Ludwig von Bach

==Basics==
Ludwig Bach (Hanseatic: Ledvig Bach) was an elderly merchant from the Maritime Republic of Hansa, and served as the original Admiral of the Hanseatic Navy. He was quite decorated despite not seeing any actual combat during his service. Bach was an original member of Hansa's parliament; the Hansestag, but was voted out after a series of scandals. He was described as very loyal to the Nation of Hansa, calling it the "loveliest child of the Osterium Sea."
=== Personal Life ===
Bach lived alone in his Hansan villa which he constructed himself. There, he mostly wrote political literature that detailed his own beliefs and his thoughts on the state of Rathnir. Though Bach was very invested in politics, he occasionally made time for his favourite activity, fishing. Bach came from a family of many noble fishing tycoons, and as such took up quite the interest. He was also slightly interested in military innovation, making blueprints for experimental airships and under-sea boats. These blueprints were never used.
=== Political Career ===
Bach, as an original member of Hansa, was very politically active. He attempted to form several parties, such as the Hansan Centre Party, the Hansan Protectionist Party, and a failed coalition with Jehalson da Frostmarch known as the Hansan Industrialist Party. Bach's final political party was the Unionist Party of Hansa, which was made up of the non-socialist founding fathers of Hansa. 
Initially, Bach followed similar ideals to Henry Chamberlain such as liberal democracy, but seemed to get greedy once he lost the position of Prime Minister to the popular Captain Horst Bauen Arbeit. After losing this election, Bach still retained the role of Hansestag, which he clung to fiercely. He began to develop authoritarian views, and joined the Hansan Constabulary in order to try and enforce his own beliefs. The Hansan Protectionist Party remained Bach's primary political entity until the Mayday Revolution initiated by Jehalson de Frostmarch.
=== Political Downfall ===
After the formation of the Workers Socialist Party (WSP) in Hansa, Bach quickly formed an oppositional party with Henry. He made several fear-mongering propaganda posters to try and steer away the popularity behind the WSP, but to no avail. Bach began to develop anti-democratic and anti-socialist ideals after feuding with several WSP party members, and his political downfall reached its completion when he stamped an offensive phrase in a party member's house. This scandal led Bach to become extremely unpopular, and he resigned several positions in the Hansan government as an apology.
=== Civil War ===
As Bach began to slowly return from his political hiatus, he began to suggest a monarchist government in Hansa, which was very unpopular. Seeing how unpopular his ideology was, and taking into account his old age and finite time left in Rathnir, Bach thought of the nuclear option. During the opening of the Hansan Coffeehouse, Bach and a handful of foreign mercenaries infiltrated the Café and told the denizens that the Hansan government was being changed, and that he was now in command. Many people in the coffeehouse had brought weapons in case of an emergency, and the legitimate Hansan government called the military. Bach retreated into an empty house and was sieged by WSP partisans and members of the Hansan army, before he dug a hole and retreated to his villa.
As bridges were blocked off and Bach's control over the Villistes borough cemented, the Hansan Civil War was said to have begun. Captain Horst Arbeit, though technically neutral, had been promoted as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hansa. The Civil War began to reveal how popular the Worker's Socialist Party was, and as the war carried on Bach made it his main objective to crush the Socialists. After a week of preparations, the Kingdom of Hansa went on the offensive in the Factory and captured it with the help of foreign mercenaries. Though, Bach did not cement complete control of the factory as he was slowly pushed back by a combined Republican and Socialist offensive, he retreated once again to Villistes.
Now losing the battle, Bach retreated into his house and barricaded it, hiding in his bedroom. He could hear the stomps of enemy soldiers approaching him. Finally, they entered his bedroom and found Bach cowering away, reportedly whispering prayers to a non-specific god. The soldiers loaded their muskets and pointed at Bach, and though Mayl da Hansa had tried prevent Bach from being executed, he was still shot to death on the command of Henry Chamberlain. It is unknown where Bach died, some believe that he even survived and fled to the OPTC, but most say that he was dead as soon as he was shot.
Following his apparent death, his son, Rudolph Bach was to inherit his properties and citizenship in Hansa.
Category:Traveler's Era