Elmar Kraine

(WIP)

Lord Elmar T. Kraine III is a known war hero and current Field Marshal of the King's Own Cumberland Highlanders, an infantry regiment in the Stormwind Army. As the current head of the House of Kraine Elmar holds his house's titles, the great number of land holdings making his name seemingly drag on forever in formal settings. His sons Theoren and Tylan also serve as officers in the Stormwind Army, holding the ranks of Major and Captain respectively. His daughter Roselle is studying in Stormwind as a young lady of the court, and his other daughter Arianne is currently being tutored in Dunstanburgh. After his uncle Balen Craster died on the evening of March 3rd, the title of Duke of Cumberland was disputed between Elmar and his cousin Emeric. As Emeric, much like his uncle, was a cruel taskmaster in his administration, Elmar received the backing of many of Cumberland's lesser lords. On the evening of March 8th Elmar slew Emeric in a duel for the title, claiming lordship of the duchy and becoming one of the kingdom's richest men thereafter.

Appearance
Elmar's face never belied anything of his lifetime of servitude; even as a younger man his face looked spent of its youthful vigor and energy. With age and stress came the thinning and receding of his then dark blonde hair, which faded over time to its current grey-and-white hue, and has caused him to sweep it to one side in a last-ditch effort to keep a presentable head of hair. An austere countenance is kept by his perpetually furrowed brow and wrinkled forehead, and the stern gaze his deep-set, bagged blue eyes. Setting them apart is a prominent nose broken and set many times over, leaving it flattened and bent ever so slightly. His thin-lipped mouth is in a permanent semi-frown, an island of flesh surrounded by an ocean of grey-and-white facial hair which spreads out to cover his angular jawline and dimpled cheeks. Perhaps a decade or two ago Elmar would have been considered handsome, but the constant strain of his occupation has aged him beyond his years and left him naught but a grim-faced soldier to his onlookers.

Elmar stands but a few inches taller than the norm for a human male. His frame is average --perhaps unbecoming, dissimilar to most other great warriors and soldiers of his race; men who put his unexceptional build to shame with their bullish and brawny physiques. Perhaps he was once athletic in build, but now his body is a mixture of fat and muscle without the sculpted definitions of his youth. However he still looks strong; lean arms and legs sprout from his torso, with firm hands capping the ends of the former. His posture is upright; a proud stance befitting of his military and social rank.

Height: 6'0 (184 cm)

Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

Armspan: 6'2 (188 cm)

Personality
From when he was on the cusp of adulthood to present day Elmar has seen death and destruction. Charged with leading men into battle at the age of 17, then only a year later taking lordship of his family's titles with the death of his father has left him a serious man at the best of times. Near-constant warfare for the majority of his lifetime has cocooned the mischievous and humorous nature he was once attested to, buried beneath the traumas of his adult life. As a result he tends towards introversion, thinking before speaking and calculating every move in his head a few steps ahead of everyone. He is a veritable genius even among even the kingdom's best minds, his intelligence that was once perhaps better suited to scholarly work instead poured into battle and tactics from the beginning of his pagehood, creating a virtuoso of military strategy. To most everyone, he is a stoic, calculated, reserved, and quiet man.

Elmar is an esteemed marshal in the king's army, and with the men under his command he demands a tremendous level of respect which is duly given. He is not the typical knighted officer; honor and courage fall to the wayside to effectiveness and calculation in his character --a mark of those who squired Sir Osmund Wintergraine. As a result he commands and fights with a brutal efficiency, winning battles with intelligent maneuvers over individual bravery. Not one to ignore the dangers of warfare, Elmar always considers the loss of life for the men under his command. Thus, through his experience and mastery of strategy, he often finds the happy medium between risk and reward with his battlefield decisions. His strict disciplinary style but unwavering loyalty make for a tough but fair leader, with his men listening to every word he says out of reverence for his great tactical mind as much as an admiration of his character and the consideration he has for their lives.

With his family Elmar is not quite so cold, but he is not warm either. With the loss of his innocence in the First War he lost his mischievous and merry personality. However, his incredibly quick mind cannot resist making quips and jokes among the people he loves. Though it is not quite the boisterous comedy of his youth, these remarks still shows he has some semblance of a sense of humor despite the horrors he has seen. Still though, it is rumored to have been years sense anyone has seen him crack a smile.

Family History
The Kraines have a long history of loyalty to the crown. Descendants of Goethmar Kraine I, an Arathorian nobleman turned colonist who notoriously took up arms with Logan Wrynn I during the War for Stormwind's Independence, the family has long been in the service of the Kingdom of Stormwind and its rulers.

Elmar's father, Lord Tyrol Kraine, squired for Lord Martyn Craster, the father of the late Lord Balen Craster, in his youth. In an effort to gain access to the valuable river land of Bucksbridge and its important trading outposts on the Nazferiti river, Lord Martyn offered Tyrol his daughter's hand in marriage. Tyrol's father, Lord Tylan VI, agreed to the marriage, seeing it as a way to enhance his family's standing further up the ladder of nobility; his son would be marrying the daughter of a duke. Thus, House Kraine has since been able to stake a claim to the lordship of the Duchy of Cumberland and from this matrimony came Elmar, his brother Caric, and his sister Imogen.

Youth
Elmar Kraine was born to Lord Tyrol Kraine, the Earl of Bucksbridge and the Isle of Walbersey and Count of Stradbroke, High Harling, and Somerborough; and Lady Nelda Craster, the daughter of Lord Martyn Craster, the Duke of Cumberland (and many other titles). Elmar's upbringing was strict and firm, both parents instilling within him a strict sense of discipline and restraint from an early age, despite the incredible wealth the great House of Kraine had amassed over the centuries. Elmar was an exceptionally intelligent child; many a tutor tried convincing his parents to put him into highly advanced levels of education in hopes he could become a great scholar and thinker of any sort. Tyrol and Nelda, however, had other plans; the child was their heir and he would honor the tradition of nobility and become a knight of the realm on his way to lordship.

Shortly after Elmar was born his brother Caric was born. In these earlier years Elmar was a lively kid, described by his mother as a lovable clown. The two had a great relationship, the gentle Caric following along with his older brother's mischief and acting as the safety to his dare-devilish stunts. His sister Imogen followed when Elmar was 5, though he did not have much of an early relationship with her; she was still a baby by the time he left home.

Elmar became a page boy at the age of 7 for one of his father's knights, Sir Osmund Wintergraine, leaving home to train at the knight's manor. Sir Osmund was an honorable man in nature --perhaps rough around the edges-- a strict disciplinarian, and an exceptional knight. His philosophy on combat, however, put honor aside and placed survival above all else. This idea was instilled into Elmar from this young age and he found great success with it, often besting foes with less than orthodox maneuvers to this day.

Paging alongside Elmar was Edward Thornton, the son of Lord Robert Thornton I. The two boys initially quarreled but soon became inseparable, becoming the best of friends while they learned from Sir Osmund. They completed their terms as pages, becoming squires for Sir Osmund in their 14th year. Despite the strict tutelage of Sir Osmund, Elmar was still a mischief-maker at heart, using his great intelligence to hatch schemes and practical jokes with Edward. In learning, however, the pair were studious and hard working, the fun and games taking a back seat to their education in combat and academics. Both of them became very successful and skilled young men, attending tournaments at the behest of Sir Osmund, showcasing their talent against other young squires and noblemen. On one such occasion both made it to the final bout whereupon Edward won by breaking Elmar's arm in three places from a poleaxe strike. Elmar recovered, and as a testament to their strong relationship both were quick to laugh at his misfortune, and at the ease in which they defeated the other competitors on the way to the final.

As the years progressed, Elmar and Edward started seeing women against the wishes of their fathers. Sir Osmund cared not though, seeing it as the natural progression of behavior of adolescent boys, and did nothing to stop the behavior. At another one of their tournaments, Elmar met his future wife Ciara Monthermer; he fell in love at first sight and began courting the young lady. Edward however, always the maverick of the pair, often crept off to brothels or to farmsteads, sleeping with prostitutes and peasant girls who fell for his noble charms.

As the boys reached the tail end of their teenage years, they both became some of the most capable young warriors of their generation. Touted as the next in a long line of great knights, Elmar was destined for the Stormwind Army alongside Edward.

Adulthood & Military Service
At the age of 17, both Elmar and Edward joined the army. As they had been squires --and nobility, for that matter-- for many years, they bypassed the attending of a military college --something that is required for any prospective officer who is not under the direct training of a knight-- instead serving alongside Sir Osmund until deemed worthy of commission as a Lieutenant. Sir Osmund, who served as a Lieutenant-Commander in Elmar's father's battalion in the Royal Wickhamshire Dragoons, used the two boys as attendants and couriers in the short time of peace before the First War, making them deliver letters and stand guard. They grew restless, wishing for a taste of combat that was soon to come.

The First War
As the Dark Portal opened and the first battles of the First War began, Elmar was thrust to the front lines with Edward and Sir Osmund. In the dual interests of protecting his son and having a great knight at his side, Lord Tyrol Kraine kept them close by, the trio serving alongside his personal guard on the battlefield. The Royal Wickhamshire Dragoons were devastating in combat, their versatility in battle from their expert infantry maneuvers to shock cavalry tactics often the deciding factors in battles against their Orcish foes. After taking part in the successful first defense of Stormwind City, and with the dragoons amongst one of the main units in the rout of the Orcish Horde back east, Elmar and Edward were knighted by the newly crowned King Llane Wrynn as knights of the Brotherhood of the Horse. Sir Elmar and Sir Edward were both given the rank of knight-lieutenant in the regiment, taking the place of men who died defending the kingdom.

As the war raged on and the reinvigorated Orcs pushed on the kingdom with greater strength and tenacity than before, Sir Elmar fought savage battles alongside his fellows, eventually finding himself on the battlefield at Grand Hamlet. Riding into battle beside his father and friends, they charged the Orcish army with the full strength and spirit of Stormwind in their hearts. A day of sadness it would turn out to be, as the town was destroyed and in the retreat Lord Tyrol was struck down from his horse by an Orcish arrow. The arrow, fired far from behind, hit him between helm and gorget, the bodkin punching through the crack of the armor and into his neck, severing his spinal cord and sending waves of blood spluttering into his lungs and out of his mouth. He stayed stiff on his horse well into the retreat, and Elmar only noticed after attempting to speak with him when they had reached safety.

To Elmar's surprise, grief did not come immediately; it was after the exodus to Lordaeron that Elmar shed the first tears at his father's death. At the time, the men had a war to fight and could spare little thought for those who died around them, no matter who they may be. Sir Osmund was promoted to Commander of the regiment in the stead of his father, and Elmar, barely aged 18, was bestowed with House Kraine's titles. The family's great wealth and administration fell into his lap, but, like the mourning of the dead, it was not the time for such things.

Elmar fought alongside his brothers in arms many more times as the war continued, the regiment's numbers thinning which catapulted Elmar and Edward each to the rank of Knight-Captain. Elmar lead his men with great ability, being cited for his masterful strategies and bravery in battle, earning medals for his numerous courageous actions throughout the war. After becoming wounded at the Battle of Goldshire such that a medical leave was required, Elmar and his then-girlfiend Ciara Monthermer had sexual relations which resulted in her pregnancy. As the Orcish Horde attacked Stormwind for the second time, Elmar and Ciara were some of the first on the ships that sailed north to Lordaeron. Elmar's brother Caric and sister Imogen both made it too, the former serving as a priest and doctor in the medical wards and the latter a lady of the court. Edward, who had been fighting during the siege, was lucky enough to catch one of the last boat's out, the news of his survival coming from his own mouth during his and Elmar's reunification after the long trip north. During the voyage Elmar and Ciara had a quiet, solemn marriage aboard their ship, becoming Lord and Lady Kraine and unifying their houses. Ciara gave birth in a medical tent in a refugee camp in Lordaeron, surrounded by wounded and dying soldiers. The baby was a boy, their first son Theoren, who they named after Ciara's father.

The Second War
With the creation of the Alliance of Lordaeron, Elmar's mentor Sir Osmund Wintergraine was promoted to Marshal for his invaluable experience in Orcish warfare. Elmar took his place in command of the Royal Wickhamshire Dragoons, becoming one of the youngest Lord-Commanders in military history at 22.

Awards and Decorations
Elmar's awards and decorations include the following: