Franz Karl von Tannen, Eisen Swordsman

It seems my friend Franz carries the sorrows of the whole of Eisen on his own broad shoulders. He's dour, bitter, but generous to a fault. And a more loyal ally one could not find. If only he could find some pleasure in life. Franz is fearsome in battle, wielding his great Dracheneisen sword. I hope one day we can assist Franz in his aim to redeem land and title to his family. B.

To those that do not know him well, Franz seems the very model of an Eisen. Particularly fond of Eisen “cuisine” (porridge—particularly with extra lumps!); a staunch warrior who spent his whole life fighting for the Objectionists in the War of the Cross; mistrustful of outsiders (“I don’t trust any nation that uses sorcery. Or Castillians. Or Crescents.”).
However this is little more than a veneer. Okay, so anything other than porridge keeps him awake all night with an upset stomach. But as far as his rejection of Vaticines and outsiders, most of his friends see that this is something that he has been taught, and recites almost without paying attention to what he is saying, for he has friends who fall into both categories.

While he does appear to be a religious man, his attitude is strange. Perhaps it is a result of his experience in the War of the Cross. His most common expression of religion is “Theus does not always abandon the desperate.”

He is a man who judges others by their actions, and is always ready to forgive. While he has no reservation about resolving problems with a sword, the grim expression on his face while he fights is more often a reflection of the distaste that he is forced to fight so often, rather than enjoying a life of peace. Rather than taunting opponents in a fight so that they fight like madmen, he tends to intimidate in hopes they will run away. Even when half dead he will accept a challenge, sighing resignedly “If it must be, it must be.”

He is considered by his friends to be extremely loyal. They know that during the War he received some citation, and have occasionally heard mention of the Battle of Hapsburg. While none of them know much about it, they have seen other Eisen blanch at the mention—particularly if they are opposing Franz.

Franz loves to sing, though most of his repertoire leaves his companions wishing he might lose his voice. Apart from his selection of Eisen opera—The Three Owls is a particular favourite—most of the songs Franz sings are about the monsters that frequent Eisen. He has a particularly good song about the Schattenmann (that bears only a vague resemblance to the Montaigne song on the same subject).

Little is known of Franz’s home or family. The troupe have met his brother Stefan, and heard stories of another warrior, his sister Eva. He often writes to his sister Kirstin, who appears to be located somewhere in Wische. While the troupe has passed several times through Tannen Franz seems no more at home there than elsewhere, despite his name. The siblings seem to share a set of Dracheneisen, with Franz having a heavy sword, panzerhand and breastplate. On the breastplate is a crest of a lone soldier on vigil in front of a church, with beneath it the motto Blut und Herz.

Franz seems almost obsessed with rebuilding Eisen. Whenever he sees a band of Waisen he will distribute whatever he has to ease their suffering. Whenever he hears stories of criminals or monsters he and his friends will attempt to remedy the situation. There seems also to be some private agenda, but it is not clear what that might be.

Of late Franz has enjoyed the patronage of Eisenfürst Fischler. This seems of particular importance to him, and whenever his patron sends a request Franz responds as quickly as possible.

Franz Karl von Tannen—The Unknown Story

The von Tannen family had long had a difficult time with the Vaticine Church. While holding to the basic teaching of the Prophets, they had a problem agreeing with everything the Church represented. While they were by no means alone in their feelings, one of Franz's ancestors had the poor judgement to state his opinions in the wrong forum, from which time it seemed the Vaticine Church went out of their way to make life difficult for the von Tannens.

One particularly annoying thorn was Die Kreuzritter, who would often raid the area around Tannen. Of course, this could never be proved, and most who could take action feared some sort of retribution themselves.

In 1410 we asked the Imperator for help. He had also been having with the Church and Die Kreuzritter, so we laid a trap. It was a year in the making, but we were avenged. On our lands Die Kreuzritter perished.

Of course this didn't help our situation with the Vaticine Church but we didn't care as much because with Die Kreuzritter gone they had less ability to annoy us.

When the Objectionist Movement began our family were quick to embrace it because it provided a way to still embrace the faith we believed in while distancing ourselves from the Vaticine Church.

Things went well for us until Reifenstahl's acension as Imperator. Our family was one of the first to be penalised for our Objectionist views, and our lands stripped. We found refuge with other noble families with Objectionist tendencies, and we were there when the fighting started.

I was born during the war—all my siblings were. How my parents found the time for children I don't know. My father was a visionary; perhaps he could see that this war would cross generations. Or perhaps he thought he was preparing to rebuild Eisen. I'll never know—he grew reckless after my mother's death, and he paid the price.

My mother died fighting as well. It is said that she rose from childbirth to defend the house where she was staying. I am told that it would have been a little girl.

On the death of my father, his armour and weapons were divided amongst five of the six of us still surviving. At that time I received his breastplate. My young sister Kirstin was too fine for warfare--she carries our father's seal. Since then my oldest brother Karl died and I received father's sword; my younger sister Sigrid died and I received his panzerhand.

My older brother Stefan has father's helmet, gauntlet, boots and pistol; my older sister Eva carries his arm and leg guards.

The war ended and we are homeless. Kirstin found a place as a lady-in-waiting in the court of Reinhard von Wische under the sponsorship of my close friend Max von Mott. Our families were always close, and we would do anything for one another. His father also died during the war, and he has been left head of his family.

For myself and the others, there is only the life of the wanderer. We will travel the land. We will do great deeds. We will restore our family name and lands. And on the day when the von Tannen dracheneisen is worn by one man, we will consider the war over...