Wilheim Barclay

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Wilheim Barclay A Haeseni portrait of Wilheim, 1736 Baron of Freising Predecessor: Title Created Heir-Apparent: Erwin Konrad Barclay Tenure: 1724-Present Born: 2nd of the Sun's Smile, 1693, Markev, Haense Spouse: Lady Marcella Avern House: Barclay Father: Ludwig Barclay Mother: Karina Barclay, neé unkown

Lord Wilheim Barclay (Nicknamed: The Stallion) served as the founder of the Haeseni noble House of Barclay and the Lord Marshal of Haense under King Andrew III after rising through the ranks from a commoner to Lord as he served under King Marius II and King Andrew. Wilheim was known for his martial prowess after squiring for Prince Otto Sigmar of Alimar and fought in the War of the Two Emperors, the Three-Month War and the Toe War as the primary Haeseni field commander and is widely considered to have been one of the cornerstones in the rise of the Second Brotherhood of Saint Karl and the reformation of the Haeseni military under King Andrew III.

Early life

Wilheim was born in 1693 in a modest household in the city of Markev, not much is known of the man's early days as it was spent mostly secluded and few written records are known depicting it due to his life as a commoner within the city.

But it is assumed that Wilheim had a fairly normal life within the walls of Markev and his family was burghers who spent most of their time trading goods and peddling wares leading to Wilheim from an early childhood having contact with nobility and gentry who came to peruse and browse his family's wares. At some point in Wilheims' teenage years his parents died, most commonly believed to have been during the journey to Arcas and when the teenager arrived in Reza he was taken in by Prince Otto Sigmar as a squire after noticing the teenage boys apparent prowess in combat and from there on he spent most times with the House of Alimar and even to some extent royalty from the House of Barbanov which led to him forming a strong comradery with members of the court.

Rise Through the Ranks

Wilheims rise through the Haeseni ranks was mostly due to his martial prowess, leadership abilities but also thanks to the bonds he forged with other Haeseni nobles and royalty during the times of war. Together with other members of his household the Barclays under his leadership quickly became a prominent figure within Haeseni military affairs and the local politics of the Crownlands, his wife for example being the first woman to be directly elected by the Haeseni people into the Royal Duma.

As a squire under Prince Otto Sigmar, Wilheim quickly began to develop his skills and taking notes from the hardened Haeseni prince his interest and skill in commanding troops quickly rose with it. With his apparent talents shining through it didnt take lonog until King Marius took notice and Wilheim Was knighted as Ser Wilheim the Stallion. It was not long until the War of the Two Emperors broke out and Haense was in a full on conflict against Renatus. Wilheim early on started to take part in the fighting and became a prominent figure on the frontlines alongside other Haeseni knights, lords and commanders such as Ser Dominic Grimm, Lord Leopold Stafyr, Prince Godfric Alimar and Ser Nikolaus Kortrevich. During the War, Wilheim found himself being appointed to the Marian Retinue. Serving directly as one of King Marius's personal bodyguards and later after his death under King Andrews'. With that Wilheim would find himself an integral part of the Haeseni courts and made good friends with men such as the later Lord Palatine, Ser Konrad Stafyr and Prince Georg Stannimar.

The Knight managed to recruit a group of men from similiar backgrounds as himself to serve with him and outfitted them with armour and weaponry from his own purse. The group was called The Landsers and frequently issued raids on the Imperial Roads to target Renatian supply lines during the war as his own personal retinue. During the war Wilheim and his men were noted to have fought in every single major battle except the initating Battle of Upper Rodenburg, often finding themselves in the vanguard. After years of fighting the War finally ended with the Treaty of Reza signed by the boy king Andrik and the Lord-Palatine Lord Lerald Vyronov.

After the war, Wilheim found himself to be an integral part of King Andrews reforms of the Haeseni military. The Haeseni Royal Army was disbanded by the King and was replaced by the reformed Brotherhood of Saint Karl where Wilheim was appointed as the Commander of the Chapter of the Destrier. Making him in charge of all Haeseni cavalry. The Brotherhood quickly saw early success under the leaderships of Lord Otto Kortrevich, Prince Otto Sigmar and Wilheim. To reward Wilheim for his diligent services during the War of the Two Emperors and the assistance of reforming the Brotherhood, he was granted a letter of ennoblement by King Andrew and was named the Baron of Freising (New Marian: Freisburg) and granted land by Lake Helena to construct a fort to protect Haense's western border which is where the Renatians had invaded from during the War of the Two Emperors.

Baron of Freising

A few years after being ennobled by King Andrew he was appointed as Lord Marshal of Haense and granted a seat on the Aulic Council as one of the King's chief advisors. This after the former Lord Marshal had been relieved of his service due to absence in duty. Wilheim quickly began to rearrange the Brotherhood and a recruitment spree began and the Brotherhoods' numbers began to massively increase. During Wilheims' tenture as Lord Marshal the Three-Month War broke out over a border conflict between Oren and the Urguan regarding the Rhuneland. Even if the War only lasted for a brief three months, Wilheim managed to succesfully lead the first Haeseni offensive since the Siege of Helena when the Brotherhood raided a dwarven fort and routed their legionnaries and mercenaries.

After the War ended and the Empire went into what was known as The Troubles Wilheims' focus was still on the Brotherhood and even if the Empire was in turmoil, Haense remained stable and the Brotherhood ranks continued to swell. As Emperor Alexander II ascended to the Imperial Throne, some estimated that Haense had the largest fighting force in the Empire due to the Brotherhood. During the Lorrainian Revolt, Wilheim took part in the minor skirmishes along the roads between Haense and Kaedrin and also fought in the Siege of Guise and was one of the chief commanders in rooting Lorrainian seperatists under King Andrew. The verbal abuse that he suffered from Kaedreni soldiers and the current Grand Knight after being injured in a fight against bandits was one of the primary reasons to the tense relationship Haense had with the Kingdom of Kaedrin during this period of time but was resolved after the Vesnian Stand-off where it was revealed that Kaedreni dissidents supporting Lorraine had been the chief issue in causing conflict against Haense and specifically House Barclay.

Later on Wilheim took part in what would be known as the Toe War and rallied two thousand men to assist the Orenian vanguard in the Battle of Lowveld but was dismissed by Imperial commanders due to what was assumed logistical reasons. Later on he would under the command of King Andrew march with the Orenian host to the Orcish lands and participated in the Siege of San'Strohk which ended as a resounding victory for the Orenians and combined with the growing post Two Emperor boom of population in Haense the Brotherhoods ranks had risen to ranks that had not been seen in Haense since Atlas.

Issue

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Name	Birth	Death	Marriage	Notes
Klara Barclay	1726	Alive	Unwed	Firstborn daughter to Wilheim and Marcella Avern
Erwin Konrad Barclay	1729	Alive	Unwed	Firstborn son to Wilheim and Marcella Avern, heir to the Barony of Freising