Authors Notes: Been a while since I've actually written anything, so this technically just a means for me to help get myself back into the jest of things. Technically some idea I had in my head for quite a while, but have no idea what to do with this, so here ya go.
Name: Alaric I
Aliases(s): King Of The Visigoths, The First Usurper: Mentor of The Hidden Ones
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Visigoth
Affiliations: Hidden Ones
Time Period: Late Antiquity
Alignment: Lawful/ Neutral Good
Alaric I was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He was a member, and eventually, Mentor of the Hidden Ones during the Late Antiquity. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combined force of Goths and Alans after the Battle of Adrianople. Alaric began his career under the Gothic soldier Gainas and later joined the Roman army. Once an ally of Rome under the Roman emperor Theodosius, Alaric helped defeat the Franks and other allies of a would-be Roman usurper. Despite losing many thousands of his men, he received little recognition from Rome and left the Roman army disappointed. After the death of Theodosius and the disintegration of the Roman armies in 395, he was crowned king of the Visigoths.
He is responsible for the sack of Rome in 410, one of several notable events in the Western Roman Empire's eventual decline. Eventually, kick-starting the wars between humanity and the supernatural that sprung forth long after his death.
ABILITIES: Alaric possesses the "Eagle's Sight" a rare extrasensory perception or "six sense," that lies dormant within some human beings. Those who possess the gift are able to instinctively sense how people and objects relate to them, which manifests as a colored glow, much like an aura. Red indicates enemies or spilled blood, blue indicates allies, white indicates sources of information, and gold indicates targets or objects of interest. However, this six-sense ability is not entirely infallible as it is only limited to the amount of concentration the individual possesses.
MOTIVATIONS/ GOALS: A military commander determined to restore his people's honor, Alaric fought under the Eagle's banner alongside Gothic mercenaries, who lived as a separate nation within the empire for more than a decade. Yet, with the constant non-stop betrayals and backstabs by the Romans, Alaric would do anything to secure independence for his people by any means necessary. However, as history was truly remembered by those who lived it. His actions would eventually spark the very wars between humanity and the supernatural. One that would last for centuries to come.
BIOGRAPHY:
EARLY LIFE & THE GOTHIC WARS (376 AD -382 AD)
Born on the Peuce Island in present-day Romania, Alaric first lived much of his early life along the mouth of the Danube Delta. During this time, when the Goths suffered setbacks against the Huns, they made a mass migration across the Danube, and fought in the Gothic Wars. His upbringing was shaped by living along the border of Rome in a region that the Romans viewed as a veritable "backwater"; some four centuries before. Alaric was taken under the wing of the Thervingian Gothic Chieftain, Fritigern, who was Mentor of the Hidden Ones during that time. Fritigern made a bargain with Roman Emperor Valens, in exchange for safe passage across the border in protection of the Empire. Agreeing to provide the Eastern Romans, Goth mercenaries against the Huns.
In 376, the Goths crossed into the Danube River and settled in the province of Moesia. In the winter of 376/7, a famine hit the areas settled by the Thervingi and their appeals for help went unanswered. The Roman governor of the area, Lupicinus, who was of the Order Of Ancients. Treated them badly. From there, the young Alaric would first witness cruelties committed on his people. The Romans sold them food only at extremely high prices, which forced many Goths to sell their children as slaves. Several Gothic leaders were invited to a banquet, in which they killed some and took others hostage. Fritigern was the only one to escape and declared war on the Roman Empire.
After defeating Lupicinus at the Battle of Marcianople, the Goths went on to pillage Moesia, taking control over most of the neighboring province of Thracia. Emperor Valens, recognizing the severity of the situation, sent his generals to contain the Goths and request aid from the Western Romans. None worked and were close to the gates of Constantinople itself. Valens was forced to withdraw from his campaign in Persia, meeting at a head front confrontation at the Battle of Adrianople. The Goths won a decisive victory, the Roman army routed and suffered heavy losses. Valens himself was burned alive whilst hiding in a shelter following the aftermath.
The loss of the emperor shook the Eastern Romans, and without a leader, came widespread fear of Gothic uprisings and insurgence. Goths along the frontier were put to the sword. By 379, word of the massacres reached the Goths living in the interior provinces, leading to riots in Asia Minor. The Romans reacted by massacring the Goths in the interior provinces as well. The war continued for another two years before a peace treaty was signed by Theodosis I in 382.
Whilst the Gothic Wars came to an end, the subjugation of the Goths continued to persist. Years after Fritigern's death, Alaric soon became the leader and King of the Visigoths, and challenged the Romans in ways no barbarians had ever done.
SERVICE UNDER THEODOSIUS I & RISE TO KING (392 AD - 395 AD)
By 392 AD, Alaric had entered Roman military service, and had risen through the ranks of the Hidden Ones. Most of the soldiers serving in the Roman armies were barbarian foederati (mercenaries). Alaric, at this point, is a general in the army serving under Emperor Theodosius I. He also served under Flavius Stilicho, commander of the Eastern Army, and a half-barbarian soldier much like himself. Under the treaty signed by Fritigern in 382, the Goths fought under the Roman banner in exchange for land of their own. However, Rome has other plans to only use them as expendables.
It all shows in 394 AD when Alaric and his men were thrown into cannon fodder as pawns at the Battle of Frigidus. Ten thousand of Alaric's vanguard were put to the sword, victims of Theodosius' callous tactical decision to overwhelm the enemy's front lines. Alaric was among the few who survived the protracted and bloody affair yet received little to no recognition from the emperor. The effects of the battle also struck against the old Hellenic Pantheon, and none ever took kindly to Alaric's actions as one of the usurpers. A year after the ordeal, Theodosius died of an illness, leaving his two young and incapable sons Arcadius and Honorius in Stilicho's guardianship.
Following the Emperor's death, Alaric was soon crowned as the first King of the Visigoths and persuaded his own people to seek out a kingdom of their very own. Never again to serve others in idleness whether it may be the Olympian Gods, Ancients, or the Golden Eagle.
GREAT DIVIDE & REBELLION (395 AD - 408 AD)
Theodosius's death left the Roman field armies collapsing and the Empire divided again between his two sons, one taking the eastern and the other the western portion of the Empire. Stilicho, risen to head Maestre of the Ancients, made Magister Militum the West and attempted to establish control in the East as well, and led an army into Greece. Alaric, now Mentor of the Hidden Ones, rebelled again, taking advantage of the two halves for power. Simply being called to authority by the Gothic people did not solve the practicalities of their needs for survival. He needed Roman authority in order to be supplied by Roman cities.
Alaric took his Gothic army on a pillaging campaign in the East. Pushing deep, carving out territory for their own from the lands they conquered. In the spring of 402, Alaric decided to invade Italy out of desperation for provisions. Crossing the peninsula's Alpine frontier near the city of Aquileia. For nine months, Gothic raids were carried out along the northern Italian roads, where Alaric was spotted by Roman townspeople. On the road of Via Postumia, Alaric would meet Stilicho on the other end.
Two battles were fought. The first was at Pollentia on Easter Sunday, where Stilicho achieved victory. The second battle was at Verona, where Alaric would be bested a second time. Stilicho offered Alaric a truce, allowing the Visigoths to settle over at Illyricum in the border provinces of Noricum and Pannonia, in-exchange to fight against the Hunnic invaders. Again, the promise was never delivered. In 408, under the rising tide of anti-barbarism. Stilicho was taken under captivity and was executed along with his son.
INVASION & SACK OF ROME (408 AD - 410 AD)
Betrayed by the Romans constantly, the death of Stilicho was the final nail in the coffin sending Alaric into a breaking point. Large numbers of barbarian troops that were once under Stilicho's command defected en masse. Many thousands of barbarian auxiliaries, along with their wives and children, joined Alaric in Noricum. For two years, the barbarians lay siege to the Eternal City of Rome three times, cutting off supply lines, and trying to starve the city into surrender. The two-year siege soon took a toll of attrition on both sides. Plague and famine were wrought on both Roman and Goth alike. In the hot summer of 410 AD, Alaric entered peace negotiations, offering 300 of his men as slaves in return for leaving the city.
In actuality, this move was a trojan horse tactic. Three hundred of the slaves moving through the city gates were actually Hidden Ones. Infiltrated the city and caused a massive mayhem. The gates were open, Alaric and his men stormed the city, an assault that lasted three days. The city was sacked, stripping it of the wealth obtained from centuries. The effects in the aftermath were both devastatingly physiological and metaphysical. Not only had Rome's sack been a significant blow to the Roman people's morale, but they had also endured two years' worth of trauma brought about by fear, hunger (due to blockades), and illness.
Any remaining faith in the old Gods dwindled dramatically, for the Empire was no longer protected under their divine watch. Thus, started the gradual end of their existence, as one-by-one, the Gods slowly faded away from this Earth. The Ancients soon withdrew their influence from Rome, as the barbarian tribes descended on the Empire. Alaric soon delivers the land promised to his people, but never lives to see it. Dying of fever one month after the attack on Rome.
LEGACY: From a child of the Goths to a Barbarian general. Alaric had lived witnessing the subjugation of his people. He promised the Visigoths a permanent homeland to call their own. Rose through the ranks of the Roman army in the hopes of achieving that goal, but it was all for naught. The Goths fought and died for the Romans only to be betrayed again and again. Forsaken by the Gods after the Battle Of Frigidus. On his own, with only the Hidden Ones left as his aid. Alaric's Sack of Rome dealt a crippling blow that could never be recovered. Years after his death, barbarian tribes descended, driving the Gods to extinction. Gothic kingdoms quickly arose from ashes of the fallen Empire, as did numerous other hunter factions. Thus, started a war against the supernatural that would last for centuries henceforth.
RELATIONSHIPS:
Order of the Ancients: Sworn enemy of the Hidden Ones & Goths alike. Alaric possesses a huge disdain for the Ancients, as a result of the atrocities they've committed on his people. The Sack of Rome in 410 delivered a crippling blow to the Order, resulting in one of the many events that lead to Rome's downfall.
Gensokyo: Because of Alaric's Sack of Rome. Eventually leading to the Hellenic Pantheon's downfall long after his death. His name would be forever despised by many of the Desens of Gensokyo, as a result of his actions that subsequently resulted in the wars between humanity & the supernatural.
Fritigern: Leader of the Goths & Mentor of the Hidden Ones, Alaric was taken under Fritigern's wing during his early childhood. Learning what he could and sticking by his side throughout the Gothic Wars. He would soon take over as leader of both factions fifteen years after Fritigern's death.
Theodosius I: Emperor of the Eastern Romans, and head Magistrate the Ancients succeeding Valens. Alaric once served under the emperor as a barbarian foederati (mercenary) as part of a peace agreement made in 382 AD. Ten thousand of Alaric's vanguard were slaughtered at the battle of Frigidus, a result of Theodosius' callous tactical decision to overwhelm the enemy's front lines.
Flavius Stilicho: A half Roman-Gothic General under the Roman banner, Alaric and Stilicho would often find themselves at constant odds throughout their military careers but have respect for each other. A deal was made in 408 to protect Rome against the Hunnic invaders in exchange for land. Stilicho would later be executed for suspicion as a result of his Gothic origins, resulting in the deal becoming null and void. This act of treachery enraged Alaric as a final breaking point, resulting in becoming fully disillusioned, and launching a full invasion into Italy.
Hecatia Lapislazuli: Distrustful towards each other, the two never saw eye-to-eye. Relations took a turn for the worse after the Battle of Frigidus, and the death of Stilicho. Alaric became so disillusioned with the gods, and eventually committed the very act that would bring their downfall years following his death.
The Hidden Ones: A member, and eventually Mentor of an early incarnation of the Assassin's Brotherhood, Alaric first came into contact with them through Fritigern, who was Mentor active during the Gothic Wars. He would later on rise through the ranks long after Fritigern's death.