Yzabran

Yzabran Ceveryns
(1804 - 1838)

Yzabrân was the second son of the 12th Count of Ciniz, born in the winter of 1804 in Ciniz. His elder brother died shortly after he was born, and Yzabrân became the heir to the title. His father was convinced Yzabrân would one day be count of Ciniz, so he recieved the education to learn for that job.
However, in 1810 the Emperor decided he wanted Ciniz back in his Empire and the emperors son Wasyl became the Prince of Ciniz in 1811.
The Ceveryns-family was banned from Ciniz and went south to live in the village of Broeckpoort, a suburb of Nieuw-Gamoor. It was there that Yzabrân got his dream of returning to Ciniz one day. He got his education from a private teacher, and in his spare time he designed plans to get back to Ciniz.

When he was 16, he became romantically involved with a village girl. She died only a few months later, and Yzabrân was accused of murdering her, but no proof was found. It caused a commotion nevertheless, and the inhabitants of Broekpoort banned him from their society.
His parents wanted him to marry a young woman of high birth, but he refused to see any of these girls. He got angry with his parents, who seemed now content living out of Ciniz, and as a rebelic reaction he cut off his long red hair, until it stood up like flames above his pale face. This was soon imitated by other young and bored aristocrats, and soon after that it was in fashion all over West-Salamandran, followed by the Weslanan and the rest of Daleth.

On his own

In 1821, both the Count of Ciniz and his wife died in a steamengine accident. Yzabrân was now on his own, and wandered of in the world, refused by the high society of Broekpoort. He had charm and a good education and didn’t find it difficult to be introduced to the high society of Salamandran -except that of Broekpoort. But his radical ideas about society, economy and politics, and his wish to get Ciniz back made him a lot of enemies.
In the summer of that year, Yzabrân met a girl named Tànfane. She lived in the mansion of her parents near Isauls. They fell in love and got married the Naglani way. Her parents disapproved and the young lovers ran away from home to hide out in Nieuw-Gamoor.

Life in Nieuw-Gamoor

Yzabrân, 1823

Now almost broke, Yzabrân earned his money as a chimneysweeper on the rooftops of Nieuw-Gamoor. His wife bore him a son, Torsten (end of 1821), and together they lived in a small house in the slums of the big city. The bad air from the river Is and the smoke from the chimneys weren’t good for Yzabrâns health. He suffered lungdiseases while living in Nieuw-Gamoor.
Two more children were born in the little house, two daughters. Now fed up with the small house, the hard work, and his illnesses, Yzabrân took his wife and children to travel to the Weslanan in 1826.

Back to Ciniz

In the countries of the Weslanan, he asked help for the realisation of his old dream: returning to Ciniz. He got immidiate help from the young Viscount of Lameirvar, the Countess of Unvar, the new Count of Gronbrunlar and -surprisingly- wasn’t bothered by the Duke of Dernëv.
That autumn, he undertook his attack on Prince Wasyl. The resistance of Cinizian civilians and the students from Ciniz University joined Yzabrâns small army and together they raided the Palace of Ciniz. It only took them one night to overthrow the hated prince. Prince Wasyl and his small decoration army fled back to Ildritz.
While everyone was celebrating in the streets, Yzabrân found out Wasyl had taken Tànfane and the two daughters with him. He went after the prince, and as he finally caught up with him, he saw his wife and daughters being raped and slaughtered by Wasyl. He himself was wounded in the knee by an arrow from Wasyls army, but followed the fleeing Wasyl to the White Mountains. There, on the Cinizpass, a duel between Yzabrân and Wasyl took place. There were no witnesses to see how Yzabrân won the duel and killed Wasyl. When Yzabrân returned to Ciniz, he was approached by the citizens as a true hero and the Count of Ciniz. The Cinizians gave him the title “best swordsman in Daleth”.
However, Yzabrân always told his intimi he had won back Ciniz, but the loss of his wife and daughters was too big to compensate for.

Count of Ciniz

The following years, Yzabrân ruled over Ciniz and improved much of the lifes of the Cinizians. He raised his son and together they lived in the Castle of Ciniz. Yzabrân mourned years over his wife, but eventually he realised he needed someone by his side and wanted some more children. He asked several young women to marry him, but most of them refused: he still had a rebelous reputation, and Wasyls arrow had left him crippled.
Only in 1836 he fell in love with the daughter of a farmer who lived close to the castle. The girl, named Thyrsia, fell in love with a stranger who would pop up at her door, now and then. She didn’t recognise the Count, who had himself disguised. She fell in love with the stranger, who then reveiled his identity. She moved to the castle where she lived with Yzabrân and Torsten.

The end of a tragedy

It didn’t last long. In 1837, Thryrsia died in a fire in her parents farm. Torsten, who tried to save her, also died in the flames.
Yzabrân died a couple of months later. His body was found smashed at the foot of the cliff on which his castle stands. It is rumoured he committed suicide, but close friends think he might have been murdered by Wasyls relatives. He was buried in the family crypt, not far from the castle.

Some people claim they have seen Yzabrân walking in the woods near the castle, shortly after his death. Others tell they have seen the Count of Ciniz in Tarnov, in Ildritz, and even Haimothli. They didn’t know he was dead, but they wouldn’t doubt who they have seen: they say they would have recognized the crippled, thin, pale man everywhere, with his flaming hair glittering in the moonlight...