Srav Kann
Srav Kann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Marquis of Yugstran | |
| In office 1913–1918 | |
| General of the 3rd Army | |
| In office 1905–1918 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Zavria, Drevstran |
| Died | Angrast, Drevstran |
| Children | 4 |
| Profession | Military General |
Srav Kann was a Drevstranese Army General under the Triple Crown who remained loyal to the old monarchy after it was abolished by Hortankh Bolsar. He and his Third Army secured for themselves first the entire portion of the southern borders they had been affected to, then expanded from this base. Kann ended up titling himself as the Marquis of the Yug, and referring to the lands under his control as the Marquisate of Yugstran.
Despite his excentricities, Kann managed to keep Bolsar's armies at bay, defeating all the attempts of the Provisionary State to quell the Third Army's rebellion. Distant but cordial relationships were kept with the Golden Columns, the other major royalist forces of the Civil War, even if neither Prince Farza nor the self-proclaimed Marquis could agree on a common program. It's notably to Yugstran that many Golden Columns, after the final defeat of their Prince, tried to flee, providing a small boost of experienced soldiers to Kann's army.
Kann took the oportunity presented by the assassination of Abemus Kumar and the civil war inside the ranks of the Bolsarists to greatly expand his territorial gains, almost reaching Angrast. He refused Vilvo Orbraggar demands of reddition, precipitating the war between the two. While at first on almost equal footing, Orbraggar was ultimately victorious and Srav Kann was forced to begin negotiating his surrender. It's at this point that a faction of ex-Golden Columns loyalists attempted to assassinate him and the news of his death spread throughout. But Srav Kann survived and was abled to escape to Brumen where he would end up playing a role in the Third Insurrection as an absolutist warlord. The death of king Hannes II and the signature of the Second Reform in 1922 spelled his doom. After further months spent as an outlaw, he was ultimately imprisoned and extradited back to Drevstran where he was wanted for treason, sedition, insurrection, and a number of other damning charges. He ended up killing himself in the middle of his mock-up trial in 1923 as one last act of defiance against the Orbraggists.
Personal Life
Youth
Srav Kann was born in the Lush noble family of Kann, a lineage that took great pride in its tradition of military service. The young Srav would be quickly noticed for his hunger for litterature, passion for poetry, and boundless love for horses and guns. He was known to practice "Horseback shooting" during his teenage and early adult years. He entered the Saint George Military School in 1882 at the age of 17. five years later he joined the Drevstranese military as an officer, in the footstep of his father, uncles, and grandfathers before him. It's during his stay at the military academy that he would meet Amanda Roshvan. They would be married in the Church of Our Lady of the Passion, in his home province of Blue Drevstran.
Military career
Throughout his career, he would become known for his mischievous personality, free speech, and unfailing loyalty to the Monarchy. The latter quality (in the eyes of the King), and a good track record as an officer, suitably counterbalanced his other defaults. In 1911, at 46 years old, he was promoted to the rank of General of the Third Army. However his relative young age (it was considered uncough for a general to be under 50) and meteoric rise through the ranks have isolated him from the rest of the officer corps. He would notably never be invited to the Kopeny Clique of his fellow general Hortankh Bolsar, the King's Enforcer. The Kann family would notably run afoul of Hortankh's secret services: Srav Kann's father would be questioned by "The Service", two of his brothers would be arrested, and he himself would be put under much pressure for hiding his nephews and nieces from the authorities.
His open opposition to, and disdain of, the Royal Executor, up to and including challenging his lieutenant Abemus Kumar to a duel over his honor, was threatening Srav Kann's position in the military and his career and it is highly probable that, sooner or later, the King would've favored the "royal darling" over Srav Kann, no matter his loyalty and the prestige of his name, had it been not for the 12th of February Coup and the start of the Drevstranese Civil War.
After the Civil War
Srav Kann escaped his would-be killers through the help of the Havari volunteers who smuggled him out to Brumen. He became a regular guest at Hannes II's court where he used his popularity with the king and some of his ministers and courtiers to acquire funds for the Royalist network, the Under-foresters (Al-Erdesek), he had organised from the remnant of his Marquisate. The Under-Foresters continued to spread pro-royalist ("Restorationist") propaganda as well as organising a number of sabotage and violent operations against the young Republic of Drevstran to gather funds and equipment for their cause. Their boldest and most well-known act happened in 1921: the failed attempt to kidnap Ansmar II, the destitute king of Drevstran who had been put in house arrest by Vilvo Orbraggar,. It's only then that the rumors of his survival spread as he had been known by a number of monikers and war nicknames in the interim: "Forest Marshal" (Erdei Marshall), "The Last/First Marshal", "Marshal-Rider", Bunösh ("The Sinner", although only for personal poetry), or even simply the personal name "Geredant". A crackdown followed on the Under-Foresters activities, but the deterioration of the Brumen King's situation during the Third Insurrection had demanded Srav Kann's full attention.