Faction: Royal Family

Age: Twenty-first year.

Description: Prince Aaron is an immense young man of strapping build, with a round head and slightly pudgy features. He near matches his father the king's height and weight, but that is where the similarities between father and son end. Aaron is round of face and dark of hair, with a clean shaven chin making him look young, but professional. His body is supple and strong, but not without a slight girth that makes him seem even larger and more imposing to most. He dresses in fine hunting garb, gilded armor, and colorful outfits both vainglorious and sturdy. At his hip are an ever present dirk and longsword, ornate in a wealth of garnets and gold. The Prince carries himself with all the swagger of his station and youth, his stride confident and sure, his shoulders poised in good posture.

Class: Crown Prince, Lord Commander of the Vanguard

Personality: It could be said without much doubt that Prince Aaron is a passionate and driven young man. Immense pride resonates from him, every aspect of his being is vainglorious to the extreme. Like his father, and ancestors before him he shows a distinct vitriol for those few outsiders, but differs on his approach. Rather than outright disenfranchising them, Aaron can be subtle and sly is his dealings. Beyond that Aaron is no coward, but has a tactical mind for knowing when to retreat and when to throw caution to the winds and throw his figurative weight about.

Motivation: Aaron is to one day be King Willum the Second! He is the rightful heir to the Kingdom and the current Lord Commander of the Vanguard. He holds a deep vested interest in maintaining the Kingdom so there might be lands and lords and ladies to rule over once his father passes. He also desires to grow his own influence in court, and prove himself a worthy heir to his father.

History: All the bells in the city rang for Aaron's birth. The crones wept joyously, the men shouted in eager admiration, and all the people marveled and welcomed the young ruler into the world. Or so it is said. Whether the people truly danced from dawn to dusk and feasted for ten days and nights, or muttered a sullen, "who cares?" before shuffling about their work Aaron does not concern himself over it. He was born and named Crown Prince Willum Aaron Tricaelian II, destined ruler of all the land, and from that day he was given the reins to power. He was born to rule, and Aaron has waited more than a score of years for his chance to take the throne, and he continues to wait, bowing to his stubborn father's wishes and counting the days before the crown is laid upon his noble brow.

Even from young age Aaron seemed destined to rule. He had to learn his place, and his lessons just like any other boy, but from the very start he spoke with an innate authority, commanding both servants and men to do his bidding from the moment he could talk. His sharp wit, and blunt but intelligent nature was attractive to the other young children of the nobles and courtiers, and he never lacked friends, if that is the proper term for it. They were more his lackeys and entertainers than not else, tagging along because he told them too. Prince Aaron was always above them, beyond them, their better and leader. For this Aaron never had a proper companion, someone who he held as his equal, whose trust he kept and whose friendship was sacred.

Later in life Aaron became a huntsman. In his adolescent years he grew to be a competent tracker and hunter, able to knock and loose an arrow in good form, and thrust a spear into a charging boar with ease. His father always said if he had ever become as capable with a sword as he was at goring a boar with a spear, he would be the finest swordsman in the world. Instead Aaron focused his efforts in those years into falconry, tracking, and riding becoming a master at all three.

In recent years Aaron has possessed less and less time to indulge in his passions, being dragged by matters of state into work of a more diplomatic and militaristic nature. On his twenty-first birthday he was named Lord Commander of the Vanguard, given charge of all the forces of the kingdom's elite fighters, whose competence in battle far exceeded his own. Aaron wasn't entirely out of his element in a position of high command, though when sparring on the training field himself Aaron's weaknesses presented themselves in full. Fortunately for him his position availed him to the intricacies of supply, ceremony, and troop movement and less with swordsmanship and jousting.

Strengths: Aaron is a professional huntsman, there is no doubt about it. When it comes to spear and arrow his aim is true, and his thrust strong. When it comes to trailing a quarry on a misty night there is no better man to track the beast. Furthermore he excels in communication, diplomacy, and debate, showing himself to be a learned man of quick wits. He even enjoys the complications and power of leadership, accounting for all possibilities, ad thinking strategically. Aaron is a master of intrigue and maneuvering pawns to get what he most desires.

Weakness: Upon the tourney fields where bold men clash in a feat of arms Aaron is more apt to make a fool of himself, or be bested by a untested knight in the tilts, or a man-at-arms in the melee. Should Aaron ever engage against a competent swordsman and not a levied peasant in true battle he would find himself hard pressed to survive. The brutal roughness of combat was never his forte. In addition the crown prince has an acquired taste for the comforts of his station, and thoroughly avails himself in lavish fashion. In the grimy, realistic world he is out of place, and awkward, and when in a position of less importance he is always unsure of how to handle himself. Also, Aaron is not a charismatic or likable person. Most folk try to suck up to the noble prince, and as such he is unused to opposition from anyone other than his father. And beyond all that, there is an illness of the mind that plagues Aaron like a dark shadow. Gnawing at the corners of sanity, and eating away at his humanity, slowly, but surely consuming him.

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Name: Gundhram Arvel

Race: Human

Faction: His Majesty’s Vanguard

Age: 34 years

Description:
Gundhram stands at a modest 5’10”, a lean and less densely muscled specimen of the knightly class. His jawline is sharp, his face angular and elongated, with two dull but extraordinarily light blue eyes in his skull. His hair is dark brown, kept in form and short, but slightly messy. He keeps a patch of light stubble most of the time, shaving only once a week, or even less frequently than that. His general attire is garments of linen and dyed wools. Generally, he wears a pair of fine yellowed trousers, a shirt of dark red, and a cowl or cloak of black satin and silk. In battle, he wears full plate of medium craft, and a distinctive steel sallet helmet with face-mask.

Personality: Gundhram is all-around a cold and callous individual at face value. A knight and commander who is cold, calculating, and generally unquestioning to his superiors, he fights with all the ferocity of a cornered lion and the tact of a bird of prey. His wit is not amazingly sharp, and he is quiet and reserved in a public setting. His opinion rarely matters unless it concerns the lives of his men, and even then sacrifices must be made.

"Class": Knight & Captain, His Majesty’s Vanguard

Motivation: A troubled, insecure, and callous man as he is, he seeks only the approval of his father and the glory of the Kingdom of Tricaelia. He is loyal to his sovereign and the heir sovereign foremost, and his own house, the Arvel, third. Even if distanced from his house due to his own insecurities and distastes, he maintains their honor, and it is what motivates him.

History: Gundhram was born thirty-four years ago in the hills near to Curant, upon the corpses of a thousand dwarves, as anyone born there had been. His father was a Baron, a ruler of lands eastwardly of Curant, a man who went to war against Shrikanti and was a party in the takings of Yabella and Laralel. His father, damaged by the war, came back to live freely and liberally, often drinking and consorting with the ladies of his court.

Though Baron Arvel had few children, Gundhram was the only one assuredly not a bastard. With a true heir, Baron Arvel began a conservative lifestyle and became cold and callous at the prospects of it all. He raised Gundhram as a lackey and a vessel for all his anger and regret. While the bastards and half-siblings he had lived carefree, paid no attention by Baron Arvel, Gundhram was crushed and suffocated by his father’s ideas of grandeur, and as Baron Arvel became older, Gundhram was pressed into the path of knighthood at the age of eight.

Sent off to the Royal Mustering Grounds in Akarath, Gundhram became a Page, a child knight-in-training. He was rigorously drilled by the Vanguard’s best, broken and turned into a soldier of, by, and for the king. And in the King, young at the time, he saw what his father was not, a man of strength and conviction. The sovereign as his guide, he excelled in taking charge of his group during exercises, and was appointed squadron senior once a Squire.

Knightship came soon after, and a reshaped Gundhram was granted a Royal commission due to his noble background and leadership prowess. A lieutenant of men-at-arms, he entered service with the Vanguard in his twenty-second year. The rest is simple history. Dissent was crushed, small-scale rebellions and insurgencies turned back, with Gundhram in the dead middle. Now a Captain within the Vanguard, he leads his hundreds for glory of King.

Strengths: Gundhram’s most prevalent strengths show in projecting security in battle to fill his own void of insecurities. He, like his father, is cold and callous, but he is not uncaring or stupid. He thinks with a focus on tactics, on how to win the battle. How the war will eventually be won is not his domain, but he will continue to devise the best ways to defeat the enemy whilst conserving the lives of his men, all the while executing the King’s will in every single engagement.

Weaknesses: Despite his exterior, his very insecurities are what weakens him. He feels as if he was not born to be a noble, acting more a career soldier than a proper knight, acting without complete chivalry, with the goal to simply win or die. Because of this he rarely meshes with other nobility, preferring the company of his own men, which reflects upon him in most unfavorable light. On the more practical end, Gundhram is an ill user of bows and javelins, hardly, if ever, hitting his target, especially if it were moving. It is unknown whether it’s a matter of ill sight at range or simple bad luck.

Name: Annabelle Tyler

Race: Human

Faction: Whoever has the power to erase monarchy from the face of the earth. If there isn't one, she'll make one.

Age: 23

Description: Annabelle is a tall woman with a muscular frame, a product of years of hard labor. She keeps her blonde hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way when he works. Her freckled face and body has gained many scars over the years. Annabelle prefers practical clothing. Anything fancy is an anathema to her ideals.

Personality: Annabelle is a brave, reliable, mature and industrious individual, who likes being independent and doing things her way. Sometimes her stubborness can be detrimental to her, though she can give in. Annabelle is an honest woman and greatly values the reliability it brings to her. She used to have great empathy for others and often put others' feelings before her own, but over the years her empathy has lessened, and at certain ties she can get outright vicious. This hasn't been made any better by her increasingly vindictive streak.

"Class": Outlaw, wannabe revolutionary.

Motivation: Annabelle wants to erase anything royal and aristocratic from Tricaelia and turn it into a republic.

History: Annabelle is a freeholder, a peasant who owns her own land and is not bound to nobles through rent (tenants) or serfdom (serfs). Tylers are well respected in their home town of Yeruse, and generations of Tylers have been members of the Town Militia. In fact the current Captain of the Militia is Annabelle's older brother Sebastian, while Annabelle used to work as his Sergeant.

But times are hard in Tricaelia to be a peasant, as the nobles become greedier and more debauched. More and more tenants are evicted from their households for being unable to pay their ever increasing rents, and serfs are forced to endure worsening humiliations at the hands of the nobles who are supposed to protect them. Freeholders aren't untouched either, as the royal court increases their taxes and declares other laws. Last year Tylers were forced to demolish their mill, when it was declared that only nobles were allowed to own mills.

It all came to a head when the local Sheriff came to confiscate Yeruse's creamery for himself. As the creamery belonged to the Tylers, it made Annabelle angry and she went to tell her mind. The Sheriff got furious and said that he would teach Annabelle and other commoners their place. He ordered his subordinates to take Annabelle's little sister, Isolde. It was then that Annabelle had enough and attacked the Sheriff. Sebastian took his sisters' side and with the militia dealt with Sheriff's soldiers. The Sheriff, realizing his peril, begged for mercy and reminded that he is still a noble. Although he may have hoped to be ransomed alive, Annabelle instead found him guilty of being a noble and sentenced him to death.

Realizing the implications of what would happen to the town once the King heard that the militia had killed the Sheriff, so Annabelle instead chose to take the blame for herself. She took the tax revenue the Sheriff's men had collected, along with her equipment and ran away to the woods. Meanwhile the story was told that Annabelle had been caught poaching before murdering Sheriff for his money, and was now declared an outlaw. Sebastian still sends militia to find Annabelle, though all attempts amount to nothing. In reality the militiamen bring information to Annabelle, where she plans her next big move: Revolution.

Strengths: Annabelle is a skilled fighter, a product of militia training. She is literate and knowledgeable of economics and politics. Annabelle is, despite her roughness, an empathetic individual and will help those in need.

Weakness: Annabelle loves her family dearly, and she dreads what will happen if the King and his Vanguard ever discovered that they are accomplishes of her. She couldn't stand the idea of losing them. Despite her hatred of royalty and nobility, Annabelle won't harm children. The memory of what almost happened to Isolde haunts her still.

What is your character's greatest flaw?
Annabelle has a very black and white View of the world. Everything for her is either/or, and there is no middle ground.

"Citizens, do hear my call,
for what I sing concerns you all.
Turn your eyes to that dark fort,
within there lies the Blood King’s Court

In Blood King’s court there is no joy,
for everyone is Blood King’s toy.
As playground acts the dungeon dark,
it’s full of toys for cruel monarch.

In Blood King’s court no woman smiles,
they victims are of Blood King’s viles.
His bloody touch feel maids and queen,
from bed chamber come horrid screams.

In Blood King’s court there is no peace,
for King’s bloodlust will never cease.
Neighbouring country’s lands will burn,
and then it is the next one’s turn.

To Blood King’s Court there is no end,
for Blood King’s son will throne ascend.
Such father drives the prince insane,
and next king will be just the same.

Do you have what takes to be,
the heroes that this country needs?
To raise the banners, hoist the swords,
and bring an end to Blood King’s Court?"