Maximilian Lockstone

History

Maximilian Lockstone (also known in Lilliend as the Last King) was a male human Mage, presumably a Wizard. Born in the Domain of Lilliend into the noble Lockstone family, Maximilian distinguished himself from his male peers by being a studious intellectual. When his mother and all female relatives of ruling age were murdered, the Lockstone family elders chose Maximilian to become the new High Seat of their house - in full defiance of Lilliender tradition. Contrary to all expectations, Maximilian turned out to be a highly efficient administrator. He had a knack for finding talents he lacked in others, and was an innovator. In addition, Maximilian was secretly a potent Mage, who expanded his knowledge and power by consorting with Elves and the Vistani.

At the height of his power, Maximilian managed to create peace between the Lockstone family and their traditional enemies, the Lenkherr and Churnstone families, and Lilliend itself was undergoing a period of peace unmatched since its birth in the Mists. Olivia Lenkherr, matriarch and high seat of the Lenkherr family, vowed friendship for Maximilian and offered him her daughter's hand in wedlock. Maximilian accepted, in part because of an oracle of Brightwell that had warned him he must be married, that in his marriage he would find both restoration and damnation, and that he must prepare the way for those who would cleanse Lilliend of Evil.

The oracle came true when Camille Churnstone sent a Lilliender vampire assassin to murder Maximilian as soon as news got around that his wife was pregnant. Maximilian managed to slay the undead killer, but not before his pregnant wife was butchered by the monster. Understanding the dreadful meaning of the prophecy, Maximilian used the blended blood of his wife and child to quicken the Silver, and launched a rebellion against the covert rule of Lilliend's Dread Lady, which was slowly choking the land to death.

Maximilian died at the siege of Luzander, capitol city of Lilliend, at the hands of his old friend Olivia Lenkherr. He was already dying in agony by the time Olivia found him, however, and she ended his suffering at his request -- and also used their mixed blood to quicken the Lenkherr Ruby.

Current sketch

Maximilian's ghost inhabits the tower where he once lived with his wife and closest servants. The tower is abandoned by the living, and Maximilian endlessly dwells on the horror of the war he started and the terrible losses he suffered in life. His weary vigil serves a grim purpose; while he remains in Lilliend, the Silver remains quickened. Recently, Maximilian's solitude was interrupted by the scholar Ciska, who fled in terror when she felt his disapproval of her actions in his abode.

Maximilian waits for someone to finally kill Camille, but is completely free to depart Lilliend for the afterlife whenever he wants. Only a sense of duty keeps him where he is, and if ever duty ceases to be enough, the Silver will go dormant with its master's departure...

Legacy

Most people in Lilliend believe that Maximilian started the rebellion after he had gone insane and murdered his own wife. In the Lockstone lands, however, he is remembered with honour and reverence as the Last King. The message he wrote on the new Lockstone banner, marked with the hyena as opposed to the Lilliender lion -- Sed Nunc Liber (But Now Free) -- is the rallying cry for all who are opposed to the Evil that festers in Lilliend and the oppressive regime that still discriminates against the Lockstone family, its lands, and supports Camille's insane cruelties.