Tex Rockwolf

Overview

Affiliations: Fire Keepers

Status: Deceased

Major Joseph “Tex” Kirche was a faction co-leader of the Brotherhood, founder of the now-disbanded Fire Keepers, and later a factionless traveler. Through his faith-based actions and sermons through the form of radio broadcasts , Tex became a well-known and polarizing figure among the groups of South Zagoria.

Origins

Before the outbreak, Tex was a chaplain for a Marine detachment through the United Nations. After the outbreak Tex became more hardened as his unit was cut off from other forces and slowly turned bandit and increasingly brutal. However, after facing the cruelty his unit was to inflict on an innocent woman, he killed the few remaining survivors of his unit, and began crawling back into the light from the darkness his life had become. From then on, he saw his calling to be a shepherd to the remaining survivors here.

Actions

Tex originally arrived in South Zagoria as the leader of the Brotherhood's diplomatic and humanitarian wing, the Brotherhood of Fire. The Brotherhood would eventually come to engage in the long-term Operation: Fracture. Its objective was to fake an ideological and schism in order to draw out their enemies, initiated in the event now known as the Night the Sword Fell.

During the schism, Tex attempted to help rehabilitate a Cult of Papa defector, Sacha Ivgeny, who would come to offer invaluable intelligence against his former allies, and in whom Tex saw a kindred spirit. During this time he also connected with Shadow, a member of Black Paw and later the Bridge Burners. In ensuing months the two bonded and became quite close; often traveling, battling, and helping where they could as partners.

As the Cult of Papa stepped out of hiding, Tex helped to gather together those willing to stand against them, resulting in a war-time alliance and the formation of a Council to shape the resistance against the Cult. During the summit where the alliance was formalized, Tex, with Rocket, his counterpart of the Brotherhood's other wing, announced that the schism was in fact a ruse, and publicly reunited.

Ultimately, the Cult attempted to break this new alliance with the Cult Invasion Holocaust of brainwashed foreign soldiers. While the day was won, the death of Rocket pushed members of the Brotherhood to turn on this new alliance, killing the in-custody surviving Cult officer Agni the Inferno of Rage, and attempting to murder Shadow. The blow out of these events would inspire intense grudges between former allies and see Rocket's First Officer Raven seize control of the Brotherhood and exile Tex and his men. Rather than spill the blood of their Brothers, Tex and his men left peaceably, reforming shortly afterward as the Fire Keepers.

In the months following the Invasion, the Fire Keepers, Bridge Burners, and the Guardians formed the Alliance of Three Fires in an effort to consolidate strength necessary to hold the King’s Road . During this time, a mission to rescue members of the Fire Keepers lost outside of country ended in an ambush from currently unknown assailants. This attack resulted in the apparent death of most of the Fire Keepers, save for Tex and recruits who were left behind.

Tensions came to a head as pressure mounted inside the Alliance, with the Bridge Burners choosing to exit and relinquish their claim on the Western part of the Kings Road, and The Guardians ultimate dissolving the alliance completely. Faced with a new betrayal by those he considered close allies and friends, Tex dissolved the Fire Keepers as an organization and secluded himself for a time. During this time he regathered former and new Fire Keepers alike to bring the group back, taking refuge at a camp called Haven in the southern part of South Zagoria. He would later join forces with Tony, the leader of the Guardians, to make the Wardens and protect the northeast.

Where are they now?

Tex met his demise not by a survivor's bullets, but do to his own vices: lung cancer brought on by years of smoking. His death led to much heartache among the Wardens in the Northeast, and the old Fire Keepers like Judge Richter and Andi Walker dispersed to other parts of South Zagoria following his death.