Hanse Davion
From MoongatesWiki
| [Source] | |
Hanse Davion is the current head of the Republic of Vesper's armed forces. He is credited as being both a powerful warrior and mage, while also holding the achievement of being the longest serving and surviving Vesparian soldier still on duty. Many Vesparians see him as something of a living legend or a war hero for his daring military stunts, strategic knowledge, and leadership of the army through many of Vesper's most war-torn eras. Other Vesparians however see him as a negative influence, with rumours circling about his involvement with bandits, necromancers and the close ties between his personal business affairs and the Vesparian Army.
History
1998 - Defection to Vesper - Service under Sagonari & Sylis Larpet
Usurping his father as head of the family, Hanse defected to the Vesparians. Initially frowned upon and distrusted for his Royalist upbringing, he soon proved himself worthy of being part of the Free Vesper Militia by fighting against the kingdom in the Crown of Thorns war, the uprising which saw Vesper declare and win its independance from the Kingdom despite the advances of the Royalist nobility.
1999-2001 - Rising Through the Ranks - Service under Marco Neo & Slow
Having proven himself in the Crown of Thorns, and skirmishes with Orcs since, Hanse began to climb the ranks of the Militia as one of its promising young soldiers. Fighting his way through the Khaling feud, the war of the barbed leash and the notorious Glittering River war, which saw Vesper seal its position as an independant state, once again fighting off a Royalist invasion. After these events, thanks to his skill in combat leadership and mastery of the War Hammer, Hanse had clawed his way to become a lesser officer of the Militia,
2001-2004 - Creating a Nation - Service under Baron Twothumb
The appointment of a new leader for Vesper gave Hanse his first real chance at power. At this point, Hanse's outspoken stance against making friends with the Knights and Mages of Kha subsided, so as to gain favour with this new Baron. Unfortunately for Hanse, this and his other efforts were not enough. Kaelith was appointed Commander of the Vesper Militia, with Hanse serving directly underneath him. It was a crippling blow for his pride, but it was during this period that he and Olk Samsca renewed their friendship, and Hanse served as a major part of Governor Samsca's military control of the Vespenland Province - often clashing with Kaelith's forces drawn from Vesparicia province. The black-caps of Vespenland province (led by Samsca and Hanse) clashed often with the white-sashes of Vesparicia province (led by Kaelith) during this period. The two rival factions did however co-operate when it came to fighting their mutual enemies - the Royalists. Although infighting would resume almost immediately afterward, Vesper stood united against invasions from the Kaldorians, Justice City Judges and even during a Vesparian invasion of Yew. Even during these allegedly united times, the Vesparians tended to operate in two distinct groups, centred around the combat tactics of Kaelith or Hanse. Kaelith's units operating in tight, static formations to clash with the enemy while Hanse led loose skirmish groups on the flanks.
The black-caps were ultimately able to outmanouvre their counteparts both militarily and politically however, becoming the dominant faction within the Vesparian military. This finally resulted in Kaelith stepping down, and Hanse becoming the Commander of the Vesparian army by appointment from Kain Twothumb. In homage to the comrades from the province that helped him become Commander, the black-cap attire was made part of the official Vesparian uniform, and white-sashes were banned from it. To this day, the black cap remains a symbol of power and rank within the Vesparian army - a legacy of Hanse and Olk's subtle victory over Kaelith's forces.
2004-2007 - The Champion of Vesper
Now Commander of Vesper, it was during this era that Hanse made a dramatic shift in Vesparian strategy which would last until the present day. Magic users became a cornerstone of the Vesparian combat doctrine, and Hanse himself quickly mastered the arcane to support his by now substantial close quarters ability. This was initially a difficult change as Vesper, but through several wars it proved a unique, adaptable and powerful doctrine for the Vesparians as they won victories over Yew, Cove and Trinsic.
For Hanse personally, this was a time of some of his greatest achievements and most daring stunts. He oversaw key Vesparian victories including the retaking of Vesper from a Yewish occupation, winning victories in Minoc, ensuring a battering of the Covian army to secure Vesparian interests in Avarice and later orchestrating two successful wars at once - fighting both the Duchy to the south, and the Yewish, Britannia Guards and Knights Templar to the West at the same time. The most notorious of his escapades during this era was a direct challenge to Jordan Jurrel - then Commander of the Royal Guard. Hanse suspected him of courting his love interest, Lady Caroline of Trinsic, but also saw an opportunity to inflict massive political damage against a dangerous enemy of Vesper. This challenge saw Hanse fight one on one against the appointed champion of the Kingdom before a packed arena of onlookers. The fight was extremely one sided, shocking the spectating crowd, with Hanse winning his victory and mockingly cutting a lock of hair from Caroline as a trophy. The Royalist crowd, outraged by this, stormed the arena. Despite their efforts, the Vesparians escaped relatively unscathed. Jordan Jurrel was shamed, and not long after was recalled to Britain, ending both his career and his potential to threaten Vesper. Lady Caroline however, was ultimately lost to him.
His place as a Vesparian hero secure, it was then that other parts of his family began their return to the mainland. Although his brother and sister were loathe to return, still bitter about the loss of their holdings within the Kingdom prior to defection, the younger generation of Davions came eagerly after hearing tales of Hanse's exploits. Living up to the family name, his nephews and neices further cemented the Davion family - and therefore Hanse's - position within Vesper.
2007-2009 - Retirement & Civilian Life
Hanse continued to lead the army through the myriad number of wars Vesper ended up getting itself into, and the world kept turning toward 2009. By that point, the Kingdom had become a rather fractured and weak entity in Hanse's eyes. The disappearance of Lord British had for a long time been causing the factions within the kingdom to go in seperate directions according to the desires of their nobles, but by now it was enough that some of them were even fighting with eachother for control. For the time being, Vesper was as secure as she could be. Hanse finally made the decision to retire from the military and leave his extended family to ensure Davion influence there. He was then appointed as Governor of the Vesparicia province. At first, it was just another nail in the coffin of his vendetta against Kaelith to rule over his enemies' former holding, but it wasn't long before Hanse began expanding on the potential for the province, starting several businesses there related to ore mining, gemstone mining and arms production. It was via these businesses that he was at last able to accrue his desired wealth and largely withdraw from the public eye. Although contributing to the Vesparian army financially, and with top of the line equipment from his businesses, Hanse chose to avoid (though not entirely) personally fighting in most of the conflicts thereafter.
2009-Present - Return to the Armed Forces
Although the Davion businesses had been doing well, the year saw an unfortunate series of events which weakened Vesper significantly. The Davion family stood largely on the sidelines of the civil war, preferring not to let the political squabbles interfere with their business interests. Not long after however, Vesper slowly came to be at war with the majority of the world - including the Yewish, Skarans, Covians, Knights Templar, Casca and a rebellion in Minoc - an axis of royalist aligned powers that would come to be known as the "Combine" by Vesparian strategists. This was not helped by the return of a King, who it seemed swiftly reminded each of the royalist factions that they were part of one greater whole by merely existing.
The Great Combine War was truly taking its toll on Vesper, and the cracks were beginning to show as the Republic started losing significant ground in Minoc. It was at this point that Hanse once again stepped into the public limelight. His re-enlistment to the army was met with shock by many, and proved to be a substantial morale boost for Vesparian soldiers who had suffered a string of defeats in the weeks prior. Serving under Damien Bedford, Hanse took Command of the Vesparian mages and soon Vesper was able to help Vesper grind the Kingdom down to a stalemate which, although not ideal for Vesper, kept Minoc largely out of the hands of the Yewish.
Staying in the army, the Davion family put its support behind Olk Samsca during the next Chancellor elections. Samsca's victory was narrow, but it was enough for the people of Vesper to be satisfied with him as Chancellor. Bedford stepped down, refusing to serve Samsca's directives and once again Hanse was appointed head of Vesper's armies - the title for which was now Marshal.
Politics & Affiliations
Hanse is well known as an ardent opponent of the Kingdom, and a zealous man when it comes to the defence of Vesper or his families' interests. He has also been known to mix with some very unsavoury characters however. Even in his earlier years as Commander, it was often rumoured that he would employ mercenaries to perform acts which the Vesparian army, publicly, could not. More recently rumours have been abound of his interests in necromancy, coinciding with the Republic striking an alliance with the Collegium Ditio Potentia Lex - a notorious establishment of Necromancers.
