Jeremiah Garland

Jeremiah Octavius Garland  was a Galician mercenary captain who served as the second Grand Master of the Order of the Templars, doing so from 576 until 587.

Biography
''Note: The following is roughly 90% factual, 10% fictional. Some of the material below is embellished for entertainment, literary, and realistic purposes. For example, never did the Templars lead "vast armies" into battles or war, since Templar membership has been, at most, 30 users. Therefore, such exaggerations and hyperbola exist only to improve the quality of an otherwise bland and typical story. Furthermore, much of what you are about to read is based on actual events. To give another example, consider the first bit below about Jeremiah Garland growing up in a coastal village in a far-off land, becoming a commanding warrior victorious throughout many tribal wars. Whilst this may seem irrelevant to the game of Minecraft (which it is), the idea for this was pulled from one of the first server I frequented, in which I roleplayed a village warrior, often engaged in PvP with rival villages. Many (but not all) of the names are also fabricated with basis elsewhere; "Haras" is a realistic name more fit for a story than "Rocket_93". If a character is killed in the story, it can mean one of several things: they were simply killed in PvP (often the case), they stopped frequenting that particular server, or they stopped playing Minecraft altogether. The year system is implemented for further literary effect, with the following rough translations: 544 to 565 equals 2010, 566 to 570 equals 2011, 571 to 579 equals 2012, 580 to 586 equals 2013, and 587 to 592 equals 2014.''

Early Life
Not much is known about Garland's early life, other than he was born on October 4, 544, in the province of Galicia. His official birth name is recorded to be Iyramis Ryrgor Elisirsson Geirlyne, which, upon his arrival in Mycelia, he anglicised to Jeremiah Garland, also taking the middle name Octavius (which he has used as an alias on more than one occasion). Galicia, a mountainous region on the outer rim of Minecraftia, is a regional home to several clans of bearded warriors, the Galicians. The Galicians are renowned for their rugged, somewhat barbaric appearance, exceptional skills in weaponry (especially the bow), raiding nearby islands and villages aboard their iconic longboats, and most importantly, master miners of the earth, as they're extremely mountainous region offers many valuables.

Jeremiah was born in the Galician village of Tórshavn, a quaint village overlooking Galicia's rocky crags and the Galician sea. His parents were Elisir and Sigga Geirlyne, both of whom loved Jeremiah very much, for he was their only child. However, in 548, when Jeremiah was only four years old, the village of Tórshavn suffered a massive raid from a nearby rival village, in which a large amount of Tórshavn's population was killed. Among the casualties was Jeremiah's parents, Elisir and Sigga, both of whom died protecting their son.

After the raid, Jeremiah, still very young, was soon found by a family friend and an elder of the village, Kato the Wise. Kato cared for Jeremiah as if he was his own child, and Jeremiah soon grew to love Kato as well. Kato, an avid warrior, taught Jeremiah how to use a blade and shoot a bow; Jeremiah caught on quickly, and was proclaimed a natural. He also tutored Jeremiah in subjects such as astronomy, chemistry, Galician history, navigation, and of course, the Galician art of mining.

When Jeremiah was thirteen, Kato suddenly died of a heart attack. Traumatized by this loss, Jeremiah, out of sadness and anger ran away from Tórshavn and lived alone in the untamed foothills surrounding the village. Through the survival and fighting skills Kato had taught him, Jeremiah managed to fend for himself, and survive alone in the wilderness for three years. When he was sixteen, he was discovered by a hunting party from his village, who were astonished to see Jeremiah was still alive all this time. They asked him to return to the village.

The Galician Wars
Back in Tórshavn, Jeremiah discovered that the village had gone to war with a rival tribe (the very same tribe that had killed his parents), the village of Aervik to the north. Eager to get revenge on his parents' murderers, Jeremiah volunteered to fight the hostile village. The war, which would become known as the Third Galician War, hosted several battles between the two major tribes. In one of the earliest major battles, the Battle of Árborg Pass, Garland showed fierce skills on the battlefield, reportedly killing up to twenty Aervikians alone. In one particular moment during the battle, he had jumped in front of his commander to block an enemy marksman's arrow, which pierced his leather armour but left him relatively unhurt. For his bravery and skill on the battlefield, Garland soon rose through the ranks, and was eventually granted his own regiment to command.

As more and more tribes and villages within Galicia began to choose sides and the war escalated, Garland and his fighting party soon found themselves involved in more and more battles. Even though the Tórshavnians had suffered subtle losses at major battles such as the Battle of Langøya Creek and the Siege of Harstad, Garland continued to show promise on the battlefield, and in 563, was promoted to general.

Garland's breakthrough battle came in 564, during the height of the Third Galician War, at the Battle of Isgárleif. Isgárleif, a vital fishing island and valuable mining post located on the eastern edge of Galicia, had since been taken by Aervik forces and their allied tribes. Garland's duty was to retake the island, even though he had an army extremely smaller than the army occupying Isgárleif: they had him outnumbered by a five to one margin. Even still, Garland ordered the attack on the island. In the early hours of the morning on April 12 of that year, the small Tórshavn army raided the island, taking the enemy by surprise. The battle lasted for three days, before the Tórshavn army, extremely outnumbered, managed to prevail over the enemies, only losing a small fraction of their men. Garland himself had led his troops on the battlefield, personally killing a reported forty-two hostiles. In the process he had been shot by an arrow once in his shoulder, twice on the lower leg, and speared once in the upper chest. Despite this, Garland carried on and fought valiantly. For his actions and the unlikely taking of Isgárleif, Garland was hailed as one of the greatest generals in Galician history, and made a celebrated war hero in his home town of Tórshavn.

Journey to Mycelia
After the Third Galician War ended a few months after the events at Isgárleif, when the Aervikians surrendered, Garland, only nineteen years old, retired from his post as general, willing to lead a life of peace. However, war once again found its way to Tórshavn, when other enemy tribes began conducting raids. The nobles of Tórshavn looked towards Garland to come out of retirement and once again repel the enemies, but Garland refused. To avoid the incoming war, Garland decided he'd leave Galicia, and seek solace in far-off lands. On July 19, 565, Garland left Tórshavn in the middle of the night.

He traveled on foot for several months across the varying incredible landscapes of Minecraftia. While passing through the arid desert region of Tungisia, Garland was ambushed in the night by a small party of highwaymen. Blade in hand, Garland overpowered his attackers, but allowed them to escape with their lives. He let them go free, each with a gold ingot.

Finally, after traveling for three months west across the land, Garland came to the Great Ocean, which, on the other side, lay the lands he craved to reach. After slipping aboard a merchant's ship bound for the continent of Olexia, Jeremiah sailed upon the sea for another two months, before the ship finally reached the icy banks of New Elgin, the capital and largest port of the Kingdom of Mycelia. New Elgin, a cultured city quite often nicknamed "Rock and Dirt" (because of its rough external appearance), had recently fallen under the leadership of a new lord mayor, David McMartin. McMartin himself was a high-ranking official of Mycelia's largest company, Aperture, which held a peaceful economic monopoly over the kingdom and had emerged as the wealthiest corporation in Olexia. The chief owner of Aperture was an ambitious scientist named Josef Furnace.

Garland bought a house in New Elgin, and settled happily. He met and befriended a wealthy resident of New Elgin, a man his age named Haras. Garland and Haras would often dream about starting their own town like New Elgin, and watch it grow over time. This dream would eventually become reality.

After his first six months in Mycenia, Garland had run out of all the money he had brought with him, and knew he had to find a new way to get money. He searched around the kingdom for work, when he was finally offered a job working for a small-scale mining operation. Given his Galician heritage and knack for mining, he accepted for a decent pay. His employer and head of the operation was a Mycenian statesman named Archibald Bane. The next day, Garland began his work by traveling to the site of the mining operation, on a small island far off the coast of Mycelia.

For two weeks Garland made a good pay through the job, acquiring enough cash to keep some food on the table. He was an expert miner in the operation, and Archibald Bane took notice. However, the operation tragically ended when Bane was killed in a mining explosion caused by a malfunction in the TNT. Jeremiah barely escaped the incident with his life. He took whatever funds Bane had made through the mining operation, seeing they'd be useless going to waste. Local authorities on the island soon assumed Garland had intentionally murdered Bane to steal his fund, and Garland knew he had to leave. He escaped back to New Elgin.

Acre
In pursuit from the law, Garland knew he had to leave the kingdom. He approached his old friend, Haras, with whom he'd often share fantasies of founding a state of their own. He proposed this idea to Haras, who was reluctant at first, seeing this as impossible. Garland, using the funds he had acquired from Bane Mining Co., eventually cajoled Haras that they had enough wealth to start their own state. Haras eventually agreed, and in November of 570, the two set out to find a suitable location for their new town.

After traveling for days by boat, the two eventually reached a small island far off from the shores of Mycelia (it was believed this island lay on the edges of the uninhabitated tundra region of Moorsland). With the island located strategically in the opening of a bay, and plenty of snow-covered hills to offer protection from invaders, the two agreed this island would be ideal for the location of their soon-to-be town. They immediately set up camp and laid down the cornerstone.

They agreed to name the town Acre, after an ancient stronghold (Acrésveld) that sat not far from New Elgin.

As construction on the city began, residents from New Elgin and other locations in Mycelia were soon brought to the island to help populate the city. Acre grew within weeks, and soon a small militia force was established. Garland was proclaimed commander of the Acrean Militia Force, while Haras was elected mayor of the city.

Aperture
It was also during this time that word of Garland's victories overseas and successful career as a young warrior general reached the ears of the Mycelians. As such, many organisations within Mycelia sought Garland's prowess, wishing to hire him as a bodyguard, hit man, tactician, and a variety of other jobs. The first company to hire Garland was Aperture, the controversial research institution headed by New Elgin resident Josef Furnace. Due to the corporation's aggressive and infamous nature, Aperture had garnered a large number of enemies and financial opponents; Furnace made quick work to dispatch Garland to eliminate these rivals. Furnace had become so impressed with Garland's work that he named him proctor (head of security) of Aperture.

Garland's first and most notable mission working as Aperture's proctor was carrying out the assassination of Aperture's former chief executive officer, who had since fled New Elgin after being ousted from the position by Furnace himself. The man, known simply as "Skull", had anticipated Furnace would soon send a hitman for his life, so had locked himself away in a tower on a small island far offshore from New Elgin. Furthermore, he had constructed a sizable force of iron golems for protection, and even hired a bodyguard; an ominous bounty hunter named "Shadow Knight".

In January of 571, Garland successfully located Skull's island and approached it under the darkness of night. His presence, however, was soon noticed. Wielding an axe, Garland quickly disabled a good number of iron golems, on guard in the tower's courtyard. In the process of ascending the tower to assassinate Skull, Garland was ambushed by Shadow Knight, who attempted to knock Garland off of the tower's narrow ladder with arrows. After Garland was shot with an arrow in the back leg, he managed to scrabble away into one of the tower's storage rooms to recover. He immediately drank a healing potion Furnace had provided for him, removed the arrow from his leg, and hid amongst the stockpile of chests. Shadow Knight entered the room, anticipating to finish off Garland. Whilst he was searching the room, Garland sprang from his hiding spot, blade in hand, taking Shadow Knight by surprise. The two engaged in a short duel before Garland overpowered his opponent. Shadow Knight's sword was knocked from his hands and he sat on his knees defenceless. Rather than finish him, Garland decided to let the bounty hunter go free, declaring it was not him he had come to kill. Shadow Knight thanked Garland, and evacuated the tower.

Garland finished his ascent of the tower to come face-to-face with Skull, who had been prepared for his arrival; he had armed himself with a powerful sword. Skull taunted Garland, and proceeded to insult Josef Furnace and Aperture. To this, Garland responded with a heavy strike which Skull barely blocked. At once the two began a lengthy battle, which concluded after a blow from Garland had heavily injured Skull's right arm, causing him to lose his sword. Defenceless, wounded, and obviously defeated, Skull threw a final insult to Garland before jumping from the tower, taking his own life as he fell to the ground in the courtyard below. Garland recited a short Galician invocation before setting the tower alight and descending to retrieve Skull's body and return it to Aperture.

The Templars
After an extended bout working in Aperture's facilities, Garland returned to Acre in early 571 to find the city flourishing under Haras's leadership. After word of Acre's success reached Furnace, he wished to put the township under Aperture's jurisdiction; he expressed these wishes in a letter to Garland. Confused, Garland returned once more to Aperture. It was at this time he first learned about the Order of the Templars: a secret society of loyal fighters who strive to expand their influences to all edges of society. Furnace explained how Aperture was simply a front for the Templar Order, and how New Elgin was already under Templar control; indeed, the Lord Mayor of New Elgin, David McMartin, was a Templar. Furnace also expressed his desire to expand the Templar realm to cover all of Olexia, and conquering Acre would be necessary. As a final test before his initiation into the Templars, Garland was to overthrow his friend Haras from the mayorship in Acre, and assume control of the city. Garland, seeing the Templars as an ominous yet worthy cause, reluctantly accepted this task.

The Acrean Civil War
In the summer of 571, Garland returned once more to Acre to find some of the civilians somewhat displeased by Mayor Haras. Taking advantage of the situation, Garland began spreading rumours across the city of Haras's misdeeds. Soon, two factions emerged in the city: those who saw Haras as a tyrant and felt that Garland was the rightful founder, and therefore ruler of Acre; and those who remained loyal to Haras. Clashes soon broke out between the two groups, and casualties were taken. On August 3, 571, after the Acre City Hall was burned down overnight, Mayor Haras blamed Garland for this, and, due to his betrayal, banished Garland from the city and took full control of the Acrean Militia. Garland and his followers returned to New Elgin, where they eventually garnered the support of the Templar mayor. Three weeks and two assassination attempts later, Garland returned to Acre with a sizeable force from New Elgin under his control; he besieged the city in an event known as the Siege of Acre.

During the three-day-long siege, dozens of casualties were taken on both sides, due to many small skirmishes that took place outside the city gates. Finally, in the early morning of the fourth day, Garland's forces broke through the walls of Acre, and stormed the town. The main militia force was ultimately defeated after a short yet intense battle in the main city's square, and Garland himself, sword drawn, marched into the mayor's mansion in the heart of the city where he took Haras prisoner. At approximately noon of that day, August 27, 571, Garland was proclaimed the new mayor of Acre.

Shortly thereafter, Garland rode to the city's holding cells, where he approached his fallen friend, Haras. Crestfallen, Haras asked Garland what his motives were in taking control of the city. Garland then explained to him the Templars; how Josef Furnace, the Templars' grandmaster, had assigned him the task as his initiation. Haras mentioned how he was familiar with the Templar Order, and expressed interest in himself becoming a member. Seeing as he was victorious, Garland wrote to Furnace, inquiring as to whether Haras could be admitted as a Templar as well. Furnace approved, noting Haras on his vigilance, courage, and skill as a leader, and on September 4, 571, Garland and Haras travelled together back to Mycelia, where they both took the Templar Oath and were officially proclaimed members of the Order. Subsequently, Haras was reinstated as the mayor of the now-Templar controlled city of Acre.

The Rise of a Dynasty
With Acre now under Aperture's belt, the Templars soon came out of secrecy and divulged their underlying leadership and intentions on the citizens of Mycelia. In November of that year, a new arrival appeared in Mycelia: a long-lost friend of Furnace named Parax, the Baron von Shush. At once Garland and Parax formed a close friendship. Parax was also sworn in as a member of the Order of the Templars, and the lineup was at last complete: Furnace, the Grandmaster; Garland, the right hand; Haras, the mayor of Acre; Parax, the Treasurer; and McMartin, the mayor of New Elgin.

Soon the Templar Order had conquered more and more lands surrounding Mycelia, expanding the kingdom's boundaries greatly. Eventually, rival nations began taking notice of Mycelia's new empire, and began to challenge their success. The most prominent of these nations was the New California Republic, or NCR, led by an infamous tyrant named Daves Davy. Davy had garnered the aid of an NCR commando – John Breasly – as well as an NCR general of the army – Leonasta – in constructing a hidden base within the mountains of Mycelia. The three used this post to intercept messages from Mycelia as well as surveil Templar activity. Eventually, Aperture discovered NCR's base, and war was soon declared between NCR and Mycelia.

The Eight Week War
In preparation for the war, Lord Mayor David McMartin had established a conscription across the Kingdom of Mycelia. Able-bodied men were soon called upon to join the Mycelian army. Perhaps the most notable of these men was a young soldier named Albert Spark. Coming from a mysterious iced-over land to the north, Spark distinguished himself early on in the war. Garland, meanwhile, had been named the commanding general of the Mycelian forces, whilst Furnace was named the directing coordinator. Parax, meanwhile, single-handedly holstered the Mycelian economy through his vast wealth, making the price of war well within the Templars' grasp.

On December 2, 571, the first battle of what would become known as the Eight Week War occurred. NCR forces, led by General Leonasta, began a direct assault on the Mycelian capital of New Elgin by marching through the eastern mountains dividing the city from NCR territory. Word of this advance was intercepted by Parax's sources, and soon a sizable Mycelian force was assembled in the foothills. The NCR's army arrived at the headquarters of Aperture (which was located between New Elgin and the Mycelian Range) before they were ambushed by a sizable Templar force led by Grand Master Furnace himself. General Leonasta called for a full retreat.

Meanwhile, the leader of the NCR, Daves Davy, had himself remained stationed in the NCR's covert mountain base within Mycelian territory. Seeing as New Elgin was too well-defended, he set his sight on the city of Acre, just to the northwest. He ordered his secondary commander, John Breasly, to take the city. Armed with a small force, Breasly besieged Acre, but was valiantly beaten back by Mayor Haras, who propelled the invaders just long enough for Templar reinforcements to arrive from the south.

The greatest Templar defeat of the brief war came on December 16, 571. In the frozen tundra far to the north of New Elgin, Aperture and the Mycelian government owned a small number of port-bases operating off of the northern seas. These became targets for the NCR. Three days prior, they began a siege of the coastal bases, defended only by a small number of unsuspecting militia. As food and heat ran short in the facilities, the NCR ultimately overran the bases, cutting off Mycelian trade access through the northern seas. Reinforcements from New Elgin failed to arrive and retake the ports due to harsh weather conditions and extreme temperatures in the brutal winter, in addition to the necessity of aiding more urgent locations.

Shortly after the shocking defeat and loss of the valuable northern bases, as well as weakening defences on the main front, the Mycelians decided it was time to go on the offensive. Albert Spark, since promoted to Colonel, was directed to lead a force and take back the "Frozen LA", an NCR-held Mycelian region to the west so called because of its cold climate and city initials. Spark carried out this command on December 24, rousing an unsuspecting NCR army from their sleep, shocked to discover an enemy attack amidst the holiday season. With Frozen LA easily won back, the Mycelian army was once more encouraged to fight.

Another major Templar victory came a few days later at the Battle of Argis Pass. Argis Pass, a vital network of roads through the Mycelian mountain range, was the prospect of NCR advancement as part of their plan to march on New Elgin. However, a Templar force dually commanded by Haras and Baron von Shush halted the Templars at the pass, and sternly defended the strategic point despite being outnumbered. Casualties were costly on both sides, but ultimately the Templars prevailed as NCR was routed. The commander of the NCR forces, General Leonasta, was killed by Baron von Shush himself, who shot the retreating general with a well-fired arrow. The shocking loss of Leonasta caused NCR President Daves Davy to revert his strategy and call all men back to prepare for the defensive.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah Garland had discovered the location of the NCR's secret base, being operated by Daves Davy and his new head-general, John Breasly. With a small tact force, Garland rode out to the base in the darkness of night. He ordered his men to clear the premises before himself entering the base, alone. He planned to assassinate Davy, bringing a stealthy end to the war. However, having successfully navigated the base without detection, the blow from his sword only seriously maimed the NCR president. Before Garland could finish him off, John Breasly rushed to the aid of his leader, and engaged Garland in a duel. The subsequent fight between the two provided ample time for Daves Davy to escape the base and retreat back to the New California Republic. Seeing as Breasly and Garland were equally matched, after two hours of dueling with no yield from either side, Breasly too managed to escape, promising death to Garland and the fall of Mycelia.