Maximillian von Excaliburg

Maximillian von Excaliburg is a member of the Tyrolian Branch of the noble Excaliburg Family. He is the Archduke of Austria, but foremost the Duke of independent Tyrol. He is the son of Adolf von Excaliburg and Alessandra di Holzgethan.

### Appearance and Personality

Maximillian von Excaliburg is a man 35 years and of very tall stature, standing at 6'3. He possesses short-lengthed, wavy brown hair with a goatee. He also possesses similar grey eyes to the Holzgethans. He tends to have a large distate for both metal armour and fine silks, preferring armour and clothes formed from various kinds of leather.

Maximillian is a heartless and ruthless man, though he may not look as such. His extremely callous view on the world and impractical levels of violence has earned him many nicknames such as 'the Demon of Tyrol' and 'the Mad' amongst both commoners and nobles alike, with many thousands being put to the sword as a result of his ethnic cleansing and religious persecutions of Italians, Native Tyrolians and anyone who is not Catholic.

### Maximillian's Life

#### Childhood

Maximilian was born in 1365 to Adolf von Excaliburg and Alessandra di Holzgethan. In 1366, he was recognised by his father as heir to his Duchy and betrothed to the month-younger Yennefer von Holzgethan in 1367. Maximillian's childhood was centred around the art of courtly intrigue and statecraft. Over time, Maximillian slowly began to despise the obnoxious Italian nobility within his schools.

When Maximillian was 7, he was tortured for 2 days by his father after he caved a 13 year-old and a 9 year-old Italian's skulls in for making fun of him to each other, killing the two brothers and causing a rebellion. Despite being Italian himself, he avoided anything to do with them throughout his childhood.

He first met Yennefer von Holzgethan when they were 9, during a visit to Wien post-war. Here he also met Yavuzung 'The Ottoman', who shared his distaste for towards the majority of Italian nobles other than the Holzgethans. He later returned for advanced tutoring at 11 years old up until 15. During this time, he became notorious for his abuse of Italian courtiers from the peasantry. During his first year, him and several younger Austrian nobles broke into an Italian merchant's home and beat his family to death, only to pin the blame onto the merchant when he got home.

When he was 14, Maximillian's gang dispersed, each founding one anti-Italian youth gang in what's now known as 'Der Syndikat'. He also officialised his betrothal to Yennefer von Holzgethan by proposing to her in their last duelling class at 15, before beating every jealous noble who challenged him unknowing to their betrothal. Each noble went missing in the middle of the night, never to be heard of again.

#### Early Adulthood

Adolf I von Excaliburg, Maximillian's father died in 1381, shortly before Maximillian's 16th birthday. He spent the next 3 months travelling back to Tyrol to claim the throne of the Realm. When he discovered an Italian had been positioned as regent, he was enraged. Assuming the man had intentions to seize the throne for himself, Maximillian had the man seized and crucified, with several other Italian nobles he believed was in on the plot being burned on 16 steaks forming a semi circle around him. This event ended up being called the 'First Massacre'.

Maximillian enjoyed engaging in literature and extortion of the Italian and Jewish populations, with Tyrolian guards being often found assaulting random Italians and Jews in the streets of Innsbruck, which he had renamed as "New Excaliburg" to sound in his eyes "More Austrian". He also executed or banished most of the Italians and Jews from his court, for even the smallest perceived suggestions of treachery in them.

##### Second Bohemian War

In 1382, Maximillian received word of the Second Bohemian War between Austria and Bohemia. As an ally of the Holzgethans, he raised 2,000 Tyrolian men and lead the march to Wien to meet up with the main Austrian force, leaving his regent, Erik von Excaliburg to rule over Tyrol in his place. During the war, he participated in 6 battles, before he was called to Wien in the beginning of 1383 to put down a minor insurrection. Here he married Yennefer von Holzgethan without the knowledge of Frederick IV.

A year later, in 1384, two children were born to the Holzgethan Dynasty, being Fritz von Holzgethan and Maria von Holzgethan. Despite this, most of Maximillian's time was spent punishing Italians and Jews who he believed responsible for the insurrection with the aid of Der Syndikat. Later in the year, he rejoined the frontlines, only march back to Tyrol just months after the war had concluded after receiving word that Erik von Excaliburg had risen up and took Tyrol for himself. While this costed the Austrians a major victory at Sturmfeld, he managed to get back in time to fight in his new war.

##### Erik's Rebellion & The Judaeo-Italian Genocide

Maximillian reached New Excaliburg in the summer of 1386, after burning traitor villages and towns and recruiting for their understrength army. Immediately as they got to the city, they surrounded the area and began a siege. After six months, reinforcements came from the county Excaliburg to aid the Tyrolian Loyalist army. The traitors surrendered amongst seeing the reinforcements. However, sending the mostly Italian army to aid Maximillian had been a mistake, as amongst his ascension, he had every Italian captured, killed and hung, as well as all the Italians and Jews in the city too as he got word that the Jews were the ones funding the rebellion. This became known as "the Judaeo-Italian Genocide" and lasted between 1386 and 1393 and resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 Jews, 17,000 Italians and another 7,500 non-associated innocents, many of whom were non-Catholics. 30% of these deaths occurred in the Capital.

#### Maximillian now

In 1388, Maximillian set off to Wien to meet his wife again. He has since remained in the capital to rule with Yennefer von Holzgethan and sire a third child, Annika von Holzgethan.