Manfred Zelten is a veteran soldier originally from Reikland who found his way to the troubled lands of Remas. On the long drive south, he gathered around him a band of mercenaries made up of hardened warriors and skilled marksmen. A good strategist and a great soldier, Zelten earned the appreciation and loyalty of the troops he commanded in battle.[1a]
What motivated Zelten to come to Tilea was the blackest of betrayals. Manfred was the eldest son of Karl Zelten, cavalry captain to Baron von Drachenburg of the Reikland province. The baron had for years been faced with the animus of the Bretonnian viscount named Augustine de Chegney, who wanted his lands, but after years of war, the Bretonnian nobleman suggested a pact with the baron to end that conflict and unite both houses through the marriage of their children, which the baron accepted.[1a]
In the end, everything turned out to be a trap orchestrated by de Chegney, who, allied with Albrecht Yorck, Baron von Drachenburg's butler and seneschal, assaulted him and his troops during an ambush in which almost all of them died. Taking his father's sword, Manfred was one of the few who escaped. He then determined that the neighboring noblemen had been bought by the viscount so that they did not intervene in the battle to save his father.[1a]
As a result, Manfred fled to Tilea and became the captain of a band of mercenaries, starting a fairly successful career, and serving various employers. Yet, for a mercenary, he possessed a high sense of honour and duty, and since the ambush, Manfred always makes sure to know well the nature of the employer for whom he risks his life and that of his troops, refusing to work for those lords that are as treacherous as de Chegney, Yorck and other nobles of their ilk.[1a]
On one of his missions, Manfred met the famous bounty hunter Brunner. Although at first Manfred was suspicious of Brunner, especially because of his fatalistic, implacable and pragmatic attitude towards life, a friendship soon began to develop between the two men.[1a]
Manfred Zelten perished in the villa of Umberto Gambini while fighting against the Daemon Mardagg to protect his beloved, Juliana Bensario, a princess of Pavona.[1a]
Notable Members of Zelten's Company[]
- Guglielmo - The tracker.[1a]
- Meitz - A veteran.[1a]
- Schtafel - A skilled marksman.[1a]