Henry Feywild
Henry Feywild
Prince Henry was the oldest son of King Velebor II, and younger brother to Velebor's sucessor Queen Dana II. He was the Crown Prince and heir apparent, as his sister had no children, until he famously and scandalously demanded and was granted his own disinheritance. He served for some time as an ambassador to his sister-in-law Queen Nareya I of Sarayne, before retiring for a quiet homelife with his second wife - the first he chose for himself - Lenora Valaheim.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Prince Henry was born after a more than ten year hiatus in royal births. Despite the queen being barely over 30, no royal infants had been born since then-Princess Dana eleven years before. It therefore took the court by surprise when Henry's father King Velebor II announced to the court that he would once again become a father.
As a very young boy Prince Henry was perhaps a little spoiled, as the King - who was noted as a loving and involved father in his children's younger days - was clearly delighted at having another infant child after more than a decade. As two more children swiftly followed however, Prince Henry avoided the selfish personality so common to royal 'favourite children' and instead grew up happily with his siblings, although due to the large age gap he was much closer with his younger brother and sister than to his much older sisters Crown Princess Sara and Princess Dana.
As a teenager, Prince Henry formed a strong bond with his father's favourite, Royal Guardsman Caedmon Briarheart. Unlike most of the Royal Family, who either barely acknowledged or pretended not to notice Briarheart's presence, Henry constantly sought out his company, and frequently requested fencing and combat tutoring from him, a request which was usually granted.
In his early twenties, a marriage was arranged for Henry with a half-elven noblewoman from Velladae, in keeping with King Velebor's tendency to avoid the usually-chosen noble houses when selecting spouses for his children. Unfortunately, on the day of the wedding, an assassination attempt was made upon the lives of both King and Prince during which Briarheart was killed, and the intended bride - whom many believe was behind the assassination - disappeared without trace. After that day King Velebor noticeably withdrew from all aspects of royal life, including his own children, and left the management of royal affairs to his daughter Dana, who was keen to take on the role. After a number of years, a new bride was selected for Prince Henry from a more traditional family, and Lethe Thornspire became his Princess Consort. The marriage produced no children and eventually resulted in divorce.
Social
Family Ties
Although a member of the Feywild family, Henry was disinherited from the royal dynasty, meaning that although still family he was in line for no titles or inheritance, and treated as a bastard of the House rather than a trueborn child. This incident, although usually a punishment, was in this case welcomed and in fact requested by Henry as it allowed him to end his loveless marriage, abandon what he had perceived as the constraints and bonds of royal life and marry the woman he loved, Lenora Valaheim, who had previously been his mistress.
Relationships
History
Prince Henry's first arranged marriage having been so disastrous that it did not even get as far as the wedding, it was determined that the unconventional choice of bride - a half elf noblewoman from outside the normal pool of families into which the Royal House of Nerevarn usually married - had been a mistake. Although King Velebor II rapidly withdrew from public life and decisions after the events of that day, his authority was from then on wielded, with permission, by his second daughter Dana who served on the Royal Council. It was then-Princess Dana who arranged the more conventional union between her younger brother Henry and Lethe Thornspire, the eldest daughter of one of Nerevarn's oldest noble houses. The two met only twice before they were married, once for a couple of hours after the intended union was announced, and then in the Temple immediately before the ceremony. The marriage never appeared to be a happy one: although there were no public arguments, no known mistresses or lovers prior to Lenora Valaheim - whom Henry later married - and no public signs of discord, there were also no children, no public displays of affection and seemingly no interactions whatsoever outside of those deemed strictly necessary. The divorce was initiated by Henry upon hearing of Lenora's decision to use a royal request - one the queen had promised to grant her - to have him disinherited, freeing him from the constraints of royalty which had locked him into his unhappy marriage.
History
Lenora and Henry met on a royal expedition to the Great Forest with the aim of rooting out a group of cultists that had been responsible for a number of attacks on the road. As the Crown Prince, Henry kept largely to himself initially, though throughout the expedition he started to open up, allowing them to learn more about each other. After Henry's Aasimar heritage was revealed during a fight, the shared secret allowed them to begin to bond further. During their travels, Henry began to share information on his failed marriage to
Lethe Thornspire, and how the pair were married only in name.Upon their return to Illyria, Lenora was surprised to find herself disappointed to be parting, having grown to see Henry as a friend - something very unfamiliar to her due to her isolated upbringing. They were reunited soon after however, and travelled together to Verdorn to confront House Silvari about potential involvement with the cultists. During a ball held for Henry's visit, a fight ensued as Crown Princess Sara, Henry's exiled sister and the leader of the cultists, appeared disguised as Henry, and the pair were drawn into aerial combat. Lenora and her friends attempted to assist but were forced to flee. Lenora was horrified at leaving Henry to fight Sara alone, a feeling that only increased when they later discovered he had been petrified in the battle. Lenora and her friends set out to find a way to cure him, eventually succeeding with the help of Alavir Feywild. Following this, Lenora found herself increasingly drawn to Henry, seeking out opportunities to get to know him better.
Their budding relationship was almost derailed during a demon attack in Last Way, where the monster sought out Lenora's worst fear, that of being betrayed by those she was close to, and forced it upon her in the form of Henry. Deeply shaken by the events, even knowing it was not real, Lenora began to withdraw protectively in on herself, noticeably distancing herself from Henry. By the time she built up the courage to confront him and explain, Henry had fled, leaving only a note stating that he could not bring himself to return to his old life at the Palace.
Ignoring a request not to follow him, Lenora and her friends tracked him to an inn on the road they had just travelled, where Henry was disguised as a travelling bard. Lenora succeeded in convincing Henry to return, and upon their arrival at Illyria they admitted their feelings for each other for the first time. Both Henry and Lenora were uneasy about this due to Henry's status as Crown Prince, but also his marriage and the fact that society would deem both of them adulterers. Despite these challenges however, they decided to continue in their relationship, later confessing their love for each other in a glade near Lenora's home outside Last Way.
At the start, Lenora and Henry worked hard to keep their relationship secret beyond their group of close friends,
Llywelyn Amberhide, Lia Galanodel, Bhaldrum Feldsparr and Joseph Cassius Merca. The two saw each other only secretly, and continued to stay in touch when Lenora left Illyria to meet her father Danelyn Valaheim in Das. The sneaking around grew tiring however, and upon returning to Illyria, the pair decided to go public. Royal mistresses not being subject to the same social condemnation as extra-marital affairs among the common people, Lenora was quietly accepted.
Throughout their relationship their worries about the future and whether they would be forced to live a Royal life that neither of them wanted continued to weigh heavily on them. It appeared they would have to wait until Henry was crowned King before they could decide whether he should abdicate or continue. The concerns about a potential future union of Sarayne and Nerevarn should he abdicate, leaving his brother Prince Gawain to take the throne, added further complication. In addition to the constitutional nightmare this would cause, Lenora was personally reluctant to allow such a union, due to her desire to protect her father: if the laws of Nerevarn were extended to Sarayne, his existence (as an 'il-firin', or vampire) would then be illegal. Lenora and Henry eventually decided to use Queen Dana's offered boon, granting Lenora one request in exchange for her assistance in the battle of Illyria, to request Henry be disinherited. At this time the couple also agreed to marry, and Henry destroyed his bonding gift from his first marriage, effectively divorcing Lethe.
The Queen granted their request, bound as she was by her promise, but promptly cast the couple out, declaring them no longer welcome. The joy of their first night out of the Palace was cut short however, when the Queen ordered Henry to travel immediately to Sarayne to demand the return of his brother, Gawain, to fulfill his duties as the new Crown Prince. Henry was not permitted to see Lenora before he left, for fear of him fleeing, and was instructed that he should not return to Nerevarn unless he brought Gawain back with him.
Upon being reunited with Lenora in Raad, the Saraynese capital, Henry informed Gawain of his new role as Crown Prince, but Gawain refused to leave his family and return to Illyria, meaning that Henry, and Lenora with him, would be effectively banished from Nerevarn for as long as Queen Dana ruled. After relations between Sarayne and Nerevarn later soured however, Henry and Lenora finally took up residence as a couple near Lenora's father.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Both Lenora and Henry possessed a passion for nature, with Lenora growing up in the forest outside Last Way, and Henry seeing nature as an escape from the palace life he hated. They both enjoyed being out in the wilderness, and had a shared love of animals.
Legal Status
Married
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
At once point, Henry's titles were "His Royal Highness Crown Prince Henry, eldest son of King Velebor Brightsword, Knight of the Realm, Lord of the Winter Palace, Master of the Royal Household, Prince of Nerevarn and heir apparent to the Throne of his sister Queen Dana the Chaste". Subsequently - after his disinheritance - he became Ambassador to Sarayne, and then eventually simply Henry Feywild.
Date of Birth
12th Goldfields 1163
Life
1163 NL
1261 NL
98 years old
Family
Spouses
Lethe Thornspire
(Ex-Wife)
Lenora Valaheim
(Wife)
Siblings
Children
Pronouns
he/him
Eyes
Grey-blue
Hair
Short, naturally light brown though currently dyed a darker shade.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Naturally fair, but tanned from an outdoor life.
Height
6'5
Belief/Deity
Comments