Richard Dalreme VII

Prince Richard Dalreme, VII

Laid-back Prince and Heir to the lost throne of Dalreme, Richard Dalreme VII spends his days either lounging about the old Hunting Lodge that was once his father's, or out on one of his many hunting parties with his close friends. The Advisor and regent to the thone of Ruben, Alfonso Blackwood, has tried to reign the Prince in many a time, although in such a way one would wonder if he truly plans for the Prince to take the throne.

Behind the laid-back veneer, however, is a kind and valiant man who only wishes to see the best done for his people. That's why his 'hunting parties' are forays for the Rod Braende, a band of loyal friends who travel putting right was the Advisor has done wrong in the name of advancing the kingdom's conquest of their neighbor Lazuli.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Richard's personal history starts when he was but a few days old. He was born three days before the Night of Falling Crowns, wherein Dalreme castle was destroyed by a great fire. Richard was pulled from the flames by an Advisor to the King, a man named Alfonso Blackwood. He took the child to safety and, before the embers of the Castle had even cooled, proclaimed that the heir to the kingdom had been saved.
There was only a single hitch. Another member of the court had escaped the flames with a child in their arms, also claiming to have the heir to the kingdom. To further complicate matters, both babes bore the King's Blessing on their bodies, a blessing that was not normally bestowed until the child had reached at least a year of age. War erupted.
It was all Richard knew for the longest time. While he was kept safe in his father's summer hunting lodge-turned-fortress, Richard only ever heard about the war against their own people. No amount of patient explaining, either by Blackwood or the half-hearted tutor assigned to raise the young lad, could justify hurting one's own people in the name of patriotism.
Annoyed at the constant studies of warfare, ancient generals and battlefields, Richard would hide and take to the Guard's Court, where he would watch the Royal Guard train and be dispatched to places all along the kingdom, at least that which the Advisor controlled. He soon came under the tutelage of the Captain of the Guard, a man he came to respect far more than either Blackwood or his tutor. The Advsior tried to teach him to be a General. The Captain taught him to be a Knight. Brave and true, protectors of those who could not protect themselves. At least that's the romanticized version a young lad growing up looking for good in the world lived by.
This inner conflict came to a head when Richard was 18. Ruben and Lazuli, the two smaller kingdoms that had formed from the ruins of Dalreme, had settled into a cold war after a couple of years, when it was apparent that the ramifications of the Night of Falling Crowns was a global phenomenon. Richard had gone out on a hunting party with several of his closest friends, other young sons of nobles whose parents hoped they would get in good with the new King once he finally took the throne. While they were hunting, they came upon a small farm that had been ransacked. The farmer was dead, and his wife and daughter were hiding in the root cellar. At least, the daughter was hiding. The farmer's wife did not look to be in any safe mental condition, and the way her clothes had been torn had left little to the imagination.
Richard saw red.
He sent the two youngest members of his hunting party back to the Lodge for aid, and took the rest of his hunting party in search of new prey. They did not have to hunt for long; the Bandits that had taken the farm were in a clearing a short few miles away, toying with the other young girl that had been taken from the farm. Richard and his band struck without mercy. The young girl was protected from the worst of the fray by one member of the party, while the others struck down and bound the bandits.
While cleaning up the mess and arranging for the bandits that survived to be taken to prison, Richard found a letter that had fallen out of a pack. It was from the Advisor, directing the bandits to strike the farm. It took three members of the party to hold Richard down long enough for his temper to cool.
When the party (and the sisters) were re-united, the group as a whole traveled to a nearby town to find shelter or possible relatives. News of the attack had spread and the girls were welcomed into the small monastery that overlooked the village with open arms. While the villagers traveled to the farm to inspect the damage and pay the dead their dues, Richard and his hunting party returned to the Fortress, tired but triumphant. They had each been given a Brandelile, a flowering plant prominent after fires, by a grateful nun for rescuing the children, even if they had not been in time to save their parents. Each man, for they were truly men now, wore them with pride.
It was at the careful advisement from a member of his hunting party, who hated hunting but loved a good strategic bout, that Richard did not directly confront the Advisor. Instead he brought up the news of the attack a couple days later. The Advisor said that, since neither girl was of age, the farm would default to the Kingdom. There were already plans to turn the farm into a military encampment to train soldiers.
Richard quietly put a stop to that, using a clever bit of subterfuge to "drunkenly" Proclaim at dinner that the farm would better serve the kingdom in its original purpose, growing crops and providing for the kingdom so they did not need to rely so heavily on the ever-unreliable Cailsmarch. A quiet arrangement with the chief Nun at the monestary ensured that the now-orphaned girls would not be left without an endowment of some sort; a small share of the profits from the farm would go to them.
Curiously, no one could identify the men who had saved the girls; they had been wearing worn hunting clothes, and bore no royal marks. It gave Richard an idea.
Three years later, about to turn twenty-one and finally old enough to properly take the Throne, Richard splits his time between being the 'drunkard' Prince and the cunning master of the Rod Braende, a secret band traveling Ruben to protect the people from the Advisor who saw nothing ahead of them but conquest.

Education

Richard was 'formally' educated by well-trained tutors while being raised seclusion in his father's old hunting lodge. However, 'well trained' does not always mean 'good', and Richard spent most of his time looking out the window, bored, as the tutor prattled on about military strategies and old generals. 
Most of Richard's practical training came from the Captain of the Guard, who taught everything Richard knows about practical combat and chivalry. While Richard to this day is not the biggest on books, there is no better student for the one who gives practical experience.

Morality & Philosophy

Richard is a man who loves Chivalry. Brave and true, polite to the ladies and always a champion of those he protects. While he plays a lazy, 'easy-going' prince in front of the Advisor (who so rarely sees him that it is an easy act to maintain) Richard is known to most of the court as an honest man who will make a good King, when the time comes.

Social

Reign

While Richard has been 'Prince' since his birth, he has not yet had a chance to rule Ruben properly, the Advisor Blackwood taking that role despite the Prince now being an adult. Richard does his best to learn the ways of being a King, but is being Stymied by Blackwood, who would prefer he learn the ways of war.

Family Ties

Richard is an orphan; his parents died in a fire when he was but a few days old. It is not known if the other 'heir' in Lazuli is a blood relation; no one knows how many children the Queen Lazuli was expecting before she passed. 
He considers the Rod Braende, his band of roving 'knights errant', his closest friends and the closest thing he has to family.

Hobbies & Pets

Richard has a giant of a dog that lives at the Fortress. Its paws are as big as the dinner plates it eats off of, but the breed has long been known to be large in size. It was one of his few companions as he neared adulthood and sought companionship outside of cordial relationships with other nobles. Rather than expand his horizons, the Advisor got him a puppy. Richard loves the dog to death and named him Brunwell.

Current Status

Waiting to take the throne of Ruben

Other Ethnicities/Cultures

• Dalremian

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Richard's primary title is that of Prince; currently of the half-kingdom of Ruben. However, should the Advisor's machniations come to fruition, all of Dalreme should the kingdoms be re-united. 
His secondary title (Known to only a select few) is Lil-Goch, head of the Rod Braende.

Age

21

Circumstances of Birth

Born in a trying and painful birth by Queen Lazuli of Dalreme

Birthplace

Dalreme Castle

Parents

Ruben Dalreme

Lazuli Dalreme

Gender

Male

Eyes

Bright Blue

Hair

Gold, bushy and wavy that curls down around his ears.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Red. Technically he's white, but between his time in the sun and his constant workouts, he has a constant red tinge.

Height

5'11"

Other Affiliations

• Rod Braende