Vladimir Tepes

Background
Born to Vlad II Dracul in 1431, Vladimir Tepes Dragwyla (Romanian for Vladimir the Impaler, Son of the Dragon), also known as Vlad III was destined to rule the land of Wallachia as the Voivode, or Prince. At the age of five, he was inducted into the Order of the Dragon, a group founded to oppose the Islamic faith's ever advancing encroachment into the West. His power-loving father was removed from the throne in 1442. The elder Vlad betrayed the Order of the Dragon and sided with the Turkish Ottoman Empire to take the throne back, and in exchange left his young son and his half-brother Radu III to the care of the Turks as proof of his loyalty. During his stay, Vlad Tepes was taught horse riding, combat, the Quran and the Turkish language.

In the year 1448, Vlad III took his place as Voivode upon the death of his father and an Turkish invasion to put the son upon the throne, beliving that he would allow Islamic advisers to help forge his policies. Despite only being seventeen, he ruled an entire country and begun establishing his cruelty to further solidify his rule, trying to deter anyone from outsting him and forcing him to make the same mistake his father had. However, at the end of the year, he was ousted for the first time and exiled to Moldavia by Vladislav II.

He lived in Moldavia with his uncle Bogdan until Bogdan's assassination in 1451. Vlad fled again, this time to Hungary, where he became an advisor to the regent John Hunyadi. Vlad held this post until 1456. While Hunyadi led a  his army to fight the Turks, Vlad marched to Wallachia to reclaim his throne and his homeland. Along with him were some of Hunyadi's troops, which served him well, allowing him to invade the country  and kill Vladislav, thereby regaining his title.

In 1459, at the age of 28, Vlad's infamous impalings began, starting in Transylvania, against the noble Saxons there in order to sever their ties to the Wachallian nobility and send a statement. This campain would be lauded even by the common folk in Transylvania shortly after it began, when Vlad defended them from his Turkish enemies. Years of fighting would leave him broke, and when he saught out his ally Matthias Corvinus, he was arrested on false charges of siding with the Islamic forces.

Equipment
Kilij (from Kılıç, literally Turkish for Sword): Having been raised in the Ottoman Empire, Vlad had picked up some of their weaponry, including a unique sword, the Kilij. The design of this sword is distinctive, having a rather large curve and a double edged tip covering a little less than a third of the weapon. The weapon is fairly rigid and light, perfectly designed to hack apart a person as the massive double edged tip adds weight to each strike. Vlad's use of the weapon accentuated his infamous cruelty, as he prefered to use the sword as an executioner's weapon, decapitating and hacking off limbs.