Kondrad Sierakowsky

Kondrad during the 1930s

High School Teacher (1949-1967)

NATO Metahuman Agent (1968-1970)

Soviet Metahuman Agent (1970-1999)

Dynastic Head (2000-present)

*"Dead men don't tell tales? Hah, what a joke."*

Kondrad Jan Sierakowsky is the current Lord of Poland and one of the oldest metahumans currently in existence. He is the first of his nation's necromantic Spirit Seers, and the greatest amongst their number.

## **Personality**

Honorable, duty bound, and principled, Kondrad is one of the lords that could be considered inherently trustworthy with his word. He sees that the current system is beginning to crack at the seams, as shown by the need to declare war on a common foe to keep up a façade of unity.

Kondrad acknowledges metahuman superiority as inherent to them, what with their ability to do feats far beyond the most well trained of humans. However, while others may seek to tie mundane humans down into second class citizens, Kondrad wishes to slowly but surely turn the entire population into metas through interbreeding. He believes that ALL of humanity must be made strong, rather than the strong simply stomping over the weak. Some might say it would take too long, but for a long lived meta like himself, it would not matter.

Having lived for such a long time, Kondrad has found attachment to usually be unnecessary, detrimental even. Or worse, painful. Just about everyone he had known in his younger days is now dead, save perhaps for Sergei Zhakarov, First Citizen of the Soviet Union. As such, when it comes to more private relations, he seems to come off as incapable of commitment. Kondrad, while seemingly a cheerful figure, is actually deathly afraid of having to live life through a long line of partners; he wishes for only one to accompany him in the one thousand years that he will live. Despite this fear of committing without surety, his nephew and niece has described Kondrad as 'very loving' and 'could replace your grandmother when it comes to baking pies'.

He has a wide, farsighted point of view on the world, looking further into the futures of humanity as a whole. He looks down on many of the lords and great lords of the Dynasties because of this mindset; they squabble and fight for things that would not matter in the long run, cause troubles that will only flare up once their times had long passed. While he, the one who is slated to live for a thousand years at the minimum, will live long enough to see these catastrophes unfold, and the madness that will befall the human race in the fallout. His rather wide perspective also affords him a clear vision of the past and present, and the changes that have occurred in groups and people. This could be seen by him readily agreeing to the South American's Reich request for shipping access to Gdansk, even if he was a soldier in the Second World War. He may be old and long lived, but Kondrad would not think to hold grudges for such a long time.

## **Abilities**

**Wraith Sight and Control:** Kondrad is able to see the souls of the dead, as well as to speak and interact with them. He is able to turn off wraith sight should he not need it. He is also able to force/coax/persuade ghosts to animate Darkstone constructs, which he and the Sierakowski Dynasty are known for. He is able to control up to three of these constructs directly within a distance of up to ten miles.

**Darkstone Creation:** Kondrad has the ability to create and manipulate a psychoactive material that is essentially solidified magic energy at a rate of up to one metric ton an hour. Known as Darkstone due to its marble-like appearance and pitch black hue, it is typically used to build vaguely humanoid constructs. Darkstone is about as hard as steel, and is much lighter, despite appearances, allowing for greater mobility. It is quite durable, and trying to destroy a construct is equal to fighting with one of the golems of the British Thaumatarchy, or a battle tank. It also slowly self repairs over time.

This material requires absolute focus to create; as such, it cannot be conjured into being in the middle of battle.

**Soulfire:** A form of pyrokinesis that is aesthetically and thermally the same as normal firebending, if it was silver in color.

**Undying:** Ever since he was turned into a metahuman, Kondrad's biological age was turned back by three decades, and he has aged extremely slowly. He is also seemingly impervious to most, if not all diseases. It is estimated that he will live for 1,000 years, should no disaster befall him before that.

**Soul Keep:** Should his physical form be destroyed, Kondrad's soul will be captured by the odd looking gem on his necklace. In a later date, it may be implanted into a Darkstone Construct, assuming that it has been retrieved. Unlike the others, Kondrad would have absolute control over his own actions within the strange contraption.

## **Biography**

Born to a well-off family in the outskirts of Warsaw during the days of the nascent Polish Republic, Kondrad Sierakowsky had no idea on what kind of path his life was going to take. He was a child when the Soviets tried to invade the young nation, and he would wonder just what the people were celebrating when the Polish army defeated the encroaching Communist juggernaut. But that wasn't the interesting part. Not yet.

On the onset of the twin invasions of the nations by the German Reich and the Soviet Union Kondrad Sierakowsky had been one of the soldiers that managed to escape Poland to the south, eventually finding his way along with his comrades to Great Britain. His mother, father, and two sisters were left behind, much to Kondrad's pain. He wouldn't return to the continental mainland of Europe until the momentous D-Day as part of the 1st Polish Armored Division, landing later on to participate in the campaigns on Belgium and the Netherlands. He had been the commander of a rickety tankette when the invasion happened. Now, Kondrad was on a Sherman.

Having been forbidden to return to Poland by the establishment of the Communist government behind the Iron Curtain, Kondrad instead moved to London, England. Still he didn't have the slightest idea on what happened to his family, and he tried again and again to send letters to their old address, only to be blocked by the Iron Curtain. Because of this, Kondrad opted to simply stay in London, where he would first work as a restaurant cook, before taking on a two decades long career in teaching. Perhaps the clearest mark of this period on him is the cockney accent Kondrad has when he speaks English.

It was sometime in the 60s when Kondrad was approached by shadowy government agents. By this time, Hammer and Columbia were the world's famous heroes, and a few more were beginning to emerge. What transpired within his home, only Kondrad remembers, but after a year, constructs of black stone that were impervious to gunfire emerged within the jungles of Vietnam, cutting down all who stood in their path. Commanding them through their own sight was Kondrad Sierakowsky, looking at least three decades younger. However, he came into contact with his younger sister Judita here, who had apparently also been made a metahuman by the Soviet projects, and within days after contact, the Ghostlord defected to the Soviet Union in order to return to Poland.

As the decades went on, it became clear that it was good when Kondrad had returned. His parents soon withered from age, and so did his sisters during the 90s. At the very least, he got to be with them once again.

In 1999, Kondrad and other metahumans were approached by Hammer and Columbia, beseeching them for aid in the takeover. Kondrad, having seen the impotence of both the governments of the two superpowers, readily agreed to this, and with the help of his nephews and nieces, took over Poland at the dawn of the new century. He thought that they were going to lead humanity into a brighter future, but alas, the two who instigated this whole thing left for the space station Olympus, and abandoned their erstwhile allies to rule over Earth.

Kondrad was less than pleased with them being left to their own devices. However, he considered the ideals that they championed to begin with, and stuck with them. Freedom for all metas, they said. Well, wouldn't it be better if the whole population became metas, right? After all, the chance of inheriting powers from even one parent was 100%.

## Appearance

Kondrad is a short, seemingly unassuming man that appears to be in his mid 20s to early 30s. He has raven black hair, though a mallen streak near his right temple could be seen in stark contrast to the rest of his head. Under his eyes are dark circles; a telltale sign of stress. When on his less esoteric duties, he usually uses normal-ish western styled clothing, somewhat influenced by the decades he spent on England. Oftentimes, he puts on a flat cap, which he ensures resembles the one he used back in the 1930s.

When taking on the persona of the Ghostlord, Kondrad dons a red and brown coat, somewhat reminiscent of 18th century nobility, though with the addition of a golden plague doctor mask and top hat.

Despite his young appearance, there is one easily seen sign that he is really older than he looks: Kondrad often walks with his hands folded behind his back while slightly leaning forward. That, and his gait is somewhat erratic despite him being perfectly capable of walking completely normally.

## Relationships

### Sergei Zhakarov

One might consider the lords of Poland and Russia to be close allies, friends even. Though Kondrad is a Communist mostly in name due to the affiliation of his family with the Polish People's Army during the Second World War, they nevertheless have a shared experience of fighting in the war itself.

### Viktoria Von Eisenfaust

Funnily enough, Kondrad Sierakowsky has no qualms with the lady of Nazi South America. He had long realized that these 'Nazis' had stripped away many of the things that made them so abhorred by the rest of the world, such as the notion of Slavic inferiority and anti-semitism. He sees her as the one that cleansed that party, what with her coup that all but destroyed the old guard of the National Socialists.

If there are opportunities for them to speak to one another as colleagues, perhaps they will come to mutually good terms.

### Prince Tolui

Kondrad Sierakowsky is in good terms with the Regent of the Great Yuan, preferring him above the other East Asian Lords if only because the young prince is a level headed figure, much like the Ghostlord himself.