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Travis Fimmel
First Name: Arion
Family Line: Silver Ridge
Full Title: Prince Arion of Silver Ridge
Race: Elf
Age: 50 elf years (25 human years)
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Birthplace: Silver Ridge
Home: Silver Ridge
Profession: Warrior
Associated Characters: Queen Astaria of Silver Ridge (mother); Aranion of Skylark Rise (father); Prince Lainínen of Silver Ridge (brother); 2 sisters (older & younger); niece & nephew (by Lainínen); Daechir of Silver Ridge (uncle); Supreme Commander Lothiriel of Winter's Birch (cousin); other cousins (5+); Maení of Topaz Creek (mate-NPC)
Minor Characters
Background
Prince Arion of Silver Ridge had a fairly typical Elven upbringing. He was the Queen’s second son and third born. He was raised within and by the Royal Court. To their chagrin, Arion was an enthusiastic and troublesome boy. A prankster, really. He enjoyed stalking and ambushing his fellow friends and knew enough of the hidey holes in the tunnels to disappear for hours. When he wasn’t enjoying a good game of cat and mouse, Arion was often adventuring. Although, if you were to ask the Elven adults, he was ‘lost’. It was not uncommon for these ‘adventures’ to extend over a period of days and bring him as far as Topaz Creek. He never journeyed alone, which may be why the adults were not so concerned. Arion had befriended the local cougars. They shared an odd relationship and a silent understanding. Arion was very much like a cub to the big felines. In his youth, he was rarely seen outside of Silver Ridge without a golden Mountain Lion by his side. As he aged and then entered adolescence, Arion’s companions seemed to slink back into the shadows of the forest. The boy was no longer a defenseless child, but a strong and agile man. This did not mean that the untamed cats had forsaken him; instead, they had given him his berth.
Arion had also made other friends while on ‘adventure’. The most notable was Maení of Topaz Creek. She was a wild auburn-red haired child that sought the rush of danger and thoroughly enjoyed Arion’s companionship. Together, the couple danced through the magic of childhood and entered headlong into the confusion of adolescence. They shared the clumsy and volatile firsts of sexual discovery. At Arion’s insistence, Maení was brought to the Royal Court and became a Hand Maiden to his mother and sisters. Unfortunately, domestication did not suite Maení well. Combined with her inability to take and follow orders, and the sudden emergence of her magic, Maení was sent away.
Arion’s world erupted and his rebellion sent him straight to the Royal Army. There he learned discipline and control over his anger and he quickly rose through the ranks to Warrior. This was not before his frenzy nearly cost him his life. Despite the chaos of anger and the haze of pain, Arion’s dreams still replay the night when a marauder’s blade had dug through his side in search of his heart. It had been his own fault. He had blindly charged a band of border raiders and left himself open. Now, his body was scared from the near death experience.
In addition to learning to control his anger, Arion also struggled to control his libido. He enjoyed women immensely; although it was the chase that he preferred over the actual conquest. These acts of passion occasionally included not only women, but men. Despite these trysts, Arion made it a practice not to be overly committed or to find himself the lucky mate of some breeding female. He enjoyed his freedom and wanted no brats clinging to his heels or pulling his hair. And so, days of military duty and self-indulgence extended into years and years into decades.
All went without a hitch until his mother, the Queen, approached him with news of the Peace Treaties…and his impending marriage. Enraged by what he saw as an Imperial insult, and the dissimilation of Elven tradition, he and his mother quarreled. In a moment of defiance, Arion refused his Queen and then fled Silver Ridge in a haze of anger. His rage brought him to the only place where he had felt truly at ease as a child. It brought him to a glade just outside of Topaz Creek.
Looking back at that day, Arion often wonders what intentions the Gods or Goddesses had in that drama. As it would happen, Maení had also fled to that very same glade on that very same day. Arion’s childhood friend and aficionada appeared like a vision and soothed his anger. Their lovemaking was no longer clumsy, but passionate and in harmony. It was as though they had been one person, divided and lost between two bodies. Together, they were mates. Neither had to speak, nor ask the question, it just was. Arion would not deny or run from this commitment. Perhaps it was the reality that he would be soon forced into an Imperial marriage and be required to produce half-bred children. Or perhaps the couple had always been destined to be a mated pair. Either way, their union that day sparked a new life within Maení womb.
Arion’s of Silver Ridge’s story begins here: months after discovering Maení pregnancy and reconciling with his mother, the Queen of Elves. Although he still refuses marriage, he has agreed to accept the Imperial Emperor’s neice as his mate…as long as the Imperials agree to accept the Elves traditions.
Physical Appearance
Think of a great mountain lion and you will be reminded of Arion. At 6’5”, Arion’s long lean body moves with fluid grace. He is agile and fast, despite the chiseled muscles that give him the appearance of a rock. In the filtered light of the forest, his pale ivory skin appears to exude a soft golden light. This radiance, upon closer examination, is truly an optical illusion created by the silken down that protects his skin. That sparse velvet-like hair is only a few shades lighter than the shoulder length tress of brown-blond locks atop his head. Arion’s most striking trait, and what likens him most to the feline sort, is his eyes. They are a golden-green, a chartreuse if you will, that changes with his temperament and the environment. Although his eyes have a slightly downward tilt, and are ringed by thick honey lashes, the kitty cat eye affect is still not lost. Arion’s perfection is marred by a thick spider web of jagged scars along the left side of his torso and chest. They are reminders that in years long past, the border lands were less than safe.
In the manner of dress, Arion is most often clad in the warrior garb of the Royal Army. When not in gear, he prefers light clothing that allows him easy movement and leaves his chest bare.
Personality
Arion has a very jovial and loving personality. Many would describe his demeanor as boyish, but charming. He is very protective of those that he holds dear and he feels a duty to keep safe all Elves. His greatest love is women, although he does enjoy men if the occasion is right. When Arion is not protecting Nu’ada, he is usually engaged in some seductive form of cat-and-mouse. He delights in the chase (be it of himself or his partner), takes great pleasure in the conquest, and then becomes quickly disinterested. There have been some occasions where this desertion has left wounded egos; particularly in those women who thought to make a mate of him. In contrast to his warm and fun-loving character, Arion has an equally dark and explosive temper. He is slow to anger, but quickly loses reason when his balance is lost.
Talents
Arion’s physical traits and behaviors are not his only features that appear to be reminiscent of the feline species. In battle he prefers to stalk and give chase to his prey. He favors hand to hand combat, utilizing daggers and his short sword when needed, over the careful aim of a bow. Some surmise that his predatory nature and strength, both in fighting and courting, is drawn from his connection with the cats of the forest. Indeed, they may be right, as Arion finds that his strongest talent is in seeing, feeling, and understanding the world around the large cats. He easily communicates with the wild beasts, particularly the cougar, and can call upon them should the need arise.
Weaknesses
Arion’s greatest weakness is his anger, which is then followed closely by his sense of duty. Through years of training, Arion has managed a thin line of balance between frenzy and controlled rage during battle. Outside of battle, he is slow to anger but then reaches violence easily thereafter. As a Warrior within the Royal Army, Arion’s skills are in the hunt and in close combat. Anything outside of those proficiencies, he lacks greatly in skill and accuracy. As the son of the Elven Queen, Arion’s perception of duty is rigid. Although he may not agree with all that is dictated, he will perform whatever task is required and to the best of his ability. Arion’s connection to the wild cats of the forest is a great strength, but in the same instance, also a weakness. To balance the unique and individual nature of his talent, Arion holds no other magical abilities. He has never received, nor sent, a vision.
Opinion of the Peace Treaties
Arion has many, less than positive, opinions of the Peace Treaties. First, who needs treaties? Certainly not the Elves, who are thriving and living safely within their lush forest free of Imperial and Celtic corruption. Let’s all step into the Land of Reality for a moment, can the Treaties really survive? Hardly. In Arion’s opinion, the Treaties are destined to fail; which will then leave Azzaria engulfed in violence and full of fickle halfbreeds. Halfbreeds that sprung even from his own loins. Horrendous. Disgusting, even. Now, Arion loves and respects his mother, the Queen...but sometimes he just doesn’t agree with her. Too bad he has that ‘sense of duty’ fault. He’ll have to meet her at least half way in this mess. Is it only Arion that feels like the Imperials’ gesture of peace is an insult? Really, let’s marry the Elven Prince to a lesser Imperial Noble. What’s wrong with the Imperial Princess? Sure, she’s young, but if she’s old enough to bear children, than she’s old enough to cement a treaty. And how about that whole ‘marriage’ thing? What is that all about? Elves are polygamous. Their history is rich with mating ceremonies and rituals. Does no one else see that by requiring marriage of the Prince of Elves is the first step in stripping the Elven community of their heritage and tradition? Okay, so maybe the Imperials’ aren’t being insulting, they’re just trying to take over. They’ll muddle the Elven bloodlines, steal their magics and their lands, and leave the rest to decay. They tried violence already and failed, so now they’ll start from the inside and work their way out.
