Leland Hersch
Ser Leland Hersch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1684 |
| Occupation | Militia Commander |
| Years active | 1719-Present (Guardsmen) |
| Era | Age of Heroes, Age of Passage |
| Organization | Guardians of the Realm |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
| Predecessor | Ser Micah Arris |
| Successor | Ser Hugo Castille (C2) |
| Spouse(s) | Mariah Kisseme |
"Men are brave. Edgar’s not brave. You can’t be brave if you’re indestructible. It’s every day people, like you and me, knowing that we could be easily defeated, never to return, but still continue forward."
Appearance
Leland is described as a short, light-skinned, dark-brown haired half-dwarf with a beard and silver-toothed grin. Leland’s stature is described as anything but remarkable and unbecoming of a knight. This of course comes from the higher nobility which is he so found of spitting up at.
In Your Shadow
Leland grew up on his family’s farm on a mostly uneventful, utterly forgettable patch of land outside of Meadowcraft. Like most of the children who grew up on the farms in the Side 7 Farm Complex, Leland’s days consisted of early work in any and all weather, and looking for other kids to in trouble with in the late afternoon. The story goes that Leland was actually best friends with the Castille brothers who had barely a green-thumb or satchel of gold between the two of them. The brothers were taken in by Leland’s family who were none too fond of the Castille family and wanted more for the boys. Leland, Edgar, and Samson were close up until Edgar’s banishment separated them, and Edgar’s heroic reputation as an adventurer stoked the fires of resentment in Leland who felt Edgar had just used his family.
In the span of time between Edgar’s adventures and him returning a hero of the realm, Leland had gotten married and made a name for himself as a sheriff on the agricultural plots outside of Meadowcraft, maintaining the peace in an otherwise overlooked, surprisingly crime-ridden community. Despite making a noticeable change in his community, Leland felt there was more. That he could be more. On the recommendation of a family friend who was an herbalist with the Guardsmen, Leland made the pilgrimage to Khaer Ronan and joined the School of the Manticore.
The Guardsmen prided themselves on remaining neutral in times of war, but that all changed when Ser Micah Arris of the Manticore preached is was the duty of the Guardsmen to bring peace, especially in times of war, even if peace meant fighting and/or taking a side. Leland and the Guardsmen at Kaer Ronan were infamously the first to be deployed to the front, and the last to be withdrawn. They faced and endured blistering cold, maddening starvation, and the looming shadows of an enemy twice the size of them.
Leland’s first command was ripe with dissent, as Guardsmen threatened to leave amid the conditions. And to their surprise, Leland encouraged them. It was said that Leland argued before a board of Alliance officers that real Guardsmen would stay and fight, and those too weak to serve ought to be lost to the cold. He was sanctioned with accusations of treason, but was ultimately protected by his status as a Guardsmen.
By the time Leland and his men had been withdrawn, they were down to a quarter of their strength, but Leland had made good on his promise to those who stayed with him home. From thereon out, Leland had earned a reputation for being a tough, vocal, outright ireful leader but one who would not ask something of his men that he was not willing to do himself. It was Leland who reinforced that against all odds, Guardsmen would hold the line and do their duty. Just not to any half-wit lord sending them into another war.
Campaign 1, Heroes for Hire
By the events of Campaign 1, Leland has assumed command as Knight-Commander of the Manticore Guardsman. Leland and his Guardsmen answered a called for aide by the Free Religion Templars, to help Croak and Dagger in a high stakes attack against the Lords and Cinders. Leland and Edgar’s frayed relationship was put on full display, as was Leland’s bitter, sour attitude towards Edgar and those like him, especially Aiden. A less than ideal first encounter with the Guardsmen as a whole.