[color=Aquamarine][b]Name:[/b][/color] Berich Macer (Born Volstag Iron-Arm), the White-Gold Weasel

[color=Aquamarine][b]Race:[/b][/color] Berich files as Imperial for tax purposes, however he was born full blooded Nord. Just conspicuously short.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Family Origins:[/b][/color] Berich was born to Ingvar and Ganhild Iron-Arm in a small clan of Nordic barbarians in the mountains of Skyrim. He was raised with horses and goats in a family of barbarians, but dropped off said mountain on account of his short stature. He was then raised by an Imperial merchant named Eulalia.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Appearance:[/b][/color] Many would remark Berich as being the smallest Nord they had ever met, if they in fact knew he was a Nord. Berich is slight in frame and stands at about 5 foot 7 inches. He dies his fair-blond hair black and wears it back in a ponytail yet cannot cover up his sky-blue eyes that he inherited from his parents. Berich has no less than three gold teeth. A scar runs across from the top of his right eye to the bottom of his chin, from an encounter with an Orcish booker looking to collect. He's missing his left index finger. Different orc booker, same situation. There always seem to be some whiskers on Berich's chin no matter how often he cares to shave.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Age:[/b][/color] Berich is 37, although he'd usually tell you he's a hard 28.

[b][color=Aquamarine]Equipment:[/color][/b] Berich travels light, with an Imperial white silk garment fitting of someone of his status, and a black fur cloak. He carries a finely sharpened Elvish dagger with many jewels encrusted in the hilt. 

[color=Aquamarine][b]Miscellaneous:[/b][/color] Some dried fruit and nuts, a skin of wine (ok, several skins of wine). 

Also, poison. Like, a lot of poison. Like, a ridiculous amount of poison. Berich is very fond of avoiding combat through the use of poison. Don't worry, though, most of it is non-lethal. The bigger body trail he leaves, the more angered sons and lovers will be hunting him down, and that is just a hassle. 

[color=Aquamarine][b]Favored Skills:[/b][/color] 

Highly efficient: Mercantile, Unarmoed

Moderately Efficient: Alchemy, Athletics

Somewhat Proficient: Short Blade


[color=Aquamarine][b]Crime Committed:[/b][/color]

High Treason against the Meade Dynasty
Theft from the Imperial Treasury
21 Counts of theft from members of the Elder Council

[color=Aquamarine][b]Character Background:[/b][/color] Volstag Iron-Arm was born in the snowy, mountainous area of Skyrim north of Cyrodiil's Bruma. He was raised by barbarians until the age of ten. This was a nomadic life, full of raiding nearby settlements and hunting animals or starving. Volstag despised this life, and on clear nights he would sneak off from his camp and gaze upon the lights and fires of Bruma. Volstag's parents were warriors, and he was expected to be too. When he grew up, however, the clan realized how small and weak the child would be as an adult. Ganhild, Volstag's mother, was ordered to kill him so he would not be a burden on the clan. Instead, the woman left Volstag on the road at the base of a mountain with a hug and a tearless farewell. He never saw his parents after that, but was shortly found by a travelling Imperial merchant, Eulalia Macer, who took the boy in and named him Berich. 

Eulalia, a native of the Imperial City, took Berich back with her and raised him in her shop, The Golden Goose (a jewelry store). Berich went from the barbarians of Skyrim to the bourgeoisie of Cyrodiil, and the transition could not have been easier for him. Berich took very well to the education he received, making up for the years he went without. He proved himself a natural salesman in his adopted mother's store. When he was 16, he apprenticed at the Imperial Bank, the largest bank in Cyrodiil. 

Berich was always very self centered. He'd always obsess about making sure his appearance was flawless, spending hours on his hair and clothing. The other boys would bully Berich mercilessly, but he didn't really let it get to him. He'd always go home to Eulalia and she'd reaffirm that he didn't need to play with those mean boys; mommy was the only friend Berich would ever need.

Berich took to banking as easily as he did life in the Imperial City. He was a natural not only at handling money, but at getting people to give him money. As he grew up and gained more of a prominent position within the Imperial Bank, he began to wonder: what if I could turn these peoples' money into even more money? That's when Berich began to begin lending money to more and more citizens who needed it, even those who he realistically knew could not pay him back. When they defaulted on their loans, Berich legally seized everything they owned. He became so successful he left to start his own bank, affectionately called the Golden Goose Bank.

Berich started as a small banker in a back corner of the Market District. Berich wanted to get ahead fast; so he did what few bankers brought up in pomp and nobility were willing to do. He invested in underground skooma houses, prostitute rings, and gambling dens. The illicit profits from these organizations propelled Berich into extreme wealth. He began to spread his business; soon he wasn't just dealing with the middle class, but rubbing elbows with the Imperial Council and the Emperor's court. Soon, Berich Macer was on the tongue of every nobleman in the Imperial City. [i]Macer knows how to handle your money. You haven't invested in the Golden Goose? He handles' the Emperor's Skyrim funds.[/i] He was on top of the world; he was [b]rich[/b]! 

Another reason Berich was able to get ahead was the fact that he employed poison against his enemies. At first, it began very innocently: as an aspiring chef, Berich served one of his fellow bankers a pork with nightshade shavings for spice. Too much nightshade, in addition to a bad reaction with the other ingredients, and the banker fell into a month long coma. Ever since then, Berich has been crafting non-lethal poisons to take people of out the "game" so he could improve his own business with no competition. He also isn't that bad of an amateur chef, believe it or not.

Eventually, Berich wanted more than just money. He wanted influence; power. As a failsafe (Berich was very fond of the idea that even in defeat, he comes out ahead) Berich began passing along information to the Thalmor in the city, effectively becoming a Thalmor spy. In return, the Thalmor promised Berich that he would be able to keep his business in the event of a Thalmor takeover of the Imperial City. Berich has naked political ambitions born of his newfound power. He was an upstart, but one with the power to back up his desires. Berich began to court members of the Elder Council of the Empire. He was invited into their homes; began to give them personal tips on how to expand their wealth. Eventually, Berich took his proposition to the Elder Council as a petition: make me a Councilor, and we will become rich together. The Council, and Tamriel itself! 

Berich was, unsurprisingly, laughed out of the Council chambers. [i]You think a flash of wealth deserves a place next to families who have been in power for generations?[/i] Berich was mocked, his name dragged through the dirt. That's when he did something desperate, and very, very stupid. He held the Council's money as collateral. [i]Appoint me Councilor, or I cannot guarantee that you'll see your money again. I sense an economic downturn. Perhaps if I had the connections of an Elder Councilor, I could save your investments.[/i]

This did not sit well with the Council, or the Emperor. Berich was accused of High Treason against the Meade crown for threatening to steal millions of septims worth of Council wealth and upset the balance of power in the Empire. Berich caught wind of this just moments before the guard came crashing into his estate. He ran to the Thalmor embassy in the city, and they managed to smuggle him out of the city in return for his services. 

Berich was then on the run. He was pursued by Imperial guardsmen relentlessly... because Berich had implemented a failsafe. The money that the Meade dynasty had invested with the Golden Goose, the funds meant to serve as Skyrim's entire budget for the year, in addition to countless wealth from 21 different Councilors, were hidden by Berich's associates. Only Berich can order the funds recovered. As a result, he was chased by every guardsman in the Empire. He managed to flee until Meir Thornvale, where he was captured and was to be immediately transferred to the Imperial City.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Fighting Style:[/b][/color] Berich really cannot fight. If cornered, he will use his dagger. If he wants someone dead, he'll put out a hit on them. He could also try and poison them when they're not looking, or coat his dagger in poison. Otherwise, he'll probably try and run. Berich is not a brave man.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Personality:[/b][/color] Berich is, as described, a man without a moral code. He lusts after power and influence, but also craves excitement and intrigue. He loves the thrill of living dangerously, but loves the benefits of coming home to a mansion and being waited on by servants. He is fundamentally dishonest and will lie, cheat and steal just because he can. Berich couldn't be trusted to fetch a glass of water without stealing it. 

That is not to say that he isn't fun to be around. Berich is an electric personality. He makes people like him; how else could he have sustained his practices for so long? He makes people feel important, and he showers them in gifts if they follow what he says. 

Berich is also, perhaps unsurprisingly, deeply insecure. He is used to being surrounded by material wealth and the praises of bought friends. He is terrified that at his core, his stumped Nordic core, he is unlovable.

Berich is obsessed with the idea of getting the last laugh. He always thinks five steps ahead, even when having a casual conversation with someone. He creates backups and back doors in case he needs to escape a situation. Leverage is what keeps him alive; and he needs all he can get in order to stay above water in the situation he has found himself in.

Berich is a very, very sore loser. He gets angry and irrational, plotting your downfall and letting revenge cloud his mind. Despite his genius dealings, it can be undone with one brash action on Berich's part, as evident by his lording the investments over the crown.

[color=Aquamarine][b]Font Colour: Aquamarine[/b][/color]