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Jean Earnhardt is the firstborn son of Heimlin Earnhardt, a disgraced knight from Redenford that had run foul of his liege lord's temper having forsaken his vow to serve in battle against the Empire of Renatus during the War of Two Emperors. From a young age, Jean was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and serve as a knight of the Holy Orenian Empire. However, proving himself worthy was not an easy task, as rumours of his father's actions haunted him throughout his upbringing. This only steeled his determination to better himself. He proved a quick, but stubborn learner. Preferring to learn hands-on than with his head stuffed inside hefty tomes and scrolls. He would often day dream of adventure and of exploration; seeing Redenford as too small a place to house his ambitions. This drew the ire of his father who did much to dissuade his son from venturing too far from home. Heated discussions of "duty" and "fidelity" to ones family could often be heard emanating from the home of the Earnhardt's. Jean's closest friend was his younger brother, Gregor, who Jean coveted for his advice and strength of reasoning. Whenever in doubt, Jean would find his brother, if only speak his mind to a willing ear. It was on one such night, that Jean was pondering his future, that his mother came barging through into his room exclaiming that Gregor had not returned home and that it was nearing nightfall. Jean, without a seconds hesitation in his body, jumped from his bed, sheathed a dagger into a scabbard and darted out into the auburn-lit night. For what seemed like an age, Jean raced from one street to the next, asking everyone from drunken passerby's to old spinsters if they had seen his brother. But as the night dragged on Jean's determination gave way to panic. Dark thoughts rushed through his mind and his body ran icy cold. He froze, deathly quiet, listening intently to the hum of the air and the faint cry of his name. His name!? Jean spun round and there in a crumpled mess was his brother. Half-beaten to death tucked away in a dark alleyway. Finding renewed vigor in the happiness of finding his brother, Jean managed to carry him home to his anxiously waiting mother. Their father, furious at them for bringing disrepute to the family name, especially Gregor, exiled him from their home. Jean, unable to let his brother go out into the world alone and sensing his opportunity to be rid of his familial shackles and realize his dreams of adventure made it known his intention to leave alongside Gregor and begin his life anew.