Of all of the horror stories that have originated in the Wenigzustand none are more revolting and nauseating than the origin of Condamner’s ruler, the infamous Le Duc. As one of the Little States most elusive and quietly sinister figures Le Duc is both well known and yet one of the most difficult to understand individuals.

He entered into history as Unheimlich Verschlinger, a minor warlord on the frontier of what was the Third Imperium right in the heart of Partum. He was approached by the generals of the Imperium and after some negotiating was tasked with keeping the peace in the region. Lord Verschlinger took this as a chance to enrich himself and his cronies and began to amass a sizeable fortune. The area directly under his control flourished even as the Imperium began to fade as a viable political power.

Sensing that his benefactors were weakening, Lord Verschlinger opted to join the growing insurrection by pledging his allegiance to a young barbarian warrior named Tyrol. While this warlord went on to become something of a legendary figure in Partum, Lord Verschlinger began to become more and more diabolical in nature. Taking on the title of Le Duc he commenced to turning Condamner into a terrifying place filled with nightmarish creatures that stalked the dark. Le Duc was not (as one might suspect) a reliable ally to Tyrol and when the good King died Le Duc took advantage of it and through his knowledge of dark magicks sealed the place off from its neighbors.

This is of course when luck turned against Le Duc. Famine racked his land for many seasons and crops of all types withered and died year after agonizing year. Still an incredibly wealthy man, Le Duc and his cohorts did their best to continue living as lavishly as possible. Le Duc devised a scheme that he called “The Feast of Famines” and he invited everyone in his realm to attend in the large central square of his largest city. The price of admission, though, was a child no older than three years old. As one might imagine the feast turned into a horrifying bloodbath on a scale scarcely imaginable. While none would argue that Le Duc was anything other than an evil man prior to this, it was this event that transformed him into a true monster.

Now it rare for Le Duc to ever harm his own people, but he is well known for preying on those that come into his grasp as slaves, prisoners, or foreigners that find themselves in the wrong place. Le Duc is also credited as being something of a traveler having been sighted in Fanolania, Ange Déchu, Geldenreich, and all across the Little States. What it is that the fiend seeks is a mystery, but only a fool would think that Le Duc turning up is a good omen.