Edmund Rappen

Ed Rappen, a Guffingfordian Legend

Picture of Edmund Rappen
Full Name	Edmund Georgius Friedrich Rappen
Background	Discoverer, raider and graverobber. Leader of several gangs of thugs in the late 19th century - banished from Guffingford in 1931
Mother	Melissa Rappen
Father	Georg Rappen
Brothers/Sisters	Julius Rappen, Madeline Rappen, Jozef Rappen
Wife	Eva Rappen
Date of Birth	Spring of 1866
Deceased	July 1944

At a Glance

Ed Rappen is by far the most admired of all Guffingfordian bandits that rode around in the west of the nation. Feared by his enemies, respected by his friends (even the British appreciated his presence to some degree) he waged war on Luambo in The Luambo Wars and was a key person in the many raids in the last weeks before the conflict broke out. He did not have any scrupules, and killed a Luambo women as easily as one of their outstanding warriors. Hit by bullets too many times to count - he said about himself that only God could directly kill him.

Early Youth

Born in Bern, Switzerland somewhere around Spring 1866 his family at some point decided in 1870 they wanted to move away from Europe and ended up in Freestate Neu-Bayern. There the Rappen family was confronted with looting men pouring down the lush hills from Zarbia and at an early age he was confronted with death and killing. Ed could not visit school, and he honed his skills and knowledge from travellers and his parents. Ed's brothers and sisters had to work on the farm, while Ed was sent out most of the time to collect firewood. While he was doing this, he discovered secret hideouts, caves and other places of shelter. Ed was wise to remember these locations, since he knew they'd come in handy one day.

Crossroads

This life dragged on and on until Ed grew weary of this endless daily routine. Stuck in a rut, Ed left the farm in secret around 1885 and began to explore the westernmost parts of Guffingford, which were, at that time, mostly undiscovered wilderness. Knowing he could never be rich without education, and Ed was also fully aware you need money for education, the choice to turn to the dark side tempted him, but it wasn't until he robbed some miners of their nuggets when he got the taste of crime. Evolving from a petty, low thief cooperating with other low lives, Ed's reputation in Neu-Bayern as a criminal began to expand greatly. Ed's parents knew about their youngest son's life of crime, but did nothing to stop him. They couldn't even if they tried, because the smell of money - and fear continued to entertain Ed Rappen.

The First Major Heist

Ever since Ed turned into a criminal when he was 20, we are now a few years later in 1889. Ed was a young and quite adventurous man and he wanted more. He and his gang called The No Mercy Riders, his earliest fellow bandits, agreed it was time to make a real hit somewhere impressive, something that will scare robbers and bandits not to mess with the No Mercy Riders, to make people step aside upon seeing Ed and his men. It was then he robbed the recently established Hoogenbosch-Redmound Banking Company in Hoogenbosch. Ed was quickly making tracks in his criminal career, and after a clean getaway with all his partners in crime, he retreated to Neu-Bayern and immediately a search warrant was spread to get him. The total amount of loot isn't known today, but it is estimated at at least four thousand gold 100 guilder pieces.

Meeting a Friend for Life

Soon after the daring heist Ed met his life long friend Xaviero Guerra. Both went on a rampage, mainly concentrating in the area around the city of Redmound. During 1895, the number of raids reached an all time high, and many rich British and Knootian citizens wanted to see him rot in the deepest dungueon of Brittenborough or someplace else. Ed Rappen managed to escape to the relative safety of the no man's land between Kaiser Wilhelms Land and the Knootian colonies, where he dwelled restless where he remained until the heat was gone, and returned to Neu-Bayern only to find out his parents already left for Switzerland again, ashamed of their youngest son. Ed's brothers and sister remained in Guffingford, but changed their names. In 1891 Ed rode through Guffingfordian landscape again with Xaviero and The No Mercy Riders to cause more mayham, and to rob more people of their belongings.

The Luambo Years

This enraged Ed Rappen, but he dealt with his anger. He promised himself if he couldn't impress his parents, then he'd impress everybody else in this barren and God forsaken land. And that's what Ed did the following peroid in his life, called The Luambo Years by historians. Ed's role in various gangs remains questionable, but Ed remained faithful to his gang the No Mercy Riders but his role in the Luambo War shines like a star - in the hearts and minds of racist Guffingfordians. A gifted commander, a trustworthy man and honest - and ruthless and without mercy to his enemies. After killing many black families, and being rewarded for it, 20 guilders for an adult, 15 for a female, and 10 for an infant, Ed quickly became a wealthy man. When the Luambo conflict died down, Ed continued to harass black families in the area with his gang, and it was around that time the No Mercy Riders fell apart. Ed's days of honour passed in 1910, and because the No Mercy Riders was falling apart, Ed found it time to organise a new gang. Xaviero refused but ultimately respected Ed's decision. That was 1915 and the last time the two saw each other.

Retirement and Death

In 1920 he retired from public life and tried to live like any normal retired person but the itch to be free and ride into the wilderness remained. His spirit unbroken, his body aging Ed began to ride through the wild alone, learning many of the old ways of living and the history of the placed he visited. His life dragged on until 1931 when he was caught in Gloucterbury. The British did not have any solid reason to imprison him, but they found it better for themselves to get rid of Ed Rappen. Now officially banished from Guffingford, Ed somehow managed to escape from his guards and fled into the wilderness of Neu-Bayern again but his aging body stopped him from being on the move until his death. Having hefty reward of £2000 on his head Ed realised fleeing any further might be an escape but it would be a lie. Two months after his escape Ed left Guffingford permanently in secret on the steamliner the HMS Dora. In an interview with the Hoogenbosch Berig newspaper a few years later he said:

Ed Rappen moved back to Switzerland in 1932 where he married Eva Lökholm. When word reached him about the death of his friend Xaviero Guerra, his health turned into a downward spiral and depressions overtook him. Ed lived a peaceful but sad life until he died in 1944.