Bertrand de Gevaudan (John Machin)
An armoured soldier with a red armband nods as you approach his post. Shouldering his polearm he knocks on the door for you. It opens quickly and a handsome knight smiles slightly at you. "Would you come in?" he says in Provencal, "I am still finishing the rota for my men but I will be able to speak with you very soon. Perhaps then we could play some chess?".
History
Bertrand was born the third of three sons to the viscount of Gezeres in the Gevaudan region of Toulouse. A sickly child, Bertrand spent time indoors with tutors, instead of ranging far and wide and learning arms with his brothers. Desperate to experience heroic and violent deeds, even by proxy, Bertrand demanded that his tutors teach him about such subjects, and he learned to read the classical histories and epics, and some of the surviving manuals of military science and leadership. As he grew, he lost some of his earlier frailty and, with great relief, learned some of the skills of the noble and the knight from his father’s retainers.
When finally of age, however, Bertrand decided that he had small desire to be a mere banner-man for his eldest brother. Having filled his head with loftier and more ambitious thoughts as a child, Bertrand found himself contemptuous of his less educated brothers and father. Unwilling to follow tradition, he yearned to learn more about the practice of warfare and the training of men unfettered by ideas of chivalry and propriety. With some financial support clever wrung from his father, who had made several profitable agreements with the Bishop of Mende, Bertrand embarked on a career as a mercenary captain and leapt into the Albigensian Crusade. Careless of who he fought for, save that they be both victorious and advantageous to him, Bertrand and his men distinguished themselves with their efficiency and discipline although their manner meant that their rewards were monetary rather than in glory.
With the cessation in the fighting, Bertrand took time to train and drill his now-loyal troops. In order to remain in funds, he offered his services and his men as a cadre and trained the militia of a number of communes in the area – little caring whether they were pro or anti Cathar. Some of these forces took part in the revolts against their new Crusading lords, others suppressed the uprisings of local magnates. Tiring, however, of gathering armies for others, Bertrand – having heard of a small force occupying a rickety fortification atop the Pech de Bugarach – has embarked with his core men to see if the place might serve well a base for the development of a more permanent presence when the Crusade inevitably resumes.
Current Activities
After reaching an agreement based on mutual interest with the magi of the covenant and granting himself the title of "Provost of the Commune of Bugarach", Bertrand has settled his men and started recruitment and training of a larger force. he has arranged to be the advocate of the Dominican priory in the village of Bugarach and is pondering offering his services as a trainer to Lord Bernard of Montferrand. Bertrand has also started slowly and carefully courting Zeebebah - although he is well aware that she seems to be doing something similar to him; although he is more nervous than he would ever admit about her powers he welcomes the 'dance'.
Bertrand's Seasonal Activities
Appearance
Bertrand is a well-conditioned, if somewhat slighter than normal, knight. He has clear green eyes, dark hair, and fair proportions. As a wealthy man he wears garments and carries accoutrements of good quality, although he favours a Spartan (or Roman military…) aesthetic over the sheer ostentation of some of his peers.
Personality
Bertrand is actively and assertively pragmatic. His own goals are always his first consideration, despite his outward actions, and he does whatever is required to advance them by the most expeditious, and stable, means. He is quite capable of being amicable, or affable, if necessary but often this is calculated rather than genuine. He is most truthful when he leads his men in the field, and his pre-battle orations are either glimpses of a nobler self, or a triumph of the Machiavellian hero. Bertrand is convinced that he is, at least, the equal of anyone else; a strong believer in meritocracy he simply believes himself more meritorious than most people he encounters.
Strangeness...
Bertrand is sometimes given to speaking Latin in exasperated tones to someone who does not appear to be there and sometimes, despite his good planning, it seems as if everything goes wrong for no identifiable reason.
Emblems
Bertrand's company has a banner which he uses as his personal arms: the golden grain sheaf of Gevaudan on red, bordered by four black running wolves that form a square around it.
The men of pole-armed corporalships of his company have started wearing red armbands, while those of the archer corporalships wear black; there is also some thought being given by Bertrand to giving all the corporals a pennant of the appropriate colour.
Bertrand's Company
Bertrand commands a small group of well-trained and disciplined soldiers who fought with him during the Crusade. They are the main military arm of the covenant and are intended to form the nucleus of the a larger force some day...
Chretien, Bertrand's lieutenant, is a grizzled veteran of many campaigns.
Constant, Bertrand's ensign, is a young fellow who is learning the crafts of war and leadership.
The men (and woman!) of Bertrand's company now includes Etienne and his small band and the foreign archer Màili. The company now made up of eight corporalships, each consisting of a corporal and three other soldiers; four of the corporalships are armed with polearms and four with bows, all of them have reinforced jacks and swords as side-arms. The corporals are all trained in leading their men and each corporalship is able to fight as a trained group.
Chretien spends a great deal of time in the village of Bugarach, guarding the villagers and the inhabitants of the priory; Etienne, who is now serving as Bertrand's second lieutenant, commands the soldiers atop the Pech in Bertrand's absence.
Mechanics
later...