Wilfred Hildebrand

==Stats==
===Mark Tracker===
Marks: 0
Afflictions:
===Advances===
*??? [Free advance Spring 2016]
== Background ==
Wilfred Hildebrand's story is not one of humble beginnings. Born to a rich dwarven merchant family from the Dark Plains, his rise to prominence in the fields of mining, blacksmithing and real estate  was greatly facilitated by the support of the under-appreciated dwarven community. 
Building and expanding his economic influence was relatively easy in the Dark Plains: the nobles were too busy vying for political power through marriages and alliances to care about his activities, and stroking their ego or promising an advantage over a rival was all that was needed for most to let him perform his business in peace. And peace is what Mr. Hildebrand wants most. Peace is good for business. A content customer is a reliable customer, and a peaceful land is a prosperous land. However, the Dark Plains are not particularly peaceful, and building a stable economic stronghold took years of dedication, and yet even after all his efforts constant crises kept threatening his creation. This led him to plan the expansion of his economic influence.
Thanks to the rise of Athesia, Wilfred was able to buy pieces of newly-reclaimed or newly-discovered resources and lands, only to set in place processes to civilize and develop these regions into productive, wealthy, and ultimately peaceful modern settlements. This had the useful side effect of expanding his consumer base, his influence, and his reputation. Funding himself with his well-oiled, if precarious, capitalistic machine in the Dark Plains, Wilfred Hildebrand was carefully piecing together a network of developing projects throughout the whole of Athesia...
Until the Dark Plains exploded.
The devastation reduced the value of many of Wilfred’s holdings to zero or less. Contingency plans were prepared, but not for something of this magnitude and without warning. Revenues dwindled, supplies for the settlements became harder to send, and the dwarf's careful decades-long plans to civilize Athesia were set ablaze.
This led to Mr. Hildebrand marching to the Athesian Council, demanding answers for the devastation to his property. He ultimately obtained a place at the Council in his capacity as a business leader, aiming to use the Council's influence to expand his fledgling project of civilizing Athesia.