Theodor Riversworn

Theodor Riversworn (born 3rd of Arundil, 5979 Secundus) is a Human knight, serving as the Bannerlord in the court of King Zeggor the First of the Pyrehide dynasty since 6001.

Early Life

Theodor began life in 5976, as the youngest son of the Riversworn family, members of the Knight Order of Rivald, based in Rivald, Irelia . As the youngest of the four sons, nobody really cared what he would get up to, as long as he wouldn't make too much trouble. He mostly learned about tactics and strategy, hoping to be someone leading and directing men, rather than being the one doing much fighting. His focus in tactics would see him win a series of war game scenarios against the then Bannerlord of Irelia, Reginald Scarseeker, demonstrating great talent while only being 15 years old.

His family would send him out into the world with the Knights of Rivald in 5994, where he would quickly also pick up training methods as a skill, once again in his expectation to mostly be leading, rather than fighting. He couldn't escape this obligation forever though.

The Riversworn Uprising

During the Peasant Rebellion of 5995, Theodor would see the extent to which the lower classes were exploited by the kingdom. He became a proponent of peasant rights, which earned him a rejection from the Knight Order of Rivald. Now a free Knight, Theodor would settle in the village of Anslau, where he started planning out a revolution against King Jorland the Second, for when the time was right.

I have sworn my oaths to this kingdom, not the king. For all his qualities, I will not see him send the men of Irelia into certain death.

— Theodor Riversworn, after hearing of the drafting efforts of Jorland the Second

In the summer of 5998, King Jorland would make a large levy raising effort, to have enough men for his war against the northern vampire clans. Theodor saw the moment to spring his revolution right then and there.

Along with 200 men and women of Anslau, he would organise a small army of followers into a decent fighting force. Recruiting, however, was a whole other issue, as despite his tactical brilliance and bright mind, Theodor was never much of a orator, or a people person in general. Even so, his fighters would be enough to take on smaller patrols of the king's armies, at one time even facing off against a squad of the Irelian Dragoons.

In this fight, he would come face to face with the fresh appointed captain Ernesto Seatguard , with whom he personally did battle, almost falling to the sword of the much fiercer Dragoon. By the noble sacrifice of a fellow Anslau citizen, he was given enough time to pull back his force into a tight formation, which allowed him to drive off the elite guard of the king.

We can't do this forever. We need a decisive strike against the king. A direct assault on the capital would be suicide with our current numbers. But how do I get more men, if I can barely convince the ones I have to stand and fight?

— Theodor Riversworn, late 5998

In early 5999, he would meet Zeggor Pyrehide, whom he would become good friends with. Zeggor's distain for the King fuelled his impassioned speeches, quickly drawing people into their course. The peasant army would grow large enough to even directly challenge the King's forces. Combined with decent tactics and genius maneuvering, Theodor would bring this army to the gates of Hossar, where he started the Riversworn Siege. This brutal battle for the top of the city walls would see pike and shot against billhook and slingshot, lasting 4 days before Jorland the Second rode out of the city himself to present the Crown of Irelia to Zeggor.

The abdication of Jorland the Second in 6001 would end the Riversworn Uprising, and put Zeggor into power.

Time as the Bannerlord of Irelia

After Zeggor was installed as the new king, he would appoint Theodor as the Bannerlord of Irelia, the highest authority in all things military. His first mission as the new master of Irelia's entire military was to organise a new standing army, seeing as most of it has deserted following the deposing of Jorland the Second. With many of these former soldiers forming into bandit groups, he had his recruiting work cut out for him.

It took him 2 years to get the actual army up and running, with the year of 6004 going down as "The Red Year" due to his radical anti-bandit campaign across the countryside. Many of the bandits would also be given the opportunity to join back up with the army, swelling the Irelian military greatly, to a total number of 7000 men.

6005 saw Irelia's independence under threat, as a diplomatic incident sparked a war between Irelia and Spuales. Though Theodor didn't have any issue dealing with one army of them on its own, he did not have the manpower to hold all of Spuales' armies alone. This was when Testrales rode to their aid, with Edmond of Lancia helping him to beat back the Spualans. They then had to book it to the other side of the nation, after messages of a vampire incursion arrived. They weren't fast enough to save the city of Rivald, but the vampires were driven back to the holes they crawled from.

6006 also had it out for Theodor, as a large amount of Zinoian tribesmen spilled from the forests of Boerilla, to pillage many of the southern villages. They gave Theodor a major challenge, given that these were Wildmen and thus very strong, being able to shatter shields with ease and smack weapons away with their bare hands. Fortunately, they weren't well armored, which meant that the new handcannons acquired by the army had free reign to place a bullet in their brows.

The following years, Theodor mainly focused Irelias military on expansion, raising two new armies to keep the borders in check. Besides the occasional bandits or minor monsters, the military did not have to do much.

In 6014, the Celestial Elf Empire (CCE) declared war upon all nations of the Empire of Mortals. Irelia's armies were the first to take the brunt of the Celestial Elves' force, holding at the northern fortresses until the armies of the other nations could reinforce them. Theodor had the honor to coordinate much of the war effort with his peers from the other nations, being the one to devise the doctrine of the alliance.

Committing to an offensive in 6015, the united mortal armies beat back a minor Celestial Elf Army, leading to the CEE committing the rest of their armies to the south. This was devastating to the alliance, as the Celestial Elves chopped apart a full lance of Testralan Grail Knights without suffering a single casualty, with standard infantry not faring much better. The only victories the alliance could achieve were courtesy of Theodor devising the tactics, but even so, they soon found themselves defending the northern fortress line once again.

I shall not claim to know the next strategy of these monsters, but I do know this: We will hold the line, as mortals always did. Whether it be by the blood of our men or the sharpness of our weapons, they will not ever breach this line!

— Theodor Riversworn, 6016

Celestial Elf efforts then focused on breaching this fortress line, and though the line held in many places, the Celstial Elf Empire would achieve a major breakthrough at the fortresses at the Isalith. With the mortal armies being able to do very little to actually keep them back, they opted instead to evacuate the city of Plaina and hold the line there instead. This managed to last them until the early summer of 6017, where peace talks lead to the Circadian Accords, where Theodor tried his hardest to keep the Isalith forts in Irelians hands. His efforts were unsuccessful, in addition to Irelia being filled to the brim with deserters and bandits once again. Though not as extreme as back at the start of his time as Bannerlord, it was still quite frustrating for Theodor.

If these monsters try anything like this again, they will find that we do not need the armies of other nations to keep them back. And if nothing else, I would rather die standing than live kneeling.

— Theodor Riversworn, on his military policy going forward

As of current events, Theodor has once again started planning for the possibility of another Celestial Elf incursion, sketching out a defense plan that would allow Irelia's armies to stand alone against the northern foes, as they did way back in the day.

Awards and decorations

Over the course of his career, Theodor Riversworn has been awarded with a few awards and medals.

Most prestigious is the Irelian Military Cross in Gold, a award given to generals who have distinguished themselves through great service to the Kingdom of Irelia. He recieved it for his actions in the defense against the Celestial Elf Empire from 6014 to 6017.

He is also recipient of the Riversworn coin, a commemorative coin that was minted for every member of the Riversworn uprising, as well as having received three instances of the Irelian Hammerhand Award.