Alexander van Corberg

**Alexander van Corberg**, also known as the **Patriarch**, is the current leader of the Red Serfs after the death of his father, Herman van Corberg. He is the house head of the minor House van Corberg, the ruler of a since-annexed town that makes up the Red District of Whitecrest.

Much like his father, he is a major leader within the Crestian Syndicate, though his deeds are far from criminal in nature. He is widely known and respected for his devotion to the bonds of family and has mostly kept the Red Serfs limited to their own territory.

## Biography

Alexander van Corberg was born in 1199 AW, one year after the foundation of the Crestian Syndicate, with his father playing a role as a major officer and supporter of Edmond Heyer. By this time, Herman van Corberg was already considerably old and had since remarried after his first wife was unable to give him any children. However, with age comes experience and respect, and as the eldest son of Herman van Corberg, Alexander stood to inherit part of his legacy.

Due to the nature of things in Whitecrest, he received military training in case he needed to defend himself. After the Second Purge of Whitecrest and the launch of the Dog-Orchestral War, the young Alexander became the target of an abduction and assassination plot by the Great Orchestra, though both were foiled by Rhia Gill.

Alexander joined the Red Serfs as a minor officer at the age of sixteen. Despite being the obvious heir-apparent to the organisation, Herman van Corberg wanted him to start relatively low down the ladder to gain a better understanding of the common soldiers that made up the Red Serfs. Reportedly, the young Alexander was quite beloved as a petty officer, treating his men with respect. He would soon after be promoted to become a major officer, partly due to being the boss' son, but also due to his diligence and general efficiency.

When old age caught up to Herman van Corberg heading into the latter half of the 1210s, Alexander slowly began to take over his duties so that his father could get some well-deserved rest. In 1218 AW, on his deathbed, Herman tasked Alexander with taking care of his younger brother and sister shortly before dying. As the new leader of both House van Corberg and the Red Serfs, Alexander took his words to heart.

Alexander largely maintained the status quo when he came to power, only passing a few minor reforms to the internal structure of the Red Serfs. Instead, he saw to his younger siblings, ensuring they had positions within the Red Serfs that suited their needs and matched their talents. Andreas would go on to become a respected, if slightly disliked, bureaucrat that saw to the day-to-day operations of the Red Serfs, whereas Annemiek became an effective spymaster for the group.

Alexander spent the coming decade or so idle in the War for Whitecrest, as the Crestian Syndicate had to wait out the storm in the wake of Albert Schmied's occupation of the city at the behest of the crumbling League of Whitecrest. Instead, he took the time to start a family of his own, having two children, Mia and Percival in 1222 and 1224 AW.

Finally, in 1228 AW, with the Republican garrison abandoning Whitecrest due to the outbreak of the Second Fühlgartian Civil War, the Crestian Syndicate launched a new invasion of the Western Districts. Alexander van Corberg personally led his Red Serfs against the weakened League of Whitecrest, proving a successful military commander, though he received some minor injuries during the fighting. For the continued alliance and cooperation with the Red Serfs, Edmond Heyer granted them control over the Military District as a reward.

In the wake of the War for Whitecrest, Alexander seeks to modernise the Red Serfs into a more honest organisation, following the trend of the Crestian Syndicate as a whole. Most recently, the Red Serfs have formed Guard Group Red, a semi-modern military force available to the City-State as a whole. However, beyond that, the Patriarch seems to have no grand ambitions to expand his power, seemingly content to rule over the land he controls today and look after the upbringing of his children.

## Career

* City-State of Whitecrest
	+ House van Corberg
		- Heir-Apparent (1199-1218 AW)
		- House Head (1218 AW-)
	+ Red Serfs
		- Minor Officer (1216-1217 AW)
		- Major Officer (1217-1218 AW)
		- Leader (1218 AW-)
	+ Crestian Syndicate
		- Major Leader (1218 AW-)

## Military Career

* War for Whitecrest
	+ Fall of Whitecrest - Victory

## Personality

Alexander van Corberg is not a difficult man to read or understand. Whereas many in Whitecrest hold false allegiances and ulterior motives, Alexander has only a handful of simple goals. To look after his family, both his siblings and children. To look after his people, both the Easterners and Westerners. And, finally, to rule over the Red and Military Districts to the best of his ability through justice and fairness.

It should be noted, then, that his motivations diverge from the majority due to the kleptocratic and oftentimes cutthroat nature of the Crestian Syndicate. However, his beliefs and boundaries are largely respected by the other gangs of the City-State.

## Relationships

* Andreas van Corberg - Brothers 'till the end, though Alexander never understood Andreas' fascination for scrolls and numbers.
* Mia van Corberg - Alexander's pride and joy.
* Percival van Corberg - Alexander will assure you he loves both his children equally.
* Fiona Hijaeli - Alexander and Fiona are both second-generation gang leaders, and are quite similar.
* Annemiek van Corberg - Alexander's sister. He loves her, though her methods can be a bit unsettling to him.
* Edmond Heyer - Alexander's main ally and business partner, though he is not as close to Heyer as his father was.

* Stefan Heath - Alexander views Heath as little more than a man hellbent on war profiteering.
* Sebastiaan Kenven - Alexander considers Kenven more honourable than his predecessors, though the Dogs are still savages in his eyes.