Soren's biography is long. Very long. But not only is he the King, but he is also an oldie; sixty-eight years of age ain't gonna be summarized in three paragraphs. So I split it off into three parts of varying sizes. If you're interested in lore regarding the history of the King, as well as what's going on in the Eastern Region, you can read it if you like. Otherwise, I won't smite you for not doing so. :D Important things to basically pick up in TL;DR - Soren has close ties to the North (as a kid, sent to the North under Darion Lear's watch) - Father (Validus Rathmore, previous king) was pretty insane and an evil ruler - Ended up overthrowing his father at age of fifteen, three months before he would come of eligibility to rule - Eastern Region has spooky scary skeletons, zomzoms, wendigos, [s]and white walkers[/s] [hr][hr] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Cd9f9Ya.jpg[/img][/center] [hider=Information][indent][color=3CB371][b]Height:[/b][/color] 6'1[/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Hair Color:[/b][/color] Black (young), Gray (current)[/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Eye Color:[/b][/color] Brown (right eye), Colorless (left eye)[/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Complexion:[/b][/color] Light[/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Body Composition:[/b][/color] Slightly plump[/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Scars:[/b][/color] Serrated cut from mid-forehead just above the left eye, running down to mid-cheek[/indent][/hider] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Name:[/b][/color][/indent] Soren Rathmore [indent][color=3CB371][b]Age:[/b][/color][/indent] Sixty-eight years of age. [indent][color=3CB371][b]Titles:[/b][/color][/indent] [i]King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Three Regions, Protector of the Realm, Lord of the Windkeep,[/i] and [i]Lord Paramount of the West[/i]. Formal address is [i]Soren of the House Rathmore, the first of His name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Three Regions and Protector of the Realm.[/i] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Origin:[/b][/color][/indent] The Windkeep [indent][color=3CB371][b]Allegiance:[/b][/color][/indent] House Rathmore [hider=Family][indent][color=3CB371][i][b]Validus Rathmore[/b][/i] - Father (Deceased)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][i][b]Lumara Rathmore[/b][/i] - Mother (Deceased)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][i][b]Armin Rathmore[/b][/i] - Brother (Younger) (Deceased)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Elizabeth Rathmore[/b] - Wife[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][i][b]Soren Rathmore II[/b][/i] - Son (Oldest) (Deceased)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][i][b]Feye Rathmore[/b][/i] - Daughter (Deceased)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Archer Rathmore[/b] - Son (Youngest)[/color][/indent] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Alexander Rathmore[/b] - Cousin[/color][/indent][/hider] [indent][color=3CB371][b]Personality:[/b][/color][/indent] Many stipulate that Soren Rathmore's stout and resilient nature pays homage to his time spent amongst the Northmen in his youth. As one of the few people who lived during the final years of the Eastern Kingdom's existence, his eyes seemingly have a haunted affinity beyond the scar on his face; slightly troubled from those past experiences, he is very reserved and against sharing stories from the times of the fallen kingdom. In front of this, Soren is by all means a charming and charismatic individual, having always boasted wisdom beyond his years when he was a younger man. He has ruled Estiala just and well, opposite of his father's more treacherous term; he cares for each and every subject he has ever had, and cherishes what remaining family he has left. Soren is duly protective of his last son, Archer, and has fallen upon sadder days with Archer's sickness. [indent][color=3CB371][b]Background:[/b][/color][/indent] [hider=Childhood]Hidden underneath all of the grief and trepidation that [b][color=3CB371]Soren Rathmore[/color][/b] has seen and experienced all throughout his sixty-eight years of living, the proud son of Validus and Lumara Rathmore stood at the pedestal of Estiala when the royal crown had produced a strong and healthy heir. Growing up, Soren was spoiled immensely for his status as the heir to the crown when it would come to be his time to rule, and so, he was properly groomed in the ways of House Rathmore. However, the happy picture was nothing short of temporary. King Validus, who had ruled Estiala for a decade until Soren's birth, had become consumed within the greed that developed with inheriting the seat of the king. Soon, Validus grew to detest his two sons, as their existences were a daily reminder that Validus' rule would someday come to an end, and so, his power would be lost. The king abused his sons in secrecy, and when the council would question the status of the two boys, Validus would send the young Soren and Armin to the colder winds of the North. Darion Lear, Lord of Penkarth and Lord Paramount of the North, was more than welcomed to receive the sons of House Rathmore. Initially, Soren felt trapped within the foreign borders, and the eight-year old feared the Northmen as much as he feared his father. Though, he found himself absorbed into the culture of the cold region, and while he prodded himself to remain true to the traditions of the Andals, Soren could not help but see the wrongs that King Validus exerted upon their own culture. For five years, Soren and Armin floated between their birthright in the West and the home of their hearts in the North to visit their mother, finding ounces of a stronger character as they colloquially spent their time among the Northmen. At thirteen, the brothers were ordered to be returned to the possession of House Rathmore, as Queen Lumara had passed away in her sleep.[/hider] [hider=Young Years]But, Soren resisted his father's abuse, and while King Validus sneered at the boys for betraying the West through their favor of the Northern culture, the King truly had none to blame but himself. Without his wife at his side, King Validus began to grow in madness, his power-hungriness in continual starvation. When Soren turned the age of fifteen, the Master of Whispers revealed to the Rathmore brothers that King Validus had murdered Queen Lumara in her disagreement with his methods of rule. The West was on the brink of economical collapse as sudden pleas from the Eastern Kingdom went ignored by King Validus. Their relations to the North and South deteriorated as the King looked upon his subjects with a tyrannical ideology. As Soren was nearing the age of sixteen, he was poised to come of age, as it was when he would become suitable for the crown. But, the boy's vengeance for the life of thousands, including his mother, flared uncontrollably. Three months before his sixteenth name day, Soren Rathmore organized a coup d'état to overthrow his father from furthering the madness that was his rule. With support from the North and the council formerly loyal to Validus, they ousted the madman from his rule in the eye of the general public and denounced his titles. With no hesitation, Validus began to slander the name of House Rathmore, claiming that Soren was no claimant to the throne. Through this, the boy denied his father's allegations, and Soren Rathmore declared himself the new King of Estiala, his first royal decree to sentence his father to death for treason against the realm. Through this, few considered Soren Rathmore a kinslayer, but in the eyes of the rest, considered him one of heroic qualities. With the royal council working closely under the new patriarch, Soren Rathmore spent the next two years attempting to revitalize the West's destroyed economy. When he finished mending relations with the Southern region, he turned his eyes to the Eastern Kingdom, of whom no word had come from its borders since his father's rule. Growing worried, King Soren looked upon the Eastern Kingdom's last message, which had been a distress call. He organized an army and led a march to the eastern borders himself, but when they reached the other side of the mountains, no signs of civilization remained. Only a few miles into the east, skeletons both human and wildlife were found, and the castle of an Eastern house, Ogland's Summit, was abandoned. When Soren thought that invaders had come and sacked the Eastern Kingdoms, he was only-half correct; at Ogland's Summit, they were attacked. But not by humans. Creatures of varying sizes, grotesque corpses reanimated from the rot, things from the tales of horror passed by the campfire. Soren ordered the retreat of his small army, but by the time they were out of the eastern borders, two-thirds of the small army had been eviscerated by the monsters. From that day, Soren ordered the construction of a wall that would span against the borders of the three regions, blocking off every Eastern waypoint.[/hider] [hider=Current]In the next four to five decades, Soren Rathmore continued to rule the nation where his father failed greatly. He loved his wife with all his heart, even in the discrepancies of their ages; he was a young romantic at heart, regardless. His attempts to father an heir failed when his first son, named after him, came ill and passed away at the age of three. No sooner, his next daughter, Feye, passed away at four years of age from a similar illness. It was at this time, Soren Rathmore believed that he had been cursed for ordering the execution of his father, and that he had truly been a kinslayer. Though, this was temporarily disproved when his next son, Archer Rathmore, was born healthy and strong. They were happy for the years of his only son's good fortune, but fate was cruel, and intent on claiming another.[/hider]