Liselotte Gehrig

*“Take a thousand soldiers. Four hundred will stand in a fight but do nothing. Two hundred will run given the chance. Another hundred will get confused. That leaves three hundred you can count on. Your task in commanding that thousand is all down to knowing where to put that three hundred.”*

-Liselotte Gehrig

## History

Growing up, Liselotte Loewe never believed that she would serve in the military. Born into an aristocratic line of incredible wealth, it was her brother Lars who was expected to rise in the army of the Reich and win glory for the family. Liselotte lived an typical life for a young noblewoman, and entered into an arranged marriage to the wealthy son of a Hexenjäger, Kaspar Gehrig. She was only nineteen. As it turned out, Liselotte was infertile, and could not bear Gehrig the sons he wished for. Gehrig petitioned Reise Forrawyn for the right to divorce his wife, but the Kaiserin, conservative on this matter, refused him. Liselotte had done nothing to wrong her husband; she had not been unfaithful, nor had she known that she was barren. This turned him against her, and he began to despise his life, turning to mistresses, eventually siring a bastard son. Gehrig petitioned the Kaiserin one more time, to legitimize his bastard, but once more Reise Forrawyn turned down his request. Liselotte, she replied, was the wronged party, and having sons was not a natural right. The bastard would remain a bastard. Gehrig's hatred for his wife multiplied, and he began to abuse her, at first belittling and humiliating her, and eventually raising his hand against her. His reputation plummeted, and Liselotte began desperately to look for a way out. Tragedy came to her when her brother. Lars Loewe, perished in battle. This coincided with a hideous incident in which her husband had beaten her within an inch of her life - she herself believed that he secretly wished to kill her, so that he could remarry and have the heir he dreamed of. At this point, she was in mortal terror, and her parents had lost the heir of whom they were so proud. A wild idea occurred to Liselotte, and she applied to join the armed forces. This was scandalous at the time, and the military recruiters were not entirely sure what to make of the request. Reise Forrawyn, who had not entirely forgotten about the Gehrig family, was said to have smiled when she heard of Liselotte's decision, and remarked publicly that she was supportive of her choice. This sent the signal to the army, who accepted Liselotte into officer training, where she became a commissioned Sergeant within a year. Kaspar Gehrig was humiliated by his wife's decision, flying into a rage when he heard, but in time, he grew comfortable with not having to ever see his wife, and gave himself over to a life of debauchery. Liselotte, it turned out, had a gift for military life, and poured all of her fear, determination, and desperation for a life of her own into the art of war. This in combination with her noble connections allowed her to rise swiftly through the ranks, and in time, Reise Forrawyn, who admired her and had watched the course of her life with great interest, promoted her to General of the Heer.

## Personality

Liselotte Gehrig is a courageous and talented woman, fiercely loyal to the Kaiserin and determinedly apolitical. She has few, if any friends, and no hobbies that anyone knows of. Her knowledge of the military is both academic and uncanny in its thoroughness, and though she is not particularly beloved by either enlisted men or other officers, her expertise never fails to amaze her interlocutors. She does not speak about her past, having totally embraced her current identity,