❝Nothing like waking up and realizing you are the only sane person left on the planet.❞
~ Nickname ~"I suppose Prince Aurelius Titus Scorpio, fourteenth of his name, Prince of the Misty Caverns, Commander of the Claw, and Lord of Shadows is a mouthful."
Artos, his name before it was legally changed to the family name upon his elder brothers death. Some people still refer to him as this, and he prefers it as well.
Arty, a... name his mother calls him and a name his elder brother loved to rub in.
Prince Scorpio, his official 'title' and the 'proper' way to refer to him.
~ Gender ~"I am not a very attractive man as it is, I would make a truly hideous woman. Can you imagine me trying to win a husband through my force of personality? I would have to use the gold and fame that comes with my title to hook a sub-par man with questionable morals."
Male
~ Sexuality ~"I will leave the expert wielding of the 'Manhood of Destiny' to others."
Heterosexual
~ Age ~"Younger then I feel, and younger then I like to admit."
26
~ Role ~"The Prince of Scorpio, and I take my position very seriously."
Prince of Scorpio
~ Distinguishable Features ~"I know I am not the best looking guy in the world... honestly, even as far as the other princes go, I am passable."
Artos' has very rough calloused hands, unlike many of his peers and other higher born peoples, because he spends a lot of times mining in the misty caverns. His arms are covered in small cuts and slashes, and he does not speak of where they come from. His back is covered in whip marks and burns that, he will also, never speak of. His face is remarkably clear... and very plain. Artos often remarks that he is beautifully plain.
~ Personality ~"An atrocious mixture of daddy issues and vicious inferiority complex."
Artos is an odd man. He is distant, sardonic, and often cruelly blunt with people which does not make him the most liked prince among the royalty. He will often, and swiftly, remark on actions he thinks are unwise or wrong and will not hold back in his wording. He loves to mock others and takes great joy in it, he rarely does so with the intention of hurting them, but hurting people tends to be a side effect of his actions. He considers himself to be an incredibly smart and witty man and his nature often borders on arrogance in that he believes others simply do not know or understand things as he does and make mistakes far too often, and that he would never do the same.
On the other side, Artos is a very caring leader. He strives to be the best prince he can, an almost obsession to be the best he can be. He has already preformed two radical changes to the government body of his lands, works on the fishing boats alongside his workers, on the three times he had to sentence someone to death, he killed them personally, and he always makes a point to personally inform families when their loved ones are killed in action. This kind and caring nature is not one Artos normally shows as he prefers the cold sardonic shell he has created around himself, but he does let his guard down when he is around his people in his quest to be better then his brother and escape from his shadow, to do his family proud... to be 'better' then what he is as he thinks that Artos, the true Artos, is not worthy enough to lead, not worthy enough to be a prince, not worthy enough to leave the shell.
The 'true' Artos is a lonely child, one who was often put on the back shelf, the spare tire, to his older brother who was far superior then him in every way. He cannot count the number of times he had been told to be more like his brother, to be more like Aurelius. The kindness he displays to his people is true, Artos is a very kind person, and he does not enjoy hurting others. His sardonic, mocking nature is to protect himself and not allow anyone too close to him. A passionate man with a love of music and nature, Artos has a 'beautiful soul' even if he prefers to hide it as he sees it as a personal flaw. Artos is a hard person to like or love because he doesn't allow people to. He firmly believes that he doesn't need it.
~ History ~"Oh, Woe is Me! I was born into a rich family with silver spoon in hand. My daddy always wanted me to do his or that, and I just wanted to be 'free'. Oh, woe is me. Why would the fates be so cruel as to force me to be born into a position of luxury and power! Oh, woe is me! The little peasants have no idea how lucky they have it!"
Artos does not talk about his history and thanks to being the Shadow Lord, spymaster and lord of information, it isn't hard to keep a lid on his past. The less others know about him the better. Even the princes and princesses he played with as children, he prefers them only to know him as distantly as possible. It is better for both of them.
(I do have his history noted down, so anyone that wanted to be 'closer' to him because they played together in their childhood, just let me know, and we can work out how much they know about him as a person.)
♥ Duty and Responsibility
♥ Knowledge, he enjoys knowing what others do not.
♥ Passion, he loves to see it in other people even if he is not the most passionate of people.
♥ Music
♥ His people
♥ Snow
♥ The Misty Caverns
♥ Seeing people laugh.
~ Dislikes ~
✖ Brutes
✖ Lazy or 'carefree' people
✖ Selfish Actions
✖ Onions/Tomatoes/Celery
✖ Lap dogs
✖ Failure
~ Talents ~
✔ A very skilled musician.
✔ A very good leader despite his insulting quips about himself.
✔ Extremely good memory.
✔ Extremely good liar as are most of the Scorpio Royal Family.
✔ A great plotter and schemer thanks to the shadow network his family runs.
~ Hobbies ~
✔ Reading (from historical text to poems and everything in between)
✔ Playing the Piano
✔ Writing
✔ Reading mission reports even if he has no need to or has already read them.
✔ Watching the local plays
✔ Sailing
✔ Fencing. An odd hobby he has taken up, he is not the best at it and openly admits that there are many, many people far better then he. As for a battle, he openly admits he would rather use a spear, warhammer, or halberd then a sword, which as he often muses, are 'over-priced, shiny toys that rich men love to swing around when a simpler, and far more effective, weapon is the superior choice.'
~ Fears ~
✘ Spiders
✘ Letting down his people, his family, and being a black mark on the Scorpio history records.
✘ Rejection
~ Flaws ~
✘ Arrogant
✘ Emotionally Distant
✘ Sardonic
✘ Demanding
✘ Judgmental
Neither. Blind loyalty and zeal is for those who lack the intelligence to think for themselves. He will protect his people and puts them before his own personal feelings or the egos of others.
~ Romantic Interest ~"
N/A
~ Thoughts on Others ~"Oh joy, I do so love to gossip. Did you hear about the Princess of that one nation that no one really cares about? Oh.. my.... did you know that she and that one Prince that no one really cares about did that and this without being married!? Oh my word, children these days. Tsk tsk."
Queen Stars "I hope you can sleep well at night knowing this little fight you are starting could very well lead to the loss of thousands of lives."
Aries "An interesting culture, land and princess. I never desire to see the Aries ever come to a position of true power as our people would have trouble co-existing without the proverbially hammer hanging above our heads, but their culture, while incredibly crude and flawed is, none the less, incredibly fascinating. I would love to travel their lands and observe. Oh, right, forgive me, I seemed to have gone off base and talked more about the land then the woman in question. She has not been a princess for long, but given the nature of their land, that is not surprising. I enjoy her character, I have never met the woman in person, I would have remembered such an event, trust me, but she has managed to create the image of power rather well, and I would say it suits her, or at least, suits the mental image I have of the Princess of Aries, but I have always wondered what lay beneath the warrior. I could send people to figure it out, but I have the oddest desire to see for myself rather then read them in reports."
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio "A bland looking and incredibly dull prince. But at least he is a true prince who cares for his people, doesn't make him any less dull of a human being though. I hear his brother was much, much more interesting."
Sagittarius
Capricorn "Finally, someone I can understand for taking part in this foolhardy 'War of Ego'. I understand, from the various reports, that it doesn't seem he has much of a choice in this matter. His lands are too closely tied to that of the King's to do otherwise. I can respect that, by fighting he is protecting his nation and its interest. A little on the short side, that wasn't an opinion, more of an observation."
Aquarius
Pisces
The Land of Scorpio
The Homeland: The lands of the Scorpio are some of the smallest out of all the kingdoms. It would almost be more adept to label them as a 'City-State' rather then a true kingdom. While small towns and villages are within their borders, especially fishing villages, the main seat of power, and truly only one, lies in the great port city of Sapal. Their lands sit in the harsh deserts where life is scares, because of this, the settlements within the Scorpio lands hug the sea which their economy and infrastructure relies heavily on.
Economy: The economy of Sapal relies heavily on the sea. The city of Sapal is one of, if not the, greatest Port City in the nation with trade flowing in and out of it at an astonishing rate. It is said that one can find any thing one desires from any corner of the world from Sapal's great markets. Fishing is, of course, a major way of life for the residents and the delicacy of Clawed Kings can be found only near its shores. Clawed Kings are massive crustaceans, often two or three feet in length, that resemble large scorpions (with the venom to boot), but while dangerous, they have are extremely desired for their succulent flavor. Other endeavors such as pearls and their famous shipwrights which can easily create masterpieces or repair even ships clinging to life.
But, such booming business attracts... bad attention. The barbarous neighbors are always a worry for the people of Sapal as are pirates and even other citizens as Sapal has a thriving criminal underbelly that people whisper, rightly so, is controlled by the Scorpio family.
Military: Their lands are small and they cannot maintain large armies as they do not have the population to do so. Most of their military force is made up from the people of Sapal and can be broken into three 'branches'. The City Watch are well-equipped, well-trained, well-paid and disciplined soldiers that police its streets and defend its walls in war. Generally armed with spears, kite shields with the Scorpio emblems imprinted on, chainmail with the city tabard and maces, these men are ready to hold the wall, and the line in the sand. The guards on the wall tend to be armed with crossbows and maces.
The second branch is, of course, the Sapal Navy, and one would think that such a large port city would have a large navy, and they would be wrong. Sapal has never relied on its military might to scare off competition or pirates, but they do employ a formidable naval force all the same. Large warships called Claws prowl their waters with large catapults upon their deck and ballista lining their lower levels, these warships are designed to engage and crush enemy at a distance. Supporting the Claws are the Sting, smaller frigates built for maneuverability, speed, and their impressive rams. These ships prove cover for the Claws and tend to enjoy close range fighting. They often ram into other ships, large ramps clamping down on the target for the Sapal Marines to scurry over and bring the fight to their foes. A Sapal Marine is often armed with swords, leather armor as heavy armor tends to be cumbersome aboard ships and crossbows.
The last branch is the royal guard of the great Scorpio Castle. These guards are the cream of the crops, as it were, and are often known as the Scorpio's Venom due to their... use of poisoned blades. Highly trained, these soldiers can give even the more warlike nations a run for their money, although their number leaves much to be desired as there are only ever one hundred members of the Venom. Clad in high quality steel breastplates, gauntlets, greaves and helms, they march with poisoned halberd in their hands, round shields on their back and thick maces on their belts.
But, a wise Scorpio never relies on brute force because they cannot afford a war. Instead, the Scorpio fight a war of information. Many pirates, bandits, thugs, spies and assassins are in their pocket, and indeed, the Scorpio have even been the cause of such beings sending agents out to become privateers to prowl the water. Their reach is immense as their port is far reaching and the sting of the Scorpio knows no border.
Foreign Policy: The Prince or Princess of Scorpio has always acted as the Spymaster or 'Shadow Lord' for the King and Queen of the Heavens, and it is a very... precarious position as both regents will have to hope the shadow lord is loyal more towards them then the other regent and the Scorpio have long since had to walk the line between the two of them, never having the luxury to pick a side like the other realms. Proud and aloof, the Scorpio people have always been held in suspicion by the people of other nations for how can you trust something that has an ear on your door and a knife pointed at your back? And so the Scorpio do not have any other lands they would consider 'staunch allies' nor do they consider anyone as 'enemies' instead the, official, policy is to view all nations as potential 'assets' manipulative information and working behind the scenes to secure their position and safety. This has made people whisper about cowardice behind their backs as, for the Scorpio Royal Family, to take up the blade in war means they have already lost.
Government: The seat of power has always rested with the Scorpio Royal Family, but Aurelius Titus Scorpio the XII (Artos) has introduced a new system that has been put in place. Every village and town within his domain creates a council which is the prominent members of their areas. Each Counsel is directly responsible for their own city which includes managing their finances and overlooking taxes.
Each of these Counsels, known as Low Counsels, then elect one of their member to be their City Representative who serves on Artos' personal counsel known as the High Counsel. Along with these Representatives are the various leaders of the Scorpio Spy/Assassination branches (It would have been foolish to give all the power to a single man), prominent members voted for by the people of Sapal and the leader of each of the branches of the military. They aid Artos in the running of the kingdom, provide useful information, and more then anything else, they can override his decisions. With a 3/4's vote, they can veto any of Artos' Royal Decrees, with a unanimous decision they can put forth decrees of their own. As Artos has very little control over the election of the Counsel, he has created a check and balance for his own power and those that come after him.