Changes: Richard Stirling

Revision as of 19:26, 16 June 2016

Richard Stirling, the son of Aldous and Laura Stirling, is the current king of Exekias. By his mistress Karen Larsen, he fathered Kai Larsen.

Severely underestimated from the start, Richard made a near-fatal mistake early in his reign. Recognizing his own limits, he relied on two of his closest friends, John and Gorrister, to advise him.

As king, his primary concern was in maintaining balance and peace with the Mercurians. However, troubles at home boiled over into conflict abroad.

Biography

Richard is the eldest child of King Aldous and Queen Laura. Upon his birth he was immediately named heir to the throne.

Raised at Spiderweb Castle, he became close to John, his adopted older brother. Richard defended John from other children, and in return John was his constant companion and support.

On the other hand, he and his Eleanor were rivals, teasing and provoking each other. Once, Richard dared her to walk across a frozen lake; she fell through the ice and nearly drowned, but was saved by John. While John convinced Eleanor not to tell their parents what had happened, Richard was so stricken with guilt he eventually confessed to their mother.

Laura died when Richard was nine. As Aldous began plotting to get rid of John, Richard feared for his brother's life and tried to convince him to run away, but John refused to leave them. Aldous eventually decided to imprison John in the white tower. Richard promised John he would send him letters and vowed he would set him free when he became king.

Over the next fifteen years, Richard grew into a young man. When he was a teenager, he began a relationship with Karen Larsen, a noblewoman from an impoverished family. Aldous forbid them from marrying, as Richard stood to gain neither wealth nor political leverage from the union. Instead, Karen became Richard's mistress and they had a son together, Kai.

At the age of twenty four, Richard ascended the throne upon his father's death. He was immediately pressured by the Exekian Council to name his successor. Richard instead released John from imprisonment and sent Sir Gorrister, one of the greatest knights, to escort him safely back to Spiderweb Castle. He is suspected of having a plan to undermine the council and turn the balance of power in his favor.

Description

Richard is short and thin, with bronze skin, tousled dark hair and amber eyes. He bears a strong resemblance to his father, King Aldous, and is considered handsome.

Richard is an idealist. Stubborn and impatient, he bends his forefather's laws to suit his needs, driven by a belief that they are outdated and should be changed anyway. His manipulative actions have angered the council, particularly Logan Brynner, who believes Richard is unfit to rule. Since others put so little faith in him, Richard has developed a lack of confidence in himself, which has led to him becoming indecisive. While not as brooding as John, he is sentimental and absent-minded, often becoming lost in his thoughts and feelings.

Having never mastered any form of combat, Richard is cowardly in battle. He will hide while others fight for him.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Severely underestimated from the start, Richard made a near-fatal mistake early in his reign. Recognizing his own limits, he relied on two of his closest friends, [[John]] and [[Leonard Gorrister|Gorrister]], to advise him.
-As king, his primary concern was in maintaining balance and peace with the [[Mercurians]]. However, troubles at home led many of the nobility to doubt his capabilities, leading to conflict and, eventually, civil war.
+As king, his primary concern was in maintaining balance and peace with the [[Mercurians]]. However, troubles at home boiled over into conflict abroad.
 == Biography ==
-Richard is the eldest surviving child of King Aldous and Queen Laura. Upon his birth he was immediately named heir to the throne of Exekias.
+Richard is the eldest child of King Aldous and Queen Laura. Upon his birth he was immediately named heir to the throne.
-Raised at [[Spiderweb Castle]], he became close to [[John]], who he loved as a brother. Richard defended John from other children, and in return John was his constant companion and protector. On the other hand, he and his [[Eleanor Stirling|sister]] were rivals, teasing and provoking each other. Once, Richard dared her to walk across a frozen lake; she fell through the ice and nearly drowned, but was saved by John. While John convinced Eleanor not to tell their parents what had happened, Richard was so stricken with guilt he eventually confessed to their mother.
+Raised at [[Spiderweb Castle]], he became close to [[John]], his adopted older brother. Richard defended John from other children, and in return John was his constant companion and support.
+On the other hand, he and his [[Eleanor Stirling|Eleanor]] were rivals, teasing and provoking each other. Once, Richard dared her to walk across a frozen lake; she fell through the ice and nearly drowned, but was saved by John. While John convinced Eleanor not to tell their parents what had happened, Richard was so stricken with guilt he eventually confessed to their mother.
-Laura died when Richard was nine. As Aldous began plotting to get rid of John, Richard feared for his brother's life and tried to convince him to run away, but John refused to leave them. Aldous eventually decided to imprison John.
+Laura died when Richard was nine. As Aldous began plotting to get rid of John, Richard feared for his brother's life and tried to convince him to run away, but John refused to leave them. Aldous eventually decided to imprison John in the white tower. Richard promised John he would send him letters and vowed he would set him free when he became king.
-Over the next fifteen years, Richard grew into a young man. When he was eighteen, he began a relationship with [[Karen Larsen]], a noblewoman who intended to become a councilor. Aldous intervened to prevent them from marrying. Nonetheless, Richard fathered a son, [[Kai Larsen|Kai]], by Karen.
+Over the next fifteen years, Richard grew into a young man. When he was a teenager, he began a relationship with [[Karen Larsen]], a noblewoman from an impoverished family. Aldous forbid them from marrying, as Richard stood to gain neither wealth nor political leverage from the union. Instead, Karen became Richard's mistress and they had a son together, [[Kai Larsen|Kai]].
-Richard legally ascended the throne upon Aldous' death. However, spurred on by Eleanor, the Council convinced Richard to name Eleanor as next in line. Richard signed a document agreeing to this, unaware of the consequences.
+At the age of twenty four, Richard ascended the throne upon his father's death. He was immediately pressured by the [[:Category:Exekian Council|Exekian Council]] to name his successor. Richard instead released John from imprisonment and sent Sir [[Leonard Gorrister|Gorrister]], one of the greatest [[:Category:Knights|knights]], to escort him safely back to Spiderweb Castle. He is suspected of having a plan to undermine the council and turn the balance of power in his favor.
-Only after he had signed it into law was it revealed to Richard that he had forbidden himself from marrying Karen and legitimizing Kai. Hoping to reverse the effects of the law and to prevent future problems, Richard ordered the release of John and gave him a position on the Council.
 == Description ==
 Richard is short and thin, with bronze skin, tousled dark hair and amber eyes. He bears a strong resemblance to his father, King Aldous, and is considered handsome.
+Richard is an idealist. Stubborn and impatient, he bends his forefather's laws to suit his needs, driven by a belief that they are outdated and should be changed anyway. His manipulative actions have angered the council, particularly [[Logan Brynner]], who believes Richard is unfit to rule. Since others put so little faith in him, Richard has developed a lack of confidence in himself, which has led to him becoming indecisive. While not as brooding as John, he is sentimental and absent-minded, often becoming lost in his thoughts and feelings.
-Richard was known for neglecting his studies, and claimed he was too impatient to sit and read. As a result, he was often mocked by others for his ignorance.
+Having never mastered any form of combat, Richard is cowardly in battle. He will hide while others fight for him.
 [[Category:Stirling family]]
 [[Category:Exekian Council]]