Artos t'Acuto was born the son of Anselm and Rosa t'Acuto. The robust little baby was not born with ruling the barony in mind, as Anselm's elder brother Roger was currently serving in that capacity. Sadly, all of Roger's children, save one son, Philip, failed to make it past childhood, whereas Anselm and Rosa produced a son and a daughter after Artos. Philip was of a similar age to Artos, and the two grew up together and were educated by the scholars that would occasionally visit the t'Acuto library, eventually picking up the High Imperial and the Imperial language from these learned men. The master-at-arms also found himself busy with teaching the two lads how to wield a sword and to fight, though Philip took to the training far better than Artos, becoming an excellent horseman and a force to be reckoned with when wielding an axe or hammer. Artos merely developed some skill with a sword, but learned a great deal by watching and reading, exceding his cousin in that respect.
When the time came for the two to be squired off, Philip was sent off to serve Viscount t'Andaluddi as a favor to his father, whereas Artos stayed home and learned from Baron Roger. Fortuitous for Artos' career, but not his family, the Thirty Years War and fighting in the north kept him rather busy, so busy that Artos was not home when his father died after being thrown from a horse. He was able to sit in on most of the war councils his uncle was on. Another task set before him was learning how to lead troops should he ever need to assist his cousin in this duty, as well as accepting the fact that until Philip produced an heir, Artos would be close to being the heir, which came to be when Philip was killed fighting the barbarians. Baron Roger was distraught at this, but dedicated his efforts to ensuring that Artos would be ready to lead, but such lessons were short. Only a year after becoming a knight, Roger was killed in a battle with Rivanan forces led by Alphard Haldis, leaving the young man the head of his house. This ensured one thing with Artos, that he would work to protect his family as well as he could, for he had lost enough to accidents and war.
Artos did his duty to the crown by ensuring that his house provided whatever troops they could, while still finding a place on war councils due to his natural talent of providing good advice, as well as being a capable commander in his own right. He earned a decent name for himself, not much fame, just respect from his superiors, party for his work in working with ciphers and ensuring that information was sent discretely between commands, this work with intelligence proved invaluable. After some time on the front, he was given some leave to return home and marry Lucia l'Saigner, who was originally intended for Philip. After a year had passed, a son was born to the young couple and Artos returned with some fresh troops south to aid in the war effort, though he was sent home again retrain troops and gather supplies to be sent back to fight in the south. Before returning to the front, he fathered twin daughters and left his wife pregnant with his son, who he first met upon his return after the conclusion of the war.
This left Artos some time to manage his estates and put into practice some things he learned in the t'Acuto library, as well as lessons taught to him by his uncle. This time at peace also let him resume one of his few hobbies, reading. What free time he did have after managing his estate and training was to relax with a tome and learning what he could, for if he had learned anything, it is that knowledge is power. Artos loves his family dearly, and not only his children, but his younger siblings and a few cousins that remain around the estate, so it pained him when he again was sent to muster troops and march north to aid in the war against the Tirians. While fighting them, the baron learned their tongue and was able to use it to his advantage when traveling through villages, though not revealing that he knew their language, letting their real words reach him.
While the war did not overly favor the kingdom, Artos provided what aid he could in the command tent, making suggestions on how to better defend what they did have before worrying about gaining anything else. Sadly, the war continued to go against the army and he found himself at Valetta, where he sat on the command team and was given authority over maintaining some of the the defenses and over a significant portion of the troops. He was fortunate to survive the siege and maintained his reputation as a useful and respected advisor from his experience, even if his advice was not always perfect.
Since the return to peace, the baron has returned to his estate to ensure its prosperity, such as improving its harbor and maintaining the infrastructure. He carefully manages his house's finances and revenues from the library and tolls. Artos had resigned himself to a comfortable, quiet life until the machinations of Cardinal Ramius and Artos' neice deciding to go for a visit in some old ruins. With the latter, he helped rescue Alina and Tristan from two banshee spawn and was soon informed of the Vigilants' work. Archbishop Sirrah had originally intended on inviting him to serve as a bretheran of the order, due to his control of the Royal Library, but since he was capable of being useful in a fight, among other assets, he was inducted as a knight in the order.
His other duties during the war against the Tirians proved to be rather mundane, having been given a minor command after bringing his troops and levies north to aid the Crown Prince, though he maintained the Crown Prince's innocence during the entire mess. He stayed near camp with the others during the winter until he received word from Sirrah that he was to travel with his nephew, Lucas, to deal with something that was making berserkers. On this mission, Artos worked with other Vigilants, destroying the abominable temple and removing a major asset to the Tirian forces.
Once he returned to the main force and recovered from gate sickness, the baron joins the others in the battle of Three Crowns where he manages to not get injured. After this, he was named a Knight-Lieutenant of the Vigilant and granted a Sidhe Steel dagger, which he calls Talon. Artos was pleased with the sudden outbreak of peace and made his way back with his troops to enjoy the spring and celebration, and to mourn his liege lord.