| Helmuth Albrecht, 1st Viscount of Blackmarsh | |
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Position |
Lord of Blackmarsh |
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Predecessor |
Adhelm Albrecht |
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Successor |
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Spouse |
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Issue |
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Status |
Dead |
His extramarital affair with Earlessa Falconcrest led to a second family line, storied though less acclaimed. He is also the progenitor of the House of Lichter, who is descended from his second son, Ulric Albrecht.
At 41 years, he was the third longest serving Viscount of Blackmarsh.
Appearance[]
Remembered as being a dour and grim man, Helmuth was never recorded as being comely though there was said to be a particularly charismatic nature about his rustic mannerism. He dressed mostly in furs over his armor and wore his hair long, as was often done in his time period. Measured at around 6'2", he was a fairly tall man and well built for the battles that he participated in.
History[]
As a young man, Helmuth served in the service of his father Heimdyl and later that of his elder brother Adhelm. Unlike his father and brother, who believed that Blackmarsh would be able to survive the continued warfare with Lordaeron through brute strength and reliance upon the Miasma, Helmuth educated himself in the wars of warfare as they were displayed by Lordaeron's resurgent offensive within Blackmarsh. He saw the importance of discipline and strategy over reckless heroism and began building alliances to train and prepare his men for the battles to come.
Alongside Holden Pendleton, a childhood friend and the Lord of Blackwood, Helmuth began to unite the lesser lords of Blackmarsh once more in an attempt to provide a united shield against Lordaeron's push through what is the present-day Grave. By placing his political opponents, unwittingly, on the front line and allowing their need for heroism to take the lead he effectively made it appear that Blackmarsh had not learned their lessons of the past. But with men such as Holden, Malcolm Creed, and Bower Vine prepared to support him, he used the confidence of Lordaeron to his advantage. While Lordaeron's gallants smashed the first of the armies before them, they did not think to prepare for the two which swept through the forest on either side of them.
The massacre at Blackwold broke the expansionist effort for five years and provided Helmuth with the chance to prepare his burgeoning alliance for what was to come. With financial aid from the province of Falconcrest, which also resisted Lordaeron, Helmuth purchased for his men better arms and armor with the promise that once Lordaeron was bested, Falconcrest and Blackmarsh would be united with the marriage of Earlessa and Helmuth. A man that was not without his needs, Helmuth saw Earlessa with his child and the supposed link to their future: a boy that would one day be known as Geoffrey Meadows.
But the Menethil army was not to remain defeated for long and with what advances Blackmarsh had made in preparation for their arrival, the Menethil commanders had committed themselves fully to the suppression of the northern territory. Though the Blackmarsh coalition fought admirably and stole several victories from their enemies, in the end harrowing defeats culminated in the massacre of Bleeding Oak, which saw Helmuth's army crushed and the once proud lord, stripped of his power, offered the chance to maintain the province in the name of the victorious Menethil army. Though many wished to continue the war, Helmuth was inevitably persuaded by the prospect of marriage to the king's youngest daughter, Morgana Menethil.
Though Princess Morgana was far removed from the line of succession, she nevertheless was a Menethil and promised more power than the marriage to Falconcrest might have. Love may have demnaded that he hold true, but Helmuth was a practical man and so it was Morgana that became Lady of Blackmarsh.
Initially, the marriage between Morgana and Helmuth was a relatively loving experience, but that came to an end when Morgana discovered that not only had Helmuth fathered a bastard with Earlessa during the war, but that another had been sired shortly after their marriage. From that point onward, the marriage became one of simple convenience with neither attempting to show affection toward the other.
For the brilliance of his youth, Helmuth's final actions as viscount were marked with an unsurprising loss of influence and power. A man that ruled through the charisma of power, as he declined he was incapable of competing with his former companions who began gesturing for their own independent control. Helmuth attempted to strengthen the support for his ailing son, Dedrick, but the son proved little like his father. To ensure that at least one faction remained loyal to him, he wed his son to the half-elf magistrix Alaryana Bala'thustraes, whose father held lordship over the outreach post of Quel'Thandil.
Policies[]
Idealism in his youth saw him desire Blackmarsh to maintain partial autonomy in each region, but after witnessing how devastating the cost of that independence was, he began to support centralized authority in command, if not political influence. The older he grew, however, the more he wished for the viscount to have absolute power over its subordinates.
While his dealings with the Menethils were largely failed, he did establish a bloodline within the mightier house, as well as maintain relations with House Bala'thustraes so that they might do battle with the trolls for him. In his later years he failed to unify his people behind the newly realized concept of Blackmarsh and watched as his former retainers and friends descended into treachery.