If there is a man to represent each age, Rutger Shaw is a candidate for the current times. Shaw has walked the length and breadth of the Iron Kingdoms, guided by his taste for adventure and coin. Shaw might have been just another grubby merc if not for his conscience. Even so, his best intentions are tempered by the fatalism of a man who has witnessed the harshness of the world.
An idealistic young Shaw enlisted to do his duty for crown and country. During his initial training among the long gunners, Shaw’s instructors noted his incredible resilience and, more importantly, his do-or-die attitude. Quickly selected for rigorous Trencher training, Shaw adapted easily to life among the 36th Trencher Company of the 1st Army. When his unit completed their training and joined the regiments in Fellig, he was as prepared as any to fight and die for his nation.
By the end of his tour, Shaw had changed. Years of filthy trenches, brutal skirmishes, and cheapened life had soured his once-positive perspective. He had come to see his country not as a home he must protect but as an employer. Offered the chance to renew his service as a sergeant, Shaw declined. His conscience would not allow him to lead men for a cause he no longer believed in.
Shaw knew he couldn’t return to the quiet life of the Midlunds, so he invested a small fortune in arms and set off for nowhere in particular. In the years that followed, Shaw fell in with bandits, adventurers, and mercenaries. He might have become a rich man years ago if not for his nagging generosity. Shaw has more than once handed over the bulk of his gains to a disabled veteran or some unfortunate beggar. Cursing even as he does it, Shaw knows there is always more coin to be earned by a man with his taste for danger.
Shortly after the fall of Llael, a refugee member of the Order of the Golden Crucible hired Shaw to retrieve documents and formulae from Khadoran-occupied Leryn. Inside the ruined building he encountered a hooded woman who calmly leveled a glowing pistol at his head. Before either could speak, Winter Guard troops broke through the doors and interrupted their interlude. It was not until later, as the two fled ahead of the Khadoran Army, that the gun mage simply asked, “How much are these papers worth, anyway?”
Shaw was impressed. He’d met mercenaries before, but none who fought with such casual grace or singular purpose. They grew more comfortable with each other as they traveled to Cygnar, but perhaps a strong sense of mutual respect prevented Shaw from making his usual carefree advances. By the time they’d reached his employer, they’d become fast friends.
Taryn di la Rovissi shares Shaw’s lack of interest in the affairs of nations, and though they each prefer to find adventure on their own, bad timing and poor luck have increasingly conspired to keep this deadly team together. Having settled into the routine of friendship, Shaw feels he has lost the opportunity to share his real feelings with Taryn. He instead tries to impress her with increasingly dangerous stunts that are coming closer to imperiling both him and the woman he loves.