Gaelan Petra
Lord Gaelan Rohan Petra (a.k.a. Gael)
Deuteragonist in the Glass Worlds books Rebellion and Beyond Odyssey. Supports Mika during the chimera uprising in Arcanaan.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
With dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, and his mother's sharp nose and jawline, Gaelan is considered a paragon of noble beauty. He has a lithe, thin frame and fair skin, soft lips, and holds himself with graceful poise.
Apparel & Accessories
Gaelan typically sports dark clothes, tailored and befitting a noble of his status. As a Crestocian, the imperial blacks are complimented with blues, a staple color of his house which represents the ocean that his province proudly neighbors. In particular, Gaelan wears a dark blue cape draped over tacitilium metal pauldrons and clipped by silver chains across his upper chest.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Gaelan is the heir to the house of Petra, and Dukedom of Crestos, a south-eastern Arcanaan province. His father is Duke Raelis Petra, the current patriarch of the family. Gael and his father do not see eye-to-eye on many issues–much to Raelis’ frustration—and the young noble is often vocally critical of the empire’s mistreatment of its lower-class citizens. Regarding the suffering of the chimeras, Gael is even more disturbed by the long history of their plight under human dominance and the horrible conditions they are left to rot in.
Mika was Gael’s saving grace in the same way the noble was the chimera's on the day they met. Mika was the young Petra’s opportunity to set things right and start the engine of an uprising that would make Gabriel’s Revolt look like a mild tantrum. Regardless of his own ambitions to one day grasp a better future for the empire and all its denizens, Gaelan cares for Mika as one would a brother. Their bond is sometimes tested, with matters both trivial and significant (with Mika’s contempt toward humanity clashing with Gael’s overwhelming naiveté and compassion), but they always have each other’s back.
All-in-all, the two protagonists of Rebellion balance each other out. Where Mika is impatient and abrasive, Gael is calming and empathetic; and where Gael is absent-minded and (at times) too trusting, Mika is shrewd and cautious.
When Gael and Mika first met, and after the young lord had officially bought the chimera from his now-former master at the coliseum, Gael had purchased a satin scarf from a market stall in Arcana. He gave the article to Mika as a token of their new friendship. The chimera now always wears the scarf around his neck. Gael often tugs at it from behind whenever Mika starts to give lip or act impertinently toward others on their travels, subtly reminding the chimera that he needn’t be rude in otherwise precarious encounters with strangers.
Being the only son of a duke, Gaelan is set to one day inherit his father's ranks. At the moment, he legally possesses no ranks, but imperial titles are conferred at birth, thus, it is customary to address him as Lord Gaelan Petra, dropping the surname in conversational usage following the first reference. More formally, and upon introduction to a court, he would be styled, "Lord Gaelan of House Petra, heir to Duke Raelis".
Education
Gaelan was blessed with a formal imperial education made available to the aristocracy for no small sum of coin. He was taught at home by a magister of the Violet College, which is the preeminent institute of higher learning in the Arcanaan Empire. Around half of the magisters under the college's employ are assigned to various patron houses, where, in exchange for room and board, they instruct the young heirs and heiresses of their benefactors. Most magisters also offer a degree of patriotic indoctrination, but Gaelan was lucky to have been tutored by a magister that had adopted a more... critical mind for imperial politics.
Before the escalation of events in Beyond Odyssey: Rebellion, Gaelan is an apprentice to the Chancellor of Vikerstead, studying provincial politics under Baron Aldino Tullus. Though he will eventually ascend to his father's position and become a duke, most noble heirs tend to attain an apprenticeship under a lesser lord to understand imperial governance at a micro-level. Not all do, however, but those that spend at least a few years under the tutelage of a vassalized noble become all the more successful at governance later in life than their counterparts that skipped this crucial opportunity.
Social
Family Ties
Gaelan is the son of Duke Raelis Petra and grandson to Isidor Petra, who married Syrella Cius, the daughter of Imperator Casio Cius, grandfather to the current imperator, Procto Cius. As such, Gaelan has royal blood running in his veins. He is the second cousin of the heir apparent, the crown prince Casio Cius. However, his relations with the core royal family was strained by Gaelan and Raelis' opposition to Procto's hardline conservatism. When the chimera rebellions began in earnest and Gaelan defected to help lead the uprising with his slave, Mika, Procto disavowed the entire Petra line of the family.
Religious Views
Though a Creator Astralian by birth, Gaelan does not actively practice the faith. In fact, he harbors a lot of doubts about the church's canon teachings.
Social Aptitude
Gaelan is pragmatic, charismatic, slow to anger, but quietly judgemental. At the same time, he is his harshest critic.
Speech
Being highborn, he speaks High Abian with the High Imperial sociolect. As a Crestocian, he also speaks his people's native Anic. He is also fluent Melísian, can read Kaishic script, and is learning Angean.
Relationships
Fast Facts
Remember that ages for Adaran characters should be multiplied by 1.48 to get their Tellan (Earth) age!
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Lord
Year of Birth
8 BA
10 Years old
Birthplace
Petra Manor, County of Sorus, Crestos
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Blue
Hair
Brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
White, Fair
Height
1.7 m
Weight
48 kg
Other Affiliations
