Ludwig Wolfmar MacRae Drache

Titles: Chancellor of the Dragon Brethren, Councilor and Marshall of the Wyverns (Gold Dragons)

Past Titles: Adjutant-General of the Black Dragons, Heir to the Landgravate of Wolfmar, Knight of Middenland.

Player: Matt Small

First Appearance: The Labyrinth of Souls

Status: Active.

Birthdate: 8/5/2490 IC (Age 29)

Marital Status: Widower. Was married to Laurea [maiden name?] on 5/17/2509. She was murdered later that same year.

Presently cohabiting with Kreeshana Jewelhand, who has been his lover since 1/28/2519.

Known Offspring: None

More Pictures

Ludwig is the current bearer of Dread-Fang, a basket-hilted cut-and-thrust sword that was once Uhlrik's secondary weapon, bestowed upon him in the ceremony that formally established the Dragon Brethren. The weapon's guard looks like it is made out of bone though it is strong as steel, and the blade is engraved with a multitude of howling skulls - upon the wielder's command, these skulls emit a terrible shrieking sound and surrounds its wielder in an aura of dread. This sword is now an emblem of the Chancellor's office, signifying his relationship as the Great Dragon's right hand and closest advisor (this is not the sword shown in the illustrations above - Ludwig used a regular, nonmagical sword as his primary armament from the time that he gave up his family's ancestral blade until Uhlrik gave Dread-Fang to him).

History

Origin

As an infant, Ludwig was adopted by his uncle Axe Wolfmar, who raised the boy in Delberz without revealing that he was anything other than the nobleman's son. For most of his life, he was trained and prepared to fight, to lead and to govern, as the heir to the estates and holdings of his adoptive father. Ludwig fought valorously and well in numerous conflicts large and small, including the Imperial Civil War of 2513 on the Ulrican side of that conflict (as a noble Middenlander), and in fact he was present at the historic Battle of Wolfenburg where Sigmar and Ulric miraculously demonstrated that Heinrich Todbringer had their joint approval and should be the next emperor. Ludwig was already a knight of some considerable renown before he ever sought out the Heroes of the Hammer.

Wolfmar and MacRae

Ludwig's blood connection to the Wolfmar family is actually through his mother, not his father. Ludwig's actual birth father is the Albionish chieftain Robert MacRae, who met and married his mother in Estalia without the family's initial knowledge or consent. When his mother was brutally murdered and every indication given that the infant boy had died as well, Robert returned to his homeland and eventually became the leader of Clan MacRae.

Meanwhile, Ludwig was left in the hands of the Wolfmars...

Joining the Heroes

In IC 2518, Ludwig decided to seek out the Heroes of the Hammer and answer their call to join the Black Dragons in a (well-paid) crusade across the seas to battle the heinous Dark Elves. He knew their legend well, and had been a witness to their prowess at Wolfenburg, even having met them in passing on more than one occasion. When he learned that they had returned from across the sea seeking warriors, he leapt to join them.

Ludwig was late in receiving this news, however, and did not arrive in Altdorf until after the Black Dragons had already departed. He set off to Marienburg in hopes that they might have stopped there for a time, or failing that to seek passage that he might sail to them across the great seas.

Fighting in their crusade against the Dark Elves would serve multiple goals, not only winning both he and his family honor and glory, but also hopefully deepening the Wolfmar family's trading ties and expanding their contacts with Sea Elven merchants. The Wolfmars have a considerable investment in trade both with the aloof Wood Elves but with Marienburg-based Sea Elves as well. the family has profited greatly from these associations, and Ludwig held the Elf race in a mix of esteem and awe.

The Rise of the Dragon Brethren

Current Status

Nowadays, Ludwig is essentially the main character in the ongoing story of the Dragon Brethren, and was in many ways the architect of the transition between Black Dragons and Dragon Brethren. He is certainly one of the most forward-looking and ambitious thinkers among the upper ranks of their military establishment, and he remains loyal to Uhlrik and his vision for the future; Ludwig intends to build that future (and make a place for himself in it) with his bare hands if he must. In Uhlrik's absence on a quest to the madness of the North, Ludwig is the acting commander-in-chief of the Dragon Brethren.