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Character Name: Alexander Kensington (prefers being called Alec)

Race: Elf

Class: Noble Merchant

Subtype: European (English)

Element: Poison

Gender: Male

Age: 507, middle-aged

Family:
Alec is the third child and heir of the Kensington fortune. He had (originally) seven siblings, 4 brothers and 3 sisters. Two of his elder brothers died before they could carry on the family legacy (a drowning and a horse fiding accident respectively). His father, Charles Kensington, and mother, Elizabeth Stocker-Kensington, believed in maintaining a large family in order for the Kensington family name to continue for generations to come. He was never particularly close with any of his siblings (Helen, Rachel, Gertrude, Alan, Howard, Jacob (deceased) and Kyle(deceased) ) or even his father but he was always his mother's favorite. Alec has numerous nephews and nieces but only makes guest appearances at social family functions out of true lack of interest.

Elizabeth married her husband out of social need. She did not view marriage in terms of love but in terms of advantage. The binding of the Stocker and Kensington families was mutually beneficial. Alec was her first son and so she spoiled him insanely while her husband worked and brought even more money into the family. With such doting and preferential treatment of Alec, he easily developed a selfish and vain state of mind. Elizabeth currently lives in their family estate with Alec and his wife Anna. It is from Elizabeth that Alex inherited his good looks (not that his father was bad looking, just that Alec looks almost exactly like her).

Charles Kensington, in his time, was one of the most renowned Artificers of his day. He'd created items and weapons for some of his generation's most well known warriors and famous names. With such a reputation he was paid well for his work and his inherited family wealth only grew. He never paid more attention to his children than he needed to and only took time out to instill a strong sense family duty into them and make sure they all focused on their magical skills. This was only successful in half of his children (who pursued magical careers while the other half chose non-magical or were content to just remain Nobles). When Alec had reached the age of about 250 his father died suddenly in his sleep and he inherited the bulk of the family fortune. His death is whispered about by the other big name families but there were never any accusations publicly made.

Anna Kensington is Alec's wife. She's a dark haired and dark eyed beauty hailing from another rich family. The joining was made for mutual benefit (and because Anna's looks met Alex's standards). She's not a selfish or stupid woman but she knows to be content with the life that Alec gives her. She is also close with his mother Elizabeth and they spend a lot of time together. She has yet to provide Alec with an heir and is beginning to get worried about what this may mean for her future with him.

History:
Alec was raised in a mostly unaffectionate Noble family. The only true signs of love he experienced through his whole childhood were the ways his mother spoiled and fawned on him. He learned at an early age how to use his looks and his natural charm to get what he wanted out of people, be they family friends, tutors, or servants. He was never overly active and was quite the little gentleman when it came to learning all the things he needed to know as a noble boy. He was quick in his lessons and studies but had little interest in pursuing his magical potential past what was very easy or very useful to him personally. When he got old enough to really experiment with magic he left quite a trail of small dead animals about the family grounds. He never seemed very upset with the loss of life and more curious about it than anything else. Perhaps this was a hint at the man that he would end up becoming.

Elizabeth made sure her son's every need was catered as he grew. Every interest he had was made available to him to discover or study, no matter how bizarre. It was obvious that Alec was very interested in money and their rich lifestyle. He made a point to always read up on business matters and he enjoyed going out with his mother when she went shopping and speaking with the shopkeepers even as a young man. He even got into the habit of teaching his fairies about business matters if they were the types to understand it. As he aged this attention to his fairies waned and he focused only on his own capable hands. Alec began to manage his own money (the bits he saved and his allowances) and learned how to maintain a balance between his rich lifestyle and saving. He also kept up with his elemental magic when he discovered exactly what he could do with it and what sort of power he could hold over others. In his magic is the only area that (in later life) his fairies became entirely necessary.

As he passed young adulthood and began to come into his own, Alec became even more aware of the world around him. He began to study his father's business dealings and the business that he did in general. He developed his own ideas about how things should be run and found them shot down every time he proposed them to the elder. Alec also discovered that there was general dislike amongst his brothers and sisters and even his father that he was not following in Charles's footsteps as an Artificer. This sort of attitude was something that he did not appreciate and he was determined to come into his own without having to ride on his father's reputation. That was when he approached his mother and asked to be able to travel on his own for a while (of course with an allowance, guards, and servants) and while she was reluctant to let her favorite son go, she agreed because she could not seem to deny him anything. She completely set up this journey for him though the time frame was flexible.

Alec found this trip to be just the sort of thing he needed and it lasted a few years. He traveled the entirety of the Elven world though he remained mostly in cities and stuck to the richer parts of town. Since business interested him the most, Alec spent most of his time perusing the shops, getting to know the wealthiest of the wealthy, and using his charms to make connections in these far reaching places. It also helped that more than a few merchants daughters seemed quite caught with the strapping and handsome young elf. These long reaching connections would be very useful to Alec in the future. Alec also found something of a trend with most of the merchants he met and that was the fact that they all were very similar. He knew immediately that they all were a bit underhanded, shady, and that what they traded, bought and sold was never much different from their competitors. Alec found that boring and strived to make a difference. He knew that he wanted this sort of life and he saw the potential of wealth and influence was almost unlimited. He saw himself as a fresh face in this scene and wanted to bring up other fresh and clever faces with him (if only for what he could personally gain from it).

Alec returned home much more mature and grown. He was thoroughly a man with big plans and ideas for his life. As soon as he could after he returned home, Alec began looking into beginning on his quest for power and influence. It all began with his first shop. He bought it from an aging man whose business had started to fail. The beginning was rough for Alec, trying to find a fresh stock, things that people would buy, and looking out for young and promising people in the town surrounding him. The shop was in Terralusk and the city was chock full of promising faces. Alec moved to his own home there (one of his father's properties) in order to keep a close eye on his pet project. His first young discovery was a young Elven artist. Alec had an eye for what people wanted and he also had a knack for convincing people that they'd want something even more than they did when they walked in the door. This first shop, art showroom, began to feature more and more promising artists and Alec seemed to be able to bring in the wealthy with his charm and growing connections.

Alec's confidence grew as his business did and he felt a need to expand but his thoughts were bigger than his personal means. He had visions of expansion to more fields than art and seeking out more brilliant minds. He wanted to spread to new cities. He wanted more money and more power. Questions have arisen about what happened next but no one but Alec knows whether the death of his father (which was rather sudden and fell into line with Alec's growing aspirations) had anything to do with Alec himself. All that is clear is that Alec inherited the majority of his father's estate. His siblings and mother lived in the family home until they were all old enough to move out and Alec's arranged marriage was soon to follow. As soon as he came into such mass amounts he was one of the most eligible bachelors. His marriage to Anna seemed to be the best choice for both of them.

Alec's business expanded and the longer he worked and charmed and schemed, the smoother things ran and the deeper his roots grew. The more time went on the more despicable, self centered and greedy he became. He expanded his shops and galleries to various cities and each was watched over by his hand selected management. His interests spread beyond art and began to sponsor bright young minds in their various fields of research. The deals were almost too good to deny. Alec would sponsor the research and give the young person the facilities to operate and all that they needed. In turn he owned all rights to distribute what they discovered and he shared the profits with the researcher themselves. It was in this method that he met one of the most up and coming brilliant minds in Alchemy, Raven Marlowe. Alec was contacted by Marlowe's mother in hopes that her son could take advantage of Alec's 'generosity' to the blossoming up and coming minds. Alec agreed to meet the young man.

Alec found Raven to be a bit of a b*****d but it was something he admired. Raven had his research together and he was extremely promising. Alec also sensed that in his own subtle way he may be able to manipulate Raven little by little. He took him on, gave him a home, and the same deal he offered to all the rest. He would just check in every now and again to check on the research and maybe pester Raven a little. He found mutual intelligent banter to be quite entertaining and he liked the man who had the balls to be gruff and confrontational even when he was so thoroughly caught up in Alec's schemes.

Present:
Alec's siblings eventually married and moved from his family home and he took it over as his own home base. Alec lives with his mother and wife and is pleased, in his way, that the two women get along. It saves him the trouble of continually entertaining them. Alec splits his time between being home and traveling to his various business locations and checking on his various investments. By this time in his life he is very close to that goal he had set so many years ago.

Alec will be going to Terralusk to visit the festival. Anna and his mother will accompany him but just be left on their own to enjoy themselves while he checks up on some of his business investments, some friends, and looks into having his own fun.

Personality:
Alec was a spoiled child his whole life and the expectation of having all the dirty, menial work taken care of for him is not something that ever left him. He is an elf who's had an army of servants around him his whole life and he keeps it that way to this day. This makes him someone unused to and with a distinct distaste for physical labor or anything that could get his hands dirty. He learned at a young age how to manipulate those around him with sweet words and pretty looks and when he doesn't get his way he is prone to reacting with excessive anger and force. If you get on Alec's bad side you will find that life will become increasingly more difficult for you as time goes on. Alec can hold grudges for a very long time and if you do not redeem yourself in his eyes, his charming demeanor will be revealed as just a front for what goes on in the despicable mind beneath his smooth exterior.

Alec really is, down to his core, a despicable man. Very few have received kindness from him that was not motivated by his own needs. He is and has always been out for his own benefit, the benefit of his family and (very few, almost non-existent) true friends. He strives continually for more money, more power, and more influence. It's not clear how far Alec intends to go with his aspirations but they have gotten him very far thus far. He's not a man who has known much true love and views bodies and most people as things that can be manipulated and used. This does not exclude his wife. He feels that the purpose of a wife is to maintain the household, societal obligations and (most importantly) provide heirs. This sort of view has not kept him very faithful but he's also good at manipulating his wife into thinking he is completely devoted to her. He also tends to spoil those who are in his close family. This includes his wife, mother and his numerous fairies. He tends to find that making sure everyone has everything they need keeps them off of his back and out of his way.

Alec's aspirations and particular charms have gotten him far in the political world and while not on the High Council, he does run in the same circles and is considered to be in the highest caste of society. Alec is by no means a stupid man and seems to have patience when it comes to his long term goals. He has connections everywhere through his business, whether legal or the opposite, and is someone who the high class would consider going to for things such as favors or money loans. This means that Alec's roots run deep among the ruling classes and that he has many people at his fingertips who owe him one (or two or three). He enjoys holding this sort of influence over people and storing it up. He's very much a hoarder. He hoards and possesses all that he can and in his selfishness he will fight to the last and pull upon his resources if there is any challenge to his underlying control over people. Even so, he remains very discreet with the things he does for people in order to maintain that trust they feel in him (or invest in him against their better judgment).

In personal relationships very few have been anything but Alec using the other person. He's held numerous lovers over the years and most were bent to his will and wooed by his charms. Some of his personal encounters were a bit questionable of whether Alec really felt for that person or not. The only true feelings that were ever clear are those for his mother. He has and always been his mother's son. She is one of the most influential people in his life and it's probably her fault that he is the man he is today. Any true feelings he's felt beyond that for his mother are always subject to question of whether they are true or just another part of his schemes.

Appearance:
Alec is a man of average height and build who's only terribly distinguishing mark would be a small scar under his chin and a mole on his lower abdomen. He has long pale blonde hair that he usually keeps tied back in a ribbon or loose down to right below his shoulders. He's begun to get a bit of silver into his hair, common pre-mature aging in his family at this age, but since his hair is as light as it is, it just adds another interesting facet to his hair color. Alec has very sharp and clear green eyes. They are the sort of eyes that can easily draw someone in but have an edge where you aren't quite sure whether to trust him or not. Alec is considered a fairly attractive elf and uses this to his advantage. He is quick to give a smile and charm those who he feels he can get his way with. His smile can easily melt into a sneer or look of disgust if Alec finds displeasure with any person or thing. This is more common a look than most think. He is someone who always appears to have control of his surroundings.

Alec is very vain and as such he keeps his physical appearance as impeccable as he can. He is the sort who would buy new boots just because he considered one pair to be dirty and there is no one handy to clean them for him. He's also the sort who has his nails trimmed, shined and buffed on an almost daily basis and spends absolutely excessive amounts of time in front of the mirror in the morning or picking out his clothing. He always has the newest and most stylish clothing and he is coordinated down to the tiniest detail such as cufflinks or the color of the ribbon holding back his hair. While out in public Alec is always seen as the picture perfect gentleman complete with a hat (so long as it doesn't ruin his hair), gloves, cloak and a cane. Away from home or his shops he is always seen in these types of necessary (in his mind) accessories.