Heinrich Lennart Bruhnman

***“**The monarchs walk around as if they were chosen by the Divines, yet no such privilege was granted. It is against Human nature for us to bow before unjust tyrants born into privilege. Only when the people's eyes are opened and they realise the flaws of Enselonde's political landscape and overthrow their oppressors shall there be world peace.**”***
— Heinrich Lennart Bruhnman

**Heinrich Lennart Bruhnman**, often called the **Father of Republicanism**, was a Fühlgartian political theorist and writer often credited with sparking the political shift that would result in the rise of the Republicans. However, he would become highly critical of the Republic of Fühlgart in the wake of the Fühlgartian Civil War, calling the Fühlgartian Senate a corrupt oligarchy that mirrored the League of Whitecrest and referring to Jan Luftschwert a dictator involved in Syarus' personality cult. Fearing that Bruhnman might spark regional rebellions, he was abducted in early 1206 AW by Group Zero and imprisoned for half a year. He never received a trial and, after being repeatedly tortured for information, was executed. The Senate claimed he had died of illness to explain his disappearance, though circumstances around Bruhnman's dead have become public knowledge due to Republican defectors in the ongoing Second Fühlgartian Civil War.

## Biography

Born in Freistadt in the Kingdom of Fühlgart, his father was a mercenary who died while Heinrich was still young. His mother was unable to earn enough to keep herself and Heinrich from being evicted, and they subsequently ended up on the streets. Out of desperation to care for her son, his mother turned to prostitution but was ultimately killed by a client, leaving him orphaned on the streets. Heinrich spent the next few years doing odd jobs as a teenager while wandering across the Kingdom. He was ultimately sweet-talked into joining one of the retinues of a nobleman where he proved to be a below-average soldier. However, he remained enrolled in the military until the outbreak of the Sixth Fühlgartian-Wyrsian War in 1187 AW.

In the short conflict, Heinrich lost many of his friends and was injured, spending the latter half of the war in a military hospital due to a blow from a mace that shattered his knee and left him with a permanent limp for the rest of his life. It was most likely during this war that he became disillusioned with the monarchy, as the nobility of Fühlgart sat back and recklessly threw their troops into the meatgrinder of the heavily fortified Highlands of Death. When the popular king Dietrich III died and was succeeded by his corrupt and unpopular son Albin III, it further increased his dislike of the Fühlgartian monarchy.

Now rendered useless due to his permanent limp, Heinrich was dropped from the military and left homeless and without a job once again. He spent the remainder of his savings returning to Freistadt where he begged for a living and preached his anti-monarchist ideas to anyone who would listen. Freistadt's duke, Jan Luftschwert, took note of the man and ultimately invited him to court.

From the court of Freistadt, Heinrich rapidly taught how to read and write and began creating many pamphlets, books, and calls to action against the monarchy. Unsurprisingly, Albin III took note of Bruhnman and demanded Jan Luftschwert to hand him over, which the duke refused, as he became fascinated with the ideas of the theorist himself. Bruhnman's ideas became more and more popular across Fühlgart, sparking the birth of modern Republicanism.

Heading into the late 1190s, Republican pressure gradually increased on the court at Kalzberg, as the nation began gearing itself for civil war. However, Bruhnman was alarmed. While he had hoped for some kind of revolution that would replace the monarchy, he was concerned about Syarus influencing the Republican cause, as the God of Storms had recently abandoned his Divine Seal and began controlling Jan Luftschwert. While the Divine influence alarmed him, the overthrowing of the monarchy was a more pressing concern for the political theorist.

In the wake of the Fühlgartian Civil War and the establishment of the Republic of Fühlgart, Bruhnman was surprised to suddenly find himself out of a job as he had been passed over for a seat in the newly established Fühlgartian Senate or in any other government position. The theorist was outraged when the Fühlgartian Senate was staffed with Jan Luftschwert's personal friends and allies and subsequently began a campaign against the new government.

He repeatedly called Jan Luftschwert a dictator and a puppet of the God of Storms and referred to the Senate as a corrupt oligarchy not dissimilar to the League of Whitecrest. In response, the Republic's newfound spy agency, Group Zero, began heavily censoring his writings, effectively removing his voice. Not content with this state of affairs, Bruhnman returned to the streets and began preaching the flaws of Jan Luftschwert's republic for all to hear in the streets of Freistadt. Soon after, his living quarters were ransacked and the man was beaten nearly to death by Republican soldiers. Fearing for his life, Bruhnman bought safe passage on a ship headed for the Kingdom of Yratessia, where he had hoped to live out his days in peace. However, the ship made an unplanned stop at Kirchenstau in the middle of the night, where Group Zero agents dragged him off the ship and back to Freistadt in chains.

With his disappearance becoming suspicious to the general public, the Fühlgartian Senate put out a statement that Bruhnman was dealing with a long-term health issue and wished him a swift recovery. Yet, in Group Zero's network of tunnels beneath the streets of Freistadt, Adrian Strickmann personally oversaw the horrific torture that Bruhnman was subjected to for half a year. Finally, in late Nyara's Summer of 1207 AW, Bruhnman broke, giving up a list of just about every ally that shared his doubts and being forced to sign a false confession. Satisfied with the results, Strickmann had him dragged into a dark basement where he was shot unceremoniously through the head. His body was cremated with his ashes later being dumped into the Western Ocean.

To the public of Fühlgart, Bruhnman had died of some kind of disease as the events surrounding his capture and murder were covered up. However, during the outbreak of the Second Fühlgartian Civil War, various high-profile defectors such as Wolfgang Luftschwert and Group Zero Commander Johan Tilmann leaked the real story of Bruhnman's death.

## Career

* Kingdom of Fühlgart
	+ Soldier (1165-1188 AW)
	+ Political Theorist (1190 AW-)
	+ Courtier (1191-1205 AW)
	+ Writer (1192 AW-)

## Awards

*Main Article: List of Awards*

* ~~Service Medal - Kingdom of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)

## Personality

Heinrich Lennart Bruhnman is a name that inspires awe amongst political theorists and the man is remembered as a genius and the father of modern Republican politics. However, if one were to meet them in person, he would sound more like a deranged madman. While he could out himself clearly on paper, his face-to-face communication was a bit lacking, as he would often go on angry rants, have shouting fits, or lose his thought completely. This caused many to disregard trying to befriend him and left him with very few friends.