Post by wordy on Sept 1, 2010 0:15:52 GMT 10
Royals - The good, the bad, and the crazy
by wordy
Life at court is entertaining, I won’t lie to you. Parties and banquets every other night, dashing young men (or older men, if that’s your thing) and lovely ladies every way you turn. Yes, life at court sounds simply enchanting. But before you throw aside your plough and run for the nearest capital, you might want to think seriously about what you’re getting yourself into. You see, amongst the dashing men and lovely ladies of the court, some more sinister characters are lurking. You must be constantly on your guard when in the presence of these characters; armed with charming smiles and kind words, it is often difficult to tell what their intentions truly are. I am referring to, of course, the Royals.
The good
The Royals who qualify for this category are truly the cream of the crop: dignified, gracious, and pure of heart.
Roald of Conté—known by many as the Peace-Keeper—was a monarch who always had the best interests of his realm in mind. A family man in every possible way, Roald unfortunately faced a great deal of personal worry and loss—his only son, Jonathan, fell deathly ill with the Sweating Sickness, but luckily recovered; his beloved wife and Queen, Lianne, was not so fortunate. Some of the more depraved gossips at court believe that Roald’s own death, only three weeks following that of his wife, was premeditated. Of course, these are the same wicked people who think that Roald’s status as a ‘family man’ extended into overnight stays down in the Lower City, so such speculation is surely nonsense.
King Roald’s only son and successor, Jonathan of Conté, is the current ruler of Tortall, along with his Queen, Thayet. Now, I’m not the type to spread unsubstantiated gossip, but let’s just say that since a certain someone’s ascent to the throne, deaths in the royal family have drastically dropped in number. To zero.
Births, on the other hand, have been significantly on the rise. Six, in fact. An impressive feat, considering how much time the King has been committing to training his squires.
In addition to providing Tortall with an heir (and five other royal children to use as bargaining chips with neighbouring countries), Thayet is a patriotic and practical Queen. Renowned for her role as an innovator—particularly in the field of education—Thayet exhibits many traits of her late mother, including a strong belief in equality for all, no matter their background.
Another Royal who cherishes these particular beliefs is the newly instated Queen of the Copper Isles, Dovasary Balitang. The twice-royal Queen has been busy restoring order to the Isles, though she still finds the time to play chess with an old friend. And if this inclination towards older men is any indication, perhaps those private meetings with the captain of the Queen’s Guard aren’t quite as innocent as her loyal subjects are led to believe.
The bad
Some Royals like to take a walk on the dark side, and this bunch of misfits have no qualms about getting their hands dirty.
Little is know about King Ain of Tusaine: his many wives keep him rather busy. Since time spent in his pleasure gardens is apparently preferential to actually ruling his country, he relies on his brothers—Count Jemis and Duke Hilam—to do his dirty work...well, his other dirty work, for him. Running a country this way must cause an awful lot of trouble, a fact which a certain red-haired squire discovered first-hand only a few years ago.
There was a lot of fuss in the Copper Isles a little while ago, perhaps you remember it? Shortly before the lovely Dovasary took to the throne, there was someone else, desperately trying to claw her way to the top. Now, I don’t appreciate violence in the least, but you must admit that Imajane Rittevon had style. Assassinating her little brother using a mage-wrought storm? Genius. Too bad Imajane’s genius ended up tipping the scales against her. Surely she could have used some of that wicked intellect to find a way out of that mess: jumping to your death is never a pleasant way to go. Not to mention messy.
While Thayet of Conté is the perfect model of a monarch, her father was most definitely not. The third warlord-ruler of Sarain, Adigun jin Wilima couldn’t seem to do anything right. All he wanted was a son, poor fellow. Of course, that’s no excuse to treat your only daughter like dirt, or to cause a civil war, and especially not to drive your wife to suicide. No wonder he was poisoned.
The crazy[/i]
You’re bound to get a Royal that’s one jewel short of the crown every few generations. No matter how charming or normal they may seem, this group definitely fits the description.
Princess Josiane of the Copper Isles. Sound familiar? She should – she was Tortall’s very own axe-murderer. Some say she wanted revenge after a failed relationship with Jonathan, or that the pressure of being one of Roger’s minions was simply too much for her. Others say that she was just one crazy bitch, and I’m inclined to agree.
The Copper Isles seems to be a breeding ground for bad characters, and one of the most memorable was King Oron. Absolute power and paranoia are never a good combination, especially when they lead to three dead wives. Not only was Oron insane, but his offspring were too. Now that’s what I call keeping it in the family.
I’m not going to say I saved the best for last.
But I did. When it comes to crazy, Roger of Conté is King of Crazy Town, and for good reason. Charming and handsome (not to mention his fabulous taste in clothing...and squires), Roger is one crazy guy. Voodoo dolls. Sparkly hose. Attempted Regicide. Coming back from the dead. Imajane may have had style, but this guy makes crazy look good. If you ever come across Roger—dead or alive—your best bet would be to turn and run in the opposite direction. Fast. Because if you don’t, you’ll either be dead or under his spell. And in this case, death is definitely preferable.