[@udonoodles] Thanks for the repost. Just makes it easier to keep track of things that way! As for the CS, I like Edmund's angle quite a bit. He's cold and quasi-villainous without being a caricature and... honestly not really so much a villain as a believably ruthless individual of his day and age. He's loyal but ultimately for his own reasons as opposed to anything less tangible. As for some small amendments and recommendations, I might offer the following:

1) Just keep nomenclature of the time period and ethnic group analogues in mind. Edmund Hereward passes muster... barely. Maybe something else just to make it sound a bit more archaic than high medieval. That's ultimately a nitpick on my part, however. This is, however, a somewhat French-analogous society, so try to keep that inn mind as well.

2) Just make sure that you're not making their society sound a bit too structured and advanced. maybe a bit more emphasis on how he's genuinely an innovator in bringing in new crop rotations and in establishing networks of trade that have fallen into neglect after the collapse of the empire. Maybe his services in that regard have been so valuable that the king has ennobled him.

3) Maybe some distinction between merchant and businessman, because the former would've been the common term in his day. Why does he personally think of himself as the latter? That could be interesting to explore!

4) Might want to specify that his family were yeoman farms as opposed to regular peasants. That makes his rise a bit more believable. They were respectable and better off than most other farmers but still a very far cry from privileged.

Overall, I [i]really[/i] appreciate his angle and look forward to seeing him in this roleplay!