Peter Black, First Leader of Kerkia
"How can you all falter against this one bleeding Kerk!? This isn't some agent or assassin we are talking about, or some rebellious general who commands vast legions and respect. This is a lost soldier who can barely hold his own, a bandit living out in the bleeding Black Forest. How can you all be so inept, this creature who had tormented me so is gaining followers and land at a terrible pace, while all of you continue to bicker! He isn't losing battles because he is good, it's because all of you apparently have a lacking experience! I am going to send word to my kin in Duhmland and hope they can do what apparently the 'brave' and 'savage' Kerks cannot. Once he is gone, we will have much to speak of for certain." -Last Geuder King on Peter Black
"If you will not do it, then I shall do it for you." -Peter Black, Purge of Geuderwall

Peter's origins are considered a mystery to most, a stranger from the Black Forest who was said to be a common soldier for a Zupan's army who returned to find his clan missing. What began as an investigation to find them would tumble into a wild and vast revolt which would see Peter Black create the Leadership and tear down the old order. The context to why this was is beyond just one Kerk being unable to find his family, as tension between the Geudership and the Kerks worsened in those years to a boiling point. The Geuders were not even Kerkian anymore, or at least the ruling family wasn't. Generations of study and marriages to the Lun'Kerks in Duhmland led to a line of Lun'Kerk rulers who became increasingly despised by the Kerks for various reasons. Some illegitimate since the Kerks despised half bred folk, but some much more legitimate as the later kings of the Geudership enjoyed their time in Duhmland far more than their time in Kerkia, turning an entire nation into an extraction for taxes and armies for Duhmland's many failed ambitions.

As Duhmland fell into civil war and the last Geuder King sought a means of aiding a would be ally by gathering a large force while also 'civilizing' the Kerkians through dubious means. This included going back on permanent deals with long standing allied Zupans, and replacing them with more reasonable Lun'Kerks from Duhmland instead, extracting harsh taxes and exploiting the Kerks to an intolerable degree. Rebellions were already stirring, but were divided and not very threatening, but Peter Black's sudden appearance changed this. Peter was kept in a prison after seeking aid in finding his missing clan, and taking the surname Black after the Black Forest, he led a prison revolt in which he would be the only one to escape. He continued into the Black Forest, fighting patrols and eventually finding his way into the hands of the Yuvers, dentists and fellow Forest Kerks who joined his cause.

Through ambushing and tactical advantages, Peter began to campaign in the south, gaining the support of the Lambs and eventually convincing the once pristine royal guard of the Geuders, the Hazels, to join his cause. It was in the south that Peter forged the Leadership's ideology and goals, declaring the Geudership's current state to be illegitimate and that while he was I no position or power to claim the title of Geuder King, he would forge a new power instead. Time and time again, Peter and his armies gained new allies and support, fighting the Geuder King and his loyalists to a stand still. In a sudden turn of events, Peter Black went east instead of crossing the Trench River and went into the Couslandic Marshes where he gained the support of Clan Horn. The Horns were not the only ally to join him, with the mysterious Blackhand and a religious order known as the Templar having joined his cause in his march. With over half the country under his control, Peter began his infamous march to Geuderwall.

The last days of the Leadership Revolt was chaotic and messy, as armies from the south pushed north and the northeastern force led by Peter continued onward to Geuderwall. It was said during the last days, the Geuder King tried all manner of tricks to kill Peter, and closely nearly had killed him when knights overran one of his camps he was investigating. Yet, Peter still escaped and fought his way back to his army and continued onward. Eventually, Peter and his armies were at Geuderwall, and were reinforced by his southern army almost immediately upon his arrival. The siege of the city was not exactly short, and eventually the Kerks broke in. As the city's denizens attempted to surrender, the Templar's grandmaster asked the Leader for mercy, but Peter denied this and had his army burn and butcher the entire city including the line of Geuders nestled in their keep. Although the Templar left back to their mountain in protest, Peter became the Leader of Kerkia as he rode through the ashes of the former capital.

The Kerkian Leadership was born, but the Kerkian Empire was a project in the future. Peter married a fellow soldier of the Hazels, starting the strong relationship between the Blacks and Hazels for generations to come. Peter reformed much of Kerkian society and rebuilt the old capital into what is now Kerkwall, and destroyed the old Zupan system to replace it with his Blackguard. The Blacks, known for being perpetually miserable and calculating, spent many of their first years putting down small revolts against them and implementing their reforms through brutality and force. Supported by powerful clans, the Leadership forged a new domain which would reveal Peter's next grand ambition; to spread Kerkia to every corner of Kevica.

In Peter's lifetime, his favored Blackguard Lord led Kerkia's armies over the wall mountains and conquered Duhmland after the conclusion of its brutal civil war. The Kerkian army continued on to Cousland, converting the Oturan to the Illuminated faith by force and adding a new line of coasts. Although the Kerks were unable to destroy the Fearum, they made up for their failure by heading west and conquering the Riverlands, and finally leading to the first invasion of the Estan Commonwealth. Peter spent much of the remainder of his life making sure his sons were prepared to keep up his legacy, swearing them to his conquering cause to make sure all of Kevica would bend it's knee to the Kerks to perish beneath them. This cause remained a public secret for many years, with Peter's children remaining mortal foes of their 'bulwark neighbors' such as the Autumn Reich and the Commonwealth.