Apollo

"'In the bleak Midwinter...' Apollo's dying words. "

Apollo de Lampérière was a major character in Season 2-4 of LNWJ and appeared briefly in Season 5. Remembered as a prominent advisor to a plethora of kings, drafter of both laws and the basis of the map that is still in use in Scovania today, Apollo helped shape integral parts of Scovanian history, albeit posthumously.

Appearance
Apollo's facial appearance differs noticeably across the media he appears in. In both the roleplay series taking place in Mount and Blade and in artwork, he appears as a handsome man with a well trimmed beard, with his hair seeming to extend noticeably at the back and at the front. Despite him being canonically blonde, he is depicted as a brunet in the actual LNWJ series. Artwork and his other appearances rectify this a little by making him blonde.

Attire-wise, Apollo's appearance is a lot more consistent. Sporting the uniform of the Landwehr during his youth, he later leaves it behind for the gold trimmed black uniform of House Ravenoak. During his exile to Thyrnway as a Derpscovian soldier, he sports the silver armour with both red epaulettes and a silver riding helmet, with both cream-coloured pants and knee-high boots. Over the period of his stint with House Derpscovy, he wears a red-trimmed blue greatcoat, reminiscent of his time with Landwehr, but distinctly Derpscovian in style. Keeping the cream pants, he did switch out the riding helmet for a black leather helmet, decorated with steel elements.

Childhood
Apollo was the first-born son of Timothy and Adedheid Lampérière, and also the heir to the Lampérière Estate, a role he didn't fully care for until far later, some ten years into King Derpy's reign. Never a child for swordplay, he had preferred to pursue a lifestyle more in lieu of erudition than anything else, staying inside whilst the children of serfs and servants played games with each other.

Being the only son of the two, he was beloved by his father who saw in him potential to be something rather magnificent, and Apollo had looked up to his father as well, taking up his father's hobby of gardening alongside him, desiring his approval. When the Landwehrian Hauptmann, Tim, had come to the Lampérière Estate to recruit Apollo's father to his cause against Soupism in Central Scovania, Apollo didn't realise he'd never see his father again, and was completely oblivious to his departure.

When Apollo came of age, he too wished to march under the Landwehrian flag, both following in his father's footsteps, and also due to his mother, who had become weakened by childbirth, recently passing away after delivering his brother. Seeing as though there had been nothing for him at the Lampérière Estate aside from being waited on by servants, he fought with the Landwehr-Cliffhall Coalition for several months, before the news came through the ranks that Hauptmann Tim, and his father, had both been killed.

Ravenoak
Apollo was at a loss; his dream of fighting at his father's side had come crashing down in a matter of mere moments with just a few short words. Apollo mourned the losses of both his father and the Landwehrian leader, like many other men did. However, his grief was cut short by the inevitable march of time. Factions like the Soupists intended to take advantage of the Hauptmann's death. That was where a man like any other, hailing from Vaterstadt like the Hauptmann before him, stepped in to fill the shoes of the deceased Tim: Lord Eyvind Ravenoak.

Eyvind Ravenoak was a noble from Landwehria, and during the few months after the Hauptmann's death, he had been hard at work establishing some measure of control in Vaterstadt. When he came unto a position of power in the court, he had done such a good job of securing his position that he was unanimously beloved by the people. Apollo was one of them, seeing Eyvind as a possible guiding light in the Landwehr's time of darkness.

Yet the Landwehr was a lost cause; infighting between the leaders left behind in the power vacuum by Apollo's father, Tim's apparent heir, had festered and split the Landwehr into vying factions, the Ravenoaks being one of the more noteworthy examples, the other such being House Al-Saba, which came about to prominence after Saba, an incompetent diplomat of Landwehria and the head of the House, drunk himself into a stupor and eventually took his own life after hearing about Tim's death.

Immediately, Ravenoak entered into an alliance of sorts with the Cliffhalls; eager to retain some modicum of the past alliance that the two great kingdoms had honoured for a long time in the past, with the Cliffhalls giving Landwehria residence at the Palace. Eyvind, having no heir, saw fit to appoint Apollo as such until the time came that a son or such could take over from him.

During their stay, however, the Cliffhalls learnt of the Ravenoak plot to usurp power from the Heads of State that operated in Landwehria and, fearing retribution that would might come to them had they continue to harbour them, they cast out Ravenoak and his ilk. Eyvind, although angry at the Cliffhall treachery, tempers his wrath. There would be another outlet, one that would yield a more satisfying gratification. House Buffia. Apollo, on the other hand, had experienced his first taste of Cliffhall treachery. It would not be his last.

House Buffia
Recently, House Buffia had exiled no shortage of people from the safety of its walls. The leader of the house, Lord Buffius XI, had undergone a severe string of fits that related to paranoia. Seeing enemies all around him, he ordered practically all of the men of his house ousted. With nowhere left to go, it was only fitting that Ravenoak brought them into their ranks. Apollo, however, was dismayed; non-Landwehrian sons and daughters had been inducted into their ranks, corrupting their mission. This was not what his father nor the Hauptmann had died for. He had dreamt of a Scovania without the scourge of the jumped-up heretical bandits known as Soupists, as had Tim, and he worried that souls who did not share such a vision would end up diverting Eyvind from their goal.

Ravenoak, upon winning against House Buffia, promptly took their lands and fort, establishing themselves among the other great houses in Scovania. Eyvind, however, took to meeting with Duke Boris of Sano. Boris had always been a friend to the Landwehrian effort, and Eyvind was keen to capitalise upon that. Although the sentiment of Eyvind usurping power hung in the air when they first met, they both warmed to one another, becoming fast friends, and the Duchy of Sano had become a secondary home for the House of Ravenoak. Apollo, like his father before him, also warmed to Duke Boris, engaging him in a plethora of discourse.

Narmacil
Then came the news. The king had been poisoned by Narmacil, a noble who appeared to have struck a great friendship with the king. All a ploy. The hunt went up and all around the realm, men searched for the traitor that would dare try to assassinate the king. All, but House Ravenoak. They waited with baited breath, observing. Waiting. WIth the entire realm searching for him, it was no surprise that Narmacil was eventually found. On a boat bound for a small refuge. They brought him before the King, who had since recovered, and he ordered the man executed. The realm, Ravenoak and Apollo included, gathered around to observe. It was swift and brutal, but it continued on longer than it should've.

Bison, instead of cutting Narmacil down by the throat and seperating his head from his shoulders, was fueled by rage. Betrayal, and it had come by a friend's hand. He directed his blow, instead, onto Narmacil's head, and cleaved his skull in two. Apollo watched horrified, observing that he could see, with a good enough angle, the contents of the assassin's cranium. Bison, along with his cohort, rode away. Then did the rest of the Great Houses. All but Ravenoak left, and Eyvind ordered Apollo that Narmacil be taken with them.

Apollo, at first, was confused. He had seen Narmacil slain, they had all done. Did they mean to bury him somewhere?

Eyvind, wwith certainty, spoke simply. Narmacil was still alive. Apollo looked to the body of the Assassin and, sure enough, his chest rose and fell. He breathed. It was nothing short of miraculous. Apollo believed, and still did to the end of his days, he had just witnessed an act of God. Throwing the body upon the back of his horse, he made way back to the Duchy of Sano, where aid was immediately ordered to be given to Narmacil. Apollo tended to the assassin, spending a great deal of time with the man. He found him to be unresponsive. Dead, practically. All he could manage was breathing, and even that was strenuous at best.

Whilst Apollo tended to him, Eyvind and his cohort left Boris' fort. Whilst he was not privy to the details surrounding it, he could not mistake what had occured. Jamtein, head of House Adsum and uncle to Bison II, had been run through with a spear. Though the wound itself was not fatal, the poison that coated the tip most certainly was, and the Lord who had challenged kings for the right to rule ended up laying in a grave next to his brother. Bison, however, began to make his move. The King had declared his intention to unite the realm. House Saba, who was present for this meeting, stormed out in disgust.

Eyvind thought it would be beneficial to house a meeting between House Derp and Saba, seeking to find a compromise for the two. A compromise that they would never reach. The two houses, hatred for one-another burning brightly, said nothing in the way of peace and, when King Hawkwood insulted Bison, the tension reached its peak. Derpscovy, the Bear of the North, struck hard and quickly, massacring the attendants of House Saba, all except King Hawkwood, who had managed to escape in the fighting.

Eyvind was shocked to find that such an act of defilement would come onto his house. Apollo was too, when he had heard of what had occurred, and he rushed to meet with Eyvind. Strangely enough, as soon as Apollo ceased tending to Narmacil, the Assassin would breathe his last.

Eyvind set out to at least find King Hawkwood, attempting to salvage a relationship with House Saba, since any option with Derpscovy had gone out the window due to a heated exchange between the two leaders. Although they rescued Hawkwood, this act soured relations between Ravenoak and Derpscovy, for the worst.

The Coalition, Reforged
In response to the unlawful and outright treacherous act towards House Saba whilst under guest right, Eyvind decided it was time to call the banners. Apollo was sent to negotiate with House Cliffhall, another man was sent to House Lazaros, to discuss the terms of a grand coalition. A grand coalition that, in Hauptman Tim's day, stood opposed to Derpscovian rule. The meeting with Cliffhall, at first, was frought with tense silence intermitten with sparse amounts of dialogue between the two sides. Apollo had not forgiven the Cliffhalls for effectively abandoning them, and the Cliffhalls did not wish for any part in the Ravenoak plot against Landwehria.

This changed, however, when House lazaros announced their intention to side with Ravenoak. Pressurised by one of the Great Houses, Cliffhall reluctantly gave word that they would join with Ravenoak and Lazaros in the Mountain Fort, interested on further discussion of their alliance. Apollo, eager to bring Eyvind good news instead of piling bureaucracy upon his shoulders, instead took over the diplomatic preceedings. After an exchange of back and forths between the two, they came to an agreement, and Cliffhall sent a detachment of his retinue to the Mountain Fort as a temporary boost to the numbers of the garrison there.

Apollo mounted his horse with haste, and found Eyvind in talks about a possible attack on the Derpscovian capital with Zakros Lazaros. Apollo, upon observing Eyvind's fellow, immediately found himself to dislike the man, for reasons he could not place. When the Cliffhall men arrived, it was at that moment did the Coalition prepare for the assault.

The War against House Derpy
Real conflict was something unseen to Apollo. This would be his first real taste of all-out war and, by all accounts, it was a bloodbath. Apollo almost perished when his horse was struck down by a spear-wall, only for that same wall to falter when itself was struck by trebuchet artillery. Eyvind had led the charge, managing to capture Rabbi, a Soupist and sworn enemy of the Landwehrists that Apollo had been apart of, by a blow to the head. With only the King, Bison II, and his knight Sir Gavriel LaForteza remaining, they made a last ditch effort to take out the coalition by themselves; they split up the forces of the coalition by leading them down seperate wings of the palace, and fighting them off. It was here that Apollo bore witness to the strength that the King had come to possess and, noticing Eyvind in a wounded state, decided to run back to the fort of the coalition, his leader slung over his shoulder, his right hand missing.

Rabbi did not rot in a cell for long; Eyvind summonned him from his confinement to partake in a prisoner exchange. Being old and, as such, not chained up as well as being allowed to roam around freely, he complied. House Ravenoak met with Derpscovy on the stone bridge connecting the High Palace to the mainland where Eyvind learnt of Hawkwood bending the knee to Bison II, something which completely shocked him. To make matters worse, Rabbi had hopped from the bridge onto an escape boat in a carefully coordinated escape attempt. Eyvind, Apollo, and all men loyal to Ravenoak retreat back to the fort in shame, but not before Bison delivered an ultimatum to Ravenoak: Surrender, or die. Disgraced, humiliated, and rather wishing to go out fighting, Ravenoak declines to respond. Apollo later comes to discover that Zakros Lazaros, head of House Lazaros, had left the realm during this time period, leaving the coalition alongside a sizeable chunk of manpower.

Due to the insolence of King Hawkwood, Archbishop Bondimier, who replaced Archbishop Ubertino after his death, deposed Hawkwood and declared an alliance with House Ravenoak, rendering Bison II out-raged when he hears both his ultimatum is ignored, and of this betrayal. Furious, he marched upon House Ravenoak, with Apollo suggesting that they hold the throne room, although they all knew that death would be imminent with their dwindling number of men. After the Battle of the Island Fort drew to a stalemate, Rabbi, who had not recovered from the wounds he recieved from the prior battle, mounted his horse, put on a helmet and charged into the throne room where he was thrown from his horse, and stabbed several times. As the Ravenoak forces recovered from this brief lapse in the fighting, the Derpscovians took the opportunity of Rabbi's distraction, and charged in, dispatching of all the belligerents with Apollo narrowly escaping with a wound to his left arm. The Derpscovians left the vicinity of the castle later, due to Bison II's call to fallback to Derptroit, leaving the Coalition valuble time to recuperate.

From the castle walls, Apollo could see Rabbi being transported out onto a boat and being set loose into the vast ocean where he would eventually slump over, dying of his wounds. Eyvind, who had also been watching, announced that he had been the one to kill Rabbi, confusing Apollo; He had not seen Eyvind during the skirmish in the throne room, and so he couldn't have been the one to end up wounding Rabbi. Still, as the battle had shown, the Castle was all too easy to breach, and the Coalition left for the fort of House Saba in the Mountains, hoping for the Derpscovians to lose heart in the long trek up, or for them to be delayed long enough for the Coalition could prepare for a grueling siege. Although, what they didn't expect to see was Xanthar, a Soupist and the only one left since Rabbi's death. He offered his sword to Eyvind, offering to assist them in the coming battle, which Eyvind graciously accepted, much to Apollo's horror.

All too soon did the forces of Derpscovy march once more upon the Coalition, yet this time they were prepared. Barricades were constructed, archers manned towers in the their tens, ready to rain hell upon the unfortunate sod brave enough to march against the fort. Apollo, skeptical of their defenses, secluded himself in his quarters for the first part of the siege, drawing up possible plans to present to Eyvind, ones that could help turn their favour in the coming battle.

The Derpscovian force was headed by Bison II and his loyal knight, Garviel LaForteza. Apollo was not willing to face them both in combat a second time, and he was not willing to observe any amount of bloodshed caused in the upcoming battle. Yet, duty compelled him to stand on the front-line and hold his ground.

And yet, no battle came. As Apollo peered over the battlements, he could see Xanthar, the Soupist, approach the Derpscovian forces. He suspected treachery becoming of a Soupist at first, but when he noticed the Soupist had drawn his blade, he was compelled to watch. The Soupist called for Garviel to step forward and, with baited breath, the two engaged in a duel. Apollo was appalled at the irony of wishing for a Soupist to win, but the battle was a quick one, and not in their favour. Xanthar was disarmed and knocked unconscious after a fierce bout, his body being bound and slumped over the back of a horse to be taken away to the dungeons of Derptroit.

And then the siege started in earnest, but Apollo could not participate, for the battlements he was stood upon was hit by trebuchet fire, and he was brought down alongside them, being covered by the debris of stone and mortar. And to make matters worse, he was found by men of Whypp, a gorup that resembled the Soupists of old, and taken into custody.

Imprisoned
Apollo was taken to a cave secluded far enough away from any of the Great Houses, being thrown into a cell with nothing but the occasional drip of rainwater onto his face and scurrying of rats to keep him company. The cell itself smelled sickly sweet and, Apollo's nose not betraying him, he knew that someone held captive here had died not too long ago. The men who imprisoned him hardly took much notice of him, and when they did, they did what they could do to torment him. Excrement being tossed at him became all too common, any water he did get was ruined by the men of Whypp in whatever way possible. Sleep was practically non-existent, due to his captors delibrate attempts to keep him awake with incessent howling, banging on the cell doors, or throwing the ruined water onto his face. Apollo was observent enough to note, in the faint torchlight, that the water was more often than not a pale yellow.

But even like the Soupists, they too were restless for battle. When Bison II came around to call for aid personally, all the men of Whypp answered the call, and none was left to guard his cell. Yet, malnourished and weak, Apollo couldn't escape. The rattle of keys echoed then inside the cave. For a moment, Apollo thought they had come back, wishing to end his life. He attempted to scurry away, yet was restricted by the wall of the cell. But under the torchlight, it was salvation that had come to assist him. Three men had entered the cave, one of whom stood guard at the entrance, watching for anyone. Apollo couldn't make out their faces, but he could make out their uniforms. These were men of House Saba. The hurried him out of the cell, taking him to where they had hitched their horses by the treeline and, hoisting him up, they set him off. Apollo was well enough to ride this particular horse, it seemed. The horse itself appeared to be travelling on autopilot, a destination in mind. The Mountain Fort, Apollo had realised when the cold hit his face.

Apollo slumped off the horse a few paces away from the gate, where he was brought inside. Alive, but clinging on, Apollo was cleaned and brought to a bed, where he'd gratefully sleep.

The final battle against Derpscovy
''"He lies in dust, and his brother may yet soon join him." - An excerpt taken from Apollo's journal.''

In the three months that had passed since the previous war and his imprisonment, Apollo's wounds that he sustained had mostly healed, aside from his left pinky finger, which would remain crooked and numbed by some blunt force for the rest of his life. Eyvind was far worse off, as he had been terrible at trying to better himself with his other hand. Often times, he would reach out with his right hand or attempt to catch something, only for the item to clutter onto the floor. Apollo helped where he could, although he was no decent warrior, and could only make for a better practice dummy when it came to training Eyvind's new sword hand.

When Robb Cliffhall arrived at the Mountain Fort, he had explained that he had gone to King Bison II for both reinstatement of his property - the old Palace, used by the kings of old - and to be the steward of Derpscovy. When Bison refused him both of these privaleges, he had come to the coalition for support on the matter. Although that they had little to give, especially given the war previously, Eyvind had graciously accepted to help Robb Cliffhall, and the alliance that had been forged between them so long ago now, back when Apollo was a Landwehr, was reignited. All too soon, for the Derpscovian Bear had risen its clawed paw, and wished to end the war it had begun a season ago. With the fort barely repaired, having to use some wooden replacements in parts where the stone had run sparse, Apollo knew that they wouldn't be able to hold another siege. They needed manpower to counter Derpscovy. Cliffhall had declared their support for Ravenoak, yet the Black Militia needed convincing.

And it was fortunate, then, that Zakros Lazaros had returned to Scovania. Taking 'pity' upon the Lords of the Coalition, he joined his sword up with them, hoping to end the Derpscovian reign before it could even begin.

Derpscovy rode against them in the following week, yet not anticipating the sheer size that the coalition had blossomed to, the attackers were dwarfed in size, only being a third the size of all of the defenders combined. The siege was easily repelled, the battle only lasting half-an-hour. Seeing that the attackers began to pull back, the defenders sallied out, meeting Garviel Laforteza in the field. The kingsguard to King Bison II was said to have held this ground for long enough to secure the escape of his friends and allies to the palace, before he was himself captured by the Coalition and taken to the Dungeon, a high tower that was located at the back of the Mountain Fort, and considered impregnable.

Upon seeing the prisoner, being taken to Garviel's cell, Apollo was overcome with rage. Rage at Garviel's incessent insults of both him and of Eyvind. Rage of the past few years of his life, all the bloodshed, his treatment at the hands of Whypp, Garviel's allies, and betrayal of the ideals he once believed Eyvind and he shared. Apparently not. Was it not Eyvind who wished to take on the ideals of Yet Eyvind had metaphorically spat in his face when he brought Xanthar into the fold, ruining what Hauptmann Tim and his father had thought for so long ago. And when Apollo's thoughts went further to his father, cut down in a needless war when he should have just come home and spent his years with his family, he released his frustration. Apollo's hand had slipped to his blade, grasped the hilt tightly, and brought it down, arcing the blade into Garviel's face, where he near cleaved the Knight's skull in two.

When the deed was done, the blade dropped from Apollo's hand, and he fell to his knees. Though not the first life he had taken, there had been several in battle, this was murder, almost. And it named him a hypocrite, for Ravenoak had declared war on Derpscovy those two years ago for the unjust killing of Narmacil.