Catherin de Rochefort

"I don't require a all that much attention, I swear! You can just mozey your way away, sirs, and I'll be perfectly fine!"

She normally would dress in more finery, but more often than not she dresses in warmer clothes whenever she can — her robes are a top layer, with long stockings being a second layer at the minimum; she more often than not wears thigh-high boots; this doesn't matter for the length of her robes, whether they're long in the winter or shorter in the summer. She often wears a hooded cloak no matter the weather, even if it occasionally hides the hair she hasn't restrained with a haircut in ages.

She's tall and gangly for her age, but also willowy. Her hair falls in practiced curls over her shoulders and reaches to her mid-back. Even if she's dressed more humbly or modestly she wears a number of hairpins in it — or at the least extravigent a purple bow weaved by a personal friend of hers (see the biography). Her grey-blue eyes often meet others with a soft but scrutinizing gaze. She doesn't try to give much away with her facial expressions, but she often smiles to happier thoughts without knowing it; she has an awful poker face.

Asset/Flaw
+Magic/-Defense

Class
Lord

Reclass Options
Mage

Age
19.

Sex
Female

Personality
Alignment
Neutral Good

Humble would be the best descriptor for Catherin; she hardly ever tries to brag about her position in life, and tries her best to not seem as a burden to others around her. She's occasionally on the sickly side, but not so often that she can't go outside either; she finds it hard, despite being so humble, to admit moments of weakness because of her fear of being burdensome. She isn't quick to frustrate about most things, and is patient with people for the most part.

She's a neat-freak. Hygiene, interior decorating, and cleaning living spaces are the only times she gets outwardly anal about the details. She used to be that way about even more things, but her apprenticeship and even matters of courtly manners have taken precedence to expressing her displeasure with the tiny details of her life. To that end, she is for the most part bound only to a vague cause of being good to others as much as possible, no matter their station.

She is the worst at flirtation and innuendo. A lot of the latter goes over her head, and a lot of the former comes across to her as just friendliness. Flirtation has gotten her into some trouble at court over the years, leaving a tiny trail of confused noblemen when she would reject their marriage proposals after accepting bouquets of flowers for the smell. No one knows whether to pin down if she likes anyone because most of her comments about people's appearances are too analytical to be anything other than platonic, and she says such things to both men and women.

She doesn't discriminate with her taste in food; it's beyond an ecclectic taste, as she'll eat almost anything that's of some food type or another. Herring? She'll eat it. Cow liver? Delicious to her. Pizza with anchovies, olives, and sausage? She'll shovel that down and leave most baffled as to where it all goes in her willowy body. Lutefisk? Maybe not Lutefisk—it'd have to be drowned in salt first.

She isn't discriminate in her taste in fiction. Because she's so sheltered, most of every kind of cheesy love story is like Wuthering Heights or Silver Linings Playbook to her — mind-blowing, no matter how illogical, or how creepy some of them get with an iota of thought. She doesn't care, just as long as it's a story with a happy ending it brings her to tears. Not that she'd admit tearing up over a fictional story in front of most people.

Biography
In short:
Catherin was born to a noble family with both her father — a ruler seen as weak as far as his foreign policy is concerned, but beloved by his people because of his great public works projects for the sake of the people — and her mother — a queen who had thought her arranged marriage was going to be a living hell, but grew to love the oaf of a king she calls a husband — alive. Thus she lived a happy childhood alongside her siblings: an elder brother who places duty above much else, and three younger siblings (two sisters, and a brother).

By the time she came of age to be arranged to betrothe a nobleman from outside the kingdom, she quickly established herself as the "odd one out" in the royal family by continually teasing an accepting answer to multiple proposals, and leaving a trail of disappointments that to this day the King is trying to mend to some degree or another. Her mother and father were so frustrated with her pattern of rejected suitors that they grew desperate enough to try something else. Maybe she's into women??? so went their thought process. A similar pattern emerged, even if she seemed more receptive at first, less standoffish, and more willing to maintain contact even after a refusal (even making one of her best personal friends as a result of such a rejection. The both of them thought it so silly that they maintained contact by letter, and occasionally laugh about how forceful Catherin's dad was about the whole thing).

Eventually, after a trail of "let's just be friends" answers, the King got so frustrated with Catherin's stubbornness that he sought out the services of a court Mage to apprentice her in magic, since clearly she wanted to live a cloistered life in his opinion. Really, it was something that Catherin took to surprisingly quick despite her early reluctance. All it took was casting a single wayward fireball and watching a pile of hay light on fire that she took to her apprenticeship much more enthusiastically.

Her apprenticeship has led her to live outside of the castle walls, but the king didn't leave her unprotected; two of his christmas-colored finest knights alongside one of the eldest were sent to keep a watch over her as she did any errands throughout town for her teacher. It was an effort she reluctantly appreciated, liking the Knights as people but finding them a little overbearing at times.

Thus brings us to the present: Catherin has been at this apprenticeship for 6 years, and remained in contact with at least one noble from her father's constant attempts at suitor introduction, and she's grown accustomed to a life outside the palace, in a tower that is her home away from home. Her siblings call her the "odd duck" because of this, or the "Tower Princess," but she still visits them over the holidays afforded to her. It's a rather peaceful life that most definitely gonna get wrecked by bandits or pirates or Verdanians or Mansterians or Plegians most definitely going to last the rest of time with no problems at all in the future.

Ser Nikalus

"Oh, age has yet to wear down my sword arm, princess. I like to think that there's more steel in my blood than iron."

This old knight is one who can make riding atop horseback a regal affair; it comes with a lot of practice, especially as the Rocheforts' Master of Arms. He wears a thin beard, white whiskers crawling up to his sideburns all along his face. His eyebrows are the thickest part of him, almost always fixated at an angle that implies he's a more furious fellow than he actually is. He has a couple teeth knocked out of his mouth, which he attributes to several hits too many with a mace. He wears a number of decorative honors on his armor, which are tastled to his pauldrons when he rides into battle. Off his horse, he's huge -- both laterally and longitudinally; though, given how even padding underneath his armor is hard to size, it's not like he's lacking in muscle, simply that it's muscle deceptively hidden under a bit of girth and age.

Class
Paladin

Reclass Options
Mercenary, Knight

Age
57

Sex
Male

Personality
Alignment
Lawful Neutral

Ser Nikalus is a bit of an odd duck. He's an absolute artist when it comes to the art of combat, and horse riding, speaking about such subjects in a tone that would imply he wrote the books on the subject. Unfortunately, The Art of Justice was published before he was born, so he instead brags that he is a scholar of all things tactics and strategy. He is a jolly man, to say the least, and a good friend of King Ardias Rochefort, such that he considers himself a second father to Catherin (even though Catherin only really calls him "uncle" Nikalus, much to his resignation). He's a worrywart about the entire royal family, King Ardias included, enough that many people call Nikalus "Ser Babysitter" behind his back in court; every time one of the royal children is sick, despite not being Master of Coin or an errand squire, he's the first to find medicine or a doctor for them. When one of them is in danger from a ruffian, he is one of the first to seek them out and protect them from harm.

In his current assignment to protect Catherin de Rochefort, he is much the same way, although he is often put off by her insistence that she doesn't need his assistance 24/7. He's suspicious of most magical things (that doesn't include light magic, strangely enough), even the stuff she's being taught, but he is willing to quell his own superstitions for her sake. He's a pious man like that. He is also a prideful man, not willing to admit easily any moment of weakness he is suffering. He often makes up excuses for such things; the only time he will lie to anyone is to cover his pride.

His favored weapon is lances, as his sword arm is a little weaker due to a recent injury (see Biography).

Biography
Though he is the Rocheforts' Master of Arms, Ser Nikalus had started out with comparatively humble beginnings as the son of a royal huntsman. He became friends with young King Ardias as the result of a fox hunting accident ("The Fox Incident," as they both call it, without divulging many other details, other than it involved Ardias's horse galloping out of control with the then-prince still at the reins; most mentions of it instead elicit knowing chuckles from the two of them). He has served House Rochefort faithfully ever since, essentially as a personal squire and later knight for the prince. When they came of age memories of their first meeting would inspire the newly-crowned King Ardias to name Nikalus as Master of Horse, and later, when Nikalus proved his worth defending the realm from one of its worst monster raids, as Master of Arms.

He never told the king about the injury he sustained from a Bael: a poisoned bite that is slowly killing him. He does his best to put up appearances, but there are occasions where it shows through, occasions he tries not only to hide from the royal family but from his fellow knights and nobles.

He was charged to Catherin de Rochefort shortly after she was apprenticed to Ezeras Ekkenhart, a decision he saw as foolhardy at first, but warmed up to when he saw how happy the princess became with learning magic. He harbors his suspicions of magic due to his experience fighting fiends, but as far as Anima Magic is concerned he is less suspicious.

Cadence Vivace

"Relax, Dorian! The enemy won't fell themselves!"

Class
Cavalier

Reclass Options
Wyvern Rider, Cleric

Age
19

Sex
Female

Personality
Chaotic Good
Optimistic, valiant, and loud, Cadence packs much more of a punch than her appearance might let on. She thrives on the battlefield, and itches to prove herself to all who would see. Outside of combat, she and her brother Dorian have quite an ear for music, often performing duets for those in their company. Because of her free-spirited nature, Cadence doesn't hold well to being ordered around, sometimes outright refusing them because "she doesn't feel like it." However, once she gets going on a task, she devotes incredible effort to seeing its fruition. Since her deployment with her brother and Nikalus, Cadence has displayed a fond interest in the ways of the arcane, even sitting in on magical lessons between Catherin and Headmaster Ezeras.

Biography
Cadence spent most of her life growing up next to her older brother Dorian. They two of them were born into a rather simple farming family near the eastern hills, just outside the capital city. Through her childhood, she lived in the shadow of her brother, causing her to develop desires for attention, which have followed her into young adulthood. Wanting to prove that she wasn't just a lesser offspring, she followed Dorian to the Knight's Academy. She performed surprisingly well, especially in tandem with her brother, and she was granted membership into the Royal Guard right after her nineteenth birthday.

Later in the same year, Cadence was assigned the duty of bodyguard to Princess Catherin, following her west to the schools of magic run by court magician and headmaster Ezeras Ekkenhart, and has since then become interested in the affairs of magic.

Dorian Vivace

"Cadence, please. You're making a scene."

Class
Cavalier

Reclass Options
Myrmidon, Archer

Age
22

Sex
Male

Personality
Lawful Good
Mellow, collected, and articulated, Dorian is the check to his sister Cadence's unbalance. Although he's quite the worrywart for her, he comes off as annoyed more than concerned. Outside of combat, Dorian along with Cadence have quite an ear for music, often performing duets for those in their company. Because of his disciplined nature, he often stands well in courts and on the battlefield, putting on good example and completing goals to the "t." Since his deployment with his sister and Nikalus, he has taken the duty of directly escorting Catherine wherever she went.

Biography
WIP

Prince Martin de Rochefort

"My blade will fell fiends and only fiends."

--Martin, making promises he probably can't keep swearing an oath to protect the realm so long as he breathes.


The man under the azure-hued armor is a bit of a goof when looked upon immediately after he removes his helmet. He has a habit of not keeping his long, blonde hair exactly kempt. Rather, he has a bad case of helmet hair, leaving his otherwise sharp and serious face framed by a bit of fluff. He can't grow a beard to save his life either, instead being plagued with a face that is clean-shaven forever. This is a point of insecurity for him, as he feels he looks too boyish compared to men like his father or Ser Nikalos, or others.

Class
Blade Lord

Reclass Options
Myrmidon, Thief, Mercenary
Swordmaster, Assassin, Rogue, Trickster, Hero, Ranger, Magus

Age
23

Sex
Male

Personality
Alignment
Lawful Good

Martin is a hot-blooded prince, one whose youthful energy drives him towards an idealistic, if outwardly foolhardy goal of "taking the fight" to the darkness surrounding Ashkandi. He is wholly devoted to the protection of the realm, even to the point where many wonder if he even sleeps. He has a number of resentments concerning King Ardias, namely that he believes Ardias is only seeking to hide Ashkandi's people behind its walls for as long as possible. He believes this is a cowards tactic, but obeys his father's edicts as he still defers to his wisdom.

He's a voracious reader, and has an active imagination. While he and Catherin would often share favorite stories (an activity they had grown cold over due to a difference of opinion -- Catherin was a bigger fan of the Holy War and Thracian Tales than of The Hero King and The Hero of Light and Shadow) he would always be interested in those surrounding an idealistic hero, or the most chivalrous heroes. He was always a bigger fan of happy endings than bittersweet ones. He is a bit stubborn in his opinion on this matter, like he is with all things...which include, among other things: manners (being a stickler for things such as wielding a knife and fork in the wrong hands), food (being a notoriously picky eater with a sweet tooth), weapon use ("What? How is a pike on a stick more heroic than a sword?!" -- Martin, age 9), tactics, and even admitting defeat (he infamously as a squire would be a sore loser in sparring matches; he has mellowed out in this respect quite a bit).

He hates being underestimated, which he feels is what many at court do; he also doesn't take to pet names as well as those around him insist that he should. This is mostly due to the fact that while he was squiring, he let his active imagination get ahead of him, leading him to name each and every one of his attacks after some ... obscure references to The Hero King (one of the favorites of other knights to mock him with is "BIRAKU'S BASH!"). He doesn't take to such japes very well, often taking them far too literally.

Unlike his younger sister, he is an expert at all things flirtation and innuendo. Despite not being able to take a joke at his expense, he is able to glide through many courtly matters like they were nothing to him. He's a very personable man, even if he is a softie as far as the men under his command are concerned.

Biography
The "Young" Prince Martin (a nickname that haunts him to adulthood) was always a precocious child, and never took to lessons that were scolded at him. This was true even as he was the more mischievous person among his younger siblings, taking to squirehood rather casually for the majority of his childhood and pre-teen years. He proved to be so talented with a sword that even his comparative nonchalance with it made him a frightening opponent in a sparring match alone.

Compared to the apprenticeship his younger sister received, Prince Martin's life has been rather cushy; having been knighted without need for seeing too much combat, and having granted a guaranteed estate as a part of a test of his mettle in rulership, he has lived his life with two faces:

The first is one of the dutiful knight, the heroic prince, fashioning himself after those he would have read about in The Hero King or The Radiant Hero. He outwardly speaks of protecting the weak and following chivalric virtues. He even has an admirer in court who he has admired enough in return for those around them to believe that a romantic relationship is blossoming. He has long grown out of a phase of life where his antics are a fictional version of heroic or noble, as he often would put on airs of dignity as early as the age of sixteen. Yet, for all his polish, he had a consistent dark side he hid underneath his dignified front.



As of the present, he is preparing to lead a more aggressive front against the fiends besetting Ashkandi. He believes his new campaign against them to be his trial of fire, and thus has spent many sleepless nights pouring over his preparations and training his new recruits. He has made it clear to the rest of the royal family that he expects to come back from facing these fiends a changed man at the very least, and that he intends to fight them with all of his might.

Princess Delia de Rochefort

"Brother! Sister! Stop fighting... Mother and father would not like it at all..."

Delia hit her growth spurt quite recently. "Awkward teenager" is a descriptor for it in many respects, as she almost never looks comfortable in any of the dresses she's in. They're either too small around the chest, a tad too long, or the wrong color (she's a big fan of teal colors). She wears her brown hair in a series of intricate buns, each of them different every day. It is such a habit with her that many in court have called her the "cinnamon roll princess." (Granted, the cinnamon roll prince was a nickname given to Martin for all of five seconds when he was six). She's not as willowy as her older sister, as she has the benefit of the royal diet—rather, her figure is starting to fill with generous curves instead.

Class
Cleric.

Reclass Options
__

Age
16

Sex
Female

Personality
Alignment
True Neutral

Delia is innocent in a million ways. Innocent and oblivious. Subtext in conversation goes over her head routinely, though as of the present she is starting to catch on to a few things (like, perhaps the reason Martin and Catherin fight over fiction routinely). She is a pacifist who gets sick at the sight of blood, and the kind of person who would beg incessantly for people to stop fighting the moment a bruise forms in a sparring match. She thinks herself a coward in comparison to Prince Martin and an idiot in comparison to Princess Catherin (an opinion neither of them share). Despite being so modest and kind, she may actually be the most depressed of the royal family.

Biography
Delia's birth and childhood was more or less normal. Compared to her elder siblings she was a much more quiet child, one who never took initiative towards heroism or even magic the way her elder siblings did. Rather, she very quickly took a look towards the fiends surrounding Ashkandi's walls, and chose to pray instead. For her entire life, she had resigned herself to the Gods, watching as cracks formed in her family, and fearing the worst in the future.

As of today, she is officially ordained as part of Ashkandi's priesthood. It is her goal to become a bishop one day, in order to help shelter the less fortunate from the coming darkness. It is a goal her parents find to be ... Odd. But then, she is the princess who is the least confident in the future.

Princess Elin de Rochefort

"Hey! Get back here! I'm not done with you yet! Just you wait until I get my hands on you..."

—Elin, likely talking to a servant carting away leftovers at the end of a sparring match


Is anyone really sure that this pimply, freckle-covered Princess is a legitimate child of the royal family? The suspicions lie in her unusual hair color (it's the royal white, yes, but with a tint of orange instead of blue), even if her eye color is much the same as her siblings. None ever brought up the question about Delia, as brown is the queen's hair color, but it doesn't stop there. Elin has a bit of a softer face so far, and quite the strong eyebrow game in comparison to her siblings. She often looks like she's plotting something, much to the stress of the royal guard and those training her to fight.

Class
Trainee

Reclass Options
__

Age
12

Sex
Female

Personality
Alignment
Chaotic Neutral
Undisciplined is one way to sum up Elin. She's impatient, cocksure, and almost always direct, so direct that Martin never lets her read his strategy ledgers (for fear that she would take a dollop of red ink and point out something very flawed with his strategy). She's always trying to get a rise out of people, her siblings especially (it's the reason she misses Catherin so much, as she cheers for Catherin "fighting the [old] man." When it comes to being married off, Elin's a little bit more resigned, but insists that "she'd make it a living hell for any husband."); she finds it harder to get a rise out of Delia, while she enjoys pushing Martin's buttons the most, when he's not in the middle of any serious business.

She takes sparring overly-seriously. Her teachers have a habit of checking their blows against her, but she always goes all out on them, even once breaking Ser Nikalos's pinky finger with the broad side of her spear.

She is a little but more selfish; she's doomed to grow up to be a glory hog.

Biography
Elin's birth is surrounded in rumor and hearsay. Those who would wish to subvert the royal family take how different she looks and how unruly she is from her sibling as a sign that she is a bastard child. Such rumors are only half-true; as Queen Ylonda did have a very different turmoil giving birth to her. Elin's birth was marked with a fever that nearly killed the queen afterwards. Elin's version of the story of how Ylonda survived is... Something else... (It involves Elin punching the fever in the face. Not even joking), but it was more a matter of reaching a cleric as soon as possible.

Still, Elin took this fortune in stride, and even as a child insisted she wanted to learn how to fight. She never cared for defying potential marriage contracts the way Catherin did, or meet them with faith and apathy the way Delia did. Rather, she gives off the air that she wants to make sure her potential husbands can handle her as a person...though the way she would put it would be a little more hostile-sounding ("if your wife wields a pointed stick better than you, you're outta here."). As of today, suitors are only just being suggested Elin's way, and instead Elin is furiously trying to finish her training.

Hauchefort de Rochefort

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be like Martin! No wait, I wanna be as smart as Catherin! Wait no..."

Thus far, Hauchefort has grown into a kind of plump child, definitely taking an appearance similar to his father's in his younger age. His brown hair is bushy, and almost refuses to stay combed in any way that can be called "neat." His parents have a habit of putting clothes on him that look a little too large on him for about a week before becoming too small the next. The royal launderers are quite baffled at this, and don't know whether to blame it on shrinkage from hot water or on the prince's eating habits. He's otherwise a

Age
6

Sex
Male

Personality
Alignment
True Neutral

He's an indecisive kid, one who doesn't have a lot in the way of convictions just yet. His parents fear that he will grow up as morose as Delia, or even as wicked and mischievous as Elin. So far, it's not clear even to Hauchefort what he wants to be. It's clear that he is a happy kid who doesn't really see much wrong with the world yet, other than the occasional gripe about discipline every now and then. His favorite sibling as far as idolization goes is Prince Martin; as far as sibling rivalries go, he thinks he has one with Elin, though Elin doesn't quite see it that way. He doesn't know Catherin too well, especially after she began her apprenticeship -- he takes literally her nickname of "The Tower Princess," thinking that she is literally trapped in a tower somewhere. He knows Delia as a very kind and doting older sister. He knows Elin as a bit of a jerk, but with a soft side ... somewhere. In return, his siblings all regard him as someone to be protected at all costs, as much as he's embarrassed when someone like Martin or Elin express that fact.

Biography
Hauchefort has not lived for very long, and without much in the way of incident. He has hopes and dreams, though being third in line for the throne has hampered them somewhat. He does agree with Delia to a degree that there are fissures forming in the family as they try to get accustomed to the darkness encroaching upon Ashkandi, but he is so innocent as to think that his elder brother alone is heroic enough to fight the darkness on his own. Hope is the one thing that Hauchefort clings to the strongest.

King Ardias de Rochefort the Kind

"You know what would be best for our people? A whole lot of new bridges. Yeah. And how about some walls? Let's build them around five layers thick and hundreds of feet heigh. And while we're at it, how about a swimming pool for the slums?"

-- A quote commonly attributed to King Ardias de Rochefort when discussing new public works projects in the capital, usually parroted by his detractors verbatim.

"What? I didn't say that so flippantly. I was simply making a series of line items to my Master of Coin about what we needed to shore up our defenses in the future. Here it is in writing from his hand. Besides, what do you have against poor people being able to swim?"

-- King Ardias the Kind, when questioned during petitioning hours with the above quote.

Ardias has aged just as one can expect from a king who is almost jolly to a fault. Though lines have begun to show up on his face from time to time, he maintains a well-groomed, fluffy beard that he rarely shaves; said beard is larger than most of his face when he shaves it. Reportedly, he used to be a gangly figure when he was a prince, but he has since ballooned for the twenty three years he has assumed the throne. He is covered head to toe in finery of some sort routinely. His crown used to be too small for his head, but with the extra hair grown with his beard it now fits him -- and boy is it a magnificent crown; as one of the last kingdoms in the land, Ashkandi's crown is jeweled with one type of precious stone for each of its vassals -- a ruby, a sapphire, a topaz, a garnet, and an amethyst, so the stories go. Ardias' eyes are heavyset with rather large bags as of late, but he counters such obvious stress and age with a big, goofy smile when even the subjects he's most annoyed with show up to court.

Class
King

Reclass Options
One does not reclass a King. That's regicide, practically. Maybe. Okay, not really, but the guy's gotta keep his title for life.

Age
49

Sex
Male

Personality
Alignment
Lawful Good
"Goofy" is a word that comes up a lot when it comes to the King's personal life. He's always one to crack a joke with his vassals to lighten the mood, and he more often than not tries to maintain an air of levity among his subjects. His every statement to the public is pockmarked with the kind of japes that make a significant amount of the kingdom take him for a fool. Yet, it is undeniable that he thinks of his subjects first and foremost -- that he doesn't even think for himself, a rarity for a monarch even in Ashkandi. Thus is his nickname "The Kind," because no matter who petitions him he has a kind ear open for them. Towards his children he's a somewhat stern father, but one who always emphasizes that dignity is not just the front one puts up (a lesson that fell on Martin's ears the wrong way, and still hasn't sunk in with Elin), but almost never raises his voice to them.

His relationship with Queen Ylonda was a rocky one at first (see bio), but is nothing short of loving, a relationship that reflects in how he treats the children. His frustrations with Catherin, for example, never manifested in a violent reaction, but he never knew how to draw a bead on what was best for her (see bio; he had nothing but brothers for siblings). He is the only sparring partner of Elin's who does not check his blows, surprisingly.

He does have a habit of making rather baffling political gaffes at court; the example above is not the best of them, but there are times when, especially when finding a proper suitor for Catherin, he would insist that "look, my daughter just likes big brains," or words to that effect.

Biography
Ardias de Rochefort was the eldest of seven children born to the previous king of Ashkandi, Linus de Rochefort the Protector. All of his siblings were brothers -- and most of them had succumbed either to early sicknesses in childhood, or in battle against the Darkness after he became king. Nevertheless, Ardias grew up as a passive child for the most part, one who the significantly more brutal King Linus believed would be a weaker ruler, hated by his people for not being able to protect them from the encroaching darkness sweeping across the world, or even against other human foes. And so, the majority of Ardias' education from his father was spent trying to get him to be able to make the harder choices of rulership. His friendship with Ser Nikalos would prove to be a counterweight to King Linus's insistence that a more kind rulership would end in disaster, proving that his subjects didn't always need to be coerced in order to protect them. In the time that it took Linus to attempt to teach Ardias what it took to be king, three of his younger brothers succumb to sickness at a young age.

When he came of age, his marriage to Lady Ylonda of Londium was arranged for him by his own parents, against both of their wishes. The marriage to the public went without incident, but once the doors were closed they were a cold couple. All the public knew was that it took several years time for Ylonda to be pregnant with their first son; by that time, Linus de Rochefort was aging to his last breath and anticipating that Ardias would be a far weaker ruler. On his death bed, he had no faith in his son, a fear that would haunt Ardias' rule forever. The crown didn't even fit Ardias at first, and he didn't even look half as fierce or strong as his father when he was crowned. The first bright star of good news came with a turn in his relationship with Ylonda, which had been significantly less sour with the birth of Prince Martin. In fact, even as the Darkness approached Ashkandi's borders once again, the two of them got over their differences in surprisingly quick time. Rumors spread that it was Ardias that spent an entire night with her trying to figure out how to run the state that King Linus had left behind -- indebted from the most furious, costly attempts to end the threat outside Ashkandi's borders and even more costly attempts to rush construction of defenses on Ashkandi's borders -- as well as raise a family. It would have seemed that the two of them agreed that the best way to do so was to not make Linus's mistake of assuming manpower and coercion alone would slay the Darkness, and, judging by Ardias's later policies, to concentrate on defending from the Darkness.

Such policies have worked ... thus far. He spent his first years of rulership maintaining the kingdom's wellbeing, and has succeeded at stemming the advancement of the darkness to this day, even if the first years were costly. See, the first years of his rulership were spent securing a border -- he drew a line in the map of Ashkandi and said "The Darkness will not cross this line." Securing that line for the sake of building a wall that would last against The Darkness ended up costing the lives of two more of his brothers, of the three who volunteered (though, rumors exist that one of the two slain was captured instead, his fate unknown). They are deaths that weigh heavily upon him, enough so that he looks upon Martin's posturing with fear, and fears for Catherin's learning of magic -- enough so that he assigned his best knights (sans Ser Nikalos) to be in Martin's retinue, and ... the best of the knight's recruits plus Ser Nikalos to look after Catherin (the princess did not take kindly to as large an escort as her brother's).

Queen Ylonda de Rochefort

Formerly, Lady Ylonda of Londium

"Your father and I simply thought a miracle could be repeated twice. Oh, how foolish a thought that is, I know."

-- a little heart-to-heart with Catherin about marriage.


Queen Ylonda has aged far more gracefully than her husband. Her long, straight hair still has its chestnut-brown color, after all, and her eyes, despite a cataract starting to form in the left one, are still radiantly amber-colored. She has a sharp face, and an even sharper sense of fashion -- even at her age she dresses with as splendor as she can manage.

Class
Queen

Reclass Options
N/A

Age
47

Sex
Female

Personality
Alignment
Lawful Neutral
The king's detractors often call her "the brains" of the royal operation. They aren't entirely wrong, as Queen Ylonda is a very practically-minded queen, even helping her husband with the majority of his edicts. She is far more serious a person than her husband outwardly, though, and somewhat more aggressive at her and her husband's detractors. They aren't wrong in guessing that she is also Ashkandi's Master of Whispers either, as she is the kind of person who knows in and out how to manage court intrigue far better than her husband. There are rumors as well that she is far more strict with the children than her husband ... such rumors are only half-true, as she views her self-tutoring of her daughters in matters of the court as doing anything it takes to ensure the survival of the kingdom, and does not participate in the training of her sons as much, though it is perceived that she coddles Hauchefort a little more so than she did with Martin.

She is a blunt queen. She won't mince words with anyone. She is critical and intellectual on top of that.

Biography
Ylonda of Londium was the youngest of three daughters in a kingdom in the Riverlands to the North. She was always the best of the three at keeping a secret, a skill that would follow her even through her marriage with King Ardias. She was the frankest of her sisters with commoners and servants, and more or less blunt enough for her to be a liability to the Londium court. It wasn't a very eventful life from her view. The Darkness was so far away from Londium at the time, and the king of Ashkandi was effective at stemming it in spite of the costs in lives. There was a feeling in the back of her mind throughout her life that there was something wrong with his efforts.

It was a rocky marriage. She had gotten the news of her betrothal not a month before she planned on eloping with a commoner to see the world outside of Londium, to adventure elsewhere as far away as possible. Thus was the reason why she viewed Ardias with a lot of resentment at first, and what made their marriage so difficult in its first years. Such resentment only remains in jokes she makes at the king's expense, but it took her observations of the king for her to agree to work their marriage out in the long run. It was the look on his face as couriers brought him the news of the Border Disaster against the Darkness, the look on his face as Ser Nikalos returned with a throbbing wound from the fangs of a Bael, and the news of his brothers dying in battle reaching his ears that got her to change her mind about him. Over the course of a single evening, she and he hammered out a plan for their future.

Ever since, most of that plan has ... gone well. Martin's part certainly did. Her frustrations began with Catherin especially; given how her marriage worked out so well with Ardias, she expected to impart the same lesson to Catherin.
...
...
...
This would normally be the part where their relationship is patched up and everything is perfectly happy. Only half of the latter occured; their relationship is fine. So long as the subject of marriage and suitors and true love never comes up, and it's a sore spot that has made any visitation from the academy awkward. It had gotten to the point where even Martin, the idealist, would strongly encourage the other siblings to never bring up the subject of boyfriends at the dinner table in front the two of them if Catherin happened to be at the dinner table. It is a sore spot that has remained untouched ever since Catherin went to the academy.

She fears the pattern might repeat with Elin, even if she views Delia as a miracle by comparison. It's the lessons from four children before her that she takes to raising Hauchefort. Thusfar the results remain to be seen, even if she seems to be coddling him a lot more than her other children.

Ezeras Ekkenhart

"In the simplest sense, the properties of a thing are just as much that thing as existence itself."

Ezeras stands at 6'02", about average for an elf. He is rather lean, but carries the typical finesse about him that is common of his kind. He significantly lacks muscle, but not unhealthily so.

Class
Sage

Reclass Options
Wizard, Shaman
Warlock, Summoner, Druid, Dark Flier

Age
112

Sex
Male

Personality
True Neutral
First and foremost, Ezeras is a man of knowledge. His hobbies and spare time consist of study and experimentation in both science and magic. He is not concerned with the morals or ethics of others: only the reality of everything matters. He deals little in opinion and emotion, and instead focuses on fact and reason. This is not to say that he is stoic and cold. His passion for information and discovery drives him to pierce the darkness of ignorance and forage the path to new insight. When inquired, Ezeras could gladly talk for as long as needed in order to answer someone's question or show them some magical display.

Biography / History
Ezeras had a very easy childhood. As soon as he could talk, his family knew he would be a prodigy. He made quick work of any learning institution he was put through, and showed to command the forces of magic almost as naturally as the sorcerers. But through his study and understanding, Ezeras rose to become a powerful mage. By the time he reached the adolescent years of his early 100's, he had already become not only the highest performing student, but the headmaster of the most prestigious in all of the land. He's held his title rightfully since the age of one hundred and twelve, and has helped many aspiring magicians reach the title of Mage.