Earmont Overpol
Earmont Overpol /'ɪərmənt/ (August 1893 - August 1939 SR) was a superhero warrior who lived in the area between Tarnaria and early Loodon. He ruled the Overpol Expanse, with the population mostly concentrated on the banks of the Taverda river. The area is known today as the Overpol Region.
| Earmont Overpol | |
| Superhero warrior | |
|---|---|
| Powers | Teleportation |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1893 SR |
| Died | August 1939 SR |
Born into an already powerful Overpol clan, Earmont had a relatively normal childhood, primarily due to the decision by his mother, Landa Overpol, to conceal the fact that he was a superhero warrior. When Earmont turned 12 years old, his family then uncovered the fact that he had super powers, but the nature of his powers was a closely guarded secret throughout his life. Landa used a tactic of spreading false rumors to implant an idea that Earmont was invulnerable in battle.
In reality, Earmont's abilities were unique and unusual even for superhero warriors: he was able to teleport to any location within a radius of several kilometers and two seconds later be returned back automatically. This gave him a deadly edge, but which was deployed very carefully.
Each conquest was preceded by psychological warfare which involved armies of spies traveling to the location, spreading horrifying rumors about the might and size of Overpol armies. The spies would also try to learn about the rulers of the area, locate their residences, as well as key administrative buildings. A week or so before the decisive battle was to take place, Earmont would travel to the location and use the gathered information and his teleportation abilities to teleport right into the houses of as many leaders as he could, including kings, generals, clan rulers, and murder them. He would also sometimes do that in the heat of the battle.
A large part of the message that the spies spread was that Earmont Overpol loved his people and would gladly welcome new children into his family as long as they were loyal to him and him alone. In order to prove loyalty and be spared in the eminent defeat, one could wear a special button that designated loyalty to the Overpol clan. These buttons became known as Overpol buttons. A famous Loodonian saying that survived to this day refers to Overpol buttons: "wear my button and I'll make you my prince", which is used to promise of a reward in exchange for support, usually used in a political setting.
This psychological warfare was very effective and for the most part Overpol armies would respect the buttons, especially if they would see them en masse. In these cases, army generals took care in designating certain areas of the attacked city as friendly.
In at least one case, the whole city surrendered and the governor of the city welcomed Overpol forces, wearing an Overpol button, although the city's forces were probably not a match for Overpol's well-trained army. Landa Overpol, however, considered opportunities like these important as a way to spread the legends of the inevitable Overpol Expanse.
But in most cases the tactic would not be sufficient, as many courts would conceal the death of their leaders, so the Overpol army was actually very skilled, well-trained and numerous. Maintaining such an army was very costly, so conquered territories, while mostly spared massacres, normal at the time, would have to endure tough economic conditions and be under considerable tax, which resulted in several rebellions. Although quickly defeated during Earmonts rule, these rebellions would promptly reemerge when the Expanse was overtaken by Tavol Aylis and result in most of the northern part of the Overpol Expanse declare independence until their unification under the banner of Potus Aylis.
Landa Overpol stepped back from an active role in the clan in 1932 SR, leaving Earmont as the leader.
During the next 7 years, Earmont had expanded his reign to the northern territories, although he stumbled in his conquest against the fortified city of Noral. Unable to get the spies in and having even attempted to blindly teleport inside in the hopes of inciting fear, his siege in 1936 SR had been unsuccessful, but he was able to quickly recognize this and move up north to attack other territories.
Later, he had conspired with Vantral Aylis and had arranged for him to send his assasinss to Noral. Available records confirm that the assassins had done their job, but for an unknown reason Earmont never marched against Noral again.