[color=7ea7d8][b][i][u][h1]Prince Martin de Rochefort[/h1][/u][/i][/b][/color]
[b][i][h3]"My blade will fell fiends and only fiends."[/h3][/i][/b]--Martin, [s]making promises he probably can't keep[/s] swearing an oath to protect the realm so long as he breathes.

[hider=Appearance]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ceDRtkU.jpg[/img][/hider]
	The man under the azure-hued armor is a bit of a goof when looked upon immediately after he removes his helmet. He has a habit of not keeping his long, blonde hair exactly kempt. Rather, he has a bad case of helmet hair, leaving his otherwise sharp and serious face framed by a bit of fluff. He can't grow a beard to save his life either, instead being plagued with a face that is clean-shaven forever. This is a point of insecurity for him, as he feels he looks too boyish compared to men like his father or Ser Nikalos, or others. 

[b][u]Class[/u][/b]
	Blade Lord

[b][u]Reclass Options[/u][/b]
	Myrmidon, Thief, Mercenary
Swordmaster, Assassin, Rogue, Trickster, Hero, Ranger, Magus 


[b][u]Age[/u][/b]
	23

[b][u]Sex[/u][/b]
	Male

[b][u]Personality[/u][/b]
	[i]Alignment[/i]
		Lawful Good

Martin is a hot-blooded prince, one whose youthful energy drives him towards an idealistic, if outwardly foolhardy goal of "taking the fight" to the darkness surrounding Ashkandi. He is wholly devoted to the protection of the realm, even to the point where many wonder if he even sleeps. He has a number of resentments concerning King Ardias, namely that he believes Ardias is only seeking to hide Ashkandi's people behind its walls for as long as possible. He believes this is a cowards tactic, but obeys his father's edicts as he still defers to his wisdom.

He's a voracious reader, and has an active imagination. While he and Catherin would often share favorite stories (an activity they had grown cold over due to a difference of opinion -- Catherin was a bigger fan of the [i]Holy War[/i] and [i]Thracian Tales[/i] than of [i]The Hero King[/i] and [i]The Hero of Light and Shadow[/i]) he would always be interested in those surrounding an idealistic hero, or the most chivalrous heroes. He was always a bigger fan of happy endings than bittersweet ones. He is a bit stubborn in his opinion on this matter, like he is with all things...which include, among other things: manners (being a stickler for things such as wielding a knife and fork in the wrong hands), food (being a notoriously picky eater with a sweet tooth), weapon use ("What? How is a pike on a stick more heroic than a sword?!" -- Martin, age 9), tactics, and even admitting defeat (he infamously as a squire would be a sore loser in sparring matches; he has mellowed out in this respect quite a bit).

He hates being underestimated, which he feels is what many at court do; he also doesn't take to pet names as well as those around him insist that he should. This is mostly due to the fact that while he was squiring, he let his active imagination get ahead of him, leading him to name each and every one of his attacks after some ... obscure references to [i]The Hero King[/i] (one of the favorites of other knights to mock him with is "BIRAKU'S BASH!"). He doesn't take to such japes very well, often taking them far too literally.

Unlike his younger sister, he is an [i]expert[/i] at all things flirtation and innuendo. Despite not being able to take a joke at his expense, he is able to glide through many courtly matters like they were nothing to him. He's a very personable man, even if he is a softie as far as the men under his command are concerned.

[b][u]Biography[/u][/b]
The "Young" Prince Martin (a nickname that haunts him to adulthood) was always a precocious child, and never took to lessons that were scolded at him. This was true even as he was the more mischievous person among his younger siblings, taking to squirehood rather casually for the majority of his childhood and pre-teen years. He proved to be so talented with a sword that even his comparative nonchalance with it made him a frightening opponent in a sparring match alone.

Compared to the apprenticeship his younger sister received, Prince Martin's life has been rather cushy; having been knighted without need for seeing too much combat, and having granted a guaranteed estate as a part of a test of his mettle in rulership, he has lived his life with two faces:

The first is one of the dutiful knight, the heroic prince, fashioning himself after those he would have read about in [i]The Hero King[/i] or [i]The Radiant Hero[/i]. He outwardly speaks of protecting the weak and following chivalric virtues. He even has an admirer in court who he has admired enough in return for those around them to believe that a romantic relationship is blossoming. He has long grown out of a phase of life where his antics are a fictional version of heroic or noble, as he often would put on airs of dignity as early as the age of sixteen. Yet, for all his polish, he had a consistent dark side he hid underneath his dignified front.

[hider=Prince Martin's Follies]His courtly love is one of several, for one thing. Rather, several among commoners he has eyes on instead. He is not one too much to think about such matters, being a womanizer in such a fashion that he feels would embarrass the royal family. Such a fear it is that he resorts instead to buying secrecy surrounding his lecherous impulses, often stealing away from his estate towards local brothels on certain nights.

He is more attached to the men under his command than he would let on. He hasn't seen many of them die in combat, but even then their deaths build onto his shame further. He tries to hide the drinking habit he is starting to develop as a result of obsessing over ways to keep each and every one of his men alive in combat against the fiends. He tries so hard to hide the empty wine bottles piling up in his chambers from his servants, and the growing tabs at several taverns from his accountants.[/hider]

As of the present, he is preparing to lead a more aggressive front against the fiends besetting Ashkandi. He believes his new campaign against them to be his trial of fire, and thus has spent many sleepless nights pouring over his preparations and training his new recruits. He has made it clear to the rest of the royal family that he expects to come back from facing these fiends a changed man at the very least, and that he intends to fight them with all of his might.