Cosimo Abbascia

### Aliases

Count Abbascia, Warmaster of the Army at the End of the World, Knight of Swords, Commander of the Eastern Front

## Physical description

### Eye color

Hazel

*"By all means, try and stop us. I won't stand in your way. Beat us back, chop us down, hold the line, carry the day. Cover yourself in glory, or in guts, it makes no difference to me. Or to the dead, for that matter. You're just postponing the inevitable, General. Mark my words, we'll get you all in the end."*

-Cosimo Abbascia

## History

Born into a old and proud military family in Corcedon, Abbascia became a knight at a young age, determined to continue the illustrious military traditions of his forefathers. He was never fully trusted by his Duke, who rightfully considered him a glory hound loyal mostly to his reputation.

## Personality

Cosimo Abbascia was a proud and ruthless commander, who inspired fearful loyalty among his men for his courage on the front line and exacting discipline. He did not hesitate to sacrifice his men for victory, and was known to be particularly brutal with regards to civilians, both allied and enemy.

## War of the Philosopher-Kings

*"There is only darkness for you, and only death for your people. These conquests are just the beginning. I will command a great and terrible army, and we will march across a thousand lands. We will march until every light has been extinguished. You are strong, but I am beyond strength. I am the end, and I have come for you. You, your family, everyone will die, over and over. Mountains of broken bodies beneath the wheel."*

-Cosimo Abbascia

Upon Emperor Arthur's rise and the death of Duke Bernardos, Cosimo Abbascia would become one of the first Counts to pledge service to the new sovereign, and among the first to become a vampire. Having made a favorable impression on the Emperor, Abbascia was placed in charge of the southern forces, and dispatched to wage war with the orcs and goblins of Darguzze. He would create vampire spawn at a ruthless pace, outstripping the Emperor himself in his zealous devotion to the cause of undeath. Abbascia would eventually turn on the civilian populations under his protection, managing to swell his numbers despite the horrific casualties his men were taking. Abbascia would triumph over the troops from Darguzze, killing Warmaster Mudagog and breaking their ranks. He would come to the aid of the Emperor in time to help drive the Nadezhdans from World's End, and join in the invasion of Nadezhda itself. Upon the death of Duke Petros, he would rise in status to become the Emperor's highest-ranking military commander, in which capacity he would lead the defenders of World's End - now almost entirely undead - against the Atlantean invasion.

## After the War

For his deeds in the war, Cosimo Abbascia would be rewarded with command of the nation's great undead army, taking for himself the title of Warmaster. This was a nod to Arendurian tradition, and a prize he felt entitled to for his defeat of the orcish warlord Warmaster Mudagog.

## The Great Awakening

By the time of the Great Awakening, Cosimo Abbascia had spent half a century chafing under his monarch's increasingly mercurial reign. Gone were the days when he, as Warmaster of the Army at the End of the World, could act with impunity. World's End was fractured into a series of petty fiefdoms, and what was left of the central government was overseen by Chancellor Ernesto Cremona.

When the Great Awakening occurred, Emperor Arthur Ramander briefly emerged to affirm that World's End would fight on the side of mankind. The gods, he declared, feared mankind and denied them their true form by making undeath taboo. Only by becoming undead would man reclaim his soul from the divine, and be truly free. The Emperor added that though the power structure of World's End would not change, Cosimo Abbascia would serve as the Warmaster of the Long War.

And so Cosimo Abbascia, who had led his people to victory in the last great war, prepared to fight for mankind - or at least for his monarch's twisted vision of humanity. His allies, many of him who only knew of him by his bloody reputation, were surprised to find him chillingly reasonable, and in any case a pioneer of the innovative tactics required to win a war against the gods.

Though it was the Godhunter who was seen as the preeminent warrior among mankind's forces, Abbascia was acknowledged as the alliance's supreme military commander.