Turl am Nari
His Grace, Duke Turl am Nari
Turl am Nari is the third and current Duke of Hekmo. He is one of the most powerful and influential men in the entire High Kingdom of Imesse, and he is becoming increasingly unpopular with his peers, his vasals and his subjects. He has four sons by two wives, the oldest of which is Torum am Nari.
Turl is one of the richest men in Imesse, mostly due to the taxes he keeps imposed throughout his lands. He has fixed the prices of any commodity or service that he feels benefits himself, his Briars or his soldiers, and the duchy has suffered much for it, economically. He has made many very harsh and (seemingly) tyranical judgements over the last few years that have undermined the people's confidence in their Lord and Duke. During the rule of his father, it is often said that the headsman's axe fell fewer times then there are fingers on a hand, but hangings and beheadings are common today, in all the large towns and cities within the Duchy.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Strongly built but showing his age, carrying at least an extra 60 lbs.
Identifying Characteristics
Like all his ancestors, Turl has a thick, long beard. It is the family's hallmark.
Specialized Equipment
In his youth, Turl was rather famous for his ability to fight with an axe. He still trains with a large war axe on a daily basis.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Duke’s first years in Hekmo Castle were relatively smooth. He inherited a prosperous and wealthy duchy, with revenues that far exceeded expenses. He began improvements to Hekmo Castle and fortifications farther to the north. The harbors at Arksloth, Alrickton and Rickmo all had significant improvements made. As King Max I's health continued to deteriorate, Turl took on a greater and more influential role in the politics of the kingdom. Since such a large portion of the northern border was within his ducal territory, he cried often and loudly that Colo was a threat that had to be dealt with. With the death of Max I in 207 AF and the division of the realm into the two Kingdoms, Turl found himself in a powerful position.
Turl encouraged raids by his briars and knights into Colo, watching as cattle, horses and gold were brought back into his duchy. He refuted claims that he was antagonizing Colo, stating that his raids were in response to Colian raids. Turl also seized legitimate cargos from boats and caravans moving through his duchy from other areas of Imesse. His ducal taxes squeezed profits from his own farmers and towns folk to a point where many people simply started to relocate out of the Duchy of Hekmo.
This situation got measurably worse in 213 AF when Turl convinced Max II to mount an invasion of Colo from the duchy, trying to drive an army north towards Nyalshold and then towards the coast. Turl placed his eldest son in charge of the invasion, but the initial planning and strategy were all his. The campaign began with a disastrous battle just a day’s march from Nyalshold when Torum, Turl’s son, engaged a much smaller force of Colian foot in a narrow river valley. The Colian army numbered only 4500 men and less than 200 cavalry, compared to Torum’s 6000 soldiers and 1500 mounted knights. None the less, the Colians, using a superior knowledge of the terrain, flanked the army of Hekmo, destroying the mounted troops and forcing a full rout that lasted an entire night. Torum lost 1500 foot, and all his horse in his first major engagement with the Colians.
The next year of campaigning brought more of the same. Imesse lost battle after battle, all on the instructions of Turl. Then, as the political situation came to its lowest point, Turl advocated invading Cobal as an “easy” means of gaining resources, monies and morale. Max II deferred and Turl raised another force to invade another country.
In the late spring of 215, Turl led a force of foot and horse across the Manisar River at the town of Terrick. Turl’s plan was to attack two wards (Stomar and Selimar), take everything he could back across the Manisar, and leave a token force to hold what was conquered until he could return. Both attacks failed utterly, and before he could organize a retreat back to his boats and return to Imesse, the Cobal locals had burned his remaining boats and cut off his retreat to Terrick. This forced him to led his troops on a forced march east and then south to a point where he could without support, and that was at Minsloth (in the Ward of Lomar)… more than 150 miles from his initial invasion point. His invasion force of 15,000 men lost 35% of their numbers to fighting, disease and capture over the next four weeks of constant moving, unsupplied and unsupported.
Once at the fords at Minsloth, Turl was with the first group of men across the Caldar, and the rest of the force was covered by a desperate rear guard action fought by a handful of company captains numbering only 35. These men fought a desperate chase, running horses into the ground in an effort to divert the Cobal forces away from the crossing. When all other Hekmo forces were already across, rather than offer what little support and cover they could to the remaining captains, Hekmo commanded a rapid withdrawal to the Barony castle at Minsloth itself, nearly seven miles away.
The captain defenders, led by Lomain the Black, somehow managed to make it across the fords with 25 men. Upon reaching the castle at Minsloth, Lomain challenged Turl to a duel of honor for his decision to abandon the rear guard. After more than four weeks of constant combat, Turl was in no condition to accept the challenge (although, neither was Lomain), but he did. The duel was only stopped by the Baron of Minsloth himself, stating that no question of honor could be satisfied under these conditions.
For Turl’s role in the Cobal disaster, he was relieved of command of the armies of Imesse, and the war with Colo slowed to a crawl over the next two years, finally ending with an official exchange of peace agreements in 218. He remained a close advisor to Max II, but never had the same influence with Max II again.
In 228, Max II died, and his only son, Max III was crowned High King in Northridge. Turl was, once again, in a position to exert real influence in the kingdom. Max III was 13 years old, and the kingdom he inherited was much divided between rival factions.
Failures & Embarrassments
Turl was the driving force behind the disasterous invasion of Colo, and by extension the invasion of Cobal, with the forces of Imesse in 213 AF. Conservative estimates put the death toll of both wars at over 25,000 Imessian troops and tens of thousands more civilians. Relations between with both the people of Colo and the Kingdom of Cobal are still not fully healed.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Turl does believe he is working to better the High Kingdom of Imesse. He has convinced himself that his is the vision that will make Imesse a powerful and threatening world power.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Turl is very emotional, and is seemingly incabable of making reasonable decisions under pressure. He is prone to blame everyone else for his failures, and refuses to ever admit he was, is or could ever be wrong.
Vices & Personality flaws
When faced with real physical danger, Turl is very prone to flight rather than fight responses. He is a competent fighter, especially with a battle axe, but his first instinct always seems to be to ensure his own safety first, even at the cost of his honor.
Social
Reign
Turl has been Duke of Hekmo for 43 years.
Contacts & Relations
Probably the single most powerful leader in Imesse, besides the High King. Few trust him, fewer still respect him.
Family Ties
Related to many of the great families of the Kingdoms, he has much influence and many spies. Turl married the oldest daughter of the great Ohnni Family, Alayna Ohnni, in 187 AF. After four years of marriage, Alayna finally became pregnant, but the birth was extremely difficult and Alayna died as a result of excessive bleeding. Turl genuinely mourned the loss of his wife, and remained alone for twenty years, focused solely on raising his their son, Torum. Then, in 194 AF, he married the only daughter of a merchant family from Rickmo named Sara Waldegrave, who was 25 years his junior. With his new wife, Turl has three more sons, Terrin, Torrin, and Tommin.
Relationships
Wealth & Financial state
Staggeringly wealthy, mostly at the expense of his subjects. Ducal incomes exceed 100,000 guilders annually.
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Duke of Hekmo
Age
64
Family
Spouses
Alayna Ohnni
(Wife)
Sara Waldegrave
(Wife)
Siblings
Belief/Deity
Pantheon of Heaven
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
