Ferdinand IV von Manheim is a Forsaken Arms Warrior from the Moon Guard server.
Appearance[]
Ferdinand looks fairly similar to how he did prior to his death. His face has strong cheekbones and his jaw appears weak. He is a thin man of short stature compared to the average human standing only a little over five and half feet tall. His face is weathered as though he had spent too many days facing into a strong wind. His long black hair is well maintained and normally held in place by a steel circlet.
The parts of his body most commonly seen; the limbs, head, and neck seem to have suffered very little from undeath. Although he has lost his color and appears rather stretched he looks to be in rather good shape for a dead man. Underneath his armor or clothes however is another story. His chest is in ruins from where a heavy blow caved it in and killed him. This wound kept him from moving much, even in undeath, for several months. It wasn't until a freshly risen doctor was able to perform extensive reconstruction that he was able to move again. The many sutures on his chest are testament to the metal and bone that hold his torso together.
Early Life and Death
Born into the House of Maksutov in the year 594 to Lord Kostantius X Maksutov, and Lady Aloisia of House Belthik Klemens was the youngest and last son to be born into the family. His childhood was happy, if lonely, period in Klemens life. He was free to wander the families mountainous lands and was generally ignored in favore of his older brothers Konstatius, Iverian, and Groff. Most of his days were spent reading from the family library or hiking with his eldest brother. Konstatius XI spent as much time as he could with his quiet brother, but with their father's health failing he had to take an increasingly central role in the management of the family's lands. This left young Klemens without much guidance in his life.
By the year 610 it had been decided that Klemens along with the boisterous Iverian would be sent to study the ways of the Holy Light just as their uncles had done before them. Klemens did not protest and quickly found himself under the tutelage of a Bishop in the Capital. However Iverian put up a fight and was sent to Stormwind where his frequent outbursts were less likely to reflect poorly on the family. The quiet Klemens took to his studies with a zeal and seemed to become content with his promising future.
In the year 612 Klemens returned home for a vacation. The warmth of the family manor was a blessing considering the terrible things happening in the nation. Konstatius XI was away along with the majority of Aldavansky Mountain Guards in support of Prince Arthas and Iverian had remained in Stormwind in protest, however the rest of the family was present. When word that the Prince would be returning soon Konstatius X and Groff set out to celebrate the return of the Crown Prince and greet Konstatius XI. Klemens would remain home with his mother and sister so as to aid them with governing the lands. These were the last pleasant days for House Maksutov as well as for Lordaeron as a whole.
It took nearly three weeks for the news of the sacking of the Capital to reach the isolated lands of Aldavansky, but when it did the soldiers of the Mountain Guard who had not been sent on campaign rallied behind the young Klemens and prepared to defend the mountains passes leading into their home. Although the troops fought hard and were on easily defended ground the number of undead that did eventually come was far too great for the beleaguered defenders to hold back.
As the mountain passes were overrun and the town and it's outlying farmers were scoured of life the remaining men took up defensive positions in the silver mines deep in the mountains. Here the last living peoples of Aldvansky fought the death. Farmers and their sons used whatever they could to fight back against the swarm, women picked up axes when their husbands fell, and the last of Mountain Guard attempted a breakout with Klemens at the front. Calling upon the power of the Holy Light he slew dozens of undead, but a terrible blow from a leaping ghoul threw him from his horse and crushed his rib cage into his organs killing him instantly. As their assault failed the last forces in Aldavansky attempted to escape only to be slaughtered.
Chaos[]
<Although at the time it seemed pointless, it would turn out that the extensive time it took to attack and finally destroy Aldavansky was a great boon to the peoples that lived there. The powers of the Lich King waned even as the dead in the Maksutov domains were raised into undeath. It was only a few days before the people there found sentience returned to them. As confusion and terror overcame the newly freed undead all sense of order fell apart, until the damaged form of Klemens was found. Desperate for some sense of normality the residents of Aldvansky and those undead who found themselves there turned to the only person who had commanded any authority in life.
Unable to walk, Klemens was carried back to the family manner and placed in his father seat at the table in the Great Hall. Moving quickly to action the eighteen year old man rallied the isolated population around him and set about restoring order to his family's lands. The remaining bodies that hadn't been raised were buried deep in an empty silver mine with the hope that they would never be disturbed again. The Mountain Guard was rebuilt and the defense of the land made the most important priority as nobody knew if more undead would come to return them to slavery. Daily services to the Holy Light were held in front of the manor in an attempt to both strengthen the resolve of the people as well as to gain the aid of the Light. However no help was forthcoming, nor was any kind of outside contact. For nearly a year Klemens ruled over his family lands without any word from outside the mountains. Not once did he attempt to send men to investigate, nor did anyone in Aldavansky suggest it. Everyone simply wanted to be left alone.
When word however did come in the form of a platoon of Deathguards coming to see if anything salvageable was left in the territory it was not what Klemens had expected. Word that a new "Banshee Queen" had taken over the lands of Lordaeron after defeating the forces of a treasonous Prince Arthas shocked the young man. However the it was the extent of the scouring that most deeply affected Klemens, all the lands that he had ever know were in ruins.
Unsure of what to do Klemens met with the new head of the Mountain Guards and the priest of the local church. After a long night of discussion it was decided that for the safety of his people Klemens must assume that his brothers and father were dead leaving only himself and Iverian to assume to the title of Lord of Aldvansky. As Iverian had been forced to forsake any claims to the title well in Stormwind only Klemens could inherit the position. Although the Deathguards that had arrived seemed to think poorly of it Klemens was nevertheless proclaimed Klemens IV Maksutov, Lord of Aldavansky and was blessed by the priest in the name of Holy Light.
Shortly afterwards Klemens travelled by coach to the Capital to pledge his people's allegiance to the new government. He was not even allowed to see the Dark Lady and instead was informed by the new High Executor of Tristlefal that any and all soldiers that he could provide must be sent to the Capital at once. He returned hastely to Aldavansky along with a newly risen surgeon. Upon arriving he sent the majority of the Guard to join the ranks of the new Forsaken armed forces. Shortly afterwards he underwent the surgery that returned his mobility.
Before the Horde[]
With the restablishment of a central government in Lordaeron the peoples of Aldavansky began to relax. Although undeath left them confused and changed they did their best to cling to the past. Well the majority of the Kingdom was in tatters with families seperated, power structures destroyed, and zombies running amock; Aldavansky did not suffer nearly as terrible a fate. The population had remained in the same place they were when they died, the necromancers and remaining zombies in the land had been destroyed with a holy zeal, and they had a Lord to rule over them with a competent military to support him.
In their isolation the peoples of Aldavansky knew little of the war raging outside of the mountains. Although Klemens learned of the terrible battle being fought to consolidate control of the western lands of Lordaeron he kept it from his people and ordered returning soldiers to do the same. For more than two years his lands remained stable and safe.
However as the power of the Dark Lady grew over the lands of Lordaeron she begain to focus more on her people. Over a series of months public worship of the light was forbidden in Aldavansky in order to keep the lands safe from the suspicious eyes of the leadership in Undercity. Larger and larger tributes of silver and iron were demanded for the war effort, finally even Klemens himself was demanded for the Forsaken war machine.
Having the command of his men formally turned over to him under the name of 112th Deathguards Battalion he was ordered to assist in the reconquest of the Western Plaugelands. For the next two years Klemens and his Mountain Guards would fight tooth and nail in some of the worst warfair seen on Azeroth. Not once did they retreat, and not once did their warbanner fall. However, despite their best efforts and the efforts of all the other Forsaken that fought and died, the Plaugelands remained untamed and uncontrolled.