Cedric Reinhardt

Cedric Reinhardt

A portrait of Cedric Reinhardt in Norbüren, 1527
Title(s)	Lord Steward, Lord of Coin, Lord Treasurer, Ser
Born	1495 AFS
Rule	None
Realm(s)	The Hadrian Empire
Race	Attian Human
Culture	Hadrian

“By the justice and mercy of His holy Church, Ser Cedric Reinhardt, head of House Reinhardt, is hereby declared a sinner, a Heretic! One who defies the Light, and accepts the embrace of the Fallen One. Thy shall be marked and be judged eternally by the Mark of Heresy, and may you be dragged down to the Four Halls of Hell upon death. May the Maker and His Sentinels have mercy on your soul, for they have not.”

- Chaplain of the Makerist Church, 1514

Physical Description

Cedric Reinhardt, a man of 32 years of age, stands at an average height of 180cm (5'7f). He has broad shoulders, is built to fit the body type of a knight, and presents himself with his back straightened. Upon inspecting his face, it shows Cedric has kind, blue eyes, which look younger than his actual age. He has a sharp jawline hidden by a short-kept brown beard. This is accompanied by lengthy brown hair, kept in a mix of curls and straight hair. Very rarely, if too long, it is worn with a bun or in a ponytail. His clothing is fit for a man of low nobility, a knight, like him. It is not the fanciest, while also not lowering himself to the standards of a peasant, often even dressed in typical commoners clothing for comfort during daily tasks outside of duty. What the man does not show is the considerable amount of scars. While very few are from his years of combat, over his back are dozens of scars received from torture received from both men and machines. On his lower-left arm is the burn scar of a hot iron—the Mark of Heresy he received as punishment for his past sins.

Characteristics

Cedric, however, always expresses himself with a stern, stoic face. Yet, he always speaks in a calm, sometimes monotone, voice. The emotion he does express comes from his eyes and hand gestures while speaking. He is capable of laughter, joy, and others, yet this is rare for a man like him. He is a proud, intelligent man, often longing for respect, yet with a deep desire to do good in the world again, repenting for his past sins. He wants to help people, to protect them. A man of many dreams yet dwells on the past too much, often going back to tradition. He is a man of undivided loyalty to his realm, bravery, and knowledge: knowledge he obtained from studies of books on the many subjects of history, beasts, and the voidal creatures of Eden. The latter is due to his many experiences in combat.

History

On the good-morrow of a Fireday, the 18th of Redfall, The Amber Dawn of 1495, Cedric Reinhardt was born as a young noble boy of House Reinhardt. House Reinhardt was a minor house among the many noble houses of the period. They were housed on the outskirts of the capital of the Kingdom of Hadriana at the time: Hadriana, which has since been renamed Norbüren. He was born the second of three, having an older and later a younger sister, turning him into the next heir and head of the House. The oldest was Anna, born nine years earlier, and the youngest was Sarah, born two years later than Cedric. Even with house Reinhardt being a minor family, it was one of the largest, only dwarfed by House Van Leuveren, Withmond, and the royal family of Von Lichtenfelts at the time. Numbers were their only power, however, being a house that mainly brought forth knights, soldiers, and their primary expertise, huntsman. House Reinhardts' people were often found in the woods, hunting and gathering materials for the foremost citizens. They were guarding the forest roads and serving as backups for many other houses, often working side by side with artisans of many crafts. Due to these tasks, they were seen as lesser than the other Houses, often laughed at by most, being compared to commoners or serfs: doing the functions of the other noble houses.

Cedric grew up with this. His father: Marcus Reinhardt, uncles, older cousins, and others he looked up to, all preparing him for when he got older when he would lead the great House Reinhardt. Of course, Cedric was only laughed at by the other noble boys if he brought this up. Though, Cedric found more friends in his family. His cousins, fellow squires, even serfs, and the family worked side by side with other artisans. His sisters offered great company, and Cedric grew up as a cheery child. Very keen to learn, observe, and teach as well. While his mother, Annabella, was more focused on helping his sisters, his dad brought him to many events in his younger years, to balls, and meetings, which led him to meet many significant figures in their younger years. Even with this, he was close with his sisters the most and grew very protective of them. Cedric was homeschooled by the Church, becoming a loyal follower of Makerism and being taught the details and many stories of the Sentinels and holy figures. He learned the basics of High-Attian and learned how to read and write. His mother often taught the learning of words herself instead of the many monks and nuns. She was fascinated by the stories and folklore of the Kingdom and shared these with Cedric and his sisters the most. Much to the disliking of his father.

When he was seven years old, in 1502, his father assigned him as a Page to an uncle, his dad's brother, Hugo Reinhardt. With him, and often his dad, who oversaw the training, he learned the way of horseriding, the early stages of the art of combat, and the honor and duties of being a knight of the Kingdom. He tamed his young horse after many failed attempts. He got beaten and bruised along the heavier parts of the training. He followed his uncle to the northern regions of the Kingdom, where he met knights and men-at-arms that fought against Demonkind from the Swamp of the Dammed. Knights that slew creatures far beyond their understanding, having a sworn duty to defend the world against anything that came from the cesspit of the unnatural. He read the books written by those who studied the Demons. He witnessed the men march north and saw cultists being executed, their bodies displayed for those who saw what happened to Heretics. This made him more determined to serve the realm as an honorable knight, wanting to protect the people. His older sister, 16 at the time, married a young nobleman of 17 in the northern House of Brunnowyn, uniting the two families together. Cedric saw not much in the young lord, as his protective side kept him from forming a bond with the other family. Yet, despite the marriage and unification of both families, the attitude towards House Reinhardt did not change. Now, Anna was treated as higher due to her being part of House Brunnowyn. Because of this, she slowly grew distant from her family, as the Brynnowyns were located in Lohiim. Cedric would not speak to her for many years.

Unfortunately, his life changed in 1506, with the Rotting Plague hitting the Kingdom in its weaker years. The King, Wilhelm Von Lichtenfelts, had grown distant from his people for the last couple of years. House Reinhardt, instead of helping the citizens of the Kingdom as requested, closed its doors on the world, instead protecting its own people, their serfs, commoners, and people of the House. Cedric, however, saw this as weakness and treachery, speaking up against his father and uncle at thirteen years of age. His father hit him for this, making Cedric finally open his eyes and see what the world was. He witnessed the death of hundreds, even thousands of people. And when death knocked on the Houses' doors, many of Cedric's family perished. Despite the closed doors, his uncle continued to train him as a squire in 1509. Cultists ran ramped through the realm, attacking and sacking villages and noble estates in the name of false gods or speaking like the world was ending. A year later, they would attack the Reinhardt Estate. And in their defense, he watched his mother get murdered, and he himself took his first kill at 15.

By a miracle, he did not get infected by the Plague, living out the last years of the Plague by watching the ongoing carnage and the Great Fire of 1511 after lawlessness broke out from his window. This was due to news that King Reynfrey had contracted the Plague, and the people saw this as the Makers' punishment for him forsaking the people to their deaths. While many nobles decided to subdue the population during the fire, House Reinhardt again chose to stay at home. Despite the closed doors, his uncle continued to train him as a squire in 1509. Cultists ran ramped through the realm, attacking and sacking villages and noble estates in the name of false gods or speaking like the world was ending. A year later, they would attack the Reinhardt Estate. And in their defense, he watched his mother get murdered, and he himself took his first kill at 15.

As the death of King Wilhelm quickly passed, House Withmond declared themselves the new rulers, and the Lords' Alliance was founded to fight against the Royalists; Cedric had reached the age of 17, almost completing his path of Knighthood. Cedric was conscripted in the Men-At-Arms under the family's banner and was dragged into the civil war. House Reinhardt, however, had a different dilemma: political differences. His father and uncle differed in who to serve, House Withmonds or House Lichtenfelts. His father believed a new dynasty was coming, while his uncle was the most loyal to the Lichtenfelts, as he had served the longest with their men. This caused a split between the family, and House Reinhardt fought not only the Royalists but mostly their own people. Cedric was forced to witness his cousins, uncles, and people he called friends kill each other. He was also participating in the killing, family blood staining his steel, killing foot soldiers and squires. This would change Cedric for the worst, turning the always enthusiastic young boy into a stoic, harsh, stern man.

The Royalists of his uncle attacked any they deemed an enemy of the King, butchering many noble families in the northern regions, including neutral ones. These actions caused confusion among many noble families, for it became unclear if the Reinhardts were from one party or the other. Cedric marched against men he once stood side by side within the halls of the King, in their estates and castles. He often returned home wounded, one day hearing the news that House Brunnowyn had turned Royalist and were all slain by other Houses in the ruins of Lohiim, including his older sister Anna and her child. Near the end of the civil war, Cedric fought alongside the Lords' Alliance with many other minor houses in the siege of Hadriana, trying to storm the castle and end the war. House Reinhardt was used as a backup army for the Withmonds. As the Withmonds led the charge, Cedric, a mere bannerman of the Reinhardt house and his father himself, noticed his uncle's forces were attacking from the rear, and so, both family sides clashed one more time as they now defended the rearguard. Cedric watched from afar how both men, who he saw as father figures, now dueled to the death, with eventually his uncle killing his father. Enraged, Cedric defended his father's body. His uncle was far gone beyond that point, and he was not the man he once was. He was no match for his uncle, and his armor was eventually breached, causing Cedric to be wounded severely. With his last strength, Cedric pushed himself over the edge and overthrew his uncle, forcing himself to beat him to death. Cedric passed out from blood loss that day, lying beside his uncle's corpse. Soon after, the announcement came that the Withmonds proclaimed the victors, and the war was over.

Of the entire Reinhardt family, only he and his younger sister remained. Cedric had nearly survived his wounds from the battle and was knighted by the Withmonds as thanks. The war had killed all but them, and Cedric turned into a bitter man, staying at home while the rest of the Kingdom was rebuilding. For two years, he joined the ranks of the leftover soldiers in the north, guarding the realm against Demonic incursions. Eventually, fate turned even worse. His younger sister, Sarah, turned terribly ill. And soon, he found out that due to the paranoia still surrounding the Rotting Plague, no one wanted to help them. Medical supplies had run thin, so she was left to mother nature itself.

Cedric, being the protective brother, could not stand this and looked through all corners of the Kingdom for help. Until he accidentally stumbled upon a small group of Alchemists. These men worked on their terms, wanting to experiment with the supernatural, and see how far science could take them. This went against the Church's rules, and Cedric knew this, but he needed to save his sister. No standard medicine he could get his hands on worked, and soon the alchemists worked alongside Cedric on a cure. Day in, and day out, for weeks they brewed up potions, balms, and more, testing them on his sister. It almost drove Cedric mad, seeing it did not work. Unknown to him, it tortured her inside, hurt her more than it did good. But he was so blinded by his love, his will to protect her, that it became his downfall.

In the winter of 1515, there were knocks on the door. The Church had received reports and had successfully hunted down the cult of Alchemists, which led them to the Reinhardt estate. In the struggle, he begged the Chaplain knights to save his sister. And surrounded by the metal hands, dragged outside, he watched his sister Sarah breathe her last breath. The estate was then burned with her still inside, to remove any cult trace. Cedric would never forgive the clergy for this. He was declared a Heretic by the Church and law, publicly marked with the Mark Of Heresy with a hot iron, reminding him of his mistakes for the rest of his life. Cedric's titles were denounced, and he was thrown into the dungeons of Castle Hadriana. Where his death sentence never came. Instead, it turned into ten years of endless torture inflicted by both machines and men and never got word or light of the events that took place in those years. He would never come out there the same until a door opened in 1526.

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The first emperor of the Hadrian Empire, Matthias Joseph Withmond, offered him a choice: be loyal and serve the realm, never betray the people again or die. He could never answer, however, and instead knelt to the next in line. A Lichtenfelts again, Emperor Phillipp. He granted Cedric his wish only if Cedric would be loyal to him and him only. And so, Cedric was appointed Ser, a knight of the Imperium. And as thanks, Cedric turned the house quote to “Für Maker Und Imperium.” to honor the Emperor. In the coming two years, Cedric had become Lord Steward, became the owner of the Imperial banks, and re-opened the College of Adelsburg, the Collegiorum Arcanorum. Here he would teach the citizens about history, the past of their ancestors, and teach them about nature. He fought side by side with the Denur of the north against the undead and watched the new heirs of the Lichtenfelts be born.

He dwells with his past, always in an internal struggle with himself. Hatred and anger cropped up inside of him because of his actions, and constantly be reminded of them thanks to his scars. All he does is try to prove to the people his worth for the Hadrian Empire. And he hopes he does.

Trivia

• Cedric is fond of reading books, diving into many great history and folklore stories thanks to the similar passion of his mother.
• Even stoic, Cedric has shown a deep down protective side to people. And will only open up to those he grows close with.
• A feeling of eeriness hangs around the man. Mainly due to his behavior and posture. But also due to him hiding the past markings.
• His helmet is a family heirloom, given to him by his father. A helmet used by his ancestors during the crusades of the 12th century of Eden.
• The wolf in their family crest, stands for the Beast of Hadriana and the Blackwood Forest. A story that the family of Reinhardt were involved in. This has now been turned into a folktale.
• If not on duty, Cedric is often found in the taverns of the Empire, enjoying a beer or two.