Prince Roland Jetworth Alderley

Prince Roland was the chief enforcer of his identical twin brother King Percival's reign. Fiercely protective of his brother in the dangerous political climate they inhabited, he handled many of the hostile nobles, preventing several assassination attempts. It is believed from Queen Aveline's diaries that he and King Percival went so far as to swap places for certain events of importance to protect the king's safety.
He and the king and queen worked as a unit of three, unable to trust the majority of the nobility. The nobles' uprising against King Hadrian the Usurper left the Kingdom of Crathlia fractured and uncertain. Prince Roland helped to bring stability to this explosive situation.

Personal History

Family

The twins are as close as two people can be, their ability to communicate without even a touch even still disconcerting. Percy says that before they came to the palace, they often swapped places to the annoyance of their maids and tutors--at least until Lady Blackburn realized how useful that might be, at which time she encouraged it.

— Queen Aveline's Diaries, Diary 1

Prince Roland began life with his brother Percival in 976 in the midst of King Hadrian's duel for the throne. After King Hadrian killed Roland's grandmother Queen Siobhan Alderley in ritual combat, the king executed both of Roland's parents. The boys were saved and hidden by Ethelinda Blackburn Iceworth, who saw their value in challenging King Hadrian.
When the nobles led by Ethelinda Blackburn killed King Hadrian and placed Percival on the throne, the boys were thirteen years old. They took orders from Blackburn, shaping the country in her image. Though Percival was a Healer according to Queen Aveline's diaries, he was also reported to be able to kill people with a touch--like a Drainer. Queen Aveline implies that Prince Roland was the one to perform these executions in King Percival's place, but missing pieces in her diaries prevent historians from coming to a solid conclusion.
Queen Aveline's first diary reports that Roland poisoned Ethelinda Blackburn in order to free his brother from her influence, allowing Percival to make his own decisions. They cracked down together on dissent among the nobles, imprisoning those disloyal.
Prince Roland never married and died childless, devoted solely to his brother, his sister-in-law, their children, and the country he helped save.

Education

The twins were raised in secret in the small ruined compound Foraois Dhlúth. They were educated by tutors who prepared Percival for the throne and Roland to protect him, though Queen Aveline's diary notes that even the tutors couldn't always tell the twins apart if they truly wanted to fool them. Thus it is believed that both learnt similar skills.
More than his brother, Roland focused on combat training. Once they arrived at the palace, he trained with the other young nobles in telekinetic combat; however, his Paragon ability seems to have been kept a secret.

Trauma

If you want to hate anyone for killing your parents, Aveline, hate me, because it was I who killed them. Not Percy. He's just a Healer. Bless him, he can't kill anybody with his hands alone. Please, hate me. Nobody else does, and they should.

— Roland Alderley, as reported in Queen Aveline's Diaries, Diary 1

Though the king supposedly could kill anyone with a touch, privately, Prince Roland admitted to being the one to kill King Percival's political enemies in the guise of the king. After Prince Roland killed Ethelinda Blackburn, the king's executions became far less common; the brothers clearly felt that the killings were not moral.
From the quote above, it seems that Prince Roland felt that he was worthy of hate for having murdered even if it wasn't in his own name, nor of his own will. The later diaries show that Roland struggled with this guilt throughout his life, though he continued to willingly kill for his brother when necessary.

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook

Species

Humans

Ethnicity

Paragons

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Prince of Crathlia, Knight of the Royal Order.

Previously Held Ranks & Titles

• Prince or Princess of Crathlia

Life

976 DA 1052 DA 76 years old

Circumstances of Birth

The secondborn identical twin to his brother Percival.

Circumstances of Death

Died defending his brother and sister-in-law from the naered.

Gender

Male.

Eyes

Hazel, described as typically between dark green and blue.

Hair

Shoulder length, wavy, black.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale.

Height

5'11.

Weight

140 lbs.

Aligned Organization

Kingdom of Crathlia

Other Affiliations

• Crathlian Creationism

Abilities

Telepathy
Killing/exhausting with a touch; may be draining (debated)
Telekinesis

Physical Apperance

Physical Condition

Prince Roland is described as rather thin but muscular, a tall pole-like bone structure with as much muscle stretched over it as was possible.

Identifying Features

I saw in that moment behind the mask that Roland had always worn around me. His expression went from warm and open to cold and stony--his brows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, his mouth set in place. His voice took on a softer--no, quieter, for it was not soft and kind. In a word, he froze over. And he said, "You'd best think before you interrupt the king with one of my potential wives."
And for a moment, my stomach twisted with betrayal. I thought that maybe I'd been talking to Percival all that time, even though that made no sense.
The girl said her apologies and scurried away, and he sighed, warmth lighting up his eyes, and he became Roland again. "What?" said he, as if this was perfectly normal, this ability to shapeshift.

— Queen Aveline's Diaries, Diary 1

As an identical twin to the king, being able to identify which was truly the king became important to the Crathlian nobility at the time. They made a significant effort to remain as physically identical as possible, cutting their hair the same length, maintaining similar weights, etc.
However, they had several differences they were unable to change, recorded in the diary of Morgan Blackburn.

• Roland was an inch taller than Percival. Queen Aveline's second diary tells us that Roland joked that he usually slouched when pretending to be the king to compensate for this.
• Roland was more muscular than Percival due to his physical training. To hide this, Percival usually wore clothes that weren't form-fitting along with kingly cloaks.
• Percival was paler than Roland due to the time Roland spent outdoors. However, the difference was only significant enough to tell when they were side by side in outdoor lighting.

• Roland had a scar on his wrist from where it was broken when he was a child. Both wore long sleeves in court both due to the fashion at the time and in order to conceal this difference.
• While their expressions were generally quite different, both Morgan and Aveline believed that the twins exaggerated their personality differences when in public to differentiate themselves from one another, so that when one pretended to be the other, he had an easy persona to take on.

Social

Though he has many acquaintances, many he jabbers to about trifles, many he debates with about topics important and silly, he has no confidantes but Percival--and now me.

— Queen Aveline's Diaries, Diary 1

Contacts and Relations

While he navigated the Crathlian court as well as the Royal Knights, and by all accounts was friendly with everyone he met, he was said to truly trust no one but his immediate family.

Family Ties

The majority of his older relatives were killed either in King Hadrian's purges or in Ethelinda Blackburn's retribution thirteen years later. Prince Roland had no family but his brother, his brother's wife, and their children. He loved them fiercely and ultimately died for them, killed in Percival's stead by the naered.