King Velebor II (Vell - eh - bor)
King Velebor II Feywild (a.k.a. Brightsword)
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Sexuality
Relationships
History
Katerina Silvari was chosen to be the future King Velebor's Consort by his grandfather King Casavir III. The Silvari family are a well established and wealthy dynasty from the city of Verdorn, and King Casavir was known to favour them throughout his reign: his own Consort Dana Silvari had been a daughter of the same house. The couple were visibly awkward during their brief engagement but appear to have warmed to each other after marriage and had an amicable if somewhat formal relationship. It was also the most productive marriage in several royal generations, resulting in five children.
Relationship Reasoning
Velebor displayed a certain reluctance to marry in his youth and reached the age of 30 while still a bachelor, which is unusual for a member of the royal family despite their famously long lifespans. As a result his grandfather King Casavir, who was approaching his 100th year, began to put pressure on the future king to choose a bride. Velebor prevaricated for several more years, with the support of his mother and step-father, but was eventually unable to side-step the royal will any longer and allowed his grandfather to pick out a suitable bride.
Shared Secrets
Queen Consort Katerina appears by all accounts to have been aware of Caedmon Briarheart's relationship with her husband, and to have been unaffected by it emotionally. While no friendlier with Caedmon than with any other Royal Guard, she is noted to have showed neither surprise nor concern upon seeing him spending his off-duty hours in the family quarters of the Royal Palace instead of at the barracks or army headquarters. She made no objections to her eldest son Henry's hero-worship of the soldier, nor to Henry's request to have him for his swordsmanship tutor. To all intents and purposes, she appears to have ignored the situation publicly, while being unfazed by it privately. Since she did not chose Velebor any more than he chose her, and their marriage appears to have been one of mutual respect rather than romance, it is very possible that she simply felt no jealously over the affections of a man she did not love.
History
When Crown Prince Velebor was 22 years old, Caedmon Briarheart, then 25 and having distinguished himself as a soldier in the infantry under King Casavir, was appointed to the Royal Guard. Although the attraction between the two was apparent to palace insiders almost immediately, it is unclear exactly when their relationship began in earnest, though sources suggest it was within the year. They remained lovers and eventually in all but name a married couple until the unfortunate sudden death of Briarheart, after which the by-then-King Velebor noticeably withdrew somewhat from public life and left the day to day running of Nerevarn increasingly to his second daughter Dana.
Shared Secrets
Although not a secret in the strictest sense, discussion of the exact nature of their relationship was unofficially treated as off-limits and the nation as a whole simply accepted Briarheart's presence without question, while within the palace he was permitted to come and go with the freedom of a member of the family. The issue of their relationship was complex simply because it was clear early on that this was not going to be a short term arrangement, but equally clear that since the relationship could not possibly produce an heir, Velebor would sooner or later have to marry. The generally settled-on solution was that the polite fiction of Briarheart's position being purely that of a Guardsman would be maintained for the sake of appearances, given the necessity that Prince Velebor's 'Official' spouse would unavoidably have to be someone else.
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