A notorious mercenary commander and, in recent years, self-made Border Prince, Lietpold 'the Black' as he styles himself (although a number of far less complementary epithets including 'the Bloody', 'the Butcher', 'the Liar', 'Turncloak', 'Thrice-Cursed' and the 'Coin-bought Prince have been commonly applied by former allies and tavern balladeers alike), is a warrior whose actions have earned him not only a petty kingdom but also a place in popular folklore for his exploits of bloodshed and treachery. As a man, Lietpold's flaws are both many and infamous - he is vain, arrogant, vicious, paranoid, false and cruel to name but a few. But even those he has wronged or betrayed would concede both his skill-at-arms and scorn of danger, as well as his innate mastery of battlefield tactics, the com