Sigmund the Highshield

igmund, Baron Highshield, is one of the great heroes of the Age of Hellfire. In those dark days, every corner of Teleria was subjected to intermittent invasion by hordes of Demonspawn and Undead. Infernal sieges drained the resources of even the wealthiest cities and waves of Demonic raiders ravaged the countryside. Despite these harrowing times, Sigmund was a gentle soul. His tutors scolded him for his gregarious nature, since it often distracted him from his drills – he was apt to converse with the common soldiers training alongside him, peppering them with questions with typical childish curiosity. Many thought that fraternizing with those beneath his social standing was harming the dignity of his office. But Sigmund realized that in such blighted times as the Age of Hellfire, camaraderie was all the more meaningful, a fact lost on his conservative peers and minders. Both of Sigmund’s parents were killed when their coach was swept away by a landslide. Still but a lad, shaken but determined, the newly-instated Baron Sigmund ordered a thorough investigation. Secret documents recovered from a Demonspawn encampment his warriors overran revealed that their agents had sabotaged the route with a constructed dead-fall. Worse, according to these coded messages, the assassination was merely the prelude to a full-scale invasion of his Barony. Thus forewarned, he raced to prepare defenses and hoard resources for the bitter years to come. The Highshield Barony, with its majestic castle and expansive fields, was known as a place of plenty and mirth. Its peasants were renowned as growers of fine crops and makers of fine ale, which commanded high prices all over the world. To the Demonspawn, such a jovial and productive territory was ripe for desecration, and so they began one of the most intense invasions of the Age. The jocular, youthful Baron Sigmund transformed rapidly into a stoic, competent, and pragmatic commander. Bearing the shining greatshield that was his ancestral birthright, he defended his frontline troops with great gallantry. Famed for his lustrous white mustache, he commanded the respect of his soldiers because he was willing to share in their sacrifices, never shirking from his duties, and constantly offering up his personal wealth to assuage their suffering. After devastating the countryside, the armies of Darkness gathered in force to overwhelm Castle Highshield. Messenger birds had informed Sigmund that a relief force from the Sacred Order was rushing to his aid, but it looked as though they would be too late. Desperate for ideas, Sigmund spent a long and frustrating night commiserating with his commanders, poring over infernal lore and battlefield reports for any possible weaknesses in the enemy. Eventually, Sigmund concocted a plan to exploit the willfulness and rapacity of the Demonspawn, inspired by his own generous nature. He emptied his treasure vault of its remaining wealth, and had agents infiltrate the countryside to hide caches of wondrous artifacts and sacks of coin. His spies then seeded rumors of these treasure-troves, which spread like wildfire from the lips of the smallfolk and the invaders alike. Shortly, many of the enemy warlords had broken camp and led their followers to pursue these treasures. The rest had no choice but to follow suit, for they no longer had the force to maintain the siege, and nurtured bitter jealousy to boot. With each find their gold-lust increased, until the Demonspawn were fighting each other over the booty. This loss of focus and increased infighting in his enemies bought Sigmund the time he needed. And so it was that when the Sacred Order army arrived, the Demonspawn were scattered and distracted, and several legions were defeated in detail before the army as a whole regrouped. Faced with the combined might of the ferocious zealots of the Order and Sigmund’s now-reinvigorated troops, the Demonspawn swiftly retreated, taking with them almost the entirety of the Barony’s wealth. Sigmund had saved Highshield, but was left penniless. A grand feast was called for to celebrate the victory, but Sigmund had to shamefacedly admit that he had not the resources to properly honor the brave warriors, priests, and magi who had fought and bled for him. Hearing this, the peasantry rallied to their lord, remembering his sacrifices and his warm, humble style of rulership. Whole families flocked to his castle bearing gifts of food and drink, offerings from their smallholdings to be shared in the spirit of family. Some were fortunate enough to have recovered some of the treasures used as lures for the Demonspawn, and returned them to their liege. Sigmund promptly sold off these last bits of lucre to treat his followers to the finest vittles. Sigmund the boy-baron would go on to rule long and well, still the same genial and generous soul in old age that he had been in the darkest days of the Age of Hellfire.