Criolis Tarsonus

From Valwiki

Contents 1 Core Statistics 2 Equipment & Abilities 2.1 Equipment 2.2 Abilities 3 Assets 4 Background 4.1 Childhood 4.2 The Younger Years 4.3 Mid Life 4.4 The Valikorlian/Dalmarite War 4.5 The Arch Duke 4.6 The Tarsonus Duchy 4.7 Semi-Retirement 4.8 Another Chance 4.9 A Slowing Down 4.10 A Quick Change 4.11 A Late Retirement 4.12 The Big Move

Core Statistics

• Name: Criolis Tarsonus.
  
• Title: Duke, Retired.
  
• Offspring: One Son, One Daughter.
  
• Age: 67.
  
• Race: Human.
  
• Eye Colour: Blue.
  
• Hair: Greying.
  
• Skin-Tone: Somewhat Tanned .
  
• Height: 6' 2".
  
• Weight: 210 lbs.
  
• Alignment: Neutral.
  

Equipment & Abilities

Equipment

Criolis wears a lighter armor, mainly for decoration. Also, wearing a large ruby necklace around his neck. Criolis also wears a cape and has a rapier hanging from his belt. He sometimes carries a disassembled crossbow in which was custom made for him.

Abilities

Down the long line of Alkarian Royalty, it has been needed that they know how to fight also. Criolis specializes in crossbows and rapiers. He can assemble a crossbow the fastest out of anyone and hit his target every time. His rapier ability is somewhat formidable for his age. Even at age 67 he can still run with the best of them. His workouts every single day keep him better off than other people his age. He cannot carry on a fight though, and has a bodyguard with him at all times.

Assets

• Greendale Home: A home in Greendale. Worth about 75 Gold.

• Various Investments: Criolis has some of his assets tied up in land and other investments. They are worth about 400 gold and give him about 80 gold in annual revenue.

• Gold and Cash Assets: In terms of liquidity, Criolis has about 100 gold freed up to invest and spend however he wants.

Background

Childhood

Criolis was born in the Royal Palace in Alkaria. He is the second oldest child Cevinus Tarsonus. He doesn't have any early adventures to tell of, and had a very sheltered life learning the teachings of Hagalism. Most of his childhood was spent on learning all the basics of being a Prince. At age 9 he was entered into the Alkarian Academy to begin his schooling. At age 13 Criolis took up the art of diplomacy. Later that same year he went on to also study swordsmanship, and the new technology of crossbows. The year before he would graduate at age 16, the flood destroyed his homeland and most of what he had.

The Younger Years

After the flood Criolis would come to live in the new world. His father Cevinus had already setup a powerbase in the Valikorlian Empire. Kharlia was new to him, and he continued his experiences until he decided he wanted more dangerous tasks. At the age of 20 Criolis would take one of the first ships to Meridiem for colonization. He was considered a regular soldier, wanting to fight instead of lead. For anyone who had served on the continent, they knew it was tough. The walled port cities were fortified, but had constant attacks by the native Orcs. Some of the ports were demolished within the first few weeks of construction. Criolis was stationed on a wall of the largest port city. His skills with the crossbow were needed to take down the large Orcs.

Everyone stationed on the continent knew that they would have to retreat eventually. Criolis saw it a week before his 30th birthday. He had not seen his family or friends for 10 years. Apon arriving at a small port near Bridgeton, he immediately took a horse and went north to go home. When he saw his family manor all built, he knew his life would be easier from now on.

Mid Life

Within a month Criolis was assigned as a troop commander within the Valikorlian Empire by the Empress Estelita Rose Xanthica. After a short while, Criolis was offered a title as Duke in Dalmar, along with lands on its eastern coast. He accepted and moved to Selnic and started his political career. Under the rule of Helkate, Criolis was given free rule over his farming land. He had a plantation, duely named "The Tarsonus Plantation " and several hundred acres of farmland that was vassalized to knights and other nobles. At age 30, Criolis would expand into owning real estate in both Dalmar and Valikorlia. His family being influential throughout both.

Through political scheeming and planning, Criolis and several key figures in Valikorlia had planned for the assassination of Helkate. Criolis not being one to entirely want to kill anymore, couldn't go through with it. He gave it away to Helkate though. Helkate and his general took several hundred soldiers and attacked his plantation. Having several crossbows in a cart near the field, him and a close Alkarian friend led a defense against the onslaught. Every single crop on the plantation was burned, and all the slaves killed. Most of the guards were also killed in the attack. During the attack the quick reload and blind firing gave Criolis around 40 kills, but it couldn't stop him from being arrested.

Being a noble Criolis was set free after only a day. Helkate knew that he couldn't kill him for the conspiracy, them being related now through Criolis' sister. Criolis hinted at Valikorlia being the ones behind the scenes. This was one of the reasons for the tension and eventual war between the two nations.

Criolis then was surprisingly given free reign on his lands. He would split from Dalmar and control a large portion of what was Eastern Dalmar. It would change dramastically in the future.

The Valikorlian/Dalmarite War

The Valikorlian/Dalmarite War came out of years of tension between the two nations. Several events had led up to the eventual war that would come. Criolis had went back to the Valikorlian Empire and kept his title as Duke, matching his father in political standing. Now 36, he would find the experience he had on Meridiem would come to be useful.

The war between the two nations came with a lightning strike from Valikorlia. They had received permission from Bridgeton go through and attack the northern fort: Darkblade. After capturing the fort, the rather large force would use it and Criolis' destroyed plantation as a fortress. His plantation was turned into a large base with all the siege equipment and other supplies being crammed into the walled area. Later on that week the Dalmarite forces would face the Valikorlian troops on the open field of battle.

This would have to be one of the largest field battles in recent history. Both sides called up all their troops in an effort to win the war in one swift act. Helkate had constructed a massive Dalmarian Golem to aid him in battle. Criolis was given command of the infantry, it being mainly soldiers and raw recruits. The calvary was commanded by his father, and it had a lot of Freikorps soldiers in it.

As each side prepared on a small field, they could tell this would be a bloody battle. Criolis would give the order to charge, thus starting the battle. Through the thick of the battle Criolis would kill one man, and wound others. Criolis had a few endangering encounters, but came out with only wounds. Helkate's golem was the main target of a lot of soldiers. The golem would stomp many people, and the only way to stop it was to kill Helkate while he was perched on its shoulder.

The battle eventually ended after several hours of brutal fighting. Both sides had lost quite a few people. The Dalmarites would be the ones to sound the retreat though. They would order their trebuchets to launch into the battlefield hoping to get more casualties. The Valikorlians would then retreat back out of range of the siege weapons. Having the tactical advantage, Valikorlia would burn the southern port of Dalmar, along with several villages. The Dalmarites were surrounded and might have lost the war completely.

After a final peace treaty and Helkate disappearing completely, Criolis was appointed Duke of the new lands of Eastern Dalmar that were acquired. Mainly, he had all his old lands back that he had while serving under Helkate. Sadly though, his father had fallen ill after the war and gave him his holdings in Northern Kharlia along with the right to be called the Prince of the Ethnic Alkarians. This more than doubled his land holdings and made him quite a fortune.

The Arch Duke

By the time Criolis was 45 he had acquired a vast amount of wealth. He invested in farmland, and the construction of Iorlis. But through political strife in the now larger Valikorlian Empire, Criolis had less time to himself. After many years of war with the Undead armies, the Empire was growing weaker. The orcs from Meridiem had invaded both the newly established Dalmar and the Valikorlian Empire. The larger Meridiem orcs had quite a bit of experience on how to attack a fortified position. During a quick invasion of the Valikorlian Capitol, the orc army had weakened quite a bit of the defenses. To add to the problems, a dragon that was dwelling in the mountains had come out and destroyed most of the wall and citadel, before the orc attack.

The Empress had been killed in the dragon attack and left no heirs to the throne. Criolis then promoted himself to Arch Duke, but did not take the throne. He did not want anyone thinking it was his duty to rule the nation. Criolis had no military or domestic planning skills. It was not even a year until most of the nation had moved to Windulspir the western powerbase for the Empire. Criolis cared not for the nation anymore, and slowly faded back into tending for his Duchy and his first child. The Empire was eventually taken over by the new nation of Staghorn which was made by the remnants of the past Empire.

The Tarsonus Duchy

After the fall of the large nations, Criolis moved his attention to his crops. He kept the wall around his plantation and hired around 100 ex-Valikorlian mercenaries to guard it. These guards cost quite a bit, but since he had his holdings in a now bad area, he needed them. The guards are considered strong, and well armored and equipped. They would slowly decrease over the next years, but they would be invaluable to him. (More on it below)

After Iorlis was built, it provided a greater income producing a large amount of crops. This was Criolis' life for the next few years, and it provided some benefits. Since no nation ruled near the area he was in, he was given free reign to set his own prices and solve his own problems. The farmland was farmed by ex-slave orcs that were paid the same as the humans. Criolis wanted a better life for everyone that he met and employed, and never was harsh, even to the worst employees.

During some of Criolis' ventures outside of his Duchy, he found many a book to read. He first started with Life After Death Part I and then found books on sealing magics. Though most were nice to read, Criolis studied the books on sealing a lot. Even the life after death, in which he made a copy of. Most of the important books are hidden now, and he only knows where they are. Though, this reading wouldn't stop him from getting bored.

Semi-Retirement

At age 54 Criolis grew tired of just accumulating his wealth. He soon sold Iorlis, along with a great amount of his farmland. The plantation was also sold, to the highest bidder. He wanted to stay away from any management now, and just go some place else. He found his savior in Staghorn. The current King gave him the title of Duke along with holdings within the city and some of the surrounding area. Criolis didn't do much other than exercise and mingle with other nobles. He had no job in the country and wished it to remain the same. Soon he was given a spot to manage the finances and castle, but found it easy to do in his spare time. A few years later Staghorn fell, the revolutionaries soon took all of the lands. Criolis did not care about the switch and soon went back to his job under the command of the new leaders of Celdin.

Another Chance

Keeping his title as Duke, Criolis resumed his career in politics and trade. He still kept the job of managing the national finances. Most of the day he would spend on some project or another, and this is making him think that he is at the same point as 30 years ago. Now 60 Criolis found a partner, Charles Arnaude de Lionnes in which he opened up a business called: The Lionnes and Tarsonus Trading Company in which is so far highly successful. Criolis doesn't like choosing sides in an opinionated struggle, so he is one of the few staying neutral in the political battle of Celdin.

A Slowing Down

Criolis had seen many different things in his life, and most of what is thrown at him doesn't phase him. He has around 10 personal guards left along with 25 that are paid by Celdin, but employed by Criolis. Even with the new business, his finances are starting to dwindle. He is probably still considered the richest person in the world, but that doesn't please him all that much anymore. His son is traveling the world looking for adventure, the same as Criolis when he was that age. Criolis has a personal bodyguard with him at all times, and entrusts him with his life. Even with the safer streets, he cannot trust many nowadays. He expects to live many more years into the future, and maybe make life better for those who follow him.

A Quick Change

Slightly after retiring, the political scene in Celdin was deteriorating, and as thing escalated, many arguements broke out. It all ended in a split of power between Criolis and Matrim, which brought Criolis back into Celdin life.

A Late Retirement

After a few months of being the Military Chancellor, Criolis decided to retire and left his son to be his successor. He bought another store in Port Wolfe and a house, where he resides. He will be around still, but will not play any part in politics unless he needs to. He left most of his fortune to his son, and lives a simple life.

The Big Move

With the climate change Criolis moved to Greendale and purchased a home, where he lives. He is getting old and barely does much other than read and entertain his rare visitor.