Yeager

"Twenty-one counts of fraud? My, I didn't think I had gotten up to that number..."

Yeager is the head of Leviathan's Claw, a top arms-dealing guild from Terca Lumieris. A sly and shrewd businessman, he frequently sells to all sides of a conflict and disregards moral concerns for the sake of profit.

Background
Yeager was born Jäger von Kunze, part of an old nobility family in the empire. Though his parents wanted him to go into law, he chose to get degrees in blastia engineering and business administration. As part of his duty as a nobleman, and to regain the favor of his family, he entered the knights as a combat engineer under the command of Captain Casey Serina.

During his time in the knights, Jäger became romantically involved with Casey and shared a strong friendship with Lieutenant Schwann Oltorain. He also made the acquaintance of then-Captain Alexei, who thought him a useful ally. Jäger died during the disastrous battle of Temza, but with the aid of some classified blastia technology, Alexei replaced his damaged heart and brought him back to life. Taking advantage of the fact that few others knew about such technology, Alexei sent Jäger off to Dahngrest and forced him to periodically slip guild information back to him, in exchange for the continued maintenance of his blastia heart.

Jäger worked briefly at a number of weaponry and blastia-related guilds before happening upon Leviathan's Claw. He managed to charm the guild's aged leader with his innovative management strategies and promises of maximized profits, and she named him as her successor shortly before her death by the hand of Blood Alliance.

Upon assuming leadership, Jäger reorganized Leviathan’s Claw’s management structure, turning it from a bundle of top bosses to a hierarchy presiding over separate departments. He bought up huge blastia mines, as well as many warehouses and offices. He completely redecorated the headquarters and instated a dress code with the intent of making the guild part of the luxury market. He also, at his advisors’ suggestion, changed the spelling of his name from Jäger to Yeager to minimize pronunciation problems.

His spending policies plunged the guild into debt for a few months, but it emerged taking in record earnings not long after. He alienated some of the older members of Leviathan's Claw early on as well, who claimed his spending policies and redecorating were 'reeking of imperalism,' but also attracted scores of younger guildsmen looking for high-income positions. Within two years, Leviathan's Claw had assumed a place in Dahngrest's top ten weapons-selling guilds.

Yeager currently has a number of offices in Niteo, most prominently in Jelarion, and a strong client base among the more warlike inhabitants of the world. Due to Rita's research on his blastia heart, he no longer has to answer to Alexei, and that combined with the absence of a well-established guild Union gives him plenty of leniency in conducting business.

Personality
Yeager's standard appearance is one of calm, impeccably composed and gently smiling. He is polite, considerate, reasonable; the kind of person who will return a dropped wallet or listen to hours to one's life's story. He is, in short, the very portrait of benevolence--when he's trying to win over a client, that is.

While Yeager does have a truly kind side, much of his outward charm is a carefully crafted mask, meant to convince and deceive. He can blend in easily to both the balls of the nobility and the bars of guildsmen, shifting easily from one kind of society to the next, attempting to please. He rarely does anything without a potential gain involved, and knows well that the clients he'll keep are the ones that like and trust him.

That is not to say that he can't revert to less subtle tactics when a situation turns bad. He does not take well to others trying to deceive him, and can be positively frightening in the face of betrayal, spitting sharp-tongued insults and cold threats. He likes to handle situations with words whenever possible, but does have many trusted guards and assassins to eliminate troublesome opponents if need be.

Yeager believes that business is business and personal feelings are another matter entirely. He believes in running his guild as a business, not as a community, and thus is not afraid to engage himself in shady deals with both knights and guildsmen. He tries not to think about the cost of his deals in lives, maintaining that what becomes of his products after their purchase is not any of his concern. Often enough, he does end up harboring some guilty feelings about his dealings, though.

Due to his profession, Yeager tends to be distrustful, cautious and dishonest around people he doesn't know well. He won't seem that way--rather, he'll give every impression of ease--but he will skirt nimbly around touchy subjects or lie outright about them. Frankness is a quality he feigns well but has a lot of difficulty actually expressing. He will even treat it as a fault now and then, hinting at his untruthfulness as though proud of it.

Around people he does know well, he can exhibit a rare, awkward side. He's spent so many years controlling and honing his feelings that he typically doesn't know how to react to strong emotions when they do grip him, sometimes flushing and stammering in response. He also has a bit of a playful, silly streak around children, who he carries fondness for.

Relationships
Gauche and Droite: These twin sisters were orphaned during the Great War (around the time Yeager was in the knights) and spent much of their childhood in a Capua Torim orphanage. Yeager had always wanted children, so he adopted the two when they were around eight years old. Both girls are deeply loyal to him.

Rita Mordio: Yeager met Rita when she trespassed on his property while working on her research. In exchange for her freedom, he had her agree to work for him for a time. Despite Rita's firey nature, the two began to get along very well, and Rita even allowed Yeager to incorporate a blastia she'd developed into his weapons without having to pay royalties. Rita currently thinks of Yeager as not only a friend, but a father-figure of sorts, someone she can vent to and seek comfort from.

Sodia Fidelis: After Sodia hinted at having intelligence on Yeager's business dealings in the empire, Yeager interrogated her. The conversation took an unpleasant turn when Sodia threatened to arrest him, and Yeager quickly changed the subject to her guilt regarding Yuri Lowell, causing her to have an emotional breakdown. Feeling bad about the incident, Yeager offered comfort, and since then Yeager and Sodia have maintained an awkward confidence and understanding.

Barbos: Despite his predecessor's animosity towards the man, Yeager gets along well with the leader of Blood Alliance. Seeing Yeager's propensity towards shady dealings as similar to his own and admiring the ease with which Yeager manipulates others, Barbos has made his guild Yeager's best customer and himself one of the few Yeager can discuss his illegal activities with.

Kaufman: As president of Fortune's Market, Kaufman had a longstanding rivalry with Leviathan's Claw in the weapons market ever since Yeager came to power. Over time, though, her feelings of anger turned to attraction, and she cut a deal with Yeager--his products in her stores in exchange for his dating her. This two currently have an affectionate, though tumultuous relationship.

Zagi: A housewarming gift of sorts from Barbos, Zagi was given to Yeager shortly after Yeager became leader of Leviathan's Claw. His lack of self-control and childish mind makes him a lot to handle, but his fighting skills have proved quite valuable to Yeager.

Anise Tatlin: Anise, very much the manipulative charmer herself, latched onto Yeager due to his riches and prestige. Yeager agreed to let her serve as his personal guard, but still treads cautiously around her due to her relentless questioning. He also is familiar with her friend Jade Curtiss, having sold him a spear, Jade's love interest Judith, having conversed with her about Kaufman before, and Anise's friend Florian, having entertained the young boy before.

Schwann "Raven" Oltorain: While Yeager and Schwann were friends while they were in the knights, and while Schwann was similarly resurrected and influenced by Alexei, the two have grown apart in recent years. Raven's membership in Altosk set him somewhat at odds with Leviathan's Claw, as did Yeager's role in Don Whitehorse's demise. Raven currently harbors plenty of resentment towards Yeager, and Yeager thinks of him as an idle, wasteful individual that he'd rather not associate with.

Harry Whitehorse: Yeager thinks of Don Whitehorse's grandson as annoying, but cannot bring himself to hate him, due to Harry's sheer n ïvety. Their lengthy conversations have helped Yeager come to terms with aspects of his relationship with Kaufman and the part he played in the Don's death.