Lord-Commander Jericho Uriah Hale

**A former commander of the Verk Empire, Jericho Uriah Hale is a man of determination. His slightly greying hair and battle-worn face give him an intimidating demeanor, and the perpetual growl in his voice only completes the image of a hard-bitten commanding officer. Though this is to an extent only the appearance he shows during battle. Without the magitek enhancements, his voice drops to a raspy, weak thing, and his frailty begins to show through. As the erstwhile leader of the newest rebel faction, his primary goals lie in the care and upkeep of The Broken Chain.**

## Youth

**As a boy, Hale was raised near the capitol, hearing stories from his father of the Empire before. This rose-tinted view of the Empire led to him joining the military, his particular gift with magic making him a desirable choice for military service. However, his decisions during training led to him being sent to the Trencher Brigades, serving as an infantryman for three years, before rising rapidly after a series of successful battles and earning the Imperial Seal of Service for dragging his half-dead CO across two miles of trench to get him medical aid, after having lost his eye earlier in the battle. He achieved the rank of Lord-Commander after six years in the military. A meteoric rise for such a minor lord.**

## The Burden of Command

**His status as one of the youngest Lord-Commanders ever combined with his relatively low birth made him numerous enemies within the capitol proper. His brigade, the 302nd were routinely sent to crack hard targets and advance under heavy fire. But throughout it all, he did whatever he could to keep his men alive. Though not once did he disobey orders. He gradually accrued accolades while serving as the commander of the 302nd, frequently winning sieges through superior tactics. This would eventually come back to bite him however, and in the year 40 he would be sent on his last siege, to break Nel’al Anor.**

## Nel'al Anor, and The Broken Chain

**The commander subjected the city to a grueling 4 month siege, sending small raiding groups over the walls weekly to assassinate the clerics and other sources of food and drink, before poisoning the waterway that flowed into the city. Eventually the city moved to speak of surrender, and Hale was poised to accept. He wanted nothing more than to finish the job and go home. Orders came down though, the Emperor wanted weapons tested on the civilians of the city, they were to use the new ‘flamethrowers’ to purge the city, as ‘punishment’ for defying the empire for so long. Hale knew he couldn’t refuse, and ordered the city burned, slaying the diplomats sent to negotiate and rushing through as the city’s defenses were down. The fighting went on for two days, with both sides suffering heavy casualties, the city eventually went up in flames however, and 45,000 men, women and children were put to the torch at Hale’s order. Though in a final act of defiance, a warrior of the city cleaved Hale’s arm and leg from his body in a mad rage. Wounded, spiritually and physically, Hale lost his magic, having his connection to it severed when he lost the center of his powers. It was this event that led to him deciding the Emperor had gone mad with power, and every unit guilty of actions similar to his would need to stand trial for their crimes. For two years he worked in the shadows, gathering allies and funds within the empire, before leaving to forge the Broken Chain, and hopefully, prevent any further tragedies.**

## Lordship and Titles within the Empire

**Hale retains his lordship within the empire for propaganda reasons. Though a wanted man, the right to strip a lord of his titles rests with the nobles, not just the Emperor, and Hale’s betrayal has been kept quiet, as a war hero, going rogue looks poorly on the Empire as a whole. Additionally, as his brigade left with him, he remains a Lord-Commander, even through rebellion.**