Charland

Information

Player: Rowgen

Character Full Name: Charland Eberhardt

Character In-Game Name: Charland

Nickname(s): Carl, Lord Eberhardt

Association(s): The Kingdom of Alterac, House Eberhardt, Eberhardt and Burroughs, Ltd

Race: Human

Class: Crime Lord

Age: 41

Sex: Male

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Weight: 184 lbs

Height: 6'3"

Appearance

Charland is a tall and thin man with charcoal hair and dark, brown eyes. His face is a gaunt one, one of wan smiles and heavy frowns. Furrows are beginning to form, and crow's feet claw at the corners of his eyes. Despite his drawn, weathered appearance he moves with the grace, strength and vigor of a man half his age and in stark contrast to his solemn appearance he prefers clothes bearing subtle signs of his wealth. He often bears surcoat with the sigil of House Eberhardt, a gilded oak upon a black field.

Personality

While quick to forgive simple slights and insults, Charland is a vengeful man when his rights are denied him. His ambition is fueled by a bitterness over his eviction from his homeland by both the Alliance and his fellow lords. With few allies in the world, Charland is a careful man, as making more enemies will only add to his troubles. He dreams of returning to Alterac one day at the head of an army of sorts, to claim dominion over his family's lands and perhaps even expand them - why, perhaps even claim the whole of Alterac. However, he knows that such an undertaking would be dangerous and nigh impossible to achieve with the Syndicate's hold on the region. He has little faith in the dream.

Somewhat unexpectedly for a man of his profession, Charland has kept his faith in the Light, although he's no fanatic. He's a man who likes to keep his faith within the four walls of the church, and though he pays the faith little mind, he makes regular visits to the church in hopes that the Light may forgive his sins. After all, the end justifies the means. Charland prays for what should be rightfully his, for justice and perhaps a chance to retire as a lawful, wealthy man. Unfortunately, mystical forces cannot be bargained with, and his prayers have yet to be answered. In hopes of earning some divine favor, Charland attempts to keep his business as ethical and moral as the world around him can allow. The laws of divine forces are different than those of lesser beings, of course, so they wouldn't care about dealing on black markets and the like. All men have their vices, after all. He could always make up for his sins through other acts - which he does, through charity.

History

Charland was the firstborn son of Lord Victan and Lady Sevilyn Eberhardt, with three younger siblings named Robyn, Valissa and Harmon. Robyn was one year younger than him, and also his closest friend in his childhood years. In response, Valissa and Harmon, who were three and four years younger than Charland respectively, spent much time together, as they were largely ignored by their elder brothers. While Charland and Robyn preferred to filch food from the kitchens and watch the squires and knights train in the yard, Valissa and Harmon were more quiet; It was not an uncommon sight to find Valissa reading aloud from a book with her younger brother cuddled up against her.

The preparations to make Charland his father's heir began from an early age, and he was educated by the best teachers his father could acquire. When Charland was eight he became the page of Sir Eddam Malbrec, a knight in his father's service. At the same time, Matherand Torraine was taken as Lord Victan's ward. He was the son of another knight in Lord Victan's service, and his family had been facing hard times. In hopes of earning his liege lord's favor, the knight had sent him to the Eberhardts.

Charland and Matherand took to each other well, and became good friends. Robyn was distant, as before he'd filled the spot Matherand now had taken as Charland's best friend. The two youngest siblings, Valissa and Harmon, had been friendly, though they never warmed to the ward quite as Charland did. Charland accepted the boy like another brother. At the age of fourteen, the two pages became squires, and their education was steered more and more towards preparing them to become proper knights. Charland spent more and more time with his mentor, and Sir Eddam took him to Stratholme to witness his induction into the Silver Hand. When they returned to Alterac, they were invited a feast in Sir Eddam's honor. He was the first paladin in the service of the Eberhardts.

The young Eberhardt was seventeen when Second War began. Sir Eddam served under General Hath, and by extension, so did he. When the Orcish Horde marched to Alterac, Charland was surprised to find that the General had been ordered to let them pass - and Sir Eddam was outraged. When Thoras Trollbane came with the army of Stromgarde, the Alteracians were convinced to disobey their orders and remain faithful to the Alliance. Sir Eddam and Charland were amongst the men who assisted in taking Alterac from the Horde alongside the Alliance soldiers, and after the deed was done, Sir Eddam congratulated the squire on his courage and dubbed him. While proud of himself, Charland feared that his father was amongst the traitor lords. When they came home, his fears were proven correct. Lord Victan had been arrested for treason and was awaiting execution.

This news frustrated Charland, and he was also informed that the rest of his family had been exiled by the order of Uther the Lightbringer. Soon after he returned to Alterac, he stole away in the dead of night to rejoin with his family in the nearby Arathi Highlands. He joined with the newly formed Syndicate and embarked upon a career of banditry. He tracked down some of those who'd served his father, and formed a band of brigands to protect himself from other lords seeking easy prey. While the world recovered from the Second War, Charland settled in Arathi and kept to himself. While his band would prowl the hills on occasion, he tried to lead a relatively normal life. In the years after the Second War a mistress of his bore him a child. She was a girl, and they named her Accelina when the mistress insisted on keeping her. Unfortunately, the mother was some other exile lord's daughter, and Charland got in trouble for getting her with child. The mother begged him to take their daughter away, and he grudgingly accepted.

Charland fled to the Hillsbrad Foothills, partially to escape the nobleman's wrath, and partially to position himself in a favorable location when and if the Syndicate ever moved in to reclaim Alterac. He left the raiding of travelers and farmers to his men, while he personally saw to taking care of his daughter. As she grew, he strove to give her the same education he had been given, and hired maids to aid him. When the Third War began, the time Charland had been waiting for was at hand. The exile lords moved in with their brigands and sacked Alterac while the Alliance was in turmoil, and seized the region. However, Charland was unable to reclaim his family's lands as he was driven out by his daughter's vengeful grandfather.

Without any promise of a home to return to in Alterac, Charland returned to his daughter in Hillsbrad and prepared to leave. He dismissed the servants he wouldn't need, and all but the most faithful of his so-called "household guard". In hopes of pretending to escape from the dangers of Lordaeron, Charland and his followers made for Stormwind, where they sought refuge. They lost themselves in the great city and tried to find themselves work. While they were met with suspicion, they explained their situation and managed to convince their employers. They had all prepared a cover-story beforehand. Charland himself found employ in the Stormwind bank, a position he preferred much to the hectic life of a highwayman. For his daughter's safety, she lived under the fake identity of a servant girl and Charland kept her as his private attendant to keep an eye on her.

Charland's rise to power began when a mysterious countrywoman sought him out. Her name was Lady Winter Burroughs, and she had a proposition for him. Simply put, she wanted his help in forming a criminal cartel, using the cover of a banking house to mask their illegal activities. Charland accepted her offer, and with a forged document in hand he founded the banking house that would bear their names. Charland's rise through the criminal underworld was colored by subtlety and deception. He preferred to deal with his competitors peacefully, buying their cooperation with coin rather than force. Still, when bloodshed was demanded he did not hesitate to shed blood. There was no room for weakness when dealing with that sort of scum.

In the later years after the Third War, Charland began to work to establish the legal side of his business as a neutral bank, competing with the Goblin banks in accommodating citizens of both the Alliance and the Horde, with little discrimination between the races. The bank began to provide loans for all sorts of organizations, everything from private businesses to religious orders - and on the rare occasion it would make charitable donations. Charland became known as a philanthropist and kept a good distance from his criminal activities, careful to avoid someone discovering the roots of his wealth.

Skills and Abilities

In his youth Charland underwent the training to become a knight, though when he deserted the Alteracian army he became accustomed to a life of banditry, a life of opportunity and dirty tricks. He retains his skill with the blade afoot and ahorse, though he prefers to strike with the element of surprise and ending his fights swiftly. He fights aggressively with a bastard sword, preferring the optional two-handed grip to limiting himself to a one-handed or two-handed grip.

Besides his skills as a swordsman, Charland possesses a fortune equal of a lesser noble and a vast network of connections to other businesses, legal and illegal alike.