Edwin Spruce
| Edwin Spruce | |
|---|---|
 A propaganda poster of Edwin Spruce in Westport from 1287 AC. | |
| Race | Vampire (formerly elf) |
| Title | Lord Protector of the Free City of Westport |
| Occupation |
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| Family | House Spruce |
| Relatives |
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| Origin |
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| Nationality | Westport |
Edwin Spruce is a Pact-born vampire noble, artificer, mage, and the current Lord Protector of Westport, an independent city-state located on the western coast of the Carcolan continent. A member of House Spruce, a minor offshoot of the influential de Spruys vampiric family within the Helsingfyrd Pact, Edwin is best known for his role as a political broker, innovator, and sponsor of various eccentric scientific projects. He is a central figure in the ongoing attempts to recover and weaponize spell stones, a rare magical resource of unknown origin.
Spruce is notable for his pragmatic political views, his strained but strategic ties with the Pact aristocracy, and his uneasy relationship with Carcolan and Azurean powers. Though often underestimated by rivals due to his eccentric public demeanor, he is widely regarded as a cunning survivor in a volatile political environment.
Background and Early Life
Little is publicly known about Edwin Spruce’s early life. He is believed to have been born into a cadet branch of House de Spruys, a Pact vampire house with historical estates in the Hopgon Coast region of the Helsingfyrd Pact.
The official narrative of the Free City of Westport claims that he was educated in the finest magical academies of the city of Helsingfyrd by the most prominent archmages of the Helsingfyrd Pact, with a focus on divination and illusion, and the Pact's necromantic traditions. As a child, he also developed a keen interest in artificing and mechanics.
The official narrative also suggest that Edwin's vampirism was inherited rather than acquired through conversion. However, conflicting rumors claim that he arrived in Westport as a non-vampire and was turned to vampirism shortly after arrival in the Free City.
Rise to Power
Spruce arrived in Westport during a period of instability following the city's secession from Pact authority by the vampiric ruling class. Through cautious yet shrewd political maneuvering, and coin from obscure private backers, he secured political dominance over the city's docks and civic institutions. In time, he assumed the title Lord Protector, a position of ambiguous legality but de facto complete authority.
Under his rule, Westport has become a hub for global trade, magical research, and luxury manufacturing. While nominally independent, the city remains culturally and economically entangled with both the Helsingfyrd Pact and Carcola, often serving as a neutral ground for negotiations between each. The city has prospered due to the mutual animosity between the two nations, serving as a trade gateway between the Republic and the Pact that allows merchants to skirt the onerous tariffs imposed by the Pact on the Republic, and vice versa.
Since his rise to complete de facto authority over the Free City of Westport, Spruce has become increasingly reclusive, appearing less often in public and spending more time in his private laboratory on personal projects. Rumors claim that he fears the insanity that inevitably grips all vampires in time, and is trying to avoid it.
The Hollow Swallow Expedition
In the current year, PR 1287, Spruce has funded and organized the Hollow Swallow expedition, a well-publicized voyage into the Lost Lands archipelago, ostensibly to explore and recover caches of spell stones. The expedition, launched from Westport under a banner of discovery, has drawn considerable attention from rival figures, both foreign and domestic.
The gala celebrating the launch of the expedition was marred by an assassination attempt, during which Spruce was seemingly seriously wounded but survived. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Political Philosophy and Reputation
Spruce is regarded by allies as a necessary moderate in a world of extremes. He is one of the few vampire nobles who speaks openly of adapting Pact traditions to changing times and has repeatedly employed mortals in positions of trust. His detractors see him as opportunistic, morally compromised, and meddlesome in dangerous areas.
Though he lacks the ancestral power and territory of greater vampiric houses, and the powerful fervor of the growing Ochre Flame Edwin's combination of arcane insight, undead loyalists, and social flexibility makes him a political wildcard able and willing to play more powerful factions against one another for his own benefit, and that of the Free City of Westport.
Known Associates
- Practicant Marius: Former doctor of Edwin Spruce. Now acts as his majordomo and primary steward of his personal household.
- Oswald Spruce: Noble cousin and last remaining member of the Spruce cadet branch (besides Edwin Spruce himself). Sits on the Inner Council of Westport and acts as a loyalist to him.
- Robert Rehobath (Whiskey Bob): Famed naval captain and veteran of the Carcolan Navy, Whiskey Bob was hired out of retirement by Spruce to serve as captain of the Hollow Swallow expedition to the Lost Lands.