Jygarn Invincibilis was one of the founding members of the Great Knights and their leader following the death of Belfaenar Rochir and the successful defeat of the Serpentine in the Sixth, and final, Great Crusade. He was originally a knight living in the ancient city-state of Invinojug who rose to prominence for his military ability, and later joined the Great Knights, participating in several Great Crusades. His military prowess and charisma led to Belfaenar promoting him to the deputy leader of the Great Knights alongside Saelara Rochir, and after an election, he became their leader, pursuing policies of structuring their society. He eventually died during a Dirvish assassination orchestrated by Medusa, which prompted the beginning of massive anti-Dirvish campaigns in the mountains, known as the Ice Wars.
Childhood[]
Jygarn was born as a half-Datnerin, half-Romenin peasant in the strictly hierarchical structure of Invinojug. However, he was no poor peasant - he was a yeoman, a farmer whose family owned and farmed their own land. With multiple older siblings to work the farm, Jygarn began pursuing a military career to defend his homeland, especially after a nearby enemy raid killed several of his friends, and enlisted to join the army at only the age of 14. Recognised for his competence in command and his fighting skill, he was rapidly promoted to a man-at-arms, now having a similar social standing to an aristocratic knight.
Jygarn started active service in Invinojug military at 15, beginning with a small campaign to dislodge a few dark mages that had taken up residence in a mountain complex near the city. It was here that Jygarn had to lead the force of around 1,000 soldiers when all but three of his superiors were killed or incapacitated by an explosion targeted at their command tent, and the other three were picked off by assassins, leaving no clear chain of command. Jygarn immediately took up command and marched the army up to the mountain, rousing them with multiple inspirational speeches and instating a new chain of command among the most competent survivors.
Having re-established law and order in the small army, he was the target of two assassination attempts, both of which failed due to Jygarn's preparation for such an event. When they reached their destination, Jygarn made sure to use their own tactics against them, sneaking his own men into the complex and setting fire to a laboratory, which killed two of the four mages. The remaining dark mages were then lured out by using mocking soldiers as bait, and promptly executed by an ambush as they emerged from the cave.
Immediately after this action, Jygarn was instantly knighted by the Invinojug ruling council and granted his own portion of land, and he continued to achieve remarkable success in following battles.
Fighting the Serpentine[]
At the age of 30, Jygarn was now an experienced knight with his own seat in the wider Invinojug Council, and a family of his own. It was at this point where the Serpentine had begun devastating Inamorta, and they emerged from two sides: from the south and the west, where they immediately devastated much of the Symphramus region. Jygarn evacuated most of the population to cave complexes in the nearby mountains while preparing to defend Invinojug, and when the attack came, Jygarn succeeded in coordinating an attack on one of the leading Serpentine and killing it. Despite this, the walls of Invinojug were broken through and without enough manpower, Jygarn covered the evacuation of the remainder of his army, leaving the city to the Serpentine. Jygarn knew that trying to recapture the city would be suicidal without proper help, and they were left sheltering in the mountains for around 2 months.
Finally, when the refugees were beginning to run out of supplies, aid in the form of Belfaenar's First Great Crusade arrived. The Great Knights, as they had named themselves, landed several kilometres south of Invinojug, but Jygarn had scouts everywhere to track the movement of both the Serpentine and potential allies to themselves. Therefore, they were one of the first groups, after that of Darvink Havik's Falasian League - a rival league of city states which dominated naval trade - to encounter Belfaenar upon his landing in Symphramus.