Bio

A young man, in his late teen’s, stands before the newly formed adventuring group with a proud, determined, or perhaps defiant posture. He is currently dressed in a dark green and gold clerical robe with the indication of good clothing beneath. His blue eyes take a moment to focus on each person before speaking, “As only some of you know, I’m Gottfried Vogel, devout follower of Sigmar Heldenhammer but feel free to call me by either name. Fate has brought us together at this time, in this place, for different reasons, but we all answered Herr Roderick Altmann’s invitation. Some of you are here to seek fame, some in the hope of glory, or perhaps newfound wealth. I am here to strike steel and Sigmar’s vengeance to the forces of Evil and Chaos. Anything else that comes my way is just sugar in my oatmeal.”

“I know what some of you are thinking, asking yourselves, “Why in the world do we want a crazed zealot in our midst.” And to answer that I simply say a zealot in the name of Sigmar I may be, but crazed I am not. I shall never abandon a comrade in need, act or speak dishonestly, nor act unilaterally in my own self interest. I was born under the sign of The Big Cross should any of you also place value in such. You will never have to question if I have your back.” He offers a small smirk as he clasps his hands behind his back, speaking in anticipation of perhaps another unasked question, “What causes a seventeen year old to become so fanatical; please listen to my tale so that you might understand.”

“I was the youngest of four children, the only male in the house. You see, by father was slain in the defense of our village, Koerin in Hochland, when the Greenskins came down from the Middle Mountains to attack. They did not come for wealth, foodstuffs, or even slaves as their only intent was to kill every man, woman, and child in their path. Fortunately, some of the Hochland militia was patrolling in our area to drive the invaders back. I never knew my father as I was five more months in the womb. With the crops destroyed and without a husband to seek work outside the home, my mother had to sell the farm for us to survive.”

“We were given a house, or more like a shack or hovel, to live in by the Church of Sigmar. In fact, everything we had was from the charity of others, be it the Church or villagers. Being poor and requiring the mercy of others was only partially responsible for making me into the person I am today. Don’t get me wrong as I was happy with my childhood, thankful for those that wished to help my mother raise us four kids. This is why I begged the Priests every day from seven years of age until they finally surrendered to my pleas to accept me as a student. I wanted to become like the Priest and Initiates, respected by the community and to help others in need. That is the primary lesson I learned from my early childhood.”

“I didn’t know until my first day that school cost money, not until I found myself doing chores while other students, few as they were, had other activities. Naturally, I inquired as to why and it was explained I had to work to earn my keep. I was no stranger to hard work, so that was just fine with me. I was still getting the opportunity to better myself and hopefully others in due time. I didn’t have the possibility of being married off into a better life that perhaps awaited my three older sisters. So I studied and worked every day of the week and late into each night for the Church then cleanup at the General Store to supplement my mother’s very minor income as a seamstress.”

“For eight years I was both student and laborer. I never new a time when the agents of Evil were not making small raids on the outer farms, perhaps testing our response and defenses, or perhaps just seeking supplies. They had not mounted a serious threat since the battle that claimed my father’s life. As fate had it, I had just departed for the Temple in Hochland’s capitol of Hergig to take my Initiate vows when the Greenskins once more attacked in force. This time there was no militia to save Koerin. Every home and business was burned to the ground, including the small Church to Sigmar. They may or may not have taken slaves as a body count was near impossible considering the absolute destruction levied on the village and its people. My mother, sisters, and sisters’ families were all brutally hacked to pieces, burned alive, or taken captive. Such was the fate of every villager that was home that night. My hometown was erased from the face of Hochland.”

Gottfried stops speaking as the memory is only a couple years old and still fresh as indicated by his clinched jaw and the fists hanging at his sides. When he continues, his voice matches the anger in his posture, “I first heard of the raid a week after. I ran out of the Temple for home just as my Initiation Ceremony was to begin. All I could think about were my friends and family. Later, I heard my action was frowned upon by the Clergy and a point of gossip for some time.”

“I spent four months searching for bodies, pieces of bodies, burying the dead, and clearing off burnt out building sites for new construction. I wanted to see Koerin rebuilt. It took a little over a year to rebuild the village for new settlers. Once new inhabitants started to reclaim the village I was left with nothing but my anger and faith, thus I returned to the Temple at Hergig to once more resume the vow process.”

“However I was denied the opportunity, told that I must find a new path in the service of Sigmar. The elderly High Priest decreed, “You shall never find peace within the walls of a Temple. Your road in His name shall be of His and your own making. I see only violence and much blood when I look into your soul. May Sigmar guide and protect you.” Reflecting back on that day, the prophecy of the village seer given to me on my tenth birthday had come to pass, “Thy doom shall be uttered by a dower old man.””

“The Temple provided me with a small amount of coin and gear to seek out this path hidden in shadow, but with the knowledge that no door to a Temple or Church of Sigmar shall ever be closed to me. So here I stand before you this day, setting out with a new family, or so I hope, in the search of this road I am destined to travel.” He gives the lot of you a slight bow as an end point of his introduction. “Thank you, Herr Altmann, fellow adventurers, for inviting and accepting me into this group. I shall endeavor not disappoint any of you.”