Janczyk-Mariusz Tzyrnowski

Title(s)	Herzog, Former Reichsmarshall,
Nickname(s)	The Lord of Many Banners
Born	1503 A.F.S.
Realm(s)	The Hadrian Empire
Race	Attian Humans
Culture	Hadrian

Physical Description:

Janczyk is of average Attian stature, being 178 cm tall. His overall physique however is more noble. Having broad shoulders and a well trained upper and lower body. To partake in tournaments and stay fit for battle Janczyk often trains himself, from rigorous bodily exercise to swordplay and jousts. Janczyk’s appearance is of northern Attia, he has thick long brown hair mostly tucked behind his ears. One thing that stands out on his face is his curly brown beard, he takes great care of it! He is normally seen wearing typical Tzyrnowski attire, having pelts of animals on his shoulders and sporting either colors red or white. Looking at his hands one may notice that he always wears his wedding-ring, he loves his wife and family dearly.

Characteristics

Janczyk only shows his emotions towards his family and close companions, strangers and outsiders may be met with a more stern and unwelcoming demeanor. However if one gets more acquainted with the man they will see he is quite friendly overall.

Janczyk is very proud of his ancestry, hailing from one of the oldest living noble houses in the human realms he has adapted a noble like attitude. Always choosing to flaunt his wealth and renown to impress people. It is even said he hired a man specifically to announce his ‘few’ titles.

Loyalty is something Janczyk holds as one of his morals, he believes in loyalty to his family and friends.

History

Early life

Janczyk was born into the Tzyrnowski family on Marketday 11th, 1503 as one of two children to Krzysztof-Jan Tzyrnowski and Maria Tzyrnowski. Due to his parents being cousins it was kept a secret. Only their parents and the local priest knew the truth, thus dubbed as bastards of an unknown hedge knight and Maria they where eventually sent away from their ancestral seat and raised in a small Alderist temple in the northern reaches of the Hadrian Empire.

In 1506 the ‘Rotting Plague’ hit the kingdom of Hadriana and Eden as a whole, it affected peasants and nobles alike none were truly safe. This included the Tzyrnowski family, Janczyk’s mother got stricken with the rotting plague, causing her to die painfully. Janczyk was not allowed to attend her burial due to the infectious plague but also due to the fact that he was considered a ‘bastard’ by most of the Kingdom. Instead his father and then head of the house opted to keep him in the Alderist temple, for fear of his health but also to have him tutored by the priests.

Janczyk was quite the troublesome child to his tutors and keepers, he was mostly described as adventurous with the bravery of a knight. Wanting to leave and go fight in wars instead of learning about the teachings of Alder, or learning about the other races of Eden and the intricacies of being a noble. In due time he began to understand that he might one day have a part to play in Hadriana.

Young adult life

The crest of the now merged House Tzyrnowski-Reinhardt.

With the capture of king Roderick Withmond, the Kingdom of Hadriana had plunged into disarray, causing the kingdom's provinces to become autonomous. Eventually Roderick was murdered by Vivan de Augaussi seeking to claim the throne of Hadriana. Krzysztof came to rule the northernmost province of Hadriana, he mainly tried to keep his lands by placating Vivan and keeping him from invading his lands.

As a few years passed by, the grip of Krzysztof waned over his subjects and lands causing the Tzyrnowski’s position to become uncertain. It did not help that his then wife ‘Celestine Brickenden’ the mother of his youngest born children, was accused of infidelity. It was then decided that Janczyk would be summoned to Lunberg, to be embraced into house Tzyrnowski and be made heir to its lands, wealth and renown. However before that could happen. Celestine in her pure jealousy had betrayed Krzysztof, by luring him into a trap. Having his throat slit by bribed guards whilst traveling through his northern holdings. The truth of this treachery was never found out, even Janczyk did not know what happened to Krzysztof. It is widely believed that Krzysztof and a few of his household guards went into voidal-corrupted marshlands to never return.

Celestine took control over house Tzyrnowski and its holdings. Due to Janczyk not being seen as a true Tzyrnowski, he was given nothing.Janczyk swore to Alder that one day he would take his rightful place as head of house Tzyrnowski. However, for now he had decided that the best path would be to lay low amongst the peasantry. Years would pass by, Celestine had sold all of Janczyk’s rightful holdings and allowed the ancestral keep of the Tzyrnowski’s to fall into a state of ruin. By filling her own pockets she reduced the family’s former renown and wealth to nothing. In the year of 1525, house Tzyrnowski had officially been declared ‘dead’ and thus been reduced to nothing more than lowly nobility. All the Tzyrnowski’s had died out, except for Janczyk. Janczyk had decided that now would be the time to fulfill his promise. First he made way to Adelsburg where the current Kaiser Philipp Wilhelm II sat and where people still lived that knew the Tzyrnowski household including Celestine Brickenden. Janczyk had visited Celestine and somehow ‘convinced’ her to support his claim as the new head of the Tzyrnowski household. One would be reasonable to assume he had threatened her.

With the newfound support of Krzysztof’s previous wife, Janczyk asked for an audience with the Kaiser. There he had not only Celestine to support his claim but also the Tzyrnowski family heirloom sword, normally granted to the new head of the family by the old. The Kaiser had decided to reinstate the family and allowed for Janczyk to take the mantle of head of the household.

Adult life

In the year of 1529 Janczyk had worked his way up in the Kaiser’s council allowing him to use some of his influence to gather wealth and renown. Most important of all Janczyk was made ‘Herzog of Flussland’ with this he regained the previously held lands of his family and their ancestral home which were still laid in ruins. His first act as Herzog would be to rebuild his home to restore it to its former glory or even surpass it. The keep would be greatly expanded upon, walls were added with multiple watchtowers. Overgrown trees and bushes were removed to allow for better visibility. The Keep itself would be raised to stand taller than before, with its walls thickened and underground passageways expanded. Janczyk made sure the keep would be a formidable obstacle to overcome for any would-be attacker. Having rebuilt his seat, Janczyk began to summon any who remained loyal to house Tzyrnowski to come and join him in Flussland. He would now focus on rebuilding the ruined townships and destroyed mines that dotted the land. Working diligently to restore his family's wealth. During this time he also began to court with Clarissa Reinhardt, the niece of the then ruling Herzog of the ‘Hertzlande’ Cedric Reinhardt. And eventually married her.

Not long after in 1530 Janczyk’s lands would come under threat of war as the ‘Hadrian-Ravendrechter war’ had begun over a land dispute. Janczyk himself did not support this war to the fullest as it would make his lands the battleground, and eventually it did come to pass with the battle of the ‘Flusslanding’ where the larger Raevendrecht host would be crushed in the field by Hadriana. However the sweet taste of victory would soon turn sour as many of the leading war-cabinet had conspired. They murdered the Kaiser and his son in a swift taking of the throne, hoping that many of the existing nobles would kneel and accept them. Janczyk however would not stand for regicide and declared a civil war, plunging Hadriana into strife as it already was at war with Raevendrecht. Janczyk did not have the resources to continue in a civil war, so he began to establish diplomatic ties with Raevendrecht to be seen as a co-belligerent in the current war with Hadriana. -

- Eventually the war would be concluded as the traitors wished to establish themselves firmly in Hadriana and did not have the morale to continue. In peace talks it was decided that Janczyk, his household, Citizenry and lands would be given to the Republic of Raevendrecht, and not be persecuted. The peace proved to be an uneasy one, many skirmishes took place however no side was willing to claim responsibility for it.

With the integration of Flussland into the Repbulic of Raevendrecht Janczyk managed to hold his titles as nobleman, and was granted special status so he still held absolute power in his lands. Eventually he had to partake in the ‘political’ landscape of Raevendrecht and founded his own faction. Its aim was to increase absolutism in the nation and have it become a monarchist state.

Suddenly Diederick-Gobel von Lichtenfelts came to ask for asylum, brother of the dead Kaiser and most legitimate claimant to the Hadrian throne. Janczyk took him in with open arms as he considered himself a loyalist, even reaffirming his oath of loyalty to him.

Trivia

• Janczyck has earned himself the title of The Lord of Many Banners. This mocking title was granted to him through time as he is known as the Hadrian noble who has switched sides the most out of any in conflict. Having served under more banners than any other before him.
• Janczyck has dedicated himself to Salvor, Alderist Sentinel of War and Honour.
• When off-duty, Janczyck enjoys to vanish into the wild for several weeks at a time where he is said to retreat to his favourite fishing spot.