Norman Grahck

Norman Grahck was an Akarvian Military General and politician chiefly remembered for his role in the Ghernian War and Vice Presidency to the first New Voldranian President, Graz Eldar.
==Personal History==
Grahck was born in 2 AE and always knew he wanted to be a soldier. He was the son of two Esgardian warriors so he was often encouraged to pursue this path. With a recommendation from his parents, and a fair bit of deception, Grahck was successfully able to join the Akarvian military in 20 AE at only 17 years old.
He was on the front lines of the Heran-Tripolian War, serving as a corporal under Alexander Zen. By the Akarv-Fhia War he was a Captain, and by wars end a Major. He was present in this war as well, but defined himself by influencing his squad away from the battle, and to work towards ending the war peacefully. The praise he received from the next president, Neil Jons, is what earned him a promotion.
By the end of the decade Grahck had been promoted to corporal, marking one of the quickest periods of officer promotion in the nations history. When the Near War began president Adam Pyro was looking for experienced soldiers with fresh voices to lead the nations military in case of all out war, and so Grahck was finally given the promotion to General in 54 AE. By 55 AE he had become the nations Head General.
In the end the Near War with Fallnavor never escalated into anything, but soon after it Fallnavor's former ally Tripoly allied itself with Akarvian colony Tedre to wage the war "Fallnavor failed to", marking the beginning of the Ghernian War.
Grahck personally led the troops on the front lines of the war, his first and last true test of military leadership. While Tripoly and Tedre were able to effectively defend themselves from the objectively more powerful nations of Akarv and Fallnavor, Grahck's leadership led the nation to several key victories that eventually forced their opponents to make a desperate push into Fallnavor. Grahck and his forces joined those in Fallnavor to make a final stand against the invading Tripolian/Tedren forces. In a final climactic battle both invading nations were defeated, and Grahck is often giving credit for killing their leader, Zade Zen, personally.
Grahck was praised as a war hero upon his return home, and honored as one of the greatest military leaders up until that point. Critiscm for not taking Zade Zen alive was drowned out by the nationalism of having won the war. He reached the point where he believed he could successfully win the election to lead the nation should he run, a notion backed up by then Head of International Affairs Graz Eldar, who would go on to win the Presidency with Grahck at his side as Vice President.
The election that saw Grahck's instatement as Vice President was a chaotic mess that occurred on the voyage to New Voldrania, and during this time he made the hard decision to retire from the military in order to act as a leader of the people. It wasn't until the Fall of Voldrania that he became convinced that his skills as a leader would be needed in the reconstruction effort, rather than in the militaristic one. So over the next several years Grahck worked side by side with Eldar and other leaders to rebuild Akarv in the new world, spending much of his time focusing on rebuilding the military in the early years. During his Vice Presidency Grahck also involved himself with the secret coup/alliance with Krolesk'kans such as Rodesk Navor to overthrow the corrupt king Jason Vrock. Unconfirmed rumors suggested that, during this time, Grahck personally resorted to more violent means of interrogation to "speed up" the process.
In 66 AE Eldar's popularity suffered a major blow when he failed to prevent the secession of Namess, something that consequentially hurt Grahck's Presidential campaign in 68 AE. His association with Eldar ultimately hurt him so much that he lost to the Adam Pyro backed candidate Sarah Nass. Much like Eldar, Grahck took this defeat as a sign that it was time to retire. He was suddenly called back into action when President Oliver Herwall's Head of the Military unexpectedly died in late 73 AE, on the brink of the expected Nether War. Herwall reached out to the 71 year old Grahck to act as the nations highest ranking military official behind the President during the potentially gruesome, imminent war.
And so Grahck led Akarvs forces once again as the Nether War commenced, but this time from behind the scenes. He was not praised as a great hero this time, and was significantly slower and less decisive than he had been when he was younger. In 75 AE he was almost completely overshadowed by the new Head General of Akarv, Dakota Peerk, who initiated the formation of the ANRT alliance. Peerk's plan ultimately succeeded, and Grahck's role in the war was barely even acknowledged. Still, he stayed on as Head of the Military for the remainder of Herwall's presidency, but by the start of his second term Grahck was 74 years old, and growing increasingly lethargic. While he tried to make an effort to rebuild the nations military following the Nether War he was often slow to do so, and ultimately ended up upstaged by General Peerk.
Grahck retired for the final time following Herwall's presidency, and spent the remainder of his life in Alred City until his death on November 14, 83 AE at the age of 81.
Category:New Voldranians Category:Voldranians Category:Characters Category:Akarvians Category:Politicians Category:Soldiers Category:Deceased