Richard Trappike

***“**Pyromancy is a trick. In time, they will learn how to overcome it; it will not win the battle alone. Only the courage and sacrifice of the common soldier outnumbered and outmatched as they may be, will defend our homeland.**”***
— Richard Trappike

**Richard Trappike**, commonly known as the **Flame of Stavia**, was a Wyrsian mage-general who rose to fame for his role during the Republican-Wyrsian War, particularly at the Battle of Stavia. Many credit Trappike with stalling the Fühlgartian offensive despite being both outnumbered and technologically outmatched, turning the Highlands of Death into a fire-scarred wasteland.

Trappike led the Army of Woodhall during the early Great War. After the Battle of the Green Grove, Trappike and Cyrus Grey abandoned the Highlands of Death and dug in at Matthysia, fighting to the death in the ensuing battle. His son, Veldan, escaped Matthysia wielding Firelight, an artefact of Ivos passed down through three generations. He continues to serve in the Army for the Liberation of Wyrsia and has proven a capable officer much like his father.

## Biography

### Early Life

Richard Trappike was born in Redlyre in 1165 AW. His father was Arlon Trappike and his mother was Caro Ferne. Both of them were members of the Order of the Red Dove of mages in the city, with both specialising in pyromancy. In time, Arlon Trappike would become the Archmage of Pyromancy for the Order, training new apprentices in the art of manipulating fire.

It should come as no surprise, then, that pyromancy came naturally for the young Richard. He developed his first powers at the age of six and was subsequently enrolled as a student in the Order of the Red Dove, with his father – not yet the Archmage he would be later in his life – personally overseeing his training. Trappike finished his training at the age of eighteen, where he would soon after enrol in the Military Academy at Wyrsia's capital, Woodhall.

During his time at the Military Academy, Trappike quickly distinguished himself as a talented and ambitious student. He excelled in his studies, particularly in the areas of strategy and tactics, and was known for his leadership skills and charisma. Furthermore, his magical abilities impressed many of his peers, and he ultimately graduated with full honours.

### Military Career

Graduating from the academy after five years, Trappike would eventually be hired as a captain in the Army of Redlyre in 1190 AW. He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1195 AW and, with the enthusiastic endorsement of the Duke of Redlyre, to general of the army after the resignation of the previous one.

When King Stephen II took the throne in 1206 AW, he shuffled around members of his military high command, including Trappike. While some lost their jobs or received new positions of lower status, Trappike had a bit of good fortune. Instead of a demotion or relocation, he was put in charge of the Army of Woodhall, the largest and most prestigious of the Wyrsian armies.

Trappike hoped to impress, and began whipping the army into better shape. Despite fashioning himself a tough disciplinarian, Trappike got along well with the Army of Woodhall, getting to know many of its troops on a personal basis. While he was, at the end of the day, still their general to be obeyed, many of Trappike's subordinates did so without question as they had come to fully respect the man.

Not long after his promotion, the pyromancer general would have his trial by fire: The Republican-Wrysian War.

### Republican-Wyrsian War

In 1203 AW, the Fühlgartian Civil War broke out, ending with the Republicans overthrowing the Monarchists. The Kingdom of Fühlgart fell and was replaced by the new Republic of Fühlgart. While the Wyrsians had carefully hoped this would lead to peace, the violent Gemstone Wars would alert them into action. The Army of Stavia under Cyrus Grey reinforced the Highlands of Death, while more funding was given to the other armies of Wyrsia. Their fears would be proven right in 1211 AW, when the Fühlgartians crossed the River Suttock and launched their invasion of Wyrsia, marking the start of the Republican-Wyrsian War.

The Highlands of Death, a fort line constructed by Virgil I and Edward V over 400 years before the war, had always dutifully served the Wyrsians. Many times had they been invaded by the Kingdom of Fühlgart, and many times the Highlands proved an unconquerable obstacle. This time, things were different. The Republic had fully disregarded the Dishonourable Weapons doctrine embraced by nearly every Human state since the Second Human Rebellion. Thousand of troops crossed into Wyrsia carrying rifles and pistols, supported by cannons and airships. The Army of Stavia, armed with arrows and swords, was woefully unprepared.

When Richard Trappike arrived at the Highlands of Death, the first of the four defensive lines of forts had already fallen, with the second nearly being overrun. The mage-general and his forces were a sight for sore eyes for the Stavians, whose morale was boosted by their arrival. It didn't take long for the pyromancer to start relentlessly bombarding the Fühlgartian lines, transforming the Highlands of Death into a scorched and hellish wasteland. The Battle of Stavia had escalated severely.

The conflict deteriorated into a bloody year-long stalemate. While the Republicans made progress, it was slow and paid for by the lives of thousands. While a myriad of generals and armies arrived at Stavia to defend the chokepoint, Trappike distinguished himself as the man in charge of the Wyrsian defenders. However, in funnelling all forces to defend Stavia, the Wyrsians had left a weakness to be exploited: the Green Grove.

### Fall of Wyrsia and Death

The Green Grove was the domain of the Goddess of Life, Nyara, and it was strictly off-limits to Human armies since the Darkest Decade. During the Darkest Decade, the Sapphire Inquisition made their final and largest assault on the Green Grove, hoping to purge the forest of its large non-Human population. As the battle worsened and the Inquisition pushed into the heart of the Grove, the enraged Nyara stepped in, turning the forest against its invaders and mercilessly slaughtering the Inquisitors who had violated her domain. Since then, no Human was brave enough to step into the Grove with an army in tow, for it would surely be suicidal.

What set Fühlgart apart from the Inquisition was their Divine sponsor: the God of Storms, Syarus. Syarus had facilitated the rise of the Republic and was manipulating them to further his own goals. He had embarked on a mad quest to slay his fellow Divines to obtain their power and challenge the One for complete control over the universe. Nyara was simply another target. In the resulting Battle of the Green Grove, the Fühlgartian Second Army under Albert Schmied, accompanied by Syarus, overran the Grove. As the God of Storm drove the Godslayer's Blade, recovered from the Gemstone Islands, through the heart of the Goddess, the forest fell silent. The Green Grove had been lost, marking a great victory for the Fühlgartians.

After the fall of the Grove, the Second Army emerged from the forest east of the city of Wyrgate, which was left virtually defenceless, its army deployed at Stavia. The city fell almost immediately, as the Second Army poured into an undefended Wyrsia, taking castles, cities, and towns protected by little more than skeleton forces. Eventually, word reached the Wyrsian armies at Stavia, and panic broke out. Nearly all forces broke off and fled north. Some tried to stop the Second Army, others tried to return to their home cities, and others ran away without a plan. The only ones who remained at the Highlands of Death were Cyrus Grey and Trappike, who hoped to buy time for the other Wyrsian forces remaining.

Two armies were not enough to defend the Highlands, and a fighting retreat northward broke out. Trappike led an effort of sappers to destroy the castles of the various defensive lines behind them so they wouldn't fall into Republican hands. However, the city of Stavia itself was too open to defend, too. Approachable from all sides on flat terrain, Trappike and Grey knew it was impossible to hold. Instead, they settled on Grey's hometown, the smaller city of Matthysia further to the north. Matthysia was easier to defend, being only approachable from two directions and being protected by natural terrain.

The Fühlgartian approached, slowly encircling the city as roughly half their forces crossed the River Innyr into Wyrsia proper. One day before Matthysia was fully encircled, Trappike had his son, Veldan, take the blade Firelight from him and escape certain death. Once the city was surrounded properly, Ulfric Luftschwert gave the defenders a chance to surrender, which they refused. What followed was a brutal and destructive siege, with both Trappike and the Fühlgartians using a high amount of pyromancy. Combined with the Dishonourable Weapons of the Republicans, Matthysia burned to the ground, reduced to ash and rubble. Most defenders and civilians burned alive in the inferno, including Cyrus Grey. Trappike rallied whoever was left that could wield a weapon, many of them being walked wounded with severe burn wounds, and led a suicidal yet heroic charge against the Republican lines. This would be the end of the famous mage-general, who was unceremoniously shot by Fühlgartian conscripts.

Despite the fall of the Wyrsian mainland, Trappike left behind a huge legacy of defence against the odds and stiff, stubborn resistance. While already famous during his lifetime, he became legendary in death, with his defence and doomed charge at Matthysia being immortalised in many artistic works on both sides of the Great War. Trappike's body was recovered by Ulfric Luftschwert, who buried his rival with full military honours. Despite being enemies, even Ulfric had grown to respect Trappike for his remarkable military career.

## Military Career

* Great War
	+ Republican-Wyrsian War
		- Battle of Stavia - Defeat
		- Siege of Matthysia - Defeat (KIA)

## Personality

A grassroots general, Richard Trappike valued the opinion and lives of the lowest soldier in his ranks. This made him popular both with his own troops and the common people, as many looked up to him as a celebrity. Famously stubborn, Trappike would throw himself at a task for days or weeks until he found a solution that nobody else would think of. This made him unrelenting during the Republican-Wyrsian War, choosing death over surrender, glory over humiliation.

## Relationships

* **Family**
	+ Arlon Trappike - Father
	+ Caro Ferne - Mother
	+ Veldan Trappike - Son
* **Allies**
	+ Stephen II of Wyrsia
	+ Cyrus Grey
* **Enemies**
	+ Ulfric Luftschwert