Elaith Zylpeiros du Esther

Elaith Zylpeiros du Esther, ram of Queen Geneva Zylpeiros du Galilea, was the first Prince Consort of the Zylpeiros Empire. Although relatively nondescript during his life, he rose to become a major early symbol of the Ram Independence Movement shortly after his death. The catalyst of his veneration began with the epitath chisseled clandestinely upon his grave by Anolith Zylpeiros:

"What Geneva endured, Elaith endured beside her."

From this simple start, his fame only grew in the public's minds. Due to general interest, the royal publisher released his utobiography compiled by Elaith's oral stories transcribed raptly by a noble and carefully censored by the royal family. It was the first book published in a ram's own voice and changed the landscape of literary tradition as the publishers of the Zylpeiros Empire rode the wave of the fad of ram-written literature.

Personal History

Early Life

Elaith was the son of a slave ewe named Esther and a mouflon ram, the result of a sick experiment by the King of Alustorn to create a non-sophont, bilikuot strain of Awassi. Despite the harsh conditions of his childhood, he remembered it fondly:

"I would sleep on his back some nights, in the harshest of the cold, and I knew he'd keep me safe through the night." ... "He [his father] protected me, but my mother taught me. It took me a long time to wrap my tongue around the language of our people, but she never ceased. Say I am Awassi, say I am Elaith, say My mother's name is Esther, until one day I could. That was only the beginning; we spent hours together along the fence. I've never been as good of a speaker as I was for my mother before or since, except maybe for Geneva."

Young Adulthood

Despite the fact that Geneva and Elaith lived on the same property, he had never seen her until he exited lambhood and was allowed to intermingle with the ewes on the other side of the fence. He was enamored by her at first sight, though the ancient ewe paid him little attention at first. It wasn't until he came to her begging for her healing hands on behalf of his injured father - which she provided clandestinely - that they began to court one another in earnest. Shyly, at first, then boldly, to the amused encouragement of their owners.
Elaith and Geneva's lives changed forever when, one spring, she gave birth to a baby with the hair of a Henin rather than Awassi wool. Elaith, furious, nearly murdered the son of the King of Alustorn despite Geneva's pleas for peace, for Elaith's sake. Elaith managed to run and hide under the cover of darkness, but was swiftly found by morning light. He thought he was going to die, but instead, he was thrown, bloody, before the feet of a winged stranger.
His new master, the King of Alustorn said with a cruel curl of his lips. Oz, the terrifying bird-creature qualifies.
He was then thrown into the back of the stranger's small covered wagon... And straight into Geneva's shaking arms.
In the days of Alustorn's Reckoning, he stuck to the sides of Oz and Geneva while they plotted and Geneva rallied what seemed to be a whole army behind her. Her job was to proselytize to women and ewes, and his to the men and rams. Despite his work, it wasn't until the Kingdom of Alustorn fell and the Zylpeiros Empire rose that he fully realized that he was not only free, but Prince Consort.

Zylpeiros Castle Entrance by Aster Vela via Nightcafe

Adulthood

With what appeared to be Geneva's blessing, Elaith leaned on his position as the Prince Consort to travel the empire far and wide, learning new cultures and bits of different languages along the way. At the same time, Geneva appeared to withdraw from him more and more as she became absorbed in the brutal, paranoia-inducing work of politics. They had one child together in this time, a ram who they name Mistier Zylpeiros du Geneva. In the same time, Elaith fathered four children with various ewes he met throughout his travels, relishing in his freedom.
Predictably, his freedom abruptly ended at Geneva's harsh command, fearing the consequences of so many bastard children and driven near mad by the giggling gossip of the court. If Geneva can't control her ram, how can we trust her with the Empire?
From then on, he led a miserably cloistered life within the palace, only leaving with her explicit permission and several guards. Despite their best efforts, they bared no ewe, and thus, no direct heir to the throne of the Zylpeiros Empire. The tension rose and then broke with Mistier's union to a low-class ewe, Johanna Zylpeiros, who was unbothered by shedding her family name in exchange for the privileges of nobility.

“Do you ever think about that night?”
There is no need to clarify. He thinks about it often, even years later. “… Yes.”
“Have I ever said I’m sorry?”
“No.”
“I shouldn’t be,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t say it, but I am. I’ve only ever wanted to give you the best.”
“You do give me the best,” Elaith urges.
“Not freedom.”
“No one is free,” Elaith says, agreeing in a roundabout way. “You from your responsibilities, and me from my own as your ram. You could’ve done without threatening me, though.”
“I’m sorry. You had dreams of responsibilities besides yours as my ram, once upon a time. You wanted to see the world and I gave you a prison.”
He’s still quiet, and she lets the statement rest between them.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you an ewe,” Elaith apologizes a few minutes later, as if torn from him.

Only upon the night of Mistier's union did Geneva and Elaith's relationship begin the slow process of healing. First, Geneva apologized. Next, Geneva sent Elaith to a countryside estate to visit his children, who had all been collected and sent into the care of a shrewd Henin-Awassi hybrid named Katherine Alustro, who made her living as a school teacher for ewes.

Karin's Country Estate by Aster Vela via Nightcafe

Late Adulthood

Although Geneva always visited him in the summertimes, he would only return twice more to the castle in the years proceding his death. Once, to visit Geneva, and the next, to die. The estate was the best place for him and their marriage, though he pined for his partner "like a cheap roadside poet." In an attempt to distract him from Geneva's absenses, Geneva provided him with Johanna's sons to raise. When that ultimately failed to rouse him out of his depressive behavior, she brought in other, adult rams for him to lead. While it was unheard of for a ram to tend to a herd the way he did, Katherine allowed it because of Geneva's explicit approval.
One of those rams was Anolith, a ram disowned by his family and saved by Geneva and Elaith's quick thinking. Although Elaith was twice Anolith's age, most others on the estate were yet younger. The fiery proponent of Ram Independence fell in love with the understated, self-depricator Elaith, and Elaith fell in love a second time. He attended few independence meetings, but the ones he did reminded him distinctly of his time rallying the crowd in his youth beside Oz and Geneva.
Elaith and Anolith's light romance was cut short when Geneva abdicated the throne and welcomed Izisi Zylpeiros du Johanna to the throne. Despite all odds, Anolith and Izisi were paired and that was that. He did not pine for Anolith the same way he did Geneva, now that she permanently moved in with him.
Despite their old age, they flirted together like young Awassi, running (or, rather, hobbling) around the estate's orchards and gardens and teasing each other.
Geneva gave birth to a daughter, Esther Zylpeiros du Pirili, to the panic of absolutely everyone involved. Geneva passed away shortly after.
The empire promptly descending into minor chaos, as the exiled King of Alustorn ralled his own troops against the northern borders. Elaith, the baby, and the rest of the estate ran, seeking the shelter of the castle. He would live there more or less comfortably until his death, surrounded by his family. His only regret was his inability to speak the truth to the young Esther, to tell her he was her father and Pirili her granddaughter.
In the dead of night, Anolith snuck out and chiseled the line that made Elaith immortal in the empire's history.

Afterlife

Elaith, like most Kivrian spirits, has an afterlife contained within the Vimstones that permeate the Planet of Aravu. While much less grand that real, Kivrian life, the afterlife still keeps most people busy. This is a short snippet of some of what's going on for him there:

Instead of going into the house to greet Geneva, Eve takes a sharp turn to the right to search for her papa in the garden.
He’s distracted, staring at a book grumpily while Anolith points at words. How anyone makes any sense of these swimming letters, he could not fathom.
“An, can’t you read it for me? Please?”
“No, you need to learn. Sound that word out for me, please.”
“I’m dead, why do I need to learn anything?”
She walks directly in front of him, quietly.
She backs up with her head tilted down, telegraphing her next move obviously.
Anolith smirks, Elaith’s only sign that something changed by the time she hits him.
She headbutts the book right out of his hands and then jumps on him, hugging him around the neck.
Elaith startles with a grunt-snort and tries to shake her off at first, but he calms when he realizes who it is and holds her, instead, carrying her bridle-style.
Elaith says, “Sorry, An, I’ve got my hands full with this lamb. I guess you’ll have to read that paragraph for me.”
Anolith rolls his eyes and stoops to pick up the book, setting it aside.

Content Warning: Slavery.

Draft of Elaith Zylpeiros du Esther by Aster Vela via Nightcafe

Species

Awassi

Ethnicity

Zylperian

Pronouns

he/him/his

Sex

Ram

Gender

Ram

Eyes

Brown

Hair

White and brown wool, found all over his body. He is particularly vain about his head wool and mane.

Height

6'0"