Notes

Born in Stormreach on the continent of Xen'drik. He was raised as an only child in a poor family, his parents Leon and Klara were involved with the Bilge Rats and were constantly under pressure from the higher ups within the gang to give more and more of their time to the gang's nefarious pursuits. Bernard grew up a witness to their crimes and assumed this was how life was for all people, eventually leading to his own indoctrination within the gang. Bernard fought passionately for the Bilge Rats; an intimidating person even during his younger years Bernard was known for using a metal bar as a tool for extracting information, money, and anything the gang might need from someone and for always carrying out his jobs with a healthy amount of humour and situational dissassociation.

On the day of his 19th birthday, his world was turned upside down when he met Mithas d'Deneith at the Red Ring gladiator arena. A similarly confident young adult overflowing with martial prowess, Mithas challenged Bernard to a fight within the arena and promptly shattered Bernards' inflated ego. The two boys quickly became good friends, with Bernard acting as a sort of sidekick to the ambitious and noble Mithas. Mithas had left his family in Khorvaire after being disgraced in his role as Lieutenant and in the resulting familial void Bernard provided the brotherly love that Mithas unknowingly craved. They roared into adulthood together, each one pushing the other towards greater limits in all aspects of personal growth. The two boys spent the entirety of the next three years fighting, drinking, and trying (not entirely unsuccessfully) to sleep with just about every woman they knew in Stormreach. The process of sobering up began for them at the arrival of Mithas' martial instructor, a wizard named Yusegi, who had just arrived from Khorvaire to retrieve Mithas and bring him back to his family.

The aging wizard was known for being charismatic or brutal depending on the day upon which you saw him, but his most devious quality was the ease with which he could manipulate those around him. Upon his arrival in Stormreach Yusegi was introduced to Bernard and saw that there was untapped magical potential within the young half-orc. Yusegi had always been a fiend for finding and molding talented students into his own brand of soldiers, and he sought to repeat that process with Bernard as he had done with Mithas. His only obstacle was that Bernard was still very attached to his home and his family. His approach was merciless. Two days after his arrival he tipped off the Stormreach Guard as to the location of the Bilge Rats hideouts, and in the ensuing chaos caused by the raids he personally killed Bernards parents. In the aftermath of the murders Yusegi offered to take the devastated Bernard on as a student and provide for him a new home to live in. He had executed his plan perfectly and Bernard had fallen right into his palm.

The next years saw Bernard and Mithas deepen their friendship while under the tutelage of Yusegi in Karrlakton. Bernards' intellect and raw strength gave hints to the degree of his skill, but only after being broken and built-up again hundreds of times by the ruthless Yusegi did the extent of his martial prowess and natural proficiency come to light. Under the wizards' overbearing instruction he became an Eldritch Knight the likes of which fables would tell of for years to come. It was also in these years that Bernard came into the unofficial service of House Deneith and in time he rose in status among the House while Mithas became Yusegis' number two man. Despite the growing distance between their two paths, the two men carried their friendship above all else, and while they technically were still under Yusegis' authority there was no love lost between the two and the aging wizard.

Aside: As a result of his work with House Deneith, Bernard was forced to begin using a more "professional" weapon. He desired something that frightened onlookers while simoultaneously guaranteeing the safety of those whom it was his duty to protect. Luckily for Bernard; the warhammer fit these needs and bore a striking similarity to the metal bars of his youth. To commerate his luck in finding a new partner in crime, he deemed his warhammer "Fortuna".

On the day after The Mourning a female compatriots' of Bernard noticed the Mark of the Rubric that had appeared on his chest above his heart. The disturbing tattoo wouldn't dissapear after consistent washing and scraping, exxasperated and reaching the end of his patience despite only having tried for half an hour, Bernard sought out the help of Yusegi. The wizard cast a spell on it and claimed that it would go away soon, unknown to Bernard was that this was a lie intended to cover up Yusegis' fear at the never before seen Mark. The Mourning had been only a day before after all, and a curse mark like that was more than enough cause for concern for the wizard. He called for Mithas and the guards of House Deneith to kill Bernard in an attempt to stop the curse; Yusegi had long since forgotten about his interest in Bernard and had found new projects to devote his time to. In demanding Bernards' head he had resigned himself to the notion that Bernard had been nothing more than a failed experiment.

Fate did not go in his favor on that day, as Mithas was able to warn Bernard of the incoming attack and guide him out of the manor before the guards could get to him. The goodbye between the two brothers was brief but not without their usual light-hearted and confident banter. The two knew that one day they would find each other again, and each trusted in the others ability to stay alive until that day . On that evening Bernard became a target of House Deneith and much of the country. Word began to spread of a cursed half-orc that had powers to destroy a nation just as The Mourning had. On the run from seemingly the entire nation of Karrnath, Bernard found himself lost and looking for a new hope...