Captain:Leo Ironhelm

"I was always the black sheep of the family. Always being compared to my brother, always treated as inferior because I didn't grow up to our parents' expectations. ...Do you know the words "If we die, our sons will avenge us"? It's from the Imperial War March. What a load of crap it is. How often do you think that it has been the son that was wishing for their father to die?"

- Leo Ironhelm

Leo Ironhelm is a human nobleman in service to the as the captain of the Grand Monarch's Honor Guard. In addition to his imperial ties, Leo is also secretly a servant to, the Simulacrum of the Hunt, who he serves as an Avatar of the Hunt. A famous heroic figure among the imperial circles, Leo is an impressively adept warrior who gained both of his positions after killing a rampaging all on his own, earning the moniker of Dragonslayer in the process.

History
The second son of his father, the High Furst of Mannazia, Leo was born in the middle of the summer of 3 BNA. He spent much of his early childhood alongside Mannfred, his older brother and the heir apparent, causing the two to develop a strong bond despite their differing personalities; Leo was starting to become increasingly unruly as the years went by, while Mannfred was often quite upstanding and obedient. In time, Leo found himself constantly compared to his brother while his parents set a large number of expectations ahead of the young boy which he was to achieve. However, this only served to increase his rebellious spirit, and had Leo grow bitter towards his parents and life in the court in general, leading him to go against his parents' will at every possible turn. All of this culminated upon his nephew Friedemann's birth when Leo was nineteen years old. Already expecting the men and women of the court to start comparing him to Mannfred on this matter also, Leo came to see this as the last straw, and, after packing as much as he could muster, left Rauthberg to travel to some faraway corner of Mannazia.

For the next decade or so, Leo lived a quiet life at a small village in the wilderness of Mannazia as a huntsman under the assumed name of 'Stahlheim'. He had arrived at the village as a vagrant, but quickly became an accepted member of the village; being naturally charismatic, and becoming respected by his fellow villagers for his skills in hunting. Eventually though, his peaceful life was shattered when an imperial messenger came riding through the village. The man told the villagers of an enraged Fire Drake heading in the village's direction, and that the imperial soldiers in its pursuit wouldn't be able to stop it before it would reach the village. Frightened for their lives, the villagers quickly scattered to their homes in an effort to save at least some of their valuables. However, the time that they had was cut short as the Fire Drake arrived even sooner than the messenger had surmised. Seeing the fires consume the place that had been his home for a sizable portion of his adulthood, Leo stepped forth to confront the dragon in order to buy the remaining villagers time to escape. The ensuing struggle lasted for over an hour until Leo managed to pry off one of the Fire Drake's head scales, and deliver multiple stabs with his hunting spear at the exposed part of the dragon's head, eventually killing it. When the imperial soldiers finally arrived, they found Leo seated and breathing heavily next to the dragon's collapsed corpse - with his spear still stuck in its head.

With the other villagers having scattered into the wilderness, Leo followed the soldiers back into a nearby minor city where he - at the request of the same soldiers who had seen the aftermath of his battle against the Fire Drake - chose to enlist into the city's guard detail. Word of his deeds began to quickly spread across the Empire of Man, eventually even reaching the ears of the Grand Monarch, Pyrene II herself. After a short period of relative quiet, Leo was a called to the Imperial Center where Pyrene offered him the position as the captain of her Honor Guard. Being offered such a meaningful reward for killing the dragon, Leo cast off his alias, and accepted the Grand Monarch's offer - albeit, begrudgingly so as he had sought to evade being thrust into a similar political position at the behest of his own family. It was also after his induction ceremony that Leo once more came into contact with Mannfred, now the High Furst. The man had been struck with grief after Leo had abandoned their family, and as a result had grown distant from his brother; not even finding it fully possible to recognize the man that Leo had become as his brother. In an unfortunate turn of events two years after Leo's return to the fold, Mannfred was assassinated by unknown perpetrators, causing the young Friedemann take his father's throne. With the harsh weight of ruling a kingdom now on his shoulders, the boy-king still found very little familial encouragement from Leo; who only ever had offered the boy simple reminders that he was indeed his uncle.

At some point during his time as the captain of the Honor Guard, Leo was approached by Harstag. The Simulacrum spoke of his bravery against the dragon he had slain, and offered him a place as one his chosen Avatars of the Hunt. Initially rejecting the deity's offer outright purely out of Mannazian pride, Leo was approached by the pagan god twice more, and it was only on Harstag's third attempt that Leo asked the deity for his reasons for not simply moving on from disturbing him. Harstag told Leo that it had been his struggles throughout his life - with either some beast, or with the expectations that he so hated - that had drawn him to the man, and that he was more than willing to give Leo the means to find his own way in life. Leo, almost immediately afterwards, finally accepted the Simulacrum's offer, and took on the mantle of an Avatar of the Hunt as the Aspect of the Wolf.

Appearance
Leo is a Mannazian human of moderate height and has a athletic build given to him by his past professions as a huntsman and a warrior. His skin has a slightly paler tone to those normally seen among his people, and can be seen often with slight eyebags. Nevertheless, Leo is for the most part blessed with an attractive, yet scruffy appearance; his eyes are a vivid green in their color, and his short blond hair is swept backwards - even if still being somewhat unkempt in its nature. For armor, he wears a set of rather intricately made crimson plate armor decorated with gold. As a reference to his most famous achievement, the breastplate of the armor resembles the maw of a dragon. Additionally, his helmet is decorated with a brilliant red plume protruding from its back.

Personality
While bitter towards members of his family, and quite cold to onlookers who waste his time, Leo shows his more carefree and friendly side to those who he trusts. A fun-loving, passionate person most of the time, Leo was known in his youth to be always the one spearheading every idea that seemed dangerous, or those that were otherwise reckless. He is also known to show an attentive eye for the fairer sex, and is referred by some to be an avid womanizer - often with varying levels of success. Despite his position as both a military and political figure within the Empire of Man, Leo bears no distaste for non-humans, and oftentimes finds them more agreeable to other humans.

Abilities
Trained since childhood in martial skills, Leo has a basic understanding on many forms of combat; with him personally being an expert with the spear. Having been a huntsman for numerous years, he also possesses quick reflexes and has a keen understanding on where to strike at his opponents. In addition to his natural skills, Leo's connection to Harstag gives him strength and speed beyond that of any normal human - of which his speed is enhanced even more immensely given his position as the Aspect of the Wolf, the representation of Harstag's speed, agility, and perception.

Serving
"To you I swear my spear, my arm, my life."
 * - You showed me my path, for which I can never repay you.

Allies
"Far too many people are lost when thinking only about races and borders. The world is for us all."
 * - Lead on, Hawk.
 * - I never would have imagined someone like you to be so...calm.

Neutral
"Do speak up."
 * - The Wyvernlady and the Dragonslayer. Now that would be something for the bards to sing about.
 * - Make sure to keep your distance, inquisitor.
 * - Holding on to your ideals can be a perilous journey, paladin. I know, for I've made that journey.
 * Friedemann Ironhelm - Reaching out to valor and glory is never a good idea, boy. I learnt that first hand.

Enemies
"You have made to worst mistake of your life."
 * - Despite what you might think of yourself, Betrayer, you don't matter.

Trivia

 * Leo's appearance and title were inspired by Ornstein from Dark Souls.
 * As a character, Leo's family name was originally his alias of 'Stahlheim'. Upon the change to Ironhelm, the original name was decided to be still included as a part of Leo's story.