigue that would in the space of a week split Ohnar West in two after his liege Duke Hamilton Vita was proclaimed an enemy of the realm. Disgusted with both the ineptidude of those leading the realm and the stagnation that was crippling its people, the young knight began striding to do what he could to help the fledgling Akadian League survive. Gradually his grip on politics and war began to mold to a semblance of his father's skill as there was no shortage for battle and glory.

After a rapid rise through the ranks, Caim was made both Marshal of the External Revenue Service, the League's first army, and Lord Treasurer in charge of stabilising the duchy's fast borderline starvation food situation. Faced with the poor state of the outlying regions of Upasael and Pesol, the Akadian's quickly saw them taken back by Ohnar West. With the arrival alternately of Greater Aenilia and Arcaea to aid at two pivotal moments, who had previously shown hostility to the fledgling realm, the tide was soon turned and the League came back on it's feet.

On the first of April, 2009, Caim was elected both Lord Protector and Lord Justiciar of the realm in the first official elections. His tenure lasted many months until the negotiated fall of the Akadian League, the history of which can be found in greater detail here.

Repaying a Father's Debts

Numerous times he had recieved the impression that he would be most welcome in the lands of High King Luyten of Greater Aenilia, so after the disgraceful actions of the Ohnarian nobility after the treaty was concluded, Caim left for the south brimming with silent, seething anger at what had been done, taking up residence under Duke Salerim of Nahad to divert his energies against Soliferum, whom he felt an even greater hatred for than the Ohnarians.

This proved to be a good thing. As the war progressed he ascended through the ranks of Greater Aenilia, first as Marshal of the Aenilian Expeditionary Army then eventually Captain General and Baron of Ahael, missing Kingship by a narrow margin for one who was originally a foreigner. At the beginning of his command however it was by the individual initiative of the then Duke of Idapur, Xarnelf, and others in the realm that many of the wars major breakthroughs were made. In the end it was through diplomacy that the biggest success was earned, when the actions of Soliferum convinced the Principality of Zonasa to open her borders and declare war on her erstwhile ally, leaving the soft underbelly of the southern giant open to Aenilian raiders. The next few weeks was when the army was allowed free reign over the cities and farmlands, looting what food and gold they could, driving several regions rogue in their efforts.

Very soon after the city of Hatdhes was invaded by the northern branch of the alliance and brought into the sphere of C'thonia after an unsuccesful assault on Masahakon. Upon coming home from this King Tharion joined the circus and died in a lion accident, which opened the way for Duke Xarnelf to become King (renaming the position 'Imperial Paladin') and gave Caim the mountains and mines of Ahael in turn. After putting out a call for more knights he spent time ensuring the prosperity of his new land so that the rich silver deposits would restore the lost fortunes of the Haerthorne family.