Werret Barck

“Never once have I fought to kill you. Remember that, Pillars.”

Werret Barck was once the chief body guard of his brother Warlord Hannibal Barck, who attempted to become a Column.

History
The younger and much more warlike brother of the Warlord Hannibal Barck of the Neutral Lands. He became the best warrior his brother had, and supported him in his attempt to become a Column through force. It was then he got his first taste of combat against The 12 Pillars, who beat him soundly and killed his brother for coming before them in such a way.

He discovered that the Warlord Correll Starck had heard of his rival's failure and sent troops to hold their capital of Jetstan and surrounding lands. He searched for power then, and found the Dreadknights. He rose quickly. His thirst for revenge drove him, and his worthiness as a commander gathered people to him. It was not a long time before they initiated him in their darkest arts of Shadow Shamanism. The Shadow Shamans being their former masters.

There he excelled again, knowing each and every advance he made got him closer to slaying Correll Starck and taking his inheritance back. The Masters of the Dreadknight order finally gave him their deepest knowledge, summoning. He slaughtered them with the Shades he summoned in his first attempt. The Grand Master Jord Habilis named him Grand Master of the Order.

His first action was to eradicate Correll Starck and his forces from the face of the World. Their names were near forgotten, and only the Annals of the Explorer's League from that time still mention Correll Starck's name, and even then, only his birth and death and held lands still are recorded. By this time the Column Wars had started, and the Column Navroth had the upper hand.

Werret Barck and Navroth hit it off, as they both appreciated similar ideals on strength. He became one of Navroth's generals and began to hold fortresses for Navroth with his Dreadknights. Eventually, he came into contact with his nemeses, The 12 Pillars. They did not remember him, and he sent Kagari Villers back to the rest of them beaten and humiliated. He tattooed the tale of their battle on her hands, forcing her to remember each time she looked at them.

He fought them seven more times, but lost four of the battles in the end. He is one of the few to fight the Pillars on equal ground, and no Dreadknight can claim that since. All twelve came for him at once to his keep Barckan, formally Jetstan. He allowed them in and set a feast before them. They were expecting a fight. He, however, sued for peace.

This surprised them. Nolne Kanaris denied it violently. While she had beaten him, she took his habit of tattooing his victory on four of their hands personally. Rebecca Hellsing and Kagari Villers opposed her, despite Kagari's tattoos. They said that he never once tried to kill them, despite having them in his power many times. Nolne relented, but on the condition that he be banished to the far reaches of the Neutral lands. She then burned Barckan and turned the surroundings into a wasteland, unsuitable for anything.

Werret took his retainers and founded Shade's Keep. There, he died of old age. He never saw more than two hundred of his followers together, as per the treaty. In his will, he left an ancient treatise of Black Alchemy for Nolne Kanaris. She supposedly tore it apart after having it copied.

Description
A tall and stalwart man, tattooed in runes like many Shadow Shamans, he commanded presence by merely entering. He wore black plate armor, and wielded the artifact great sword Star Steel, which was forged of meteor iron.

In battle, he relied trickery from the Shades he constantly summoned in battle to open up vulnerabilities so he could take advantage. He'd also rely on blinding opponents and tripping them up. Once his foe was open, he'd use his strength to finish the match in a single stroke. He had great skill with his sword besides, and could easily dominate other Dreadknights without the use of his Shadow Shamanism.

When fighting his eight matches against the Pillars, he would use everything to his advantage. He would set up traps and cause them to be captured in prisons of shadow. Despite all his precaution, the fights after the first were much harder, and often very close battles. Nolne Kanaris fought and defeated him twice, scarring and nearly killing him. The other two who won against him forced him to flee. The four victories he had were from traps or by them tiring out. Leryssa Thage was captured by having a ceiling dropped on her.