Name: Prince Francis Machiavelli Enrico 'Fran' Dandolo
Prince of the Great Merchant House of Dandolo
Lord High Admiral of the Republic of Amalfi
Governor-General of Southern Amalfi Trading Company

Age: 20

Appearance: [hider=Fran]Fran is 1.56 metres tall. (Shorty. Looks a bit girly too.)
[img=http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab135/Desol_2010/RedMagefull794573_zps20591944.jpg][/hider]

Background/history: The 4th son of the current head of the House of Dandolo, Cosimo Medici Enrico Dandolo, Fran made great use of his father's connections to rise the hierarchy of the Republic of Amalfi. Serving as Lord High Admiral from the age of 16, reasonable and capable tutors, along with his own luck and some innate talent, allowed Fran to prosper in his role as an anti-pirate task force. At the age of 20, he was granted the position of Governor-General in the Southern Amalfi Trading Company after his 2nd brother, Giovanni Sforza Enrico Dandolo, committed suicide over a scandal involving the Trading Company, Alcean nobles and slave-trading. The trading company's bottom line, to Fran, seemed greatly affected by Janolf's takeover of Alcea and Ilvance's weakness in dealing with this threat.

Skills: Fran's skills mostly come from his ability to command navies, manage finances and oil the wheels of the heavy bureaucracy that is the Republic of Amalfi. He's an adept fencer, though his height grants him a disadvantage in combat.

He was born with magical skills, but he had never had formal tutoring in that affair.

Something else?: The Republic of Amalfi is a small nation that punches above its weight. Holding territory nearly 100 times smaller than Alcea or Ilvance, Amalfi's strength comes from its massive war chest, mercenaries and navy. A nominally democratic republic (like the Italian republics a long time ago), nepotism or bribery is basically the norm in progressing in politics. The current head of state of the Republic, known as the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge]Doge [/url] of the Republic of Amalfi, is currently Fran's father, Cosimo Medici Enrico Dandolo.

While money means just about everything in Amalfi, the nation is highly adamant and proud of its independence and democratic culture. Whenever an external threat looms upon Amalfi, the Senate elects a 'Dictator' to oversee the protection of the Republic. This dictator, while with more powers than the Doge, may not overrule the Senate or install himself in a permanent position. Attempts at making the dictatorship permanent or installing a monarchy in the past have led to riots on the street, and even the most power hungry of merchant princes and nobles know better than to do so.