Marius Dane

"Honor? Duty? Ha, what a joke..." 
-Marius Dane
Marius Dane, known to some by his nickname the Brute of Belvedere, was a powerful mercenary and warrior that lived during the mid-10th Era of Arkon. He is known for having been the companion of Keyjo of Zandal and Amadeus von Glashausen in The Clockwork Cat, as well as an aide to the Plaguebusters in Pines and Plague. 
Once a member of the Kingdom of Belvedere's Ducal Family of Dane, Marius was born to a high status in a nation that revered honor, justice, and duty. However, never really interested in that sort of thing, he instead prefered books and the sciences to knighthood. His strict father, however, disagreed with his interests, and forced him to attend the Belvedere Academy of Knights. 
Perpetually unhappy at the Academy, Marius would draw the ire of both his teachers and fellow students, some jealous of his size and strength, and others annoyed at his lack of care in the knightly ways. Eventually, he started being bullied by his older cousin, Second Prince Alestair, a situation that lasted for nearly his entire time at the academy. During his final exams, Marius would end up facing Alestair in his duels. Knowing he could never win in a knightly duel, Marius ended up cheating, performing an illegal disarming strike that quite literally disarmed his opponent, crippling Alestair irreparably. 
Outraged, the royal family ordered his execution; however, in the last moment, Alestair's older brother, Crown Prince Maeric, intervened in his favor, commuting his sentence to exile. When later asked by Marius why he had done so, Maeric explained that a friend of his had need of a mercenary, and he had felt that Marius deserved a second chance at life. Agreeing to the deal, Marius would join the company, and move to the neighboring nation of Delgal. 
However, Marius had discovered something new when he had severed Alestair's arm, that being a propensity for violence, and a secret love for blood. On one outing with the company, the wagon he had been assigned to was assaulted by a group of bandits. Though he was able to dispatch them, the sheer brutality of his attack deeply spooked his clients, who complained to his captain. Thus, he was kicked out once again. This time a free man though, he instead left Laurasia to travel to Eideria, a far more brutal continent where the morals of comat were anything but tight. 
Eventually, he would end up in a merc band in Kaizaal's Barrow, performing any action without any remorse, so long as the pay was good, be it guarding caravans across the Hadrade, or beating people unable to pay their taxes to the local crime boss. At one point, he ended up taking a job to capture two kaaz adventurers, currently crossing the Hadrade toward Artaikaro. Thus, ending up in his role in The Clockwork Cat.