Russ Goldmann
"I confessed to crimes I never committed. For that, I will commit them all and more."
Character Overview
Russ Goldmann, once hailed as the Merchant of Fortune, was among the wealthiest and most beloved traders of the Vorundar Empire. He built a vast trading empire by developing the Goldmann company he inherited from his father.
His trading consortium spanned from the sky mountain range in the North-east to beyond the Perserkar Kingdom in the West, earning admiration from the people but envy from nobles. Russ invested in all kind of products from Silk to Grains - and whatever he touched turned into a fortune.
But his tale was short lived.
Falsely accused by the Imperial Inquisition of funding rebellion - Russ was arrested, torchured and made to confess the crimes he hadn't commited. He was betrayed by his family, tortured until he confessed.
The only one who stood for him—his daughter Elira,—was executed before his eyes and hanged on the city gates of the capital. That tragedy turned him from a loyal subject into a man who chose to fulfill the very crimes he was accused of—only on a far greater scale.
Abilities & Powers
Merchant’s mind
Russ was a prodigy of commerce, famed for his shrewd bargaining and ability to see ten steps ahead in any trade deal.
Hell-Broker’s Pact
Russ forged bargains with demons in exchange for his own soul and a thousand others. His contracts promised him the descent of the commandment and ruin.
Physical Appearance
Russ Goldmann had once been the picture of refinement—robes of soft silks, rings crusted with gemstones, a man whose very presence smelled of perfume and polished coin. But that man was long buried beneath scars, iron, and pain.
Now he was just a ruin of that merchant prince. His head is shaved bald, the pale skin mottled from long confinement. A crude leather patch covers where his left eye used to be, while his remaining right eye is bloodshot and swollen, giving it a reddish cast. His nose has been broken and sits crooked on his face, and when he grins, the gaps from missing teeth show dark against his remaining ones.
His hands shake when he moves them, the fingernails torn out completely, leaving only pink, ugly stumps where rings once sat. He walks with a pronounced limp, his left leg dragging with each step from an old break that healed badly. Every movement seems to cause him pain, yet he keeps going.
Scars mark his body from whatever torture he endured. His clothes are simple and worn, a far cry from the silk robes he once favored.
Backstory
Born to a modest family of caravan traders, Russ Goldmann rose from obscurity to dominate the empire’s trade routes. He became known as the Merchant of fortune as every trade he touched made him richer. His caravans carried silks, ores, and spices across perilous routes others dared not attempt, and his name was celebrated among commoners for his fairness and generosity.
But his prosperity drew the attention of the Imperial Inquisition, who sought to shatter the growing influence of merchants. Accused of secretly funding rebellion, Russ was tried and convicted in a farce of justice. His family abandoned him to save themselves—except his daughter Elira, who alone defended him and even tried to fight against the inquisition. For her defiance, she was executed at the city gates, her death forced upon his eyes as final humiliation.
Broken in body but not in spirit, Russ was sent to the mines. There, despair transformed into resolve. If the empire had accused him of rebellion, he would give them rebellion—greater than they had ever feared. Not through mortal means, but by allying with the abyss itself. He began seeking out the demon worshippers, not as a believer, but as a merchant of damnation.
I will sell my soul a thousand times if it buys me their suffering.
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