Apa Arosson

Apa Arosson is the current Jarl of Ravenwood within the Confederation of Drakkaheimr, one of the six Jarls on The Møt of Drakkaheimr, and one of the nation's founding members. He also serves as the Gajallahorn av Drakkaheimr, the highest-ranking military official within the group. As one of the Confederation's greatest and most ruthless soldiers, Arosson is also the current High Priest of the War God Aros, hence his honorary last name meaning "Son of Aros".

Arosson is also the founder of the Sons of Aros, a mercenary band based out of the city of Ravenwood.

## Apa Arosson

### Occupation

Jarl of Drakkaheimr, Gajallahorn av Drakkaheimr, mercenary

## Early Life

Arosson was born in the town of Oxreach in the north-eastern portions of the former state of Verotia. At a young age, Arosson showed a great interest in history, religion, and combat. Indeed, he excelled in the latter and was easily one of Verotia's greatest soldiers, if not the greatest. However, he did not shirk from his duties as a student and was rigorous in his studies of Iaddathis's history and politics.

## Rising Through Verotia's Ranks

As a young man, Arosson would eventually meet and befriend prominent members of the Verotian government, including but not limited to the Verotian leader, Nihilis Thollorn, and senior members of the magistrate council that controlled the nation. Through the friendship he shared with Thollorn, Arosson was able to secure the position of Supreme Commander of the Verotian military, a position he held for some time.

### General of Verotia

As the military leader of Verotia, Arosson immediately started a campaign of modernizing and improving the military to meet his lofty standards. He initially targeted areas of weakness, such as a complete lack of military organization, distribution method, citizen contributions, and overall preparedness.

First, Arosson set a standard for all soldiers to follow in terms of gear, equipment, and training. Arosson personally trained or recruited some of Verotia's greatest soldiers and was widely appreciated among military members for his down-to-earth personality, willingness to help, and readiness to train at any given moment.

Secondly, Arosson began a process of training individuals who showed promise in combat or demanded training from him. Beginning within Verotia and then working outwards towards the nation's vassals, Arosson worked tirelessly in assessing the combat effectives/readiness of the military. Arosson got over his initial shock at the complete neglect of Verotia's military and was able to create an effective, ready military force willing to defend the nation's borders if need be.

Though Arosson would eventually depart Verotia for Drakkaheimr, he remained as general until his departure and still works closely with Verotian military members for training and advice, as well as having multiple friends within Verotia.

### Magistrate of Verotia

As General of Verotia, Arosson was immediately brought into the fold of the Verotian government where he advocated for a complete cessation of expansionist practices. Appalled by the apparent lack of attentiveness the Verotian government showed to its internal affairs, Arosson successfully advocated for the government to ignore international politics for a time being and focus less on expanding its borders and more on the improvement of national infrastructure, economic practices, and an immediate improvement to the military structure.

Arosson was seen as a voice of reason and experience despite his comparatively young age and grew even closer to Thollorn due to his sound advice. He was able to calm many diplomatic situations with his cool words and quick-thinking, being instrumental in halting a possible war between Verotia and Nivir.

Ultimately, Arosson did not enjoy his time as a magistrate as he became bored of the politics of a union of many nations and found some members of the government to be exceedingly arrogant. Eventually, he would resign his post and solely work on military matters.

## Call to Drakkaheimr

Feeling unfulfilled in Verotia, Arosson began to contemplate departing the nation. He ultimately discovered a band of travelers that were passing through Verotiawho called themselves the Drakkaheimr. Arosson conversed with these people and discovered that they were heading north to the far frozen corners of Iaddathis to found their own nation. Sensing an opportunity, Arosson immediately gathered his belongings and abandoned Oxreach and Verotia, traveling with the band to the frigid wastes that would be there home.

### Creating the Confederation

Upon their arrival to the region, Arosson and the band immediately set about the task of establishing borders and settlements. Being one of the most experienced in terms of combat (as well as one of the wealthier Drakkaheimran), Arosson set about the task of patrols that would defend the nascent state's borders from nearby nations, hostile wanderers, and bandits. Arosson was instrumental in the founding of the state's capital, Thrope, and was also one of the founding members of his Jarldom's capital of Ravenwood.

Arosson swiftly brought in a number of wanderers and nomads, quickly boosting the nation's population and offering him a larger selection of soldiers to recruit from. However, the initial stages of the nation were not as smooth as Arosson and the others would have liked.

### Hostilities with the Astorian Khanate

In the first days of Drakkaheimr's founding, the nation found itself at odds with Astorian citizens. Initially, the Astorians arrived at the nation's settlements and attempted to establish diplomatic ties but an incident of misunderstanding that resulted in the killings of a number of citizens of Drakkaheimr resulted in an escalation of tensions between the two nations. Arosson was soon involved shortly after in a standoff between Astorian troops masquerading as a diplomatic party in which members of the Drakkaheimr military eventually managed to turn away the Astorians.

Tensions would rise so high that the Order of Aspera would get involved in order to mediate peace negotiations. Arosson was the representative of Drakkaheimr and convened at a meeting where borders and peace deal were discussed between all three nations. In the end, Drakkaheimr was able to receive the borders it desired thanks in part to Arosson's calm manner of deliberation and his unwillingness to back down from demands.

### Becoming Jarl of Ravenwood

After the cessation of hostilities, Arosson was approached by members of Drakkaheimr's aristocracy in regards to a position as a Jarl -- a feudal lord -- of a region of Drakkaheimr known as Ravenwood. According to the aristocrats, Ravenwood was being purpose-built by members of Drakkaheimr's military elite as a military installation. They argued, therefore, that Arosson's military experience and prowess would serve the nation usefully in the sense that he would be able to unite the military and keep it organized.

Arosson graciously accepted this proposal and went to Ravenwood where he met the city and surroundings current leader, Lucius. Lucius and Arosson struck up a close friendship and worked together to better their region and the fledgeling nation's military.

## Tenure in Drakkaheimr

Arosson began his position of political power in Drakkheimr with a bang, immediately setting about the task of creating a functioning government for the young nation and organizing the military.

### Borders and Government

Arosson's first concerns were a lack of borders around Jarldoms which would hamper cooperation between the powerful fuedal lords. In close consultation with Lucius and Jarl Leif Haverson, Arosson ultimately devised the border markings for the Jarldoms of Drakkaheimr which were readily accepted by the Jarls. Furthermore, Arosson also wrote the Pakt av Konføderasjon in its entirety which would serve as the nation's founding document.

## Sons of Aros

With in-depth knowledge of warfare and tactics, Arosson realized that he could profit immensely by selling his services out to countries during times of war for the highest bidder. Spurred on by this knowledge -- and the great necessity of keeping his soldiers in high morale -- Arosson founded the Sons of Aros, a mercenary group of followers of the war god Aros.