| Ceorl | |
| Fictional Character | |
| Darkness Fantasy< | |
| Appearance(s): | Through the Darkness through Out of the Darkness† |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct (POV in OotD only) |
| Nationality: | Forthweg |
| Cause of Death: | Shot with a stick |
| Occupation: | Robber, soldier |
| Military Branch: | Plegmund's Brigade |
Ceorl was a Forthwegian robber who collaborated with the Algarvian occupation force during the Derlavaian War.
He was a brutally frank outlaw, lacking in the slightest hint of hypocrisy or apology for his banditry and having no loyalty outside himself. Ceorl had avoided capture while Forthweg was independent. Upon being caught by the Algarvians and given the choice of either going to the gallows or joining Plegmund's Brigade, a Forthwegian-manned unit of the Algarvian army, he naturally chose the second.
After undergoing intensive training he took part in fighting guerrillas in the eastern Unkerlant, briefly facing Garivald (though they were not introduced to each other). He felt no compunction about taking part in such atrocities as raping peasant women and massacring Unkerlanter and Yaninan villagers. Though basically an outlaw loyal to none but himself, he did befriend some of his fellow soldiers, particularly Sidroc, and felt that for his own survival he needed to act in loyalty to his roguish comrades and help ensure the unit's success.
Among the ruins of burning Trapani he consoled, in a highly uncharacteristic warm gesture, the shaken Sidroc - to whom fell the duty of killing King Mezentio of Algarve at the King's own request, so as to deprive King Swemmel of Unkerlant of the chance to kill Mezentio by slow torture.
Sidroc was killed soon afterwards in the Algarvian last stand against the Unkerlanter troops breaking into the royal palace. Ceorl survived but was captured and sent to slave labor at the Unkerlanter Mamming Hills. With a considerable previous prison experience, Ceorl made himself a gang leader among the slave labourers, which ensured him such small vital privileges as a place near the stove in the bitterly cold Unkerlanter winter nights. Nevertheless, he realized that even so, the mines were a slow but certain death sentence.
Staking all on the slim chance of escape, he chose Garivald (whom he knew as Fariulf) as his partner. Pursued by guards with dogs, the two of them separated. Having hoped that the guards would pursue Garivald, Ceorl found himself trapped but managed to kill several of his pursuers before being blazed down, dying as he had lived.
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