Prince Arioch Ulric Eldridge▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Nickname ● Ulric (to all), Ari (only amongst family)
Age ● 22
Gender ● Male
Height ● 186 cm (6ft. 1in.)
Race/species ● Human
Romantic preferences ● Romance never interested me, frankly. However, the few individuals I find attractive are men. Fortunately, the thought of relations with a female in order to create heirs is not completely disgusting.
Role ● Third Prince of Estherel
Kingdom ● Estherel
Allegiance ● Rowan, but also Estherel
Occupation
● Prince: Well, normally a Prince has to study a little bit of everything, but specialize in combat, tactics, law, history, and diplomacy in order to one day inherit the throne and become king. However, I am the third Prince, hence my chances of acceding the throne are very minute. So my duty is to stay out of trouble, attract a wealthy and powerful mate, and make sure I don't piss her off and start a war.
Hobbies
● Herbalism: Nature generally has a way to take care of everything, and so I turned to it to help alleviate my condition. Also learned to make a few poisons at the same time...anyway, I am proficient enough that I can in fact make tonics which do well in sustaining me.
● Reading/Research: I have never been able to pursue much physically, thus my exploration is within books and my mind. I have read a great many works on diverse topics and some poetry as well. While others had rousing games, I would pursue a topic through myriad tomes and treatises, determined to find an authoritative answer for my query. With these skills, I have taught myself a fair number of things, and I think, perhaps, I even have an understanding of the tenets of magic.
● Carving: Yes, yes, go ahead and make your jokes now. Ooh, the creep does carving, probably carving cadavers or tools for dark rituals. I will give you a gold piece if you come up with one I haven’t heard over and over. … Are we done now? Good. Yes, I have carved bone, but it was a creature that had been killed for supper, and I was just utilizing the bones for art, which is a little better than letting it go to disuse. Mostly though I carve wood. Little sculptures or tools from sticks I happen upon, but also I have done decorative carvings on furniture and architectural details. You might even see some of my handiwork around the castle. It’s a fun little thing for me to work on while convalescing.
The Personal Things
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Personality ● Cold, calculating, and morbid, I seem the antithesis of my homeland’s values. My complete submission to ennui a stark contrast to my family’s insistence upon action, and my adoration of subtlety, shadow magic, and most anything dark completely anathema to the light the Royal Family supposedly sheds. I mask any feelings I may or may not have with coldness and/or disinterest and some have even claimed that I actively pushes people away however can. (Perish the thought!) Yet when someone is truly in trouble, or something has upset my dear brother Rowan, then one might see a slightly different man before them: I am loyal to a fault and will never back down, though my ways of taking care of the threat still lean towards the macabre/morbid/sadistic. It is hard to say which parts of me are true and which parts are affectations, saying I even have traits which could fall into either category.
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Strengths
● Thou Shalt Not See My Pain: Since I was a small child, I have always been one of the sickly ones, and everyone in the castle knows that. However, most think I have gotten better as time passed when in fact I have been getting worse. This is because I refuse to let people see my weakness and worry. I have iron resolve and endurance, all necessary to seem only a little weak instead of the terminal case I actually am.
● Fearless: Fear is a survival instinct, it is what tells you to avoid the snake slithering by unless you know it is not venomous. But when you know your options are an unforeseen death now or a slow painful death later, such instincts no longer play much of a role in your psyche. Some believe me incredibly brave as I am willing to stand strong (figuratively) against any foe or obstacle. But in fact, I just know my options are equally displeasurable.
● Mind Like A Steel Trap: As a child I was limited in how long and hard I was allowed to play with my siblings and/or outside. This meant I had plenty of time which had to be spent "quietly." I devoted said time to reading and improving mental skills. If I couldn't have a sound body, then by gum I was going to have the sharpest mind in the land.
Weaknesses
● Thou Shalt Not See My Pain: As I do not allow others to know what I am going through, I frequently have to lie to convince people I am fine, or skulk about in secrecy to take tonics and other quick solutions. Worse though, I sometimes have to push myself farther than I should just so that it seems I am not lagging behind. I imagine this has, from time to time, worsened my condition.
● Rowan: That older brother of mine...I swear, I think he is part golden retriever. He is sweet and lovable, to be sure, but he has thin skin and needs someone to protect him. That's where I come in. It is my duty to protect Rowan from everything which might hurt him, even myself and my...um...curious affections.
● Behind Blue Eyes: Apparently that is an apropos song title. The point is that I have cultivated an image for myself, one that is dreadfully cold and cruel, one that no one could ever love just to keep people away. It is not that I despise humanity, no nothing of the sort, but I have known for ages I will not live long, and I do not wish to create some wretched void when my life is eclipsed. Hence, for ages now I have worked hard to remove myself from everyone, thus I will be gone and no longer important to others long before I am really gone. This means I have a rather negative reputation and most would rather avoid me than speak to me. Except for Rowan; somehow my tactics have never worked on him, sadly.
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Biography
● I am the third child (and third son) of Estherel’s royal family. For nearly a minute after my birth, everyone thought me a stillborn for I looked ashen and did not move or cry out. Fortunately, as an attendant began to wrap me in a burial shroud, she felt the slightest of breaths, and the midwife was able to force the fluid out of my underdeveloped lungs so that I might actually be able to breath. That...is kind of how my life has continued thus far. As the years passed, while I still remained more academe than adventurer, my condition seemingly improved and I was almost able to live like a normal child. However, it was known I had weak lungs, so nannies and others who looked after me were always careful to limit my exertion lest I over stress my weakness. In my mid-teen years, I began to develop an interest in shadow magic, herbalism (especially deadly plants), and dark tales. Hoping this was just a phase, no one forced me from my interests. These proved more than just passing fancies, and I continue to study such things today as well as generally keep up with my siblings. Little do they know I never fully recovered from my ill health, and I am far weaker and more sickly than they can even imagine.
Another factor of note, while I am on good terms with all of my family, my older brother Rowan has always been my favorite. He has always watched out for me, even going so far as to be an impromptu nurse every time I feel even slightly under the weather. Rowan is like a golden retriever: always energetic and friendly, willing to greet absolutely anyone with open cheer, but also highly sensitive to negativity. He also suffers more from nightmares, I believe. Somehow, weak little me became his guardian on that front, warding off any who would speak ill of him, and sharing my bed when he needs someone to chase the nightmares away. Frankly I feel like the older brother most of the time, yet I am not. He and I have grown ever closer as time marches on, though unfortunately what were once cute and innocent acts by children are now taboo as adults. As of yet, we are still navigating that front.
