Lord Frederick von Frederick

## Summary

Lord Frederick von Frederick AKA ~~Freddy the Fierce~~ Freddy the Fool was once the ruler of the Mountain Kingdom of Feathertop until he was assassinated and then exploded. He's now a crazy old dwarf who burns things for a living.

His last name and his first name are the same.

## Background

In the land of Pyrkagia, Lord Frederick von Frederick was born heir to the Smoldering Throne of Feathertop, a (once) great city built into a (formerly) extinct volcano of the same name. When he was 212 years old, the mantle of leadership was passed down to him from his elderly father Frederick the Proud in a ritual ceremony that had been practiced for millennia. This also gave him magical fire powers, which was a nice perk.

Unfortunately, Frederick was not a good king. Some even called him a tyrant. This included his brother-in-law Benedict, specifically when he stabbed Frederick in the chest in an attempt to usurp the throne. Frederick would never forget that day; not because he was murdered by his childhood friend, but because he and the entire mountain exploded immediately thereafter.

You see, the Lords of Feathertop had a secret. Long ago, in a time long forgotten, an immortal phoenix named Kalemnestra terrorized the land. Pretty much everything was on fire almost all the time. Great heroes rose up to defeat the monster many times, but she would always be reborn to continue her reign of terror. And Mount Feathertop was her home.

But while Kalemnestra scorched the surface of the world, the dwarven kingdoms were always safe underground. Free from the fiery bird's wrath, their civilization grew beyond those on the surface. So great were their abilities that they even discovered a way to prevent Kalemnestra's continuous rebirth. A magical spell to seal the flaming creature forever.

It took some doing, but the surface-dwellers eventually convinced the dwarves to help. It's unknown how, as the dwarves seemingly had nothing to gain from the deal, but they agreed nonetheless. Preparations were made, but Kalemnestra learned of their plan. Enraged, she and her minions swooped into the caves and underground passages of Pyrkagia. For the first time ever, the dwarves had to contend with the horror that had plagued the surface for generations. Their defenses were strong, but the bird's power was immense. Stone fortresses melted at her touch. A flap of her wings turned entire underground lakes into roiling steam. Her smoky breath billowed everywhere, smothering the population in searing hot clouds of ash. Thousands upon thousands of dwarves perished, entire civilizations burned, and the advanced magic and technology of the underground was purged in a matter of weeks.

But as Kalemnestra carved a path of destruction underneath, a great dwarven mage named Frederick the Wise set a trap in the last place she would expect: her own nest at Feathertop. When the subterranean kingdoms finally surrendered, Kalemnestra, satisfied that the threat had been neutralized, returned home. As she settled into her volcano lair, Frederick the Wise and the greatest warriors of the surface world struck. The battle was fierce, but the phoenix's energy had been exhausted in her campaign below, and she eventually fell.

Just before she died, Frederick the Wise completed his sealing spell and bound the last of Kalemnestra's life force to himself. Through this, she would never truly die, and thus could never be reborn. Her volcano lair of Feathertop went dark, and was soon converted into a giant fortress to defend the Frederick bloodline. Each subsequent Lord Frederick would transfer the phoenix's flame to their child in a magical ritual before they died, ensuring that the fire would never go out.

And so we return to the latest Lord of Feathertop being assassinated by his sister’s husband. As Frederick's heart stopped beating, Kalemnestra's spark finally went out. And then, as is the way of all phoenix's, her flame was reborn. Fire erupted from Frederick's body, filling the halls of Mount Feathertop with fire and death. At the same time, the volcano reactivated; spilling hot magma through tubes that had been cold for centuries. Within a matter of minutes, every living thing in Feathertop was incinerated.

As onlookers from outside watched the volcano burn, a small object was ejected from the mountain's peak. Covered in ash, Lord Frederick awoke in a sizzling impact crater over a mile from the eruption's epicenter. Like the phoenix that his body had imprisoned, he had been resurrected from death. But this rebirth came at a cost, because Frederick was now completely mad...

## Appearance and Behavior

As a dwarf, Freddy is short, stocky, and has a long beard of fiery orange hair. He smells faintly of brimstone, his armor is blackened with soot, and his Arcane Focus is a long red feather woven into his beard. He is completely bonkers, randomly sets things on fire, and can sometimes be found talking to himself. Part of him still wonders if he simply died in Feathertop and everything since then has been some sort of weird dying fever dream.

## Statistics

Chaotic Neutral Dwarf Sorcerer, Level 1

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