Name:
Gideon Ce'dareaux

Age:
35

Race:
Human

Nationality:
Valanian/Rydar

Allegiance:
Valania/Conqvist

Appearance:
Gideon stands above most men at a towering 6'4, and a physique to match. His brown hair, gray at the temples, is cropped short over his dark green, brooding eyes. His armor is a dull bronze with steel trimming, the bronze has been carefully crafted to look like the scales of a great serpent. The helm, of the same bronze material, has an undulating serpent as it's crest. When at court Gideon wears a great coppery coat which is held closed with black silken rope over a white shirt, the trim of this coat is black as well as his leggings and riding boots.
Personality:
Gideon holds honor above all things. His duty as a lord is to be held to a higher standard than anyone else. This honor is not a light burden, and it has turned him into a methodical man. At war he is able to seemingly make snap decisions that leave others flabbergasted. His sense of self and purpose is daunting. It is what has enabled him to accomplish so much. He cares for each of his men individually and sees their failures as his own.

However, the very things that make him an excellent field commander do not transfer into politics so well. Gideon's temper is well known, as are his uncompromising opinions.

Goals and aspirations:
Having accomplished his youthful goal of becoming a ranked field commander, Gideon never felt content with his lands and duties. With the tyranny of the Sarifen emperor Gideon now wishes to drive the Sarifen from Valania and conquer their lands in turn. 
Gideon’s overarching goal is to raise his son as an honorable and just man.

Fears:
Gideon once feared the death of his predecessor and uncle, Roland. Now that he is passed and Gideon has become the head of his house and a lord in his own right, he fears the death of his son. Or even worse that he should fail in his duties as a father and release into the realm another self absorbed and incompetent lordling.

Likes:
War. Battle. His son. While a soldier's man in his youth, a womanizer and drunkard, Gideon struggles to set a better example for his son.

Dislikes:
Politics. Petty squabbling and back biting. There is nothing that makes Gideon's temper flare more than the nobility halting progress for their own selfish aims. As a young man Gideon was often asked to leave court over matters of state. The Regent. The gypsy bastard gives favors to his undeserving kin, making enemies among the Rydar nobles. Fool.

Notable skills/abilities:
Experienced cavalry officer and strategist.

Equipment:
Gideon's blade, Serpentbreath, is a large and ornate falchion. Somewhere between a sword and an axe it is mainly used in mounted forms, such as Arc of the Moon, Woodsman Stripping the Bark, and Strike the Spark. The hilt is the neck and head of a great serpent while the folds of steel in the blade are intricately formed into curving flames. His broad-headed lance, which is two feet taller than himself, is barbed. He has two mounts, one for heavy cavalry and one for light. Stoic, his large bay gelding, and Bemossed his sable thoroughbred from Sarife.

Biography:
Gideon Ce'dareaux, was an honorable young man from a Rydar family known for it's political scandals and shady business practices. Gideon is the current head of the Ce'dareaux’s of Redstone Keep. 

Gideon is a military man, he spent every moment as a child at Redstone Keep learning the blade and lance. Poetry and it’s like held no interest for him, what need is there to woo a peasant girl? However, poetry and philosophy were made into a part of studies just as business and politics. With a good head for numbers it was expected that he get involved in the family business of trade and transport.

For a few months at the age of fifteen he was given charge over a caravan on it's way to the capitol. Everything went as expected when an arrow was shot from the foliage on the side of the road, then another and another. The family seneschal, who was mentoring him at the time, suggested a few guards take Lord Gideon and escape leaving the others behind. Gideon, however, was not going to turn tail and run. His honor would not allow him to leave behind his people to the dastardly machinations of these common brigands. When his seneschal reminded him that often generals were given to flight in the face of overwhelming force, Gideon replied with a smile that a few arrows were hardly overwhelming force. Gideon ordered the various wagons around the main party. He then took almost the entire mounted guard and made as if it to escape. When the brigands rose from the cover of the forest, almost slavering over their waiting prey, Gideon and his mounted contingent rode from the opposite side of the road with a well timed flanking maneuver. He and the guardsman killed most, leaving a few for the prisons of Voltas.

Upon arriving at the capitol his uncle, who was in Voltas to fulfill his duties to the Crown and Regent, made a great show of seeing his nephew return in public. In private Roland was furious. The brigands, who were executed immediately upon entering the city, were paid for by the Ce'dareaux family. The materials in the caravan were going to a rival and were not meant to reach him. While Gideon knelt, head bowed, taking his uncle's harsh words in stoic silence Roland came to a realization. The next day Gideon was given to the military academy to learn tactics and war.

For many years Gideon excelled at the Académie de Guerre. He was the star of his military tutor's and always learned from his mistakes. The honors he received at the academy were numerous and prestigious, though only worn on parade. After four years of the academics of battle Gideon was given twenty cavalry and a seat at the Lord-General's war table.

For sixteen years he has acted as the the Lance of Rydar, always at the front lines and never a crippling defeat. Now, at the age of thirty-five, Gideon is considered the face of the Rydar contingent in Valania.

Gerard, Gideon’s fourteen year old son, has recently come of age to be squired. While Gideon realizes that the squiring of an heir is usually a political decision, he is more inclined to select a man he respects and trusts as his son’s master. Though his nagging wife, Conqvist's niece, suggests a compromise, it is unlikely Gideon will budge.

The Ce'dareaux crest is a serpent on a tawny field with an argent bend. Gideon personal crest has the serpent wrapped around a lance.