Editing Grayson Carlyle

{{Update Needed|[[Blood of Heroes]]|[[Day of Heroes]]|[[Era Report: 3052]]|[[The Dying Time]]|[[Mercenary's Handbook 3055]]|[[A Rock and a Hard Place]]}}
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{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Grayson Carlyle BTLegends.jpg
| caption             = Grayson Death Carlyle
| name                = Grayson Death Carlyle
| birthdate           = 21 May [[3004]]<ref name=ER3052-80>''Era Report: 3052'', p. 80: "Grayson Death Carlyle Profile"</ref>
| died                = 22 May [[3065]]<ref name=TDTc2>''The Dying Time'', ch. 2</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Carlyle]]
| rank                = 
| title               = [[Baron of Glengarry]]<br/>[[Knight of Atreus]]<ref name=GDLp8>''Gray Death Legion'', p. 8</ref>
| position            = 
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents             = [[Durant Carlyle]] (father)
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = [[Lori Kalmar]]
| children            = [[Alexander Carlyle]]
}}
'''Grayson Death Carlyle''' was the commander of the famous mercenary unit [[Gray Death Legion]]. Known for his innovative battlefield tactics, especially the use of anti-BattleMech infantry, Carlyle is widely acknowledged as the father of [[thirty-first-century]] warfare.

==Appearance==
Grayson Death Carlyle is a tall and slender man with blond hair and gray eyes.

==History==
===Early life===
Grayson Carlyle was born on [[Calaeras]]<ref name=GDLp10>''Gray Death Legion'', p. 10</ref><ref name=DoHp14>''Day of Heroes'', p. 14</ref> as the son of [[Captain]] [[Durant Carlyle]], the Commanding Officer of [[Carlyle's Commandos]], a [[House Steiner]] [[BattleMech]] [[lance]]. Therefore throughout his whole youth he was groomed to take his father's position someday and at the age of ten he formally joined the unit as a [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] apprentice. Shortly after the death of his mother the Commandos were sent on garrison duty to [[Trell I]] in [[3019]]. Grayson's life would change abruptly in [[3024]] when a mysterious bandit force attacked the Commandos, shattered them and drove the survivors off planet. As the only member of his unit left on the planet Grayson's only thought was to take revenge for his father's treacherous death by the bandit leader's ''[[Marauder]]''. His astonishing success against several [[BattleMech#Light|light]] [[BattleMech]]s while he was on foot deeply impressed the planetary militia and the government, which thereafter offered him a job to set up a 'Mech force as defense against the bandits. Carlyle started with the recruitment of an enemy MechWarrior, who was taken prisoner during the attack, called [[Lori Kalmar]], for his new Trellwan Lancers. Under Grayson's skilled command the Lancers managed to achieve additional victories and finally uncover the invaders' identity as a special force of [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]] of the [[Draconis Combine]]. Ricol's intention was to arrive with a second force and "rescue" Trell I's population from the bandits to secure a safe haven for further incursions into the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]. This discovery instilled in Grayson a great sense of hate for the Combine. At first the situation got even worse when Ricol arrived with a company of heavy BattleMechs and the Trell government was overthrown by Combine collaborators. But finally the Lancers managed to inform the [[Lyran Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] by hijacking a [[JumpShip]] and after Ricol was unable to destroy Carlyle's forces in a final battle, the Duke was forced to withdraw his troops off planet.

Grayson on the other hand had to learn that his desire for revenge could be dangerous, especially for his relationship with Lori, when he was fighting against his father's murderers instead of rushing to her rescue.

Though he was not able to kill Ricol or the pilot of the ''Marauder'', Grayson's desire was stilled for the moment and he left the world with the remains of the Lancers, who swore allegiance to him to create a new mercenary unit: The Gray Death Legion.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'', p. ?{{cn}}</ref>

===As Commander of the Gray Death Legion===
Grayson founded the ''Gray Death Legion'' in [[3024]]. Once in [[Galatea]], he recruited more pilots, expanding the Legion. He talked with a potential recruit, the young [[Leonidas Simonides]], but as neither man impressed the other, and Simonides wasn't able even to say why he wanted to be a mercenary, neither contacted the other.<ref>''Never trust the Recruitment Posters'' </ref>
The Legion's first contract was on [[Verthandi]], were they led a force of guerrillas against the Combine, managing to drive them off.
In [[3028]], on the eve of the [[Fourth Succession War]], Carlyle's Gray Death Legion was contracted by the [[Free Worlds League]], and given by [[Janos Marik]] a temporary landhold on planet [[Helm]]. Following an attack by rogue members of the League and [[ComStar]], the Legion discovered the [[Helm Memory Core|Helm Star League Library Core]], and Carlyle freely distributed copies of it around all the Inner Sphere, making possible a cultural and technological renaissance.<ref>''BattleTech: Legends'', p. 46</ref>

When contracted by the Lyran Commonwealth to take the planet [[Aubisson]], in Combine space, on November [[3028]], Grayson proved his tactical cunning. Instead of attacking the capital city, he led the Legion to PowerOne, the planetary main Fusion plant, located in an island. After sending the bulk of the Legion, led by [[Hassan Ali Khaled]] to attack it frontally, he led a reinforced lance by the opposite side. Despite the need to haul his ''Marauder'' over a cliff, the attack was a stunning success, easily taking the plant, and making the planet surrender without more fight.<ref>''BattleTech: Legends'', p. 24-31</ref>

After the Legion's service in the [[War of 3039]], the Legion settled on [[Sudeten]]. When they faced the [[Clan Invasion]]. Then, Carlyle proved again his gifts of rapid adaptation and unorthodox tactics: after the first encounters with the [[Clans]], he understood than facing the invaders head-on was suicide, so after leaving Sudeten, he retooled the Legion, becoming the father of Inner Sphere Battle armor, which allowed the Legion to handing the Clans a defeat on [[Pandora]], which cemented his reputation among the citizens of the Inner Sphere.<ref>''BattleTech: Legends'', p. 46</ref>

In 3056, Grayson Death Carlyle was named the [[Baron of Glengarry]] by [[Victor Steiner-Davion]], and the planet-hold of [[Glengarry]] was given to him as a home for the [[Gray Death Legion]]. After landing on their new home, they were attacked by the [[Free Skye Militia]] secretly supported by [[Ryan Steiner]]; however, Victor Davion secretly hired the [[Northwind Highlanders]] to assist the Gray Death Legion in the successful defense of the planet.<ref>''Assumption of Risk'', </ref>
Absent from Glengarry during the [[Second Skye Rebellion]], Carlyle returned there in time to save his son and the remainder of the Legion from Skye rebels. Further action the next year in [[Caledonia]] saw him almost killed. Grayson received an injury during an attempted assassination that prevented him from piloting a 'Mech any longer. Grayson's wife provided him command of a group of power-armored soldiers in the Gray Death Legion called [[Carlyle's Commandos]], the name of his father's command.
As Grayson lost his ability to pilot a 'Mech he, reluctantly, settled into the role of administrator and Old Man in the Legion, which he retained the rest of his life.<ref>''BattleTech: Legends'', p. 46</ref>

===Death and Legacy===
Carlyle died in [[3065]] of cancer.<ref name=TDTc2/> His wife Lori inherited his 'Mech and position as CO of the unit. Grayson was the founder, heart, and soul of the Legion, and his beloved Gray Death Legion would not outlive Carlyle for long (the unit would be destroyed later during the same year). His revolutionary battlefield tactics were adopted by military units throughout the [[Inner Sphere]] and would be taught at academies for decades to come. In 3151, a century after his death, his descendants would resurrect the Gray Death Legion.

Grayson's old ''Marauder'', after his death, was restored by the family and kept on a museum on [[Odessa]], until [[Ronan Carlyle]], the commanding officer of the reborn Legion, received it as a gift from his father, using it since then as a command 'Mech.<ref>''Decision at Pandora'' ch. 4</ref>

==Awards and Decorations==
As of [[3030]], he also held several awards:<ref name=GDLp8/>
* the Order of the Crimson Star, with Cluster
* the Lyran Harp
* the Verthandian Sunburst
* the Emerald Star
In January of [[3058]], he was awarded the McKennsy Hammer.

==BattleMechs==
Carlyle started with [[Lori Kalmar]]'s ''[[Locust]]'' on [[Trell I]] until he managed to capture an enemy Shadow Hawk, as his father's Phoenix-Hawk was destroyed in the opening attack.  He piloted the Shadow Hawk until, on [[Verthandi]], he was able to purloin [[Valdis Kevlavic|Valdis Kevlavic's]] [[Marauder|MAD-3R ''Marauder'']]. Grayson customized it with added armor to protect both the rotation ring between chassis and leg assembly, and the linkage of the dorsal autocannon, but outside that, it was a stock model. He piloted this 'Mech during twenty-five years, most of his military career, before it was ravaged in combat against the Clans on Sudeten in 3050 and he was forced to abandon it. He replaced the ''Marauder'' with a much more advanced [[Victor|VTR-9K ''Victor'']], which he piloted the remaining of his active MechWarrior career.<ref name=ToDc26>''Tactics of Duty'', ch. 26</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Grayson Carlyle_GDL.png|Grayson Death Carlyle during his early years as commander of the Legion
Grayson Carlyle_ER3052.jpg|Grayson at age 46 from ''[[Era Report: 3052|ER:3052]]''
Grayson Carlyle_DoH.jpg|Carlyle at age 52 from ''[[Day of Heroes]]''
Grayson Carlyle_BTLegends.jpg|Grayson from ''[[BattleTech: Legends|BT:Legends]]''
Marauder (Grayson Carlyle) BTLegends.jpg|Grayson's MAD-3R ''Marauder''
Grayson Carlyle BTTCG.jpg|Illustration of Grayson Death Carlyle from ''[[BattleTech Trading Card Game|BTTCG]]''
Grayson Carlyle BTVG.png|Grayson from the [[BattleTech (Video Game)|HBS ''BattleTech'' game]] (apocryphal image)
</gallery>

<!--==Notes==
* In the ''[[BattleTech: Legendary MechWarriors]]'' box, Carlyle's character card misspells his name at the top of the card as "Gr'''e'''yson" but uses the correct spelling in the text of the card.  FIXED IN NEWER PRINTINGS-->

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* ''[[Assumption of Risk]]'' (novel)
* ''[[BattleTech: Legendary MechWarriors Pack]]''
* ''[[BattleTech: Legends]]
* ''[[Day of Heroes]]''
* ''[[The Dying Time]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Era Report: 3052]]''
* ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)|Mercenary's Star]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Never Trust the Recruitment Posters]] in [[Shrapnel#12]]''
* ''[[Tactics of Duty]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Turning Points: Helm]]''
{{div col end}}

[[Category: Gray Death Legion Characters|Carlyle, Grayson]]
[[Category: Notable Marauder Pilots|Carlyle, Grayson]]
[[Category: Characters with Pilot Cards|Carlyle, Grayson]]