Syphen Tuyn, otherwise known as the Duke of Death, started out as a humble bandit leader in the Kingdom of Ravennaa during the late 690s. Word quickly spread of his ruthlessness and efficiency, and Uthan quickly reached out to him, offering him support if he pledged loyalty to their side. He accepted, and with Uthani support, quickly rose through the ranks of the different warlords that plagued the outer Ravennan provinces. When the Blood War came around, he betrayed Uthan and decided not to join.
After the Blood War, most of the more powerful warlords in the region were destroyed by Coalition forces, leaving a power vacuum which Syphen gladly filled. In order to stop any Ravennan military from coming down on him, he went into hiding, puppeting his network of towns, hamlets, and warlords from behind the scenes. The Duchy of Tuyn is a well-known organization in the criminal underworld, being one of the most infamous. Syphen now controls half of Ravenna, keeping rebellious settlements in check with a mixture of violence and money.