Terrante Family

The Erasmus household is one of the richest families in the city-state of Libero. For more than 150 years, they have been involved in an ever-increasing overseas trading dominion. The last 50 years have been unusually lucrative, allowing the accrual of quantities of hard currency never before imagined. This has allowed the previous and current generations to expand into practices such as issuing letters of credit and money lending.

One of the junior arms of the family, the Terrante, has branched off into very profitable quasi-legal enterprises. They include extortion/protection, gambling, prostitution, loan-sharking, and bribery. They have also become the caravan guards, marines, bodyguards, and enforcers of the household. This part of the household has more independent, non-family employees involved in its operations than any other area.

The genuine relatives in this part of the household are being encouraged by the Erasmus’ to direct more efforts towards refining their skills in information gathering, blackmail, spying, sabotage, and power brokering. They want to steer the Terrantes towards creating a political branch to replace their risky semi-legal activities. The outside agents in this part of the household are pushing back against this goal. They see more opportunity for profit in property and violent crimes such as theft, kidnapping, and murder-for-hire.

Growing up, Amer’s father, Ameril Terrante was involved in more of the criminal activities than legitimate businesses. Ameril married Fionna while he was on a trade mission to Borneheim as a guard and man-at-arms. She is one of the daughters of the merchant-princes of Borneheim. She then came back to the city-state of Libero to join Ameril’s household and raise their family. Ameril spent Amer's early childhood switching away from criminal acts, in order to participate in business that is more legitimate.

Amer spent his childhood in Libero growing up among abundant relatives of all ages and the many houses of the Erasmus and Terrante families. He learned his sums and letters quickly, displaying an inquisitive disposition to his tutors. He fostered in Borneheim on two different occasions, staying with his [Borneheim Merchant –Prince Name] relatives for a season or two. In addition, he spent over a year while an adolescent on a far-ranging ship and caravan trade circuit learning firsthand the way business happens. He spent as much of his free time as he could during these travels watching various craftsman engrossed in the details of their labor, carefully listening to academic lectures in far-flung universities, borrowing and reading books from all over Miranda and learning to quickly make friends with everyone he engaged in conversation. After he returned to Libero, Amer began studying at Arakhova University, where he excelled at rhetoric, and swiftly took a law degree a few years later.

Amer is currently involved overseeing the household’s interests in Borneheim, along with a modest household of his Erasmus and Terrante relatives and retainers. Amer’s local expertise, contacts, friends, and relations make him a vital ingredient for the family's interests and goals. His skill as a go-between has elevated his household rank despite his relatively young age. Only the head of his local household, Cristobol Erasmus, is paramount.

Despite this, his elder great-uncle, Tycho Terrante, exerts an equally compelling influence over Cristobol Erasmus. While in Borneheim, Amer is trying to prevent the Terrante’s criminal enterprises from starting up locally, and thus causing any long-range trouble. Because he is more intimate with the Terrante side of his family, he is wary of creating any inter-household splits, feuds, or divisiveness. His curbing of their activities must be circumspect, as well as properly respectful of Tycho. He has no desire to offer any personal insult to the clan that knows him as intimately as he knows them.

Amer spends a great amount of time watching and recording how his [merchant-prince] relatives implement their policies. While residing in Borneheim, he is experimenting and emulating these civics lessons. Professionally, he issues letters or credit, provides reasonable, small-secured loans, notarizes documents, petitions the courts, and offers legal consul.

[Tycho and Cristobol recently have been seeing more and more of the representatives from Vulfgrau Haus. As time has moved along, they have begun including Amer in their meetings. Amer has been redirected to gather information in some very specific areas and has been compelled and encouraged to share this information, along with as much as his local expertise with members of Vulfgrau Haus.]