Roland grew up in the countryside of Haense during the War of Two Emperors. While not old enough to fight, he was severely affected by the war, with soldiers from both sides looting their food stores as they passed and with many of the townsmen leaving to fight and never returning. His feeling of powerlessness angered him, and at the age of 16 he left his town to learn to fight and rise above his lowly station. He joined a mercenary guild stationed in the region, learning the tricks of the trade and how to handle a blade. What he hadn't realised when he joined is that his merc company was also secretly a cult, its members denying the Canonist faith of the Humans. Roland came to share their beliefs as he served under them and became fanatically loyal. However one day their fortress was raided by a rival company and they were slaughtered almost to the last man. Roland was knocked in combat and woke up later, the entire keep plundered and in ruins. Defeated and inconsolable at having lost his brothers-in-arms, he took to wandering the land as a private blade, doing small contracts in return for enough coin to stay a night at the local inn and never staying in one place long. To this day he still wanders, searching for a new purpose.
