ABOUT
Even though Leander is a prince, he would stand out in a crowd regardless. Many describe him as beautiful but there have been a few that commented on the hint of pain behind his striking green eyes. He is tall, standing at six foot two, and has an athletic build. His skin always appears sun-kissed and his hair cascades in copper waves against his strong jawline. Women swoon over the prince, for his title and his looks, but it isn't long before their perception of him is soured by his rotten personality.
Arrogant and privileged, Leander knows that he is better than most and he is not above flaunting his title. He demands respect even when he does not deserve it and when challenged, he can be brash and belittling. Leander's unpleasant personality is, more often than not, a shield to protect his desperate need to be accepted and loved and to mask his feelings of inadequacy and fear that he will never live up to the name that precedes him.
Leander dresses as you would expect a man of his class to dress with a few liberties. He wears semi-fitted trousers in darker colours and white pressed button-up shirts with loose arms and the neck open to bare his collar bone. Over top of his shirts, he would wear either a waist-length jacket, a vest, or a tunic-style overcoat. These pieces were often adorned with jewelry or accent patterns in gold. Hanging from his shoulders was either an overcoat that hung mid-calf in a colour to match his trousers or a cape with a golden armoured shoulder for more formal occasions.
Leander favours a one-handed sword that allows him maximum mobility. It rests in a scabbard attached to his hip so that he is able to draw it quickly. Strapped to his thigh opposite of his sword and above his pants is a long dagger in a smaller scabbard. On his ankle on the same side of his sword and inside his boot, the smallest dagger is hidden.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
+ Natural Born Warrior: Leander showed a natural gift for the sword when he was quite young and opted for more beneficial fighting methods over fencing for sport. He found solace in training and did so as much as he could. Leander was even mentored by a well-revered knight that hailed from the Blackened Keep who defected to the Dominion and became part of the King's army. He is also proficient in hand-to-hand combat and is surprisingly agile. Although Leander prefers to fight with a weapon, he is just as lethal without.
+ Cunning and Manipulative: Leander has grown up in a world of politics, niceties, and manipulation. He has first-hand experience in what to say and how to say it to get what you want. He has learned to observe small details about others and gather information to use against them. Leander is not above blackmail and he has worked tirelessly at creating a network of corrupt people to do his bidding should he need them.
+ Determined and Hardworking: For everything Leander is, lazy is not one of them. He is determined and he works hard. Leander is the type to work until his hands are bleeding and although he might take a moment to sulk, he will never give up.
- Distorted Moral Compass: Leander wasn't raised as a typical child and his sense of right and wrong is heavily skewed because of it. Instead, Leander serves only his own ideals of right and wrong no matter how unorthodox they appear to be.
- "You Arrogant and Selfish Prick!" A slur Leander has heard a number of times resulting from him only thinking of himself and acting irregardless of how it might affect others. Leander thinks highly of himself and his pride can be off-putting.
- Privilege: Although Leander has a traumatic childhood, he has never experienced the hardships of coming from nothing. His family is royalty and he has only known luxury, which results in his lack of gratitude for things. In addition, he has no actual sense of the reality of others and the world itself.
HISTORY
The Dominion celebrated when King Grovan Drak welcomed his first son into the world. Celebrations were held across the land for the weeks to come following Leander's birth; at last, the Dominion had a Prince to succeed the King. As young as Leander could walk, he was raised with one purpose in mind; one day he would take Grovan Drak's place on the throne. It was an immense amount of responsibility, pressure, and expectation to put on a child and with it, came many rules. Leander was to attend council with his father to observe the politics of the country, he would have daily lessons on all manners of being a King, and he would have free time only when permitted. He was robbed of his childhood - seldomly allowed to socialize outside of his duties. King Grovan Drak was intent on molding the boy into the perfect image of himself no matter the costs… but it came with grave repercussions.
Leander was just five years old the first time his father struck him. He was playing hide and seek with a young page in the keep when Grovan Drak went to collect him to attend council but he didn't want to go - he didn't want to stop playing. His taste of innocence and freedom would be soured when his father struck him for all peering eyes to see… and it would not be the last time that Leander was
corrected for inappropriate behaviour.
Grovan Drak would continue on to have two more sons, Andrius and Braegen. The two did not have the same responsibility or expectations thrust upon them simply because they were not firstborn and instead were awarded the affections of their father. As Leander aged, he began to resent them for that and the position he held being the firstborn son. He became more rebellious, always pushing boundaries or making snide remarks and when he was older, he began to dabble in the dealings of the black market. Leander continuously earned the disapproval of his father despite whatever successes he had or promise he showed. Leander would never live up to his father's name, he would never be worthy, and he would forever live in the shadow of the great King Grovan Drak.
