Baldwin I
In the waning days of Unklar’s rule there rose to the fore a mercenary captain, Baldwin of Klun. Baldwin served LORD PIUS in the west where he fought against the HOLY DEFENDERS OF THE FLAME and hunted the
elves of the Darkenfold and ELDWOOD Forests. Though not a cruel man, upon the field of war he showed little mercy. In the civil war between Pius and ORKHAN, Baldwin led Pius’ troops at the BATTLE OF REDHILL in 1124 md, and was instrumental in Orkhan’s defeat. After the battle, Pius entreated Baldwin to hunt down the fleeing Orkhan and kill him.
This Baldwin set out to do. He gathered his troops and crossed the SALINE RIVER and shortly overtook the hapless general. A short but brutal fight ensued. Orkhan’s guard either fell or fled, and the general cast himself upon Baldwin’s mercy. Baldwin showed none, but rather returned to Pius with the general’s head in a sack. Pius rewarded him with land and title in the newly forming KINGDOM OF MAINE. Baldwin accepted these with no reservations (some claim that Baldwin’s descendants still have rights to these properties) and settled into a life of retirement, far from the wages of war. He took a wife, a beautiful woman of the northern people, and soon he got her with child. In those days, men said that the Lord Knight Baldwin lived a life twice blessed. His wife, with her last breath, gave birth to his daughter, EPHREMERE, the Wonder of the World. Into this child the world surrendered all its strength, its wisdom, and its beauty. People marveled at her. Then Baldwin saw the unicorn.
Some few years passed and Pius called upon his service again and it was upon a field of deep green where men strove in mortal arms that Baldwin saw the noble beast. The knight’s iron will, caste in bloody gore, crumbled at the sight of the wonderful creature, and in the pale blue eyes of the one-horned stallion, Baldwin’s life changed forever. He looked about the field of carnage, where armored men slew one the other; before his very eyes laid a calamity, a swirling mass of shattered
lances, bright hued plates of steal, broken shields, and riven helms. Men stood awash in the black of dirt-mixed blood, while about their feet lay the churning earth, embracing the fallen and the dead. The pitiful cries of wounded men mingled with screams of rage and pain as those still able waged war without respite upon the field of green. Amidst all this, both a part of and apart from the world, stood the unicorn. The noble beast looked upon Baldwin, its eyes wild, nostrils flaring, great steam blasting forth; a moment only it stood thus, and then, turning, it galloped away, passing with ethereal speed into the deep blue horizon.
Baldwin believed it a gift from the REALM OF FAERIE sent to lead him away from the dark paths of war and slaughter. He lusted for a sight of the beast again, and he swore an oath to that effect. Though already an old man, Baldwin forsook his lands and deserted Lord Pius, taking with him his daughter, a small army of like minded men and their families.
He wandered the lands of Ethrum and Aenoch in search of the legendary beast, but to no avail. In time, he and his folk settled in the HARZ, a fertile land of rolling hills and deep forests. There he built the Aachen Castle, upon a hill overlooking the EDLE RIVER.
All about him were wide-open spaces, hillocks and grasslands where only a few small villages and farmsteads, mainly sheep farmers, were the norm. Northmen had settled along the coasts. Though they plundered some, most of these migrants seemed bent on settling the country and farming it. A few imperial posts held order in the land, though these rarely left the safety of their compounds.
In a surprisingly short time, Baldwin seized the old imperial provinces of the Harz, DETMOLD and HERISTAT. The imperial forces fled and in the dwindling days of 1127 md, he proclaimed himself king of the lands of Aachen. The local peasants did not seem to care and the Northmen respected the king’s prowess in battle and did not challenge his rule.
In Baldwin’s failing year he was befriended by the Forest Lord, the Val Tulmiph DALADON, who himself waged a bitter war against the Dark. Daladon visited Baldwin often, for he loved the old man greatly, and too, he knew of the unicorn. He promised the old king that he would lend aid and guide his daughter, Ephremere, as much as he could.
Finally Baldwin the king breathed his last. The tales relate how many a man and woman saw Baldwin on the day of his passing, how he passed through the castle gates, looking younger than ever he had before, and riding upon the back of a great stallion that moved like the wind. The king laughed, they said. Whether these tales hold any truth, none may now say.
Current Status
Deceased
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Life
1041
1128
87 years old
Circumstances of Death
Transformed into a spirit Knight of the Unicorn
Place of Death
Aachen Castle
Family
Spouses
Bromwyn
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Belief/Deity
Knight of the Unicorn
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Founded Settlements
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