Herman van Corberg

***“**We are a Syndicate: criminals in nature. However, that is no excuse to throw honour to the wind. Those who would prey on the innocent and the weak must be brought to justice. The Red Serfs don't serve me, but the people of Whitecrest.**”***
— Herman van Corberg

**Herman van Corberg**, known as the **Red Lord** or semi-mockingly **Herman the Honourable**, was a Crestian minor noble and gang leader. Besides being the head of House van Corberg, he also led the Red Serfs and acted as a major leader within the Crestian Syndicate. He de-facto led the Syndicate from 1208 AW until 1215 AW after Edmond Heyer's capture in 1203 AW.

## Biography

### Early Life

Herman van Corberg was born into relative wealth as the heir apparent to House van Corberg. When he was nine, the bridges between the Western and Eastern Districts were closed by the League of Whitecrest to relieve the political pressure on their government. Soon after, the Eastern Districts fell into criminality and disorder. Herman's father, brash and impatient, tried to assert control over the East with his small levy, yet was ultimately killed, leading to Herman becoming the head of House van Corberg at the age of eleven.

Seen as a relic of the past and an extension of the League of Whitecrest, House van Corberg was targeted by the outlaws of the East and their family estates were plundered and burnt to the ground. Herman went into hiding shortly after, fearing for his life. He relied on some old allies of his father, who had managed to cling onto some of the House's wealth.

Shortly after, Herman fled the City-State altogether, moving to Stavia in the Kingdom of Wyrsia, where he lived a relatively normal life as a merchant until 1162 AW. In that year, he recruited a small force of about 50 mercenaries and returned to Whitecrest. He moved into the Red District but found all of his family estates reduced to ruins, looted and filled with vagrants and homeless. Instead, he occupied a large warehouse that was under the control of a minor gang, which would later become the Hall of the Red Serfs.

### The Red Serfs

From his new headquarters, Herman expanded his influence across the Red District. While many were unsure about his status as nobility, they were pleasantly surprised to find that his militia didn't conform to the many practices of other gangs in the Eastern Districts. There were no protection fees, no blackmailing, no smuggling, no stealing, and no random killings. Instead, his militias established some order amongst the chaos and Herman began spreading what remained of his family's fortunes around to the homeless, providing them with food, shelter, and clothing.

News of Herman's deeds spread like a wildfire through the East. More and more desperate people flocked to his territory, but also more fighters who were willing to serve under him and defend the people. Knowing that he needed a more official organisation to properly administer the Red District, Herman founded the Red Serfs in 1165 AW. A criminal gang, on paper, but a relatively just peacekeeping force in practice. Ultimately, they would grow into one of the "Big Three" of the Eastern Districts alongside the Dogs of Whitecrest in the Common District and the Sons of Innyria in the Innyrian District.

The Red Serfs became something of a light in the dark of Whitecrest, defending people, property, and even minor gangs looking for their protection. One of these gangs were the newly-founded Dirtcloaks under Edmond Heyer. The Dirtcloaks were a minor upstart gang in the Common District that largely followed the Red Serfs' model of serving the people, though they were threatened by the larger and more violent Dogs of Whitecrest. While Herman was anxious to go against another member of the Big Three, he ultimately entered a mutual alliance with the Dirtcloaks. Unsurprisingly, the Dogs were angry, and some skirmishes were launched, though the move never led to a full-scale gang war between the two.

The Dogs were already unpopular, and the Dirtcloaks rapidly gained control over roughly two-thirds of the Common District, making them one of the major gangs, now the "Big Four". The pact between Herman and Edmond became closer and closer, with more minor gangs being roped into their alliance. As a result, Heyer began seriously thinking about one major alliance between all the gangs of the Eastern Districts unified against the League of Whitecrest. After an easy negotiation with the Sons of Innyria and a more difficult one with the Dogs of Whitecrest, the Big Four ultimately formed the Crestian Syndicate. As Edmond's main ally, Herman positioned himself as the Syndicate's number two.

Ultimately, the Syndicate recruited the Great Orchestra led by Floris Gill, the son of Fabian Gill, the head of the League of Whitecrest. Floris launched a series of terrorist attacks in the Western District, including killing his own mother and sisters. Enraged by the act, Fabian Gill launched the Second Purge of Whitecrest in 1203 AW. While the League failed to find Floris, they did find Edmond Heyer, imprisoning him at Greihill Keep.

Without Heyer, the Syndicate was left leaderless and rapidly began infighting. The most obvious enemy was Floris Gill and the Dog-Orchestral War, while an isolated conflict at first, rapidly grew into a Syndicate-wide coalition against the Orchestra. However, the death of Floris Gill did little to ease tensions and there was a serious threat of the Syndicate ripping itself apart. Ultimately, it was Herman who saved it.

### Kingpin of the Syndicate

Rallying the minor gangs under his banner, Herman re-aligned the Sons of Innyria. The Dogs of Whitecrest and the Dirtcloaks, now led by Kian Bruth in Heyer's absence, were less open to negotiations. Ultimately, with bribes provided by the Anti-League, Herman managed to get the Dogs to his side. Bruth's continued opposition to joining Herman led to him becoming increasingly unpopular amongst the Dirtcloaks, which ultimately forced his hand to join. From 1208 AW, the Syndicate had been brought back from the brink and was now led, de facto, by Herman van Corberg.

Herman loathed militarism and needless violence, yet he recognised it was the only way to ever free Edmond Heyer. Still imprisoned under Greihill Keep, the League had refused to execute him to prevent Heyer from becoming a martyr for the Eastern Districts. Greihill was located deep in the Military District and was too heavily guarded for a quick breakout. After much deliberation with the rest of the Syndicate, Herman ultimately settled on a full-scale invasion of the Western Districts.

After years of preparation, the Syndicate launched their invasion in 1215 AW, later known as the Battle of the Western Districts. This invasion was a huge success, as the League of Whitecrest's underpaid and demotivated Second Army began to crumble. Greihill Keep fell, and Edmond Heyer was freed from his imprisonment. While he was reinstated as the kingpin of the Syndicate, Herman remained in charge of the invasion, though it would take a turn for the worst. Armin Oligel, the head of the League of Whitecrest after Fabian Gill's suicide, had many ties to Fühlgart. With the fall of Whitecrest inevitable, he called on the Republic of Fühlgart to invade Whitecrest and restore order. Shortly after, the Second Army under Albert Schmied marched into Whitecrest, driving back the Syndicate all the way to the Eastern Districts. The Fühlgartians occupied the Eastern Districts, but, much like the League of Whitecrest, failed to establish order and abandoned them to the Syndicate once more.

While Herman had earned the favour and endless gratitude of Edmond Heyer for his rescue of the Syndicate and invasion of the Western Districts, the leader of the Red Serfs had little time left to enjoy it. Already old, Herman's health began to decline shortly after the invasion came to an end. His son, Alexander, began taking over his duties while Herman simply rested, ultimately dying in 1218 AW. His death was near-universally mourned amongst the Eastern Districts. Alexander largely held the same views as his father, making him somewhat of a continuation of Herman's rule.

## Career

* City-State of Whitecrest
	+ House van Corberg
		- Heir-apparent (1141-1152 AW)
		- House head (1152-1218 AW)
	+ Red Serfs
		- Leader (1165-1218 AW)
	+ Crestian Syndicate
		- Major Leader (1198-1208 AW)
		- De-Facto Kingpin (1208-1215 AW)
		- Major Leader (1215-1218 AW)

## Military Career

* Purge of Whitecrest - Defeat
* War for Whitecrest
	+ Second Purge of Whitecrest - Defeat
	+ Battle of the Western Districts - Defeat
	+ Battle of Whitecrest Bridge - Defeat
	+ Battle of the Eastern Districts - Stalemate

## Personality

Herman van Corberg is largely remembered as a beacon of light in the darkness. He largely went against the norms of the Crestian Syndicate, instead establishing a largely honourable and legit organisation. He is remembered as protective of the innocent, loyal to his people, oriented on family, and having a strong sense of justice. This made him highly beloved amongst the regular citizens of the Eastern Districts, and his death was mourned by many.

## Relationships

* Edmond Heyer - Besides allies, Herman and Edmond were also great friends with a similar set of ideals and goals.
* Alexander van Corberg - Herman's oldest son and heir, the two were very similarly minded and had a great bond.
* Andreas van Corberg - Herman's second son, who he also loved very much.
* Annemiek van Corberg - Herman's youngest child. He pitied Annemiek for the paranoia she developed from all the crime and violence.
* Fiona Hijaeli - Herman respected her father, and he also respected her. He was one of the first gang leaders to accept her reign.

* Armin Oligel - Herman already considered the League corrupt, but Armin was also a traitor to his own country. Herman hated him.
* Kian Bruth - Herman never liked Bruth, and considered his stubbornness the root cause of the Syndicate's near-collapse.
* Sebastiaan Kenven - Herman was disgusted by the Dogs' violence, even if Sebastiaan wasn't that violent himself.
* Stefan Heath - Herman considered Heath an ally, though also a dishonourable profitmonger.