Name: Saif ibn Hafiz
Age: 22 years
Kingdom: Mulada
Skill: An accomplished fighter and horse-rider, a keen strategist, a budding poet. Swift, agile, strong and cunning.
Weapon: In long range combat he uses a spear or lance. For medium range he prefers the scimitar or shamsir, and for short range there is the serrated dagger. No poison - that's a coward's weapon.
Personality: Like all Muladis, Saif was raised in a culture where strength, courage, determination and honour were prized above all. He doesn't like soft or weak people, and displays of vulnerability make him uncomfortable. He is always eager to prove himself in contests of strength, skill and cunning. He thinks Muladis are far superior to the soft, weak, barbaric and uncivilised folk from the other kingdoms.
Despite being a warrior culture, the Muladis also value gentler virtues. They are always polite, because if you insult another Muladi, it could start a duel to the death. They value modesty, courtesy, generosity and self-discipline. They also highly regard poetry, literature, music and art, and Saif is skilled in these areas.
Saif is a second son, so he is somewhat more rebellious and outgoing than his older brother, who is burdened with royal duties. Saif is determined to prove himself and defend the honour of his family, although he is something of a wild, free spirit at heart.
History: Saif was raised in the beautiful silken tents near the royal oases of Mulada. When he was seven, he was sent out into the harsh desert to learn the ways of the warrior. In the desert, Muladis are tested by the sand, and burnt in the fire of al-Shams to make them strong. If they pass through the fire of al-Shams, they become tempered, like a steel sword being forged in a furnace.
As well as his tough physical training in combat and survival skills, he was given the royal education in elegant manners, poetry, philosophy, art, music, and other refined subjects that a prince must know. He can understand
Zuban-e-Muladi, the ancient language of the Muladis. Hardly anybody speaks it any more, because it has been replaced by the common tongue of the seven kingdoms, but the old Muladi language is still used in poetry and literature, and knowing how to speak it is considered a sign of nobility.
He is not allowed to associate romantically with women, because his family must choose for him a girl who is beautiful and strong, to strengthen the blood of the royal family.