Name: Sixth Prince of the Empire, Sigismund len Ruthweiler, Duke of Kolberg

Age: 23

Caste: Royalty

Occupation: Former Deputy-Chief Researcher at the Royal Chemical Society, Kolberg Branch. Currently General of the Army of the Northern Electors.

Appearance and Personality: Sigismund is a small man, the trappings of youth still present in him. He is lanky, standing taller than most men but weighing significantly less, without the paunch of older officers or the taught muscles of the younger. His skin is naturally pale, free of the common soldier's tan due to his posting to the far north. He wears his uniform smartly, but lacks much of the pomp and circumstance the gold braid would normally suggest. He slouches, and frequently has his hands in his pockets. He moves carefully, always wary of making a mistake, and his trepidation is clear to all those who observe him. His voice is deep, but when he speaks it is either slowly, with pregnant pauses between his words, or quickly, his mind stumbling over what he wants to say before it leaves his mouth. His angular face is topped with a mop of brown hair, perpetually untidy despite constant ministrations. His eyes are large and vibrant green, his mouth looking like it is always on the verge of smiling. When alone, in contemplation or at work, he rarely lets a contented smile leave his face. When speaking, answering questions or dispatching orders, a look of frustrated uncertainty replaces it.

He is a jovial man, deep down. When among friends, in a casual setting, he is quick to joke and quicker to laugh. He prefers to listen than to speak, but is known to hold forth on subjects of particular interest, sometimes longer than his peers would like. He is excitable when dealing with the few matters that hold his interest, and has a long, if grudging, attention span for matters that do not. He respects knowledge and sage wisdom, but idolizes those who innovate and think outside the normal bounds. He thirsts after information, always wanting to learn more about anything he is told. He values bravery and daring in their place, but despite his position still feels the heavy weight of dead men on his shoulders. He is not one for violence himself, and is even more loathe to send others to do violence on his behalf, but does at least understand the realities of his situation. Sigismund does not make friends quickly, though he is perpetually polite, but what friends he manages to collect are cherished by him higher than any others would.

Biography: Sigismund had a happy childhood. The sixth son of the royal family has little expected of him as a child, or at all, really. He lived in the Imperial Palace, playing with his brothers and sisters and those few children who he managed to meet, isolated as he was. He never wanted for anything, and made extensive use of the royal library, working his way from the children's section and the Scriptures to the adventure serials and finally to the histories and sciences. He played with tin soldiers and loved to play checkers. He was always working on a puzzle, and would never stop until they were finished, though he would take breaks of months at a time.

He was educated privately at first, much younger than the other princes. He remembered at five years old, begging to be let into the classroom with his older brothers. He was fascinated, and even when he finally grew bored, as all children do after sitting still for more than ten minutes, he was not put off. He applied himself in all subjects, and as he grew from a precocious child to a prodigious teen he left to study at the Imperial Academy of the Natural Sciences, where he became enamored with the burgeoning field of chemistry.

He graduated at 16, and immediately was granted a post at the Royal Chemistry Society, one with authority not fitting his knowledge. He never exerted his power, and was just content to learn from and debate with the much older, much more knowledgeable scholars. He published his doctoral thesis at 19 after successfully synthesizing urea, earning not insignificant attention from the scientific community.

When he turned 21, his father demanded he take a commission in the army, which he grudgingly accepted. He continued his research while in command, though he had to spend a great deal of his free time actually learning military theory, unwilling to be a imbecilic figurehead. At 23, he quite by chance discovered a mixture of charcoal, sulphur and saltpeter that has the potential to act as a propellant or pyrotechnic. Two weeks later, his favorite older brother was tragically murdered, thrusting him unwilling into the deadly game of succession.


Motivation: When Admar was the Crown Prince and heir apparent, Sigismund had little ambition beyond living a comfortable life and breaking new ground in the field of chemistry. With his older brother dead, he finds himself playing a deadly game, and he is realizing more and more that he wants to win. He would be a better emperor than his failures of older brothers, of that he is certain, and he could right the wrongs so ingrained into the empire. Winning is the only way to guarantee his survival and the survival of those he cares about. Inevitably, but reluctantly, he is starting to realize that he is going to have to rebel against the new Crown Prince, and start a deadly reaction that might blow the empire to smithereens.