The Powder Bishop
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T Y R W I G Von K A R S T E N
(deceased)
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Ht: 6'3 / Wt: 250 / Hair: grey / Eyes: blue
Age: 47 / Creed: Torvar / Status: *DECEASED
Von Karsten is a storied figure in mercenary lore. Originally a priest of the strenuous order of Saint Gunther, it is said that after he witnessed black powder weapons in action on the battlefield, he declared he'd seen the hand of the divine at work, and from that day onward devoted himself to the study of explosives, pyrotechnics, and firearms, with all the passion of a mad zealot.
Earning himself the epithet “The Powder Bishop,” he soon became a renowned artillerist and siege engineer, and was famed also for his eccentricities and bombast, that many feared verged on insanity.
Earning himself the epithet “The Powder Bishop,” he soon became a renowned artillerist and siege engineer, and was famed also for his eccentricities and bombast, that many feared verged on insanity.
The Siege of Amendorf and the Secession Wars
Tyrwig crossed that line at the Siege of Amendorf, when he rigged a series of explosives that coated a battlefield with a blanket of an experimental form of airborne Fire Resin of his own design. This act damned friend and foe alike to agonizing fiery death, and left the countryside scorched for miles around.
His ostensible employers at Amendorf - the Duke Godfroy of Athagon, his household and defending army - were all burned alive. The few survivors of Amendorf who could still speak, told of how Tyrwig's fiendish laughter echoed across the field, over the screams of the dying. In the heart of the firestorm, he delivered a maniacal sermon, calling his act a blessing upon the earth, and naming himself an agent of holy design.
Since that event, the so-called Powder Bishop was branded a heretic by the Holy Wheel, but his skills were still in demand. During the wars of Secession, his activities as a mercenary were marked by madness and destruction; he was known for commending whole townships to the pyre, regardless of any strategic concerns. His volatility quickly outstripped his usefulness, and he was condemned as an enemy of the Empire.
Recent History and Death
For some time after, Tyrwig lived as a fugitive on the fringes of the Empire, and was known as a notorious reaver. Most recently, it was said that he sailed with Goran di Frezzi as a lieutenant of the Company of the Hook. When the slave ship El Tiburon was overtaken by Jack Tyrsson and the Grey Stripes of Ladroa, Von Karsten was said to have been thrown overboard and used for target practice. His body was recovered before the sharks had their way, and his tarred head was presented to Imperial Officials in Iagos for reward.
see also: Von Karsten's Spitfire
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