Player: Fabio
Rank: 1 (Knight)
Religion: Protestant
Reputation: Oik
Email: hans_franzberg@albion.chaosdeathfish.com

Hans Franzberg is an Inventor and craftsman of strange and wonderful toys to the court of King Henry, especially liked by the King himself. Originally from Austria, he moved to London a few years ago. He is particularly known for his explosive devices; in fact, he is the Inventor from which the term 'A Franzberg' is derived (meaning a particularly dangerous and/or insane Invention).

Hans Franzberg and Geraldus Iphengesis were seen leaving court together not long after civil war broke out. Eschewing the safety of the Queen's Court in London they disappeared from London. Rumours had it that they had died. Better that they had.

It took many months before a clear picture could be established of what occurred, and years before the full truth was discovered. The pair headed straight to Franzberg's retreat on Voll Island, taking advantage of the confusion to slip past Franzberg's usual guards and escape to the West. The ships patrolling the waters around the island had been co-opted by the war effort, and so the two easily made it to Franzberg's laboratory.

From there, the two planned their venture; to make a blasphemous walking monstrosity from the corpse of King Henry. Geraldus brewed potions and Franzberg prepared devices, including two pairs of Seven-League Boots. With these in hand, it was easy to travel quickly to London and enter St Paul's Cathedral where the King was lying in state. The body was stolen, and taken back to Voll Island where the two villains put the next stage of their plan into action.

A couple of weeks later in Somerset, reports were first received of a creature looking like the King, moving with the aid of clockwork devices and breathing fire. Despite attempts by local milita to capture the creature, none were successful; it was as strong as ten men, and it breathed death. Few even dared approach; the monstrous visage of the dead King Henry made even the strongest heart quail.

Finally a dashing young captain in the Dragoons, Sir Harold Neville, was able to trap the King-creature in a cage of iron reinforced with help from his brother Hubert, an alchemist. In fact it was Hubert working with a number of notable inventors who managed to work out a method to disable the creature and remove the Inventions from it which disturbed the King's final rest.

Geraldus vanished soon after this, few realising his involvement with the King's body until much later. But the Duke of Somerset, recognising Franzberg's handiwork, sent a large force to Voll Island to arrest the insane Inventor. However, no sign of him was found. In fact, it was not until a few months later that any sign of Franzberg was found.

The best guess anyone can make is that he woke up one morning, stepped out of bed and accidentally put on a pair of Seven-League Boots. In his still semi-somnolent state he was unable to control them. Half of Hans Franzberg was found in Scotland; indeed, many Inventors were amazed by the power that went into building these boots, to bring half a man to Scotland.

Nobody ever discovered what happened to the other half of the body. Legends have cropped up around the country of an Inventor roaming the land bringing horror to small children. In fact, in some areas of the country it has become a threat used by parents to their children - 'If you're naughty, Franzberg will come in the night and turn you into clockwork!' But his legacy does live on in the strange devices occasionally found throughout the country; from exploding chests to Anti-Sodomy Trousers.