Post by Arthur Ravenbrow on Aug 3, 2024 18:51:14 GMT
ARTHUR RAVENBROW
Name: Arthur Ravenbrow
Age: 45
Birth Season: Fall
Rank: High Nobility
Occupation: Advisor of War
Kingdom: Almeran
Body description: Arthur, like many of his family members has pale blond hair that is shoulder length, though in his younger days it was cut shorter. He stands just over 5'10", and maintains an athletic build. While not the most charming of his family members, he has a standoffish look to him, probably aided by his solitary demeanor. He will commonly wear clothing that is styled around his family's colors, (black raven with red accent). While in Allure and not on duty, he dons regular tunics and attire befitting his noble stature. When he serves in a military capacity he will don plate armor that can give a menacing appearance. Regardless of where he is, a sword and dagger will always be at his side.
Personality: The head of the Ravenbrow is a man that many in Allure would call loyal, precise, and ruthless, yet just. To the members of the Ravenbrow family, he is a pillar that holds them united towards a common cause, a cheerful and playful father that cares deeply for his children. Arthur holds his oaths as sacred, and the oath to the people of the kingdom is one he will always follow. In Court, he is often times quiet, waiting and watching others before speaking, and always speaking truthfully. He is not one to tell people what they want to hear, but rather what they should hear. He is ruthless towards his enemies but will still treat them justly. After all, he knows that there are some evils in the world that only overwhelming force can overcome. In small groups or with people that he trusts, he is plainer spoken and is known to tell a joke or two (a very different image than he may present in Court).
Magic: N/A
Combat experience:As with many of the Ravenbrow household, Arthur took up a sword from a young age. Starting with just mimicking what the local garrison and his father did in the training yard, to getting formal tutelage from a former soldier that became Master-at-Arms for the Ravenbrow Manor. Arthur started in sword forms, but then moved along to the other weapons, mace and morningstar, bow and lance. From a young age, Arthur pursued all these methods of combat as though they were an art form he wanted to master. He outgrew his Master-at-Arms and then was allowed to become a Cadet, practicing and even engaging in some battles against upstarts and proxies. After becoming a regular soldier, he would continue to train, perfecting his abilities and proving his skill against his peers, often winning or placing highly in training exercises whenever they were held. An injury to his arm that didn’t heal entirely as it should, would limit what heights he could then reach. While an excellent warrior with combat experience to match, in duels against such greats as Gareth Dufort, he would hold his own for a while, but knows his limits. For ongoing training, he does trainings every morning with the blade, and typically will partake in other trainings throughout his schedule. (Total Martial Training is about 39 years, Total Military Experience is about 32 years, is a great warrior, but not in the same league as the best)
Family:
Parents - Jantos and Junta Ravenbrow (Deceased)
Siblings - Younger Brother 1, Younger Brother 2, and Jemos Ravenbrow
Spouse - Aidana Ravenbrow (NPC)
Children - Gawain Ravenbrow, Iseult Ravenbrow, and Elaine Ravenbrow
History:
Jantos and Junta Ravenbrow welcomed their first child into the world in the Autumn of 997. Young Arthur’s birth was marked as a joyous occasion for the Ravenbrow family, as Jantos was hoping to secure the family’s future through his line. His first of hopefully many children set him on the path towards strengthening his pursuits towards service and power in Almeran. Arthur would shoulder the weight of these pursuits, as he would be the one to inherit.
As a young child, Arthur was given private tutors for various early subjects. It was an investment that Jantos thought would further increase Arthur’s chances of becoming a high achiever. Most of these lessons were focused on history and reading, though the most important of them was the household’s private guards. They were former soldiers that had served with Jantos and had retired. Emrys was the name of the head of these guards, that had been tasked with training Arthur in the ways of becoming a warrior. The lessons were harsh at first, but Arthur would grow into them.
Unlike what was common for others, Arthur was given a steel sword that was too big for him. He would not wield a wooden sword, no, Jantos wanted to invest all he could his firstborn, ensuring that Arthur would become the best that he could be. His mindset was that this child would know how to wield a weapon, not a training toy. Arthur would train his body with his mentor until he could replicate all the motions and forms. After that it was just refinement. Included in these lessons were basics on stamina and body strengthening as well as unarmed martial arts.
By the time that Arthur turned ten and began attending the Kingdom School, he already had one younger brother. Another would be born during his time there.
The six years at the Kingdom School would prove to be the greatest shock to Arthur, as well as what made him hesitate at wanting to continue being one of nobility. He was taught a larger variety of topics than his tutors before had taught him. While he attempted to make friends, he found that he was different in that regard compared to others. He did not particularly dislike spending time on his own, but rather the opposite, felt empowered to pursue his own goals regardless of social appearances. Of course, most of his goals were about furthering his swordsmanship and knowledge, so he was not subject to anything negative. This was definitely helped by his standing. While there were many other children of high nobility, there were others of low nobility that had still been around for a while.
The first few years at the school were easy for him. He went to lessons, did his work, performed his own trainings and self-studying. When it was time for exams or tests he would showcase his knowledge and skill to the full extent that he could, often earning high marks in what he was focused on. Arthur had not paid attention to social standings around him, and found that he had become a person of particular interest, especially to the lower nobility girls that thought he might be easy to win over to help raise their own families’ statuses. This would only worsen when he was fourteen, when a new student entered the school, Aidana Cretia, the daughter of a newly anointed noble. When she entered, Arthur was tasked with being her guide and helping show her around the grounds. This was not very well taken by some of the other girls that held an interest, and an incident would occur at a regular tea party.
Tea parties were the way of nobility to exchange information and engage in networking. They were far more common than parties or court events. Of course, at the Kingdom School they would be taught how to behave and learn the skills necessary for both navigating and organizing their own parties in the future. At such an event, shortly after arriving, Aidana was poisoned by something mixed into her tea, and made a fool of herself in front of others. Arthur was the one that aided her and carried her back to her dorm. She was crying over how she had been treated, but when Arthur attempted to say something, she slapped his hand away and told him she did not need his pity.
This surprised Arthur. He had been aware well before this of the entitlements that many felt about being nobility, but he had never felt special because of it. After all, he himself was not special, he just had the blessings of privilege. When Aidana slapped his hand away and called his reason for helping her pity, he would go on to look more into how he should be behaving.
News began to circulate in the formal tea parties and establishments of a new kind of tea and snacks that were proving to be very popular. By the time it had become what every party wanted, certain families began to find that they were being turned away from merchants and establishments. Even those of old heritage and coffers of gold. It was not until a special tea party event was held on the school grounds that Arthur watched and saw as Aidana got social revenge against those who had wronged her. Every student other than those who targeted her had arrived with the new popular expensive items. While seemingly not very important, showing wealth and power was important. When every single student had something that these more powerful groups did not have, it was taken as a slight. But it was more than that. These specific families were getting barred from doing business with different merchant houses. It was not until then that the children had learned their mistake. The newly anointed Cretia family had these business dealings, and did not take the slights against their daughter lightly. Soon there were a few public apologies to Aidana for how she had been treated, before things returned to normal. Never again was Aidana tricked, even if those same people whispered misgivings in the shadows.
Arthur, for his part, had watched on and was surprised at the turn of events. Most people would have gone for physical revenge, as in poisoning those that had hurt them. Arthur would then meet with Aidana and apologize for his prior actions, but state they were not done out of pity, but rather what he believes anyone should have done. Aidana forgives him, saying she was also being rash.
Things would return to normal after that, Arthur would delve head first back into his training. With the later years of education coming up, he was able to enter an advanced track for students to learn more practical military skills. Arthur would fulfill duties there and earn high marks, with even the teacher stating he was destined for being a great commander.
Arthur would be approached by Aidana again, this time with her saying he was not like the others, in that he doesn’t flaunt his status or use it over others. She confesses to having been watching him, and that he seems more like a regular person. She would then begin to pull him along to the many social activities he had actively avoided. Of course, she also joined his self-study sessions, imposing upon him, as well as cheering him on during his training times. For his part, Arthur began to go to more events, especially the ones organized by her. The two would spend more time together and grow closer, nearly becoming inseparable. Both were respectful of each other’s abilities, recognizing each other as equals. Aidana was pursuing a future of being a merchant, just as her parents were.
In the last years of his time at the school, more rumors began to swirl about some upstart noble family that was trying to win him over. When Jantos finally got enough of the rumors that he had to act, Arthur was recalled to the manor for a discussion about the family’s future and the sacrifice needed to ensure that a legacy would continue. Arthur’s siblings may remember this as one of the only times he has raised his voice in anger as all in the manor could hear it. Jantos had stated he would arrange a marriage with a more fitting family, to which Arthur finally pieced his thoughts together. His time with Aidana had come to feel just as comfortable as it was for him on his own. He could not imagine anyone else having such a place by him. Arthur would then leave the manor and approach the Cretia for a betrothal to Aidana. It was not until Aidana was introduced to Jantos that even he felt her charm and approved of the betrothal.
With both his family and the Cretia consenting to the betrothal, Aidana would go ahead and speed along a wedding as she stated she would not be changing her mind. After a year, Arthur and Aidana would be formally married. During this time, Arthur formally entered into the military as a Cadet. He would only be in this position for a short time, as he was treated as an assistant to an officer, being fast tracked to command.
At the age of 17, Arthur and Aidana would welcome their first child, Gawain. In the same year, Arthur would also gain a younger sister. However, his joy would not last long, as a bandit uprising began in the Forest, with a self-styled King of the Forest. The unit Arthur was assigned to was mobilized to deal with the threat. The military would surround the forest before venturing in, however was unsuccessful in flushing out these bandits. In fact they were taking more casualties. After a month of searching and nearly running out of supplies, the unit finally found their target. The unit’s leader was killed and surrounded. The King of the Forest was a large man, over six feet tall and bore a large two handed axe as a weapon. Arthur stepped forward to challenge him. The Forest King called him a boy and to hand over his sword. Arthur calmly replied that he shall have his sword and proceeded to stab the Forest King through the head. With him killed, and horns sounding that more troops were coming, the bandits quickly dispersed.
Afterwards, Arthur was rewarded with formal position, jumping through regular ranks and becoming an officer at the age of 18. He would serve in a regular capacity for the next few years, until tragedy struck his family. Both of his parents died, leaving the family without a head. Arthur stepped into the position, with Aidana and her family supporting them as well. Arthur’s younger sister was taken into his responsibility where she was raised alongside his son, much more akin to a daughter than a sibling. That same year Arthur and Aidana would welcome their second child into the home, Iseult.
For the following years, Arthur was focused on strengthening the family through new connections, both military and through merchants. While he did not particularly care for playing politics, he was known for being truthful and fair in negotiations, looking for the best solution for all involved. He had also been reassigned to a special cavalry unit that would patrol the lands, dealing with conflicts as they cropped up. While just one of the officers in it, he would further distinguish himself among the commoners for enacting the Crown’s justice and peace even if it was over something trivial, be it wild animals that were hurting a village or bunch of thieves. His military prowess was only rising. When he was 24, his third child would be born.
His military role was changing, and he was transferred to a unit that maintained the protection of Allure. With more time at home he had focused on the training of his children and siblings, ensuring that they had the same opportunities that he did. During one of these training exercises, he took over personally, training his youngest sibling when they utilized their powers as a Blest without realizing it. Arthur had been thrown across the training yard, breaking his dominant arm. While the injury did heal, his arm would never be the same. Arthur would never reach the heights of martial prowess that he could have.
While it was a frustrating time for him, he decided to refocus those energies onto his wife and children. He would then ensure that they would have the opportunities to surpass him. He requested a brief leave from the military, still being on call should a situation arise. In that time, he spent it entirely with his family, sending his son to the Kingdom School, and then caring for both his daughters and helping them grow into capable individuals.
Once his youngest child entered the Kingdom School, Arthur would return to full military service. While many thought he was rusty, he quickly proved them wrong. A rogue knight, perhaps from Rodale, had been leading a warband through Almeran territory, and so far, defeated the parties that came after them, burning two villages and capturing a noble’s keep. Arthur took command of a force that would handle the warband for good.
While chasing the warband, another village was burned and when Arthur finally caught up with the warband, exacted the same justice upon his foes. They met on the fields outside a village in summer. The heat had dried the plants for there had been no rain for a while. Arthur had his men set fire to the fields and burn their enemies out. Amidst the flames, he troop charged forth and crushed the warband, with Arthur killing their leader. Some survivors escaped across No Man’s Land with Arthur letting them run away so that they could spread the fear of their defeat, so that anyone would know what happens when Almeran is attacked.
When he returned, Arthur was promoted and took the role of Lieutenant, commanding the forces that patrolled the borders of the nation, ensuring that no adversary would breach them. While there would be some conflicts along contested zones, mainly against proxies, nothing would turn into anything larger scale.
When the King died in 1035, there was a little shakeup in the Advisors, and Arthur was requested to serve as the executive officer to the Advisor of War. There he worked in Court and served the Advisor, becoming a right hand and learning more about commanding the entire centralized military. When that Advisor retired, wanting to enjoy time with their grandchildren, many names were offered for who should take his position. Arthur did not campaign for himself, instead he fulfilled the role of Advisor until a suitable promotion could be made. He did not partake in the politics of the position, instead just wishing to fulfill his duty and obligation. Perhaps it was for this reason that the Queen chose him to formally takeover for his predecessor.
As the Advisor of War, Arthur has taken on the monumental task of reforging their military to be more efficient and skilled for a future conflict of either an attack by Rodale or an eventual order to begin a new conquest of unification.
Faceclaim: Matt Smith
Admin tag: Aenwyn
