Hayden Highfield
Baron Hayden Highfield
Hayden is the first and only Halfling raised to the nobility in Imesse. While his accomplishments warrant the honor, it has not been well received in the north. Mak bestowed the title on Hayden when the previous Baron, Milo am Bimmin, was found to be mired in corruption and scandal. Milo was was arrested, but then attempted to escape to Colo where he had been sending dozens of orphaned children for sale into slavery. He was caught again near the Colian border by the High King Max II himself, and summarily executed.
Mak then filled the baronial vacancy with Hayden, and the Barony has prospered much from the decision. Hayden has been Baron for 12 years, and in that 12 years, the population, revenue and production surplus of the barony has more than doubled.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Hayden was born in Jemptal, Cobal. His father was a Cobal Ranger for 22 years, and when he retired he took a position with a trading company that did a lot of business in Beldoah, Imesse. After serving in the Rangers himself, Hayden and his sisters often travelled with their father to Imesse, and Hayden eventually took an apprenticeship with a freight outfit that shipped between Beldoah and Jorick, stopping at numerous ports along the route.
Hayden met a beautiful Halfling named Iris Thornton, fell in love and settled down to raise his family in Imesse. They eventually bought a large homestead just outside the city of Mull. It was fairly primitive when they bought it, but over the course of a decade, they turned the lovely little place near the Mull River into a very profitable and very successful farm and orchard. Hayden used his knowledge of the shipping business, his experience in the military and his innate smarts to turn a small-hold farm into a sizeable fortune.
Then, in 215, as the Duke of Hekmo was retreating back across the Caldar River in utter defeat, Hayden happened to be near the fords where Hekmo landed, and witnessed the manner in which the Duke abandoned much of his rearguard to guarantee his own safety and escape. As much as the attack on Cobal had disgusted him for its waste and callousness, the cowardice displayed on those riverbanks was even worse. His new-found position and influence in local affairs allowed him to gain an audience with the Baron of Beldoah, who heard his statements and shared them with King Mak II. Hayden's observations had a direct impact on the subsequent investigation by King Mak II, and in the removal of Hekmo as a commander of the High King's forces in the north.
As Hayden rose in the ranks of local leadership within the Barony of Mull, he found himself at odds with the Baron himself on more and more occasions. Milo Bimmin was an immensely wealthy and influential man with very close ties to both Hekmo and the High King himself. In an amazing turn of events, Hayden happened to receive a wagon that he expected to be loaded with feed for his flock of pheasants. Instead he found sealed crates contained 18 half-suffocated Human children that were supposed to be heading to Colo, but instead got shipped to his farm. The wagon master was unaware of what Hayden had found, and proudly stated that he had brought the load "straight from the Baron's Keep, just as the Baron had ordered!"
Hayden had the waggoneers seized, the children freed, washed and fed, and called for seven riders to be sent via separate routes to Southridge to notify King Mak of what he had found. Milo was arrested, escaped and was caught again on his way to Colo by the High King himself, who had him summarily beheaded as a traitor and a slaver.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Over the course of the last twelve years, Hayden has led his Barony into a period of prolonged economic growth and prosperity that is unmatched anywhere else in the Kingdoms. There are currently almost as many Halflings in the small Barony of Mull as there are in all of Northern Imesse, and nearly ten times more than in the entire Duchy of Hekmo. Food, livestock and resource production in the small Barony are now almost double what the Duchy of Hekmo can produce, and that with nearly 20% less population.
Social
Contacts & Relations
It almost goes without saying that all surviving members of the Bimmin family hate Hayden with a passion. The Duke of Hekmo, Turl am Nari, also hates Hayden but for other reasons. As the first (and only) non-Human noble in the Kingdoms, Hayden represents a change of paradigm that is a direct threat to much of what Duke Turl has worked for his entire life.
Family Ties
Hayden met and married a Halfling named Iris Thornton in 205 AF. They spent the first decade of their marriage building up their farm and starting their family of two sons and three daughters. Iris has had great success at not only managing but growing the farm operations since her husband became Baron, and will often allow her oldest daughter, Ivy Highfield, to act as the Lady of the Barony in her place when official duties require as much.
Wealth & Financial state
Hayden has made himself quite wealthy with the success of his farm and businesses, and (without any public knowledge) has refused all income from the Barony, and has instead funded all that income into the defense and fortification of the Barony. He maintains a small set of apartments at the baronial residence in the City of Mull, but spends as much time as he can with his family at his farm just outside of the city's walls.
Species
Ethnicity
Age
53
Birthplace
Jemptal, Cobal
Children
Current Residence
Mull
Belief/Deity
Druidic Faith
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
