Halvard Tastad

Halvard Tastad was not the type of man to believe in fate. Despite this, looking over his life it seems fate certainly had an interest in him. His father was a blacksmith in a small border town. One of those places where the border is a point of strong disagreement among the nobles of the area. The result for Halvard was that by age thirteen he had already seen his town raise five different banners, each one hoisted by the blood of the common men pressed into service by the nobles. When tensions rose yet again, and a sixth banner seemed imminent, Halvard decided the squabbles of soft men were over. There would indeed by a sixth banner: his. He had gained a strong arm apprenticing with his father, and a strong grasp of tactics watching his neighbors bleed and die. The farce had become predictable. For a few months Halvard's town would get dire tidings from traveling merchants about some new upstart lord expanding his holdings. Then, knights would come around calling the local men into service to defend the rights of whichever pampered toff currently claimed to own their town. This time, when the knights arrived they were met by an ambush. Halvard claimed their weapons, armor, and horses. He used these to lead raids targeting the slowly forming army of the aforementioned toff. Each time, they would strike quickly and kill the noblemen or knights assembling the levies. To the rest of the men he offered a choice: return home to their families, or join him in throwing off the tyrants playing at war using the blood of common men. Halvard amassed a sizable force in a short time and then waited. The new upstart's army arrived just as promised. The toff's army was strangely lacking. The battle was one sided but still quite costly for the upstart. As he was busy congratulating himself for doing nothing to earn his new land, Halvard's forces arrived behind the upstart's lines. The second battle of the day was swift and brutal. When it was over, every nobleman and their retinues were dead. As both nobles' armies looked for direction, Halvard lead his men into the now bloody field. He told the invaders he held no ill will for them. They had not decided to put down their plows or their smith's hammers. They were forced into war. He ordered them to collect their wounded and return home. To the men from his town and all the villages around it, he gave a choice. They could return to their homes and bow before the next parasite to show up, or they could stand with him in claiming ownership of their homes. Almost none of the men left that day. Instead, Halvard organized them into one of the most dangerous forces in the world: an army with a cause they believed in. He marched them for weeks, collecting more followers as he went, to the castle town of the nearest high noble. There he delivered a message: "We work the land. It is our blood and sweat that makes a life for our families and our neighbors. We want nothing but that which we already possess. Tell your king we rule our land now. If he is wise enough to accept this, there can be peace between us." With that, he turned his people around and set off for home. As that high noble stood watching an army of ten thousand march away, terror slowly loosening its grip on him, he made a very wise decision. He knew the king's pride would not stand for this, and so he sent a different message. He informed the king that the recent local squabbles had been resolved and that he had taken over administration of the troubled lands. He then ordered his tax collectors and sheriffs to stay far away from the lands ruled by his new vassal: Halvard Tastad. Sadly, Halvard's rule, such as it was, would not last. He had lead numerous defenses of the land but the Shix were an enemy he could not defeat. Alverion's call to war was the first time in thirty years Halvard agreed to kneel. Among The Righteous there were exceptional fighters. Grimnor Deepdelver and Stormeye are legends to this day, and for good reason. Halvard's name is known, to be sure, but he is not afforded the reverence he deserves. The Prime Dwarf and Prime Goliath faced an almost endless horde. For all their strength and skill they would have been defeated in every battle were it not for the common soldiers being led by Halvard. As the darkness roiled and surged, Halvard always had his men in the right places at the right times. Many today might not respect Halvard as he deserved, but Alverion recognized his contributions. In spending his whole life trying to free his people from the rule of privileged tyrants, Halvard Tastad reached an unlikely destination: First King of Tasyod.