Lyan Vermilion
Aliases: Marquis Vermilion
- Title
- Marquis, head of House Vermilion
- Skill
- Holy Sword
Description
Lyan Vermilion is a marquis and the head of one of the kingdom's warrior houses, holder of the Holy Sword skill. Within his domain he is effectively absolute power: lord, court, law, and executioner all at once. From childhood Alan watched at his executions how cheaply life is valued here.
The marquis treated the illegitimate Alan with cold contempt, and once the boy's Awakening revealed an unreadable skill and no aptitudes, he wrote his son off entirely. The final blow was a false accusation of breaking a family vase: Lyan beat Alan (softening the Holy Sword's blow) and banished him, forbidding him the family name.
He remains a background but heavy presence: he is friendly with other nobles such as Count Fanda, and his connections are a constant reason Alan tries not to stand out in lands close to the Vermilions.
Rule over the domain
As a ruling marquis, Lyan holds tax and judicial power. Whip and rod, lashes counted 'by the ruler's mood,' executions of malcontents — all of it is routine, and the kingdom's law barely constrains him. It is through his example that Alan arrives at his conclusion: power here is merely violence backed by the ability to use it.