Rowan Chrysanthus Florian Eldridge▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Nickname ● Rowan - everyone, Flori - very, very close family
Age ● 25
Gender ● Male
Height ● 5'11"
Race/species ● Human
Romantic preferences ● His love could never be limited to a specific gender. All are so aesthetically pleasing!
Role ● Second Prince of Estherel
Kingdom ● Estherel
Allegiance ● Estherel
Occupation
● Second Prince of Estherel: As the second prince and second in line to the crown, Rowan was raised to learn everything his elder brother did. He was instructed in warfare, history, law, diplomacy, languages, anything that might be necessary for a future king to learn. He is, however, closer to the people than Cyneric and takes it upon himself to work with them as directly as possible.
Hobbies
● Music/Cooking: Despite his father's urges that he take up a far more manly hobby, such as smithing or sport, Rowan enjoyed the closeness to his mother that music and cooking give him and has learned how to play several instruments in order to please her. He has taken to writing his own compositions and recipes from time to time, but those have not yet been seen by the eyes of the public. Honestly, only his brother Ulric has heard or tasted them.
● Horseback Riding/Exploration: Like his mother, brother, and sister, Rowan is rather proficient in horseback. It is likely one of the only things his father has ever been proud of him for, alongside his proficiency for swordsmanship and uncanny ability to recall historical details. He isn't as interested in the journey, however, finding the eventual destination to be far more fascinating. Through random rides, he has found many wonderful and magical hidden places that he has shared with his younger brother.
● Crafting: Flower crowns and daisy chains decorate the bedroom of the second prince. He arranges the flowers that he finds on his little trips and sends them out to his family, excepting his father who finds flower arranging too feminine for the possible future king, and does occasionally like to press his more divine creations. He has a fairly steady hand for sewing and knitting and has made enough scarves for Ulric to last several lifetimes.
The Personal Things
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Personality ● Unlike his far more serious family, Rowan is a ray of sunshine at all times. He's very sweet and likes to spend most of his time making gifts for his family or exploring the gardens of their palace, to the point that if he's not present for dinner his brothers know that they need to go searching for him out there. Unlike his siblings, Rowan very polite and chooses to see the good in everything he comes across. He is so incredibly sensitive to any negativity that even a strong expression of distaste is enough to make him cry. He is very well-loved by the people of Estherel specifically because of his temperament. There are some who expect that Rowan would be a good king because of this, but he knows that this probably isn't the case. He doesn't like sitting through history lessons or study sessions, so he's certain that long meetings and constant boring conversations would be far worse.
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Strengths
● The Sword is Mightier than the Pen: For all his weaknesses in comparison to his perfect and capable big brother, Rowan is a much stronger swordsman. He took to the blade fairly well, although he does not like to use it for any other reason than sport. It is the peak of his father's pride in him and Rowan's desire to be loved by his distant father is the primary reason why he continues to train.
● Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: Rowan is a truly optimistic person with a strong desire to see the good and beautiful in the world rather than the evil and ugliness. He remains loyal to those he loves and is willing to sacrifice himself for their protection. In fact, he even has some scars on his body from his attempts to protect his mother, sister, and brothers from various attacks over the years. He never lets himself lose hope and is so sweet-tempered that some of the kingdom's subjects insist that the day Prince Rowan loses his smile will be the day the kingdom loses all hope of a bright future. He does not see any of this as a weakness, not even his abnormally strong loyalty to his younger brother. Instead, he believes this all to be proof that he is strong enough to care for Ulric should the time ever come.
● Smarter than He Looks: There can be no denying that Rowan is a simple, sweet young man, but he's far more intelligent than even his family gives him credit for. He remembers in great detail every single lesson he's ever been taught, even though he does struggle to perform some of the lessons on command, and is surprisingly insightful in terms of strategies, both on and off the battlefield. However, he does prefer to keep things simple and chooses not to insist on his own intelligence, no matter how hurtful some comments can be.
Weaknesses
● I'm Not Naive: Rowan is fully aware of who he's related to. He's not stupid. He knows that his father is a beast and that the court is filled with liars and social climbers willing to do whatever it takes to gain the favor of the king. The sheer amount of hypocrisy is enough to drive him from court to the point that he never enters the throne room if he doesn't have to.
● Alas, Poor Heart: Unlike Ulric and Autumn, Rowan's cursed sickness is in his mind rather than his physical form. He is so incredibly sensitive that a single cross word or even a sour look is enough to bring tears to his eyes. It has gotten so far past reasonable that his younger brother, a sickly young man in his own right, has taken it upon himself to be a sort of emotional protector for the elder prince. This does, however, make Ulric a sort of weakness for Rowan, who is already so very loyal to his brother that he would lay down his crown and his life for the younger prince.
● Flower Crowns are Lovelier than Gold Ones: Rowan does not want the throne. Not even a little. His father is infuriated by this and has attempted on numerous occasions to force Rowan to accept his responsibility and take his future seriously, but he refuses. Therefore, Rowan is a prince without a desire to lead and largely considered useless by many courtiers in and outside of their kingdom.
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Biography
● Rowan was born the second child to the king and queen of Estherel. He was healthy and had very strong lungs, crying out in hunger from the very beginning. His mother kept him as close as she could, but the sheer volume of the prince's cries brought attention to his possible future strength and the king quickly ordered that he be taken to the most, ahem, voluminous wetnurse the kingdom had to offer. He did, however, take to his family quickly and would waddle himself down to his mother's or sometimes even his brother's quarters by the time he could walk. By the time his little brother was born, it was all anyone could do to keep the giggling prince tucked away. Three years old and the palace's delight, the little prince enjoyed his new role as the elder brother and took his position as protector of the sickly Ulric very seriously. He tried very hard to teach his brother to enjoy life as he himself did, but this proved to be useless and Rowan quickly decided to simply love his brother for who he was and not force anything on him.
As the second prince, Rowan was instructed to learn whatever his elder brother was in case something ever happened to Cyneric and he would need to take the throne. Although he's not stupid by any means, Rowan had very little interest in the finer details of his studies and would often find ways to get out of the classroom. He would sneak himself and Ulric down to the gardens where they could hide under the thick foliage of the trees and share thimbles of wine and castle gossip. Time marched on and their roles as guardian and ward soon swapped as it became clear to the Royal Family that the healthy prince had not entirely escaped the family sickness; he became incredibly sensitive to any physical and even emotional distress and would cry at the drop of a hat. Rowan didn't know why. He just couldn't help himself! A dying flower, a sick puppy, anything remotely negatively would bring tears to his face. This caused a rift between him and his father, who insisted that Rowan "be a man". His mother would try to stick up for him, but there was only so much that she could do. This fact was actually part of why he fought for Autumn to be permitted to learn what they did since it's hard for Father's disapproval to find him when there's a princess riding a horse bareback. He clung to Ulric, even crawling into his bed well into adulthood after a bad dream or two. There are some rumors that there is more to the relationship between the two princes, but there's absolutely, positively no truth behind them. Probably. Maybe.
Oh yes he is. Rowan is so optimistic and good-natured that he often forgets that there are liars and thieves out there in the world. He even believes whatever lies his family weaves, forgetting until it's too late to verify in his own mind the possibility of the claims.
