Erwin Ekkehard [2015]

"Nothing brings out one’s true nature quite like war."



Name: Erwin Ekkehard
Nickname: The Shogun, at least by those that know of his Samurai past. Formerly The Ronin.
Age: 54
Gender: Male
Country: Land of Iron Land of Water (Kirigakure)
Village Rank: Colonel Mizukage
Skill Rank: S



Height: 6’2”
Weight: 198 lbs
Hair color: Black
Eye Color: Periwinkle
Looks Image:

Looks Description: Erwin is a rather muscular man for his age, then again decades of military service will do that to you. He has short black hair befitting a soldier, or former soldier rather, with a few strands that always seem to stick out over his forehead. As with most people his face has worn with age, but crows feet, a few forehead wrinkles, and some laugh lines are hardly a burden. Erwin prefers to keep his face clean shaven, well, apart from his mustache of course. That he keeps trim and proper to sport a professional look. Surprisingly enough as a seasoned veteran of numerous battles Erwin doesn't have many scars to show for it, and his most noticeable scar isn't even from the battlefield. The loss of his left eye was actually due to an incident where his sparring opponent's blade shattered, resulting in a piece of shrapnel piercing his eye. Apart from that Erwin has scars from a few puncture wounds on his left abdomen and a couple from gashes on his right bicep.

As far as clothing goes Erwin prefers to wear somewhat casual yet formal attire, if not his old military uniform that's been stripped of it's rank denoting patches and medals. For casual attire he usually wears white dress shirts with a pair of black or blue slacks and black dress shoes. For more formal occasions or situations Erwin will wear his old military uniform, which consists of; a pair of black slacks, usually tucked into black military boots; a black undershirt, always tucked into his pants; his suspenders; and his military jacket, which is black in color with gray trimming and barren of any patch or medal. For official occasions Erwin dons the traditional hat marking his position as Mizukage while wearing his formal attire. He can also commonly be found wearing his trench coat in colder or dustier climes, which is white with black trimming and a black interior, as well as being in possession of a pair of brown leather gloves. Of course there's also his eye patch, but that's kind of obvious. Erwin prefers not to wear a traditional forehead protector but instead has the Kirigakure symbol inscribed on a metal plate attached to a separate eyepatch worn while conducting official business.



Personality Description: Erwin is an odd man, a combination of civility, kindness, and utter mercilessness. From childhood the phrase "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." was drilled into his head, which he took to heart in a slightly more extreme way than most resulting in a "necessity over morality" mentality that lead to the rise of one of the most brutally efficient officers in the past two centuries, and just because you personally oversee the execution of a few dozen (or so) civilians that had yet to actually do anything wrong in order to stamp out a rebellion before it caught fire you're branded a war criminal and exiled, but that's a story for another time. Lets just suffice it to say morality has no place in Erwins decision making, just cold cold logic.

Even so Erwin is a very polite man and as long as someone isn't threatening his plans they have absolutely nothing to worry about from him, hell, he'll often go out of his way to be nice to people simply because winning favor is something that can be very valuable. Damsel in distress? Save the broad, take down the "bad guy", win the favor of the locals in order to use that favor later to advance one's own interests. That's how Erwin's mind works. As far as interests are concerned his are fairly easy to understand, to survive and prosper on his own accord, partially to spite his country abandoning him and partially because military life is all Erwin ever knew. Quite frankly he enjoyed martial authority and the power that came with rank, and inch by inch he has retaken that power within the Kirigakure military.

Now just because Erwin has a rather strong thirst for power that doesn't mean he isn't fair or willing to work for it. He gives credit where credit is due, as well as comfortable payment and fair work hours, and would never consider betraying a comrade simply to work his way up the ladder. During his Land of Iron military days Erwin never worked his subordinates into the ground, maybe damn near during training to instil discipline but that's it, and he doesn't plan to start now that he's in Kirigakure. He simply expected them to do the best they could do, nothing more nothing less. If they delivered above his expectations then they would be praised and possibly rewarded, if they didn't they would be disciplined to a fitting degree. Even if the mission was a failure as long as his subordinates did everything within their power to succeed but couldn't because of misinformation or some unforeseen event then there were no hard feelings.

With decades of martial service under his belt Erwin understands that not every battle can be a victory, inevitably you will lose some potentially key battles, what truly matters is how well you pick yourself back up and carry on with the war, whatever that war may be at the time. He would never expect an ally or subordinate to sacrifice their life simply based on honor or dignity, he would never do so himself simply because honor and dignity have no place in war, and as far as he's concerned life is war. To him war is simply another part of nature, not something man made. There is conflict in nature over food, territory, survival, and leadership; why should humans be exempt? Therefore Erwin considers lasting peace to be unnatural and believes that there is nothing wrong with turning to conflict to advance your own interests, whether that be personal greed or the survival of your nation.

As to be expected from someone with his background Erwin is a very cunning man, and a very cautious one at that. Sleeping lightly with a knife in hand is common practice for him. Even though he may appear lax there is scarcely a moment where his guard drops, and he always has a weapon within reach. Erwin is quite knowledgeable as well, at least when it comes to topics related to military life that is. He's a military tactician not a professor. Still, that includes quite a bit of medical knowledge, wilderness survival tactics, and of course quite a bit of information regarding enemy (and former ally) military formations; ranking structure; culture; geography; history; and signature techniques.

Likes:

• Tea: No cream, a few pinches of sugar, and always black.
  
• Coffee: Black as the night with enough caffeine to give a small child a heart attack. Only drank in the morning or during “all-nighter” missions.
  
• Civility: Even if you plan on mercilessly cutting someone down there’s no reason to be rude while you do it.
  
• Loyalty: As a military man loyalty was second to none when it came to judging someone's worth, even after exile displays of loyalty (whether it be to one's true nature or in the traditional sense) are some of the best ways to earn Erwin’s respect.
  
• Efficiency: Second only to loyalty as far as Erwin is concerned, and is a trait he greatly respects, even if all someone is good at is something as menial as running a tea shop or delivering goods on time.
  
• Discipline: Right up there with Loyalty and Efficiency, the only difference being Erwin is willing to work with someone who lacks discipline while retaining the other two traits, just barely willing at least.
  

Dislikes:

• Raw Meats: Apart from absolute necessity nothing should ever be eaten raw.
  
• Overly Sweet Sweets: Yes, there is such a thing as “too much sugar.”
  
• Cats: Simply doesn't trust them.
  
• Brats: Just because they're kids doesn't mean he has to put up with the ungrateful little bastards.
  
• Overly Rude or Vulgar People: Erwin was raised a gentleman, enough said.
  
• Arrogance: A weakness that dulls one's mind and body, not to mention how annoying braggarts are.
  
• Cowardice: There’s nothing wrong with a tactical retreat, but unnecessary fear puts your entire unit at risk.
  

Catch Phrases: N/A
Nindo: ”To protect my country and advance its interests, at any cost.” “To survive, perhaps even thrive, no matter the obstacle.”



Element Affinity: N/A
Sub Element Affinity: N/A



History: Erwin was born to Sigmund and Alexis Ekkehard in a small militarized village near the Land of Iron's heartland, the Three Wolves Mountains. One could say that his life as a soldier was decided before he was even born. Not that anyone was actually doing the deciding, but both of his parents and most of his aunts, uncles, and cousins were all soldiers. It was practically family tradition to enlist, and given the amount of military activity that flowed through their village it was the same for most other families there. Essentially his birth village was a staging area for the Land of Iron's primary military, where troops that were on their way to or back from the southern and eastern quadrants of the country would stop and resupply. Honestly it was more of a fortress with additional housing for military families then a village, nevertheless it still had a small non-military populace.

Growing up Erwin didn't see much of his parents, his father returned to active duty a few months after his birth and his mother did the same after her maternity leave was finished, leaving him in the care of his grandparents along with his cousins. With the Land of Iron's long and harsh winters there wasn't much for a growing boy to do other than earn his keep and watch the soldiers that constantly flowed through the town. It wasn't long until Erwin developed a sort of fascination with them, their demeanor, their pride, their purpose. He spent his free time watching them spar and run drills, their elegance and skill with a blade was awe inspiring, you couldn't even tell they were wearing sets of heavy armor. As Erwin grew so did his fascination with the military, to the point where he tried to enlist a few times before he was old enough for the academy, although he wasn't quite good enough to fool their recruiters. However, due to his enthusiasm to serve he was enrolled in an experimental youth program, which would wind up to be a little more than he bargained for.

This "Youth Program" as they called it was really an experiment in brainwashing, building the perfect soldier by starting them younger, isolating them, and running them through a combination of rigorous exercises and advanced classes. As time went on it became quite obvious to Erwin what they were doing, but he didn't go against it. He could certainly see the necessity of a good soldier, and everyone was in the program willingly, although in time he would learn to care less about the latter. It was the officer in charge of their training that would later instill the "Necessity over morality." mindset in Erwin. Erwin proved to be the model subject for their tests, he knew the moral quandaries of their actions but still agreed with them, he was top of his class to boot. So the officers in charge decided to take him and every valedictorian from their individual "study groups" and form a separate training unit with the brightest and strongest, whose activities were directly overseen by the man in charge of the entire operation.

Due to the excellent results from this elite training unit eventually went on to become the Future Officers Program and the original youth program shifted focus to finding the perfect candidates for it. They used real weapons, recieved real injuries, and in some cased were crippled or even killed as a result. Erwin even even found himself on the wrong side of a shattered sword during a spar, or right side depending on how you look at it. He only lost his left eye, on the other hand his sparring partner received a sizable sliver of metal to the carotid artery, he didn't survive. Despite the obvious handicap of having only one eye Erwin graduated the Future Officers Program with honors and was selected to join a special task force dubbed SOAR; Special Operations, Assassination, (and) Reconnaissance.

Erwin spent the next 15 years with S.O.A.R., working in the shadows of the samurai army to gather intelligence from border countries and suppressing uprisings within annexed lands. The Land of Iron liked to maintain the appearance of true neutrality, but they were always prepared for war. It was during this time that Erwin met his future wife, and found his knack for leading. He was eventually promoted to Captain a few months after his 28th birthday, but that would only last two years before high command promoted him to Major and put him in charge of several task forces, including S.O.A.R. While he saw less of the front lines Erwin enjoyed the power he had in office. He also enjoyed the prospect of starting a family of his own in hopes to carry on his military lineage, by 31 he married and had a daughter on the way.

The next 10 years went by rather smoothly, Erwin made his way up the ranks to Colonel, his daughter was interested in the military, and they were looking at him for yet another promotion. Should he get that promotion he would be in competition with the best of the best for future General, but sadly he wouldn't make it that far. A couple months before his 42 birthday Erwin received some rather disturbing intelligence regarding the eastern quadrant, all reports pointed to a rather large uprising in the imminent future if no action was taken to stamp it out beforehand. At the time Erwin was unaware that these reports had been specifically routed to him by a higher authority, one that didn't want him as competition for the rank of General. Erwin's "Necessity over morality." state of mind pretty much guaranteed a national travesty should his actions be exposed down the line.

Just as this "Puppet Master" predicted Erwin responded with swift and merciless action, ordering execution squads to interrogate and liquidate anyone linked to this potential uprising even those who didn't have any direct involvement, no matter the age. He personally lead the unit that targeted the headquarters of this "rebellion in the making", a small town near the border to the Land of Earth, where the true extent of his mercilessness was revealed. Erwin's order to execute any witnesses no matter the age wasn't an exaggeration, he spared no one, willing to commit a crime that bordered on genocide to ensure the stability of his nation. As far as he was concerned a child spared planted the seeds for a future uprising, and he would not have that. Many of his men couldn't cope with the sheer brutality of their orders, some broke down in the middle of the "battlefield", others relieved themselves of their rank and duties as a soldier.

It wasn't long before the news of these secret "cullings" began to spread, by both confessions of those on the front line and leaked information gathered by those who wanted Erwin out of the way. He and all of his men that were involved were put on trial for crimes against humanity in order for the military to save face with it's citizens, even if most of the ranking officers understood his actions. They were given two options, an honorable death by committing seppuku, or a dishonorable death by exile in the extremely harsh northern mountains. With their honor and the honor of their families on the line the majority of his men decided to take the honorable way out and atone for their sins by ending their own life, but Erwin and a select few saw no reason to do so. He did what he knew was right for his country and they expected him to simply sacrifice himself to appease the weak hearted? Not a chance. They accepted their fate of disgracing themselves, their family, and being left to die in the deadliest part of the country, although none of them had any intention of dying.

Of course the public wanted to string them up instead of simply exile them but the military still had a sense of respect for them and their years of loyal service, they were to die of their own accord. Erwin and the soldiers that chose not to end their own life were taken to the north and released separately with only a simple wakizashi to survive with, mainly to give them a way out if they chose to later commit seppuku, although some strings were pulled and as a sign of respect Erwin was left with one of his personal blades as well. The thought had crossed his mind to kill his escorts and use their resources to survive, but that would only make his situation worse should he make it out alive. Keeping to it's reputation as the deadliest region in the Land of Iron the northern mountains claimed the lives of all but two of his men, who managed to survive long enough to make it out of the country. However Erwin had no knowledge of how his men fared, and after a few months of isolation in the wilds he decided that he would simply dedicate his life to surviving as only a soldier knew how, pick up and start over somewhere else. It was highly doubtful that news regarding Erwin's actions would make it far from the Land of Iron, they didn't exactly involve the shinobi nations with their affairs, but just incase some news slipped the border he decided to move as far away from his country as possible, to the Land of Water.

Erwin spent a little over a year traveling the country, he knew some of their culture and geography but it could hardly stand up to seeing things first hand. It was during this time that Erwin became known simple as "The Ronin" as he aided locals with various tasks to earn their favor, eventually catching the attention of the Kirigakure shinobi. It wasn't exactly a common thing for a samurai to leave the Land of Iron, the immediate conclusion they came up with was that Erwin was a spy, but then why would a spy make his presence known by openly aiding citizens? After a rather lengthy interrogation and a bit of selective memory delving they came to the conclusion that he wasn't a threat to the village and could be a potential asset with his knowledge and experience. Then Erwin surprised them once more by offering them a samurai's pledge of honor, not that it meant much to him, if they would allow him to join their village and serve his new country. After much deliberation Erwin was eventually allowed to join the village, although under probationary surveillance until proven unnecessary, where he spent the next eight years working diligently.

Eventually Erwin was promoted to the rank of Jounin where he served his new home as efficiently as possible, gaining favor with Ōsharu Kōkkai the Mizukage at the time. He was also entrusted with the training and tutelage of two genin students and a Chuunin, although one failed their acceptance test and the Chuunin, Akio Kaguya, eventually decided to go his own way. Even with the loss of two students the third, Chikara Shurajo, performed above and beyond his expectations, making up for the loss of the other two and then some. As time went on Ōsharu Kōkkai decided to leave the village on a personal endeavor, entrusting Erwin with the temporary position of Mizukage until his return. However as days turned into weeks, which then turned into months, no sign came of Ōsharu's return. With the lack of a permanent Mizukage in office the village council eventually voted Erwin in permanently, a blessing he didn't squander. Over the next three years Erwin instituted numerous rules regarding crime and fair treatment throughout the military and public alike, aiming to create a better nation inspired by the martial rule of the Land of Iron. With his eyes set on the Water Daimyo's throne Erwin put in motion plans to unify the country under Kirigakure's banner, and in time his sight will shift from his own country to those around it.

RP Sample: ((Something from an old char of mine.)) The distant song of seabirds basking in the sunlight could be heard over the roar of the surf as a small fishing vessel navigated the sea stacks just beyond Shipwreck Cove. Turbulent seas and a steadily increasing breeze marked the imminent arrival of yet another storm, or one could simply look to the horizon and see the approaching wall of clouds in the distance, but that would be cheating no? "This is as far as I can take ya Thaddy me boy, I'm sure ya understand why." Said a peg legged elderly man at the helm of the vessel as he motioned for his crew to drop anchor. "No worries Lucky, I wouldn't want to risk your crew." Replied his young counterpart, patting the veteran sea captain on the shoulder. "I'll try to be back before the storm hits." Thaddeus assured the old man before grabbing a short coil of rope, squeezing his head and left arm through it as he moved towards the ship's railing. "Do be careful laddy, yer mum would have my head if anything happened to ya." "I'm sure she'd have mine too." With a smile Thaddeus disappeared overboard; armed with nothing but a pair of shorts tied tightly around the waist and above the knees, a combat knife strapped to his right bicep, and the coil of rope borrowed from Lucky.

Only a faint splash was audible over the rough surf as Thaddeus dove into the sea, his destination the underwater ruins of a smuggling vessel just inside the boundary of Shipwreck Cove. Rumor has it this ship, so aptly named Drunken Walrus, sank after crashing into a sea stack during a storm a few months back with the helmsman drunk at the wheel. In most cases this would be considered a good thing, one less smuggler on the waters to bring illegal or stolen goods into the country, however if one was to believe the rumors the crew of the Drunken Walrus managed to get their hands on some sensitive cargo from a neighboring country. The exact nature or origin of this cargo was unknown. Hell, they weren't even sure this cargo existed, but the source of these rumors was apparently trustworthy enough for Thaddeus's superiors to send him on a treasure hunting mission under some of the most dangerous waters near Shippuugakure. Not that Thaddeus minded, he was a Roth after all, the sea was second nature to him. Besides if this cargo was still in good shape it could potentially serve as an excellent source of intelligence, or even an olive branch to maintain peace between Hurricane Country and whatever it's home country may be, or both for that matter.

Orders aside Thaddeus would hate to miss a chance to explore the underwater ruins of a wrecked ship, you never know what one might find at the bottom of the sea. Of course there was also witnessing the beauty that the ocean had to offer, so even if the wreck turned out to be empty the journey wouldn't be a complete waste. Propelling himself through the water with the same technique used to walk along its surface Thaddeus scanned the seafloor around the sea stacks that marked the ocean border of Shipwreck Cove, staying at least ten to fifteen feet below the surface in order to avoid the rough surf above. Countless species of reef fish carried about their daily lives in a way that appeared like an endless intricate and colorful dance of life and death, paying little to no heed to the young man swimming with them. Visibility was ideal, but with the encroaching storm it would fade rapidly, time was of the essence. There were many time worn wrecks in these waters, but only one that seemed recent enough to be the Drunken Walrus, and only one with a mostly intact walrus figurehead for that matter. With his target in sight Thaddeus returned to the surface in order to refresh his oxygen supply and mentally plot his course from and back to Lucky's ship, disappearing beneath the surface once more after taking a few deep breaths.