Elrike Kinslayer
A report prepared for the Emperor, the Imperial chancery, and the Landsrat

From what records are available, Elrike Kinslayer, also known as Erik Kesselhofen, was the youngest of several illegitimate sons of a minor noble in Kesselhof. As service as a Landsknecht or a clergyman is one of the few roads to personal advancement to someone in such a situation, it is understood that Elrike took this route.

As part of the Kesse Landsknechte, Elrike participated in the suppression of the Goltari, the repulse of the Nassen, and the overthrow of Prince-Bishop Leonard IV. However, for reasons that are unclear, shortly after the end of the latter, the Landsknechte expelled Elrike from their ranks.

No reason was ever given, and no official report exists for the removal. The commander in question, Gerhard Strauß, is dead and the Kesse Landsknechte were decimated at the Battle of Bad Kessel. While some who served alongside Elrike have been located and interviewed, they were not close, and could offer only limited information.

These events were rumored to be a result of Erik attacking or even killing a fellow Landsknecht, thus the appellation Kinslayer. But, again, there is no record of any such acts of fratricide, and then as now opinions are divided on what the actual circumstances were.

Elrike seems to have attempted farming and merchantry before being hired as a mercenary by the Ever Hungry Army just before it was annihilated at the Battle of Twin Bergs. In its aftermath, Elrike seems to have used the battlefield experience of a Landsknecht to organize the defeated rabble and organize a retreat. This set off a chain of events that led to higher and higher commands, with the result that Elrike currently leads the largest and best-organized of the Death Brigades.

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