Duke Vincent Mason

## Synopsis

Vincent Mason is the duke under whom Gragnok served during his time in the Alviren Empire's army. He is the commanding officer of the imperial army in Hartwell, and the lord of Aerzen.

## History

Vincent Mason was born in Saltcrest to an older couple, who both died when he was in his teens. His young life was difficult, and he had to work hard to make ends meet. He eventually joined the Alviren Empire army, which helped to lift him out of poverty and give him a decent life.

In his early twenties, Vincent was in a serious relationship with an elven woman, Valania Aloro. Their relationship was passionate and intense, but soured in Vincent's late twenties as he increasingly focused on his military career, and ended when Vincent left Saltcrest and moved to Hartwell to accept his position as Duke. Vincent never fully got over his resentment towards Valania.

Shortly after Vincent moved to Hartwell, he was approached by Valania, who brought him a baby, saying that it was his, and that she was not interested in raising it. She planned to take it to an orphanage. Vincent, concerned that the bastard, half-elf child would eventually come back to haunt him and ruin his career, said that he would take the baby himself. Under cover of night, he took the baby out into the wilderness, planning to kill it. However, he was caught in the act by Carric Blackburn, who saw a hooded figure riding into the woods with a baby and was suspicious. After a discussion, Carric offered to take the baby in and raise it as his own, and swore to keep Vincent's secret. He threatened that if Vincent refused this plan, he would turn him in. As such, Vincent had no choice but to agree.

## Relationship With Gragnok

Vincent was the commanding officer of Gragnok during his time in the army. He always held some resentment toward Gragnok, but never revealed the truth of being his father. This resentment generally manifested in relatively minor fashions, such as separating Gragnok from his father Carric Blackburn, and holding Gragnok back from promotion within the army.

On one occasion, however, Vincent was approached by a mysterious mage, who was cloaked in illusion magic and offered only the name "The Ghost Collector" (in truth, Avourel Orion). Avourel knew the secret of Vincent's illegitimate child, and threatened to reveal it unless Vincent complied with a request. All Vincent had to do was send Gragnok and his father out on a patrol mission into the Eiswald Forest, at a specified date and time. Then, Avourel insisted, his problem would be done with. Not a naive man, Vincent was insightful enough to understand that the mage meant to kill Gragnok and Carric. But given his disdain for Gragnok, and wanting to be rid of the looming threat of losing his legitimacy, he accepted the arrangement.

## Since Gragnok's Departure

After the death of Carric Blackburn and disappearance of Gragnok, Vincent charged Gragnok with desertion, officially holding him responsible for abandoning his troop. Rumors have surfaced that Gragnok may have even been responsible for the death of his troop, and the Duke's official reports claim that Gragnok conspired with a necromancer to betray his troop.

Vincent has been visited again by Avourel Orion, who has now threatened to blackmail him and report to the Empire what actually happened to Gragnok. In exchange for his silence, Avourel has demanded that Duke Mason assist him in retrieving an object that is stored within the crypt of his ancestor, Alusfaen Orion, located in Aerzen within the Duke's jurisdiction.