Elric Isenshard

Elric Isenshard (a.k.a. "Elric One-Eye"; "Elric Jötusson"; "Godfrey's Bane";)

Elric Isenshard, also known as the Green Ghost, Elric One-Eye, Elric Jötusson, or Godfrey's Bane, is a half-orc saggasu bandit captain and a former commander for the Grand Pilgrim Army. He is known throughout the Mashiq for his years as a terrifying living weapon used by the Pilgrim Kings and for his sudden betrayal of the Brotherhood of Bronze during the reign of King Godfrey the Pious. Today, Isenshard has become an instrumental leader in the growing saggasu movement and commands a large group within the organization from a secret base somewhere in the Eastern Mashiq.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

A wizened, elderly half-orc with long grey-white hair and beard. The left half of his face is scarred beyond recognition and beneath the tissue, you can see a milk-white eye. His expression is grim and he has two wellkept tusks protruding from his locked, lower jaw.

Apparel & Accessories

Though he generally wears the standard, light leather armor of the saggasu, Elric is occasionally seen wearing his Pilgrim Army cuirass, which he has stripped of all identifying insignia. He also always carries his rare dragonsbreath steal greataxe he calls Revenant.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Some sixty years ago, a teenage Elric Isenshard joined the Grand Pilgrim Army. He believed that by fighting alongside the Pilgrims, he could become one of them and overcome the prejudices towards half-orcs in Reikerk.
After nearly a decade of seeing the most brutal and destructive parts of the First Pilgrim War, Elric became a soldier and advisor to several kings of Jeharoa, living in the city’s Pilgrim Quarter for another twenty years. He also married a Mashiqi man named Barthéomareqet, whom he called the more Kerkish sounding, Théomar. They lived together for thirteen years. As one of the greatest soldiers in the Grand Pilgrim Army, Elric was tasked by the Kings of Jeharoa to lead special commando missions for the Pilgrim States. Many of these operations were highly questionable in their morality, and frequently involved torture, the destruction of civilian property, and the framing of innocent civilians. Though few Pilgrims knew of it, this activity earned Elric the nickname "The Green Ghost" among many saggasu and Qartagonian agents.
While Elric was off on missions for the Kingdom of Jeharoa, Théomar worked as the stablemaster for the Brotherhood of Bronze, a chivalric order that also served as the personal royal guard for the Pilgrim Kings. Though an often thankless job, Théomar took great pride in his work, particularly because it often meant he helped train the next generation of Pilgrim royals in the art of horseback riding.
One day, Théomar was killed in stables by a group of drunken Pilgrim soldiers. They had been harassing him and the King's horses and eventually, when Théomar tried to call for help, they butchered him. The King at the time, King Godfrey, stripped the offenders of their position within the Brotherhood of Bronze’s Royal Guard but did not have them executed because the victim was a Mashiqi.
Elric returned home and when he learned about the verdict, he flew into a berserker rage. He killed nine of the Bronze Brothers and even survived a deadly blow to the left side of his face from a flametongue sword. His rampage was only stopped when King Godfrey offered him Théomar’s body and amnesty if he left the city and never returned. Elric took the body to the outskirts and burned it in accordance with orcish ceremony.
While many believed Elric was honoring Théomar, in effect, the burning of the dead in Elric's orcish culture is reserved only for a shieldbrother during a time of war. From that day on, Elric vowed to bring down the oppressive system he’d participated in and destroy the Pilgrim States.
He started on his own but eventually found his way into the ranks of the saggasu, whom he’d been hunting for so many of those years. He taught them how to fight well, prepare tactical ambushes, and how to make camps in secret. His name became legendary among both the Mashiqi who often helped him and the saggasu and the Pilgrim administration itself whom he attacked.
During the reign of King Leo the Unbroken, an official bounty was placed on Elric’s head for some 200 royals. Many tried to take the man now called Elric One-Eye but all have failed. Today, that bounty is up to 300 royals and many in the Pilgrim establishment believe that Elric will try to help the Qartagonians if war returns to the Mashiq.

Sexuality

Elric married a male human Mashiqi named Barthéomareqet.

Morality & Philosophy

During his youth, Elric believed that a united, multicultural and multiracial group of adventurers could forge an equitable nation together. In pursuit of that dream, he served the Pilgrim States as an elite soldier, putting down any unrest and often times removing the local people from their homes in order to facilitate the settlement of Auloan pilgrims and retired adventurers.
In this period, Elric continued to struggle against prejudice towards individuals of orcish ancestry, with many remarking that his skill in battle was owed directly to his bloodlines. This also led to Elric remaining at a low rank within the Pilgrim Army for decades despite his experience.
With the death of his husband Théomar, Elric's tenuous social position was thrown into stark relief and he saw no means to rectify that position, except through revolution. Today, Elric sees the experiment of the Pilgrim States as a failure. He believes that the goals the Pilgrims, while noble in pretense, actually destroyed more than they achieved and brought pain and suffering to the local people. As a result, he believes the only just thing to do is to wage asymmetrical warfare on the Pilgrim States and join with the saggasu.
Elric sees any Pilgrim that holds a position of power, whether that mean soldiers, nobles, or even merchants, must be stripped of that power either willingly or through force. He is not unreasonable towards his prisoners but acknowledges that to achieve any level of success against his enemy, he must bleed them of resources and support.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Elric seeks the destruction of the Pilgrim States. He is driven by the memory of his husband, Théomar, and the desire to see all those who had anything to do with either Thémar's death or the Pilgrim State's agenda burn.

Elric "One-Eye" Isenshard in 361 S.E.

Alignment

True Neutral

Species

Half-Orc

Ethnicity

Kerkish

Age

71

Birthplace

Reikerk

Gender

Male

Eyes

His right is dark brown, like that of most orcs. His left eye has been injured and now appears milky white.

Hair

Long white hair and beard sometimes tied into a single tail but usually left loose.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale olive green

Height

6'2"

Weight

212 lbs.

Known Languages

Elric knows many languages owing to his many years in the field. He was raised to speak Varskogan and Kerkish and later learned Falerian, Mashiqi, and Qartagonian during the First Pilgrim War. While working for the Kings of Jeharoa, Elric learned the Flicking sign language as well as the tongue of the Shanindari dwarves and Vulgate Celestial.

Ruled Locations

• Sanctuary of Ishara