Wilhelm von Kellner, Grandmaster of the Order of the Black Rose

"I live life without fear, and face death without remorse, for the Garden awaits. When He comes for me, He shalt find me smiling, content that I died well."



Exile. Bandit. Mercenary. A noble in name only. These are the words that chased Wilhelm through his early years. Once, the Kellner family had been a proud and noble line, warriors who had long guarded Black Fire Pass against the greenskins and other horrors of the night. But times change, and fortunes rise and fall. As the wars of the Age of Three Emperors raged, the Kellner family became just another casualty of the internecine warfare and petty disputes that the Empire had long known. Wilhelm's birthright was a stolen estate and a burned household His kin were corpses or prisoners or refugees, scattered to the nine winds. His inheritance? A sword, and little more.



But he had a sword, and the will to use it. Oaths for vengeance were sworn and, inevitably, forgotten as an empty belly and an emptier coin purse became more important. Concepts of chivalry and honor taught to him by his family were cast aside as he took up the way of so many itinerant nobles: The way of a petty robber knight and he proved to have no small skill. In time he came into the company of mercenaries, and then to the command of mercenaries, growing in talent and fame, but all the coin he earned in those early and ugly days couldn't fill the hole in his heart. Fleeting moments of glory and the triumph after a hard-fought victory were the only true satisfaction he knew. All else was a dull haze.



Wilhelm Von Kellner should've died in Talabecland. As he is wont to tell those few he is willing to share his life history with, he certainly deserved it.



The Order of the Black Rose were knights without peer. Over the years they shifted from liege to liege, but always they had served with distinction. First had been the Princes of Stirland, than the Empress Ottilia, and so trusted were they that they had served as a personal bodyguard of one hundred knights for these mighty lords. At that time, it was one hundred alone, recruiting only the most talented of warriors. And they had proven their worth in countless battles, even playing a key role in the first conflict of the Age of Three Emperors in the Battle of the Talabec where at the Empress' side they shattered Stirland's army, with only the Knights of Sigmar's Blood able to even slow them down. Though they had grown since those days and broadened their recruitment, they still had an eye for quality, and one particular above all. A dedication to the God of Death, and a fearless willingness to meet His embrace.



When they intervened in a dispute between rival lords, the mercenary army Wilhelm was a part of offered little resistance. Wilhelm however, with his company fled or dying, outnumbered twenty to one and given the offer to surrender as one of the few knights on the field, dug in his heels, raised his blade and refused. Indeed, he challenged the apparent leader of the black-clad knights he faced, who to his surprise, actually agreed. He was fortunate indeed not to perish from the wounds he suffered, for the knight he had challenged was none other than Grandmaster Leopoldine Von Meyer, who brought him low with her blackened hammer though not easily. Some say he actually managed to bring her to yield, only to pass out from his wounds immediately thereafter.



Whether true or not, he spent many weeks on the verge of death, dreaming fitful dreams. He dreamed of a garden, of ravens, and above all else, of a black rose. Some called it a miracle when he survived, and even more di so when within a few months he was fit to ride once more. He rode to the Chapter House of the Order of the Black Rose, and there he was met by Leopoldine once more. She listened to his story, his confessions, and welcomed him into the Order of the Black Rose.



Wilhelm von Kellner should've died in Talabecland, but he had given a second chance at life, and a second chance at a meaningful death. He rose in the ranks, relearning the ways of honor and chivalry upon the field, and giving himself to Morr with every battle. Sometimes they faced against the horrors of the undead or Chaos alongside the Black Guard or other Templars of Morr, but the Order of the Black Rose, for all its religious devotion, was ultimately a secular order. So again, and again Wilhelm rode to battle for the Order's lieges. He would face bandits, beastmen, armies of mercenaries and rebel lord and each in turn he would best. Each he faced with a newfound joy in his heart, and each victory offered something more than coin could ever offer. Honor was its own reward.



His years as a mercenary captain had given him an eye for politicking and logistics, which proved him well as he rose in the ranks to command. He led the defense of sieges, guarded relief columns, and handled finances and proper supply of fortifications. Over the years, he even managed to press his claim on the small fief in Averland he had long given up as lost to his family. When Leopoldine finally retired from her long service, there was little question it would be Wilhelm who would be her successor.



Grandmaster. Knight. Hero. A master of Chapterhouses and a lord with land to call his home. These are the words by which Wilhelm meets every new day, determined to treat each one as though it may be his last.