Morshu

Morshu - often known as Morshu the Magnificent and Morshu the Merchant-King - was a merchant originating from Etrand who became one of the richest persons in the Occident and also the founder of the Morshugger Dynasty. He was born as a simple peasant in the North however his means of livelihood was destroyed during the famous Battle of Morshu's Mill. He used the money received as compensation from the new king Bryant to start a new life as a merchant.

First he tried his luck in Etrand, facing many ups and downs. Ultimately he ended up as being bankrupt and fled to Gabyr to escape his creditors. There he could earn enough money to participate in an Eastern trading expedition which was a huge success, finally making him rich. He continued to fund many more expeditions and married a bankrupt merchant's daughter, taking over the well established business for himself. Soon he returned to Etrand where he was able to smooth things over, however his main trade empire was still based in Gabyr. Using his personal connection to Bryant, he was able to enter the royal court and through some personal dealings with the King, formed a close connection with him. He was able to influence the monarch to help Gabyr in the Second Spice War, a conflict he was deeply involved in financially. The success of the war made him one of the richest person in the Occident.

When Bryant died, he left Etrand for good, permanently residing in the colony of New Copperport. During this time, he made many deals with the underworld, including the infamous Pepetoka crime boss, Jaaba. He outlived Bryant only by four years and died due to a heart attack. His descendants inherited his vast trade empire.

Early life
Relatively little information is known about the background of Morshu. His family originates from Craina, the Southern borderlands of Etrand where they were relatively wealthy as pig farmers, being amongst the most wealthy of their village. Their peaceful life however ended in 679 AEKE when an Orcish raiding party targeted their village. Because the family was living at the edge of the settlement, near their pig farm, they could escape in time, unharmed, fleeing to the nearby wilderness, where they were discovered by a local patrol two days later, responding to the attack. Their village was burnt down, their pigs being slaughtered or taken. The few survivors were about to be resettled to another village nearby, when Morshu's father, Wimark decided to use the family's hidden fortune to bribe the local Commander, granting them safe passage to Inner Etrand. The family went to a small village, Fersbert, where one uncle of Morshu's mother, Malyn lived and settled there. Despite losing most of their fortune, the family settled in and thanks to Wimark's hard work, they started to quickly rise again.

It was fours year later, in 683 AEKE that Morshu was born in Fersbert as the sixth child of his family, having two older sisters and three older brothers. During his childhood, the family moved up in status, becoming the most wealthy in their village. As with the case of many well-off peasants, his family could afford to hire a teacher for their offspring. Morshu however was far from a usual kid. Despite having a sharp mind and being quick-thinking, writing and reading was never his strong point. From a young age, he complained that "letters make his head hurt"; he was particularly slow in reading and his writing skills were not much better. Even with great effort and concentration, he could not overcome this weakness. When he was 9 years old, a doctor examined him, declaring that his body and eyes are fuctioning perfectly, so the mistake is in his head. On the other hand, Morshu showed great promise when it came to mathematics however and quickly showed that he is rather capable in this department.