Deidrach Blackthorne

Sir Deidrach Blackthorne was the Hand of House Blackthorne from 616AE until his death in 666AE. He remains the longest-serving imcumbent Hand in the history of the family since its creation under Gyles of that name, with only Deidrach's father Balin coming close. He is an immensely controversial figure in Aradian histories, recognized by most as a master politician and strategist, but equally reviled for the crimes and wars that were waged under his leadership. For both his black reputation and his famous prosthetic hand, he is given the epithet of The Darkhand.
Deidrach was the seventhborn son of Sir Balin Blackthorne by the latter's wife, the commoner baker's daughter Lara of Darkharbour. His six elder brothers were all famous knights, and his cousin Edwin was the Lord of House Blackthorne. Over the course of his life, he partnered greatly with Edwin's only child Jayne Blackthorne and helped her lead the House. He was known for being deeply in love with Edwin's tenth (and only surviving) wife Faye Corbyjn, and it is commonly alleged that he is the father of her bastard son Orion West. Should that be true, then the entire modern male line of House Blackthorne are direct descendants of Deidrach.
He was a key orchestrator of the war known as the Century Spat, the architect of the Blackthorne side in their battle against House Knox. An unforgiving man, Deidrach had many nemeses, but foremost amongst them was his counterpart on the opposing side of the war--Sir Bellerophon Knox, Jayne's son. The two killed each other in a dual to the death in Brecilidia's petrified forest region.
== Appearance and Character ==
In his youth Deidrach was called beautiful; he is described by historians as having an elfin or almost feminine look that contrasted with his "craggier" brothers like Gwaine and Warren. He was clean-shaven and long haired, with a round face, tapered jawline and arched eyebrows. His eyes were typical stormborn grey and his hair was a dark red; he wore it loose in a middle-part. He was not immensely large or imposing, of comparatively average height and build for a male of the bloodline, but retained an athletic physique through training. Over time, various injuries marred his appearance. He lost his right hand in a jousting accident in 609AE, replacing it thereafter with a prosthetic claw made of dark iron that helped lend him his nickname. During the Brecilidian War in the 621 he was captured and tortured, his nails and teeth pulled out with pincers, and his left eye lanced with needles leaving it blind. Later still, in 624AE, he was burned at the stake by a peasant mob as a "witch," leaving him with grotesque full-body burns that he carried with him for the rest of his life. Following this, he began to wear a navy hooded cloak and a variety of sinister metallic masks. He made for a frightening presence during the Century Spat, limping with his hunched posture, faceless in dark robes, speaking lies and manipulations in a rasping whisper.
Deidrach was not a heroic person. From his earliest youth he was considered hot-tempered, sly, and extremely vengeful--every slight to his person, be it a mild bit of mockery or a severe wound, he treated with equal severity. His mother Lara once said that her son "clutches his grievances close to his chest, as if they were as precious to him as his coinpurse, and woe betide you if you aim to make his relinquish his prizes." His vengeance was a terrible and often disproportionate thing, and he great wrought suffering on those who "crossed" him without a shred of remorse. Deprived of his sword arm, Deidrach preferred to manipulate, bribe and cajole others into doing his bidding, treating almost everyone around him like playing pieces on a gameboard. However he was capable of a sort of humanity; that was evident in his treatment of his lover Faye Corbyjn and their son Orion, both of which he loved like extensions of his own person, which he later extended his grandchildren--with both Gaheris and Bors expressing fond memories of their "cousin" from their childhood, despite his sinister demeanour. 
== Skills & Abilities ==
Deidrach is well-known for the prosthetic metal claw he wore to replace his right arm. The legendary Darkhand from which he drew his name remains on display in the vaults of the Eyrie Peak in 1086AE, and is considered a remarkable feat of mechanical engineering for the time period. Based on a series of springs and locking mechanisms, the prosthetic grew increasingly complex as Deidrach added more to it over his lifetime, working with the Eyrie Peak's dwarven blacksmith Black-Iron Bill. By the beginning of the Century Spat he was able to hold a quill and write with it, and handle a horse's reigns. On at least one occasion, he was able to modify it in order to wield a Mace in combat while pairing it with a shield in his off-hand. He was also able to conceal surprise weapons inside the hand, which he would use to his advantage if threatened. However the hand could only stay locked in one position at a time and would have to be reset with tools to take a different shape; it could never replace a real hand of flesh, and therefore Deidrach rarely (if ever) engaged in direct combat.
Deidrach was known to be fascinated with the Arcane. He displayed no direct sorcerous powers but with his extensive studies of the subject was almost certainly knowledgable enough to be a wizard. He had a collection of talismans, potions, scrolls and tomes in his quarters, and a particular fondness for reading ancient prophecies and stores of the old Storm Kings. On top of this he studied economics, sciences and histories extensively. He was shown many times to be a capable smooth-talker and manipulator, and showed his skills at the running of both a noble household and a war effort many times throughout his life. In his youth, he was a promising sword and lance, before his injuries took his physical capabilities from him.
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
Deidrach was the son of Sir Balin, a respected knight and the uncle of Lord Edwin Blackthorne. Balin had been serving Edwin as Hand since he was a young man and Edwin was just an infant; with his wife, the commoner Lara, he'd had nine children prior. By the time of his tenth child and seventh son in 588AE, both Deidrach's parents were past forty, and conception or successful delivery was considered unlikely; and yet Lara delivered her final healthy son at the stroke of midnight during a full Obscura's Moon. The boy was not a particularly energetic or rambunctious lad, and was noted to have an odd bitter streak through his childhood--flying into rages when taunted by other children, plotting elaborate ways to get back at them for "wronging" him. In 600AE, aged 12, Deidrach witnessed his beloved sister Mara get burned alive on Lord Edwin's orders. In his journals, Balin wrote of his son's response;My lad looked to me with eyes that'd turn a man's blood to ice. "They'll pay, father," he said to me, "They'll all pay. The fat lord, who gave the order, him most of all." And me, explaining to him that the world did not work like that, Edwin's lord, we're but minor Knights, but cadets to the main Blackthorne branch, but then I notice--he's put his little hand on my wrist, and when I look at him again I see not a boy but a man, and the man says "No. They'll all pay." And you hear of this, the moment you realize your children are become grown...yet what had my Deidrach grown into?
=== Knighthood ===
This dark streak was a source of some consternation to his parents and siblings and tutors, but it did not impede him from growing into a capable and well-liked young man, easy on the eye and particularly easy with his courtesies and charm. He proved to be physically talented as well, squiring from his eldest brother Sir Galahad, who proudly declared his littlest brother would be almost as good a fighter as him some day. Even amongst Balin's talented brood, Deidrach soon began to stand out, and it was said he would be a great name some day to rival even Galahad. Those who met Deidrach came away with a generally positive impression, but as time went on, several retainers began to complain of the young man's worse tendencies. He was called arrogant and vain, filled with pride but a pride so fragile that the slightest insult would destabilize him. If defeated in the practice yard, he would demand to fight again and again until he won, even to the point of threatening his opponent if they refused to continue. He showed a lack of interest in the drinking and whoring of most young knights; he seemed driven by an obsessive cause, training himself to the peak of his physical ability. All the while, he had his eyes set on Lord Edwin. He never disclosed to anyone else what he planned to do, but it was obvious that his plot of revenge was drawing nearer. Enervated and knowing of Edwin's hatred for Balin's offspring, the scheming Hand, Caecilius Cogworth, took note.
=== The Tourney at Tumbledown Falls ===
It was the Last Moon of 609AE, and to celebrate the pregnancy of his wife Myranda, Lord Blackthorne called for a great knight's tournament to determine the greatest lance in the realm. Freshly knighted, and clad in dashing midnight-blue steel, the 21-year-old Deidrach worked his way up the lists--he defeated such great names as Sir Preston Pentaghast, Lord Dashiell Mannister, and even his own brother Warren. Near the finale he came to face a decorated champion, Sir Basil Holdenholme, called "The Hornet" and known for the aggressive "sting" of his lance. The square-off between the two was the most anticipated match of the entire tourney, and the pavillion was overflowing with onlookers; Edwin's only child, the 12-year-old Jayne, watched them hungrily from the balcony, longing to join in with the knights and idolozing her warrior cousin Deidrach. The call went up and the two knights came together in a clash of steel. They broke nearly ten lances against each other's shields with neither showing a sign of stopping. However, before the eleventh round, Caecilius Cogworth gave a nod to the squire supplying the lances, and the lad handed Deidrach a "special" one. The two knights raced towards each other again, but this time, Deidrach's lance shattered before it even reached his target. He reacted quickly, swinging his shield to ward off the blow and breaking his charger to turn left. However, Basil was in full flow and noticed no trickery; he struck with lethal precision, past the shield. Deidrach reached out and used the one thing he could still defend himself with; his right hand.
Thrown and trampled beneath his horse, Deidrach awoke hours later, concussed. He found himself on a surgeon's table, mid-operation. His right arm had been destroyed completely by the impact of the Hornet's lance, bent backwards at the wrist so the bones broke against the armor, two of the fingers completely pulped. The wound was inoperable, and Deidrach's father and brother and elected to call for an amputation. At first Deidrach was in a hysterical rage; he wanted Basil prosecuted, he accused Edwin of arranging it, he demanded to face the surgeon who'd cut the arm in order to beat him to death; but within hours, his talk of revenge gave way to a deep depression. His right hand was gone; he could not joust or swing a sword or even write anymore, and his life as a knight was seemingly over.
=== Respeccing ===
Listless and dazed during his recovery, Deidrach spent hours wandering the halls of the Eyrie Peak with his maimed arm held across his chest in a sling, alone and lost and without a purpose. Often he would come to the library. It was here that he began to study old tomes, histories, whatever his ancestor Jarvis had not burned. Through this he found a new purpose; the study of the Arcane. Perhaps he could not use a sword anymore. But there were other ways to make a mark--other ways to make them pay. He set about training his mind as he once trained his sword arm, devouring as many books and scrolls as he could get his hands on. By the end of 610AE he had exhausted even the endless shelves of the Blackthorne archives, and he was not yet done. He needed more.
=== Hand of House Blackthorne ===
=== Brecilidia ===
=== Plans in Motion ===
=== Lord Jasper Blackthorne ===
=== The Century Spat ===
=== The Last Duel ===
The Historian Rion of Condall, present and transcribing the exchange, quotes it thusly;"You never forgive, and you never forget, old man. You would have made a great Knox."
"If I was a Knox, I would've married your mother that was mine own cousin, and you would be mine own son, and this war never would have happened."
"It might be that it didn't need to happen. Was there ever a chance, Darkhand? Ever a chance you might have given in and given me what was mine?"
"....no. Never."
== Legacy ==
With the death of its two core belligerents, the Century Spat ought to have ended there in 666AE, in that cold forest. It was the cruelty of fate, and the folly of the warrior Houses, that the war went on for over 50 years more. The immense political animosity between House Blackthorne and House Knox, cousins by blood now, would never truly fade and would flare up again in the Knox-Blackthorne War four hundred years later, right up when Odysseus Knox aided in the 1077 Revolution against Gordon Blackthorne. The blood spilled and devastation wrought on all sides would be immense, afflicting those that served the houses more than the members of the Houses themselves; and all in service to a single lie over succession rights, all owing to the obsessive vengeance of Sir Deidrach Blackthorne.
His son Orion was in charge of the family at the time of his death. Through Orion's youngest son Bors, the direct male line would continue until 1016AE with Deidrach as a focal point.
== Trivia ==
Deidrach (pronounced here as Deed-Drack) is named for the voice actor Deidrich Bader--there is no thematic significance to the name other than it sounding good.
Deidrach's character takes inspiration from a variety of sources; the header image was found by Skummy, the idea of the scarred wizard in the iron mask taken from the marvel comics villain Doctor Doom, and the prosthetic hand taken from the real-life german mercenary knight Gotz Von Berlingchen who had the same mechanical arm. His pre-injury image of actor Leonardo Dicaprio is taken from the film Man in the Iron Mask.