Mercenary Kings

"War can be profitable, for those that survive long enough to collect their fees."
Both the Empire and the Dominion rely on the Mercenary Kings, companies of unaffiliated knights, to bolster their forces. The members of these units come from all over Eretsu, but are primarily made up from the dispossessed Urugal and Zikia warriors found in the borderlands. It does not take much to make a king, it is said, just a few coins and few mages mounted on golems. The most renowned, such as Vanya’s Untamed, can swell to hundreds of units, and their commanders can afford to live like kings in style as well as name. For most, however, it is a hardscrabble life, constantly marching  to places where they can wager their lives in hopes of making enough coin to pay off their debts.

"Prince, outcast, mercenary- Vanya is the commander of  The Untamed, one of the most fearsome- and profitable- Mercenary Companies in Eretsu."
Vanya’s great-grandmother said, “You cannot grow unless you put down roots.” It was she who convinced the Samula Tribe to give up a nomadic life over a three hundred years ago. Under her leadership the Samula Tribe became very powerful within the Wildwood. Her daughter eventually took up the mantle, and when she returned to the soil, her daughter’s daughter ruled. It was this woman, Vanya’s mother, who exiled her own son after his daring exploits repeatedly put the safety of the tribe at risk.

On the borderlands Vanya became a mercenary fighting for outlying Zikia Tribes and Urugal Clans, attempting to stop the onslaught of the Gudanna Dominion. Even within the relative peace of the past few years he and his company have earned a reputation of being well worth their otherwise exorbitant price.