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[color=gold][h1][u]Dietrich Erhaben von Sturmfeld[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h1]


[img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0e/14/b8/0e14b8deb57a418bc95cf18d7ad34fcd.jpg[/img]


[sub][h3][u]24[/u]  |  [u]MALE[/u]  |  [u]DRUDGUNZEAN[/u]  |  [u]THUNDER - ESSENCE[/u]  |  [u]WIZARD[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]

[sub][h3][u]C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
Dietrich stands at just around 5'10, often wearing gaudy but efficient clothing wherever he finds himself, usually in the form of black and golds, the colours of his families house. Although he stands and walks with a proper gait, he can still be found sporting a cane with him wherever he goes, and said cane lends a lot to his body language. He keeps his hair kept back in a ponytail for convenience and is usually found to be shaven, though his facial hair grows back too frequently to maintain this, perhaps due to his heritage. He's definitely on the gaunter side as far as weight goes, and as would be expected for somebody from a noble house growing up. His most defining trait would probably be his amber, almost golden eyes as they contrast vastly with his darker hair tones. 

Dietrich's main motivation is power, and his current lack of it. Before this war, he had almost resigned his fate to be a problem solver for his family, or a mercenary on hire for the highest bidder. And while the adventuring life isn't the worst fate in the world, especially for someone with his level of gift, he craved a realm of his own. Responsibility. Subjects to lead in battle and times of peace. Whilst it is a greedy ambition, he believes with all his heart that if the Drudgunzeans are as potent as they are with the lands they have, then with the faith of their forefathers and a land as rich as those found in Parrence, that there is no telling what heights they could reach. 

Some would call him rash or arrogant but Dietrich would label himself as prudent. And in some ways, he would be correct as he does often consider the future in his plans, meticulously consider details of a situation and ponders every option before pursuing a path. He does however act above his station, speak out of line and belittle those who disagree with him regardless of who or what they are. There is no denying that this is because the man has a colossal ego, and perhaps he should given that he's a prodigious magical talent from an exceptionally wealthy family, but it often puts him in a sticky situation that he has to dig himself out of despite his otherwise careful nature. But perhaps because of this overwhelming confidence, he can be oddly charming and genuine. Beneath the egomania and thoughts of superiority are genuine principles which he holds dear to his heart and believes in with full conviction. The fact that he think so highly of himself is perhaps why he can get away with being as he is, because certain concepts such as being a charlatan, petty backstabbing and betrayal are beneath the man that he would like to think he is. 

[sub][h3][u]B A C K G R O U N D[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
Dietrich's story begins in the Drudgunzean nation of Kressia, his father running the duchy of Sturmfeld in the south of the nation that his family had held for 3 generations at this point. A well maintained, preserved piece of land that would otherwise be peaceful was ravaged by internal conflicts, mostly in matters of religion. Zealots from both side threatened to tear the duchy apart, and maybe they would have if not for the stern leadership of Ludolf Erhaben. Dietrich, despite his noble lineage would never see a square foot of this land upon his fathers death, whenever that may be. 

He was painfully made aware of this fact at a young age, and it shaped his upbringing. While his 2 oldest brothers were taught to lead and guide the people of the fief, Dietrich and his older brother Albert were given a more rigorous general education. There was not much pressure on them to succeed, but perhaps the competition of each other guided them to greater heights, as both sought to outdo the other and earn the favour of their parents, who had little time for their younger children and an sizeable realm to manage. Even still, this did not dissuade the young lads from excelling, although they took vastly different paths in life.

Whilst Albert ventured into the path of becoming a merchant and adventurer, Dietrich sought power as a combatant after awakening his gift, which definitely earned the attention of his family. They sought an apt educator, and looked to the north in Parrence, who had access to the knowledge of old. A great scholar of the gift brought many scrolls and books from the ruins of the Avincean empire for a sizable sum of coin and the opportunity to train the talented young lad. This sent him over the moon. Perhaps he would not have a kingdom, but he would become acquainted with the magics of old and be an asset on the battlefield, to protect his homeland and people, and aid his family. 

The scholars true intentions were to proselytize the young Dietrich and turn him into an asset of the faith, a powerful wizard. And given his potential, it's no surprise that he took the immense gamble of giving a potential heathen access to potent records and a full upbringing in the arts. And for a time, it worked. Dietrich was a firm believer in the Quentic faith and he saw his teacher coming to guide him in his gift as a sign of the gods existence. And whilst he was a firm believer in the pantheon at first, he began to have his doubts. Further research and study dissuaded him of the religion, though he never let his teacher know of his true thoughts lest he discontinue his education. He held the old gods, the true gods, close to his heart and he knew deep down that they had been the one to gift him, not the gods of a stranger from a foreign land. 

His education was over around the late teens, and his teacher urged him to come to Parrence with him and study on, but Dietrich knew that he had learned what he could from the man. He instead wished to tour the land of his people, to see how other domains faired, how the peasant lived, and perhaps make a name for himself as a talented warrior. Instead, he began to see what the religious divide had done to his people. His duchy had been especially affected, though no Drudgunze nation had been spared the continuous efforts of conversion by foreign missionaries and preachers. It begun to sicken him. He began to see the Quentic faith as not a guiding light for those lost as he once did as a child, but as a controlling, overbearing arm of the Parrench which would one day pick up his peoples kingdoms and shovel it into the mouth of their ever expanding domain. 

He wanted to see how a land united under one faith functioned, so he ventured south to the land of his forefathers. It was much colder than his home, sure, but it offered him a different insight to the world. The people were united toward a common goal. The harsh climate and the meager meals that the land offered them did not dissuade them from banding together for a common purpose. He became enamoured with the culture and once again, began to visit the various courts of the Eskandr. He found the state of affairs on this side of the world superior to the current state of his home, and he owed it to the strong, fervent belief in their gods. Something his people could learn a lesson from. 

And while his feelings of distate for the religion began to grow, so did his lust for power. Real power, not as a combatant but as a ruler. If anybody could fix the unruly state of these disparate petty kingdoms, it was Dietrich Erhaben. He had been born and blessed by the storm, and it was his duty to repair these kingdoms, dismantle the false faiths and advance the border northward so that his people may prosper. 

[sub][h3][u]I N V E N T O R Y[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
❖ A well made scepter which is made of mammoth tusk. It helps him focus and motions with it help him bring out the best of his gift.
❖ Fine leather clothes, crafted for the upper nobility to be used in the field. Gaudier than expected of a Drudgunzean but efficient and sturdy.
❖ A beautifully maintained journal, as well as writing equipment. Dietrich tends to document his experiences and thoughts within this book.
❖ A large coinpurse. Money can buy anything, or at least people say it can.  
❖ Jewellery galore. Rings, earrings and a necklace to boot. None of which have meaning, but they could be pawned in a pinch, and definitely distinguish him as a nobleman
❖ A compass and up to date map. 
❖ A absolutely stunning shortsword that has maybe saw use once. He can barely use it but it's better than being completely unarmed. And it's a memento of home.
[i]A description of items regularly in your character's possession or owned by them.[/i]

[sub][h3][u]T H E   G I F T[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
Blood Type: Thunderchild
Wheel Rating: 4 1/4
Preferred Magics: Thunder + Essence 

Dietrich is a true caster but he is only a caster. He possesses no innate weapon skills, nor physical ability. He does however possess immense magical capabilities that become more potent at a distance. The young man has a respectable repertoire of spells for a variety of situations, but most of them are geared towards offense. Some are multi-functional however and offer tremendous area denial and crowd control, though he possesses very little in the way of pure utility. Dietrich operates on a "kill or be killed" basis given his tremendous, unshakable belief in himself and his abilities. 

Whilst his magic might not be the most original bag of tricks, it is extremely potent due to the range and potential power behind it. There are no siege engines in this world, but Dietrich might be able to classify himself as one given the scale of explosions and structural damage he can cause given enough time to cast. And although he's not exactly precise from a distance, he's able to cover a large enough area that he can usually cause damage where he wants to. 

[sub][h3][u]S T R E N G T H S   &   S K I L L S[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
❖ [i]Intelligent: Has studied and retained a large amount of information. Everything from languages, poetry, mathematics and ancient history is at his disposal, alongside a good bit of random trivia[/i]
❖ [i]Pragmatic: Isn't afraid to change a plan if it's going wrong, and doesn't believe that his plans are infallible. If every man was him, they might be, but the world isn't such a wonderful place. [/i]
❖ [i]Court Etiquette: While his attitude and general behaviour isn't usually befitting his station, he can blend in at ease in high society and is a bit of a charmer. [/i]
❖ [i]Driven: Whilst being an egomaniac is usually a bigger flaw than it is strength, Dietrich has massive force of will and drive to improve and better himself precisely because he values himself more than anyone or anything. Perhaps this is what makes him so motivated[/i]

[sub][h3][u]W E A K N E S S E S   &   F L A W S[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
❖ [i]Egotistical - Dietrich over believes in his own capabilities and isn't all that willing to stick his neck on the line for his compatriots, even if he holds compassionate values. He will abandon an ally to save his own skin and believes that he is the most important person in the room regardless of where he is.[/i]
❖ [i]Frivolous - Dietrich is not a soldier. Whilst he may have some feats of triumph and combat, he has never lived a rough and tumble lifestyle, nor a particularly harsh upbringing. It's hard for him to come to terms with sleeping in the outdoors, eating gruel and keeping watch but that just might be necessary in a war like this. [/i]
❖ [i]Skinny - Whilst he's been trained in fencing, he never took an aptitude to it. Nor has he ever been particularly strong. Despite eating a lot, he's always been the "runt" of the litter in that regard and isn't much of a physical combatant outside of dodging blows and running away.[/i]


[sub][h3][u]C O L O U R   C O D E   &   O T H E R[/u]__ _  _   _    _[/h3][/sub]
[i]Your character's hex code and any other miscellaneous information. Feel free to use bullet points.[/i]
❖ Colour is just [gold], no hex code.
❖ Casts spells in Avincean rather than his mother tongue. Is also his preferred language, believes it to be more fitting of high society.
❖ His home duchy is known for its often chaotic weather, hence the name of Sturmfeld.
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Not happy with this character sheet but I don't think its atrocious for a comeback from a long hiatus of text based rp and even writing for that matter. Unsure whether I'll attempt to play this character after the likely fixes are put in place or if I'll be playing another character but I'm going to put it here anyway to receive the necessary feedback so that this character is fixed or the next character is written up to a standard I like.

Background isn't entirely finished either but I've got a lot of reading in the IC to do for the last couple paragraphs or so.