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[kingforboth]

🦋 OOC Information

Name: Kara
Contact: Caletara 
Age: 43
Other Characters: Andros, Seel Griselming
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🦋 IC Information

Character Name:  Kelson Cinhil Rhys Anthony Haldane, King of Gwynedd, Overlord of Torenth, Prince of Meara, Duke of Haldane, Lord of the Purple March, Guardian of Gwernach

Age: 17
Canon: Deryni
Canon Point: King's Justice
Character History: no wiki available, sorry!

(CW: death, murder, rape, religious persecution, torture. Think of Kelson's canon like Catholic Game of Thrones).

 

Kelson was born to King Brion Donal Cinhil Urien Haldane and Queen Jehena of Gwynedd on November 14th, 1106 at 3 pm. He was brought up in Rheumeth as Brion’s only heir, schooled in the talents that would one day help him when he became king, both mundane and magical. On November 1st, 2 weeks before his 14th birthday, both Brion and Kelson are out on a hunt. Brion is poisoned with a substance that disables both body and magical abilities in those that possess them. Unable to defend himself, Brion’s heart is magically crushed while a tearful and bewildered Kelson watches.

 

Kelson’s first order of business is to survive long enough until he can get crowned king. With his father’s best friend, champion and advisor, Duke Alaric Morgan, and priest Duncan McLain, he has to go through a series of rituals in order to access powers once wielded by his father. Kelson successfully comes into his power and defeats the Festillic Pretender threat, as well as dismantling the need for a regency council, having turned 14, the legal majority in Gwynedd. However, his mother reveals herself, unknown even her to her, to be Deryni, a magically gifted human race, currently subjugated by both state law and the church. His mother retires to a convent to pray for her and her son’s soul whom she believes damned by her own Deryni blood. Kelson is left with his two advisors to learn how to deal with this new revelation and his new position.

 

In Deryni Checkmate, the Church, under the guidance of Archbishop Edmund Loris, attempts to curb what he sees as the Deryni threat by excommunicating and torturing Kelson’s two advisors and protectors, both Deryni. His actions end up splitting the Church and starting what is the beginnings of a civil war between the church, and the crown of Gywnedd.

 

In High Deryni, Loris attempts to excommunicate Kelson himself, with Interdict upon the entire kingdom. These actions fall one signature short with the Schism, Loris does not yet have enough Bishops to make legal his decrees, but they are still threatening. Kelson is also considered excommunicated by his continued dealings with his two advisors, who carry their excommunication like a plague.

 

Kelson tries to politically deal with the issue but ends up having to lead his army to circumvent the rogue church faction, who have gathered rebels who also support usurping Kelson's throne and dealing with the Deryni 'issue' once and for all. Eventually, Loris is captured, and his people dealt with, and Kelson is left to deal with another invasion, from a neighboring kingdom (and some more defectors), who has taken advantage of the king's youth and Gwynedd's preoccupation with civil war. King Wencit forces Kelson into a magical dual, threatening to impale or hang, draw and quarter 200 Gwynedd prisoners every two hours unless Kelson relents.

 

Kelson does not win the dual. The dual never starts, as Wencit is poisoned and Kelson is forced to take his victory unwillingly by treachery. To this end, he kills the 3 enemy Deryni the same way his father was killed, by magically crushing their hearts, to save them from a painful death and end the dual. This was the first time the 14 year old had killed anyone, and to do so in the same manner as his father died was shocking.

 

In the Bishop’s Heir, several years later, we learn that Edmund Loris has escaped his prison cell and run off to Meara, encouraging the Pretender Queen there to revolt, and lead her own army against Kelson. Loris takes hostage one of Kelson’s own Bishops, having him drawn, hung and quartered, his head being marched in Gywnedd and put on display during Christmas Court, causing quite a commotion and scaring several lords and ladies for life.

 

Kelson, still seeking an end to the conflict in a non violent manner, seeks a marriage with the pretender queen’s youngest daughter, Sidana. Unfortunately, her brother can’t stand the thought of it and slits her throat 20 seconds after they’re married, and she dies in Kelson’s arms. Kelson spends quite a lot of time holding her body and sobbing, having convinced himself that he was in love with a girl he actually only met for a total of a couple hours. Having her violently murdered before his eyes leaves him so shaken and unresolved with teenage emotions that he’s unable to let go. He plays up the grieved widower in an effort to avoid having to open his heart again.

 

In the King’s Justice Kelson is done. He has absolutely had it. He leads his army into Meara to put down rebellion, and on the way he comes across a convent which has been looted, and desecrated, the monks beaten and killed and the nuns raped, some of them dying in the process. Unexpectedly, he finds a young princess among the victims, who had stopped there on the way to her own wedding. Unsure of the reception she would get from her intended or her father, he has her escorted back to Gwynedd and taken into his court until he can find a solution. Desperate to find out the ones responsible, he tries to read her mind to get a glimpse of the events, but a young nun, Rothana, stops him. Eventually, he’s able to convince her he needs that information, and she reads the princess’s mind and passes along the information to Kelson. However, in doing so, she makes him relive part the rape, which very much scars the young, shy, very virginal 17 year old king.

 

Upon meeting the ones responsible, Kelson becomes completely bloodthirsty like never seen before. Up until now he’s tried his best to come to peaceful, lawful solutions to problems and treat everyone with respect and dignity. Even if it hasn’t quite worked that well. Now he even refuses to allow those he’s sentenced confession or last rights, and orders them dragged over and hung on a tree 30 seconds after he’s sentenced them. Since he doesn’t know who among the men in the opposing army has brutalized others and acted dishonorably, and he's quite certain none of them are innocent, he proposes lots and orders a number of them killed randomly, the rest flogged, stripped and left to the mercy of the towns occupants. The only exception he offers is if they swear full fealty, while he truth-reads each for falsehoods. No one comes forward, terrified of being found lying. Luckily, Alaric Morgan intervenes, and convinces Kelson to let him figure out who is the worst of the bunch, so it’s not so random. And then allows them 5 minutes with a priest, something Kelson later laments he should have done, having let his anger get the better of him.

 

Edmund Loris and his associates are captured, but not before he tortures Kelson’s confessor and known Deryni Duncan McLain , a sight which haunts Kelson to this day. Kelson likewise shows no mercy this time with Loris and has him hung from the rafters during Court immediately after sentencing. Like those responsible for the brutalities he's witnessed on the campaign, he refuses Loris access to a priest or last rites, having very little mercy left in his heart to give him. He learned the hard way that sometimes mercy is not rewarded.

 

Canon Abilities: 

 

Kelson has two types of magical abilities, although they are often unable to be differentiated. 

 

Deryni Magic: He gets this from his mother and has to be trained in order to use it properly.

 

Haldane Potential: Acts much like Deryni magic and is gifted upon ascending the throne. It imparts a set number of spells and abilities, which each King gains in order to keep his throne and protect himself. Those do not need to be trained and come with a set of pre-made instructions. As such, there are things he knows how to do that he has never put into practice and possibly never will. Kelson's Haldane spells come into knowledge when he needs them, and he cannot recall how to cast them before or after the need has arisen.

 

Currently, Kelson dislikes making a public display of his abilities, although as he gets to know others from different worlds and cultures, this outlook may change. In addition, he is not formally trained and has gaps in his education and knowledge, as well lacking education in moral boundaries as to what is and should be permitted.

 

Note: Deryni are extremely sensitive to substances that disrupts magical abilities, including some sedatives. Due to the abilities being genetic, such substances attack on a genetic level and will painfully disrupt him on a physical and magical level and likely leave him incapacitated for a time. Too much will kill. 

 

Clairsentience: This ability has multiple uses, but most likely is probing, where he can get basic information on an item, ranging from being able to see inside something like a lock, or sussing out if a drink is poisoned. It's an ability used for knowledge rather than action.

 

Conjury: Kelson can conjure light, fire, lightning and water. He also has the ability to conjure destructive illusions based on his own imagination. Note: Most of his conjury skills are Haldane specific and he does not know how to do it before it becomes necessary. He can learn how do use conjury via his Deryni abilities but his training is somewhat lacking.

Death Reading: The ability to read someone’s memories after death. This is immediately dependent on the state of the body. He’s going to get more information immediately after death than he would an hour or a week later. If the brain is pudding, he’s not going to get anything from it.

 

Energy Augmentation: Kelson can pull energy from other people in order to augment his own spell work. This requires physical contact.

 

Mind-Influence: Kelson can influence another individual, ranging from telling them to go take a walk, forget a conversation or jump off a cliff. He can also use this to blur traumatic memories and to banish fatigue in himself or someone else for a short time(this is cumulative, and can only be used so many times before the fatigue catches up and the person collapses with exhaustion). Granted, Kelson’s morals are such that he only uses this for what he considers benign factors. This ability is similar to a para-hypnotic state or a hypnotic suggestion. While Kelson could force an individual do something horrific, this is something his ethics simply wouldn’t allow him to do. Normally he uses this for actions such as forcing someone to go to sleep, forget conversations or leave an area. This also usually requires physical contact, and the lowering of magical protections.

 

Mind-Ripping: Kelson has never used this and most likely never will. He has the power to destroy someone's mind with brute psychic force. It's also something no self respecting Deryni would use, however, it's one of the intrinsic abilities he has as King, passed down in order to maintain the throne.

 

Mind speech: Kelson can telepathically talk or send mental images to others. As these interactions are usually on a ‘wide band’ frequency, it’s possible for them to be overheard by anyone listening in for such conversations. In addition, the further away they are, the more power it requires. Just like a long distance call, it gets less clear the further out you go.

 

Rapport: Kelson has the ability to mind meld with others. This can range from superficial sharing to a complete merging of minds, intimate to the point of sex. Kelson may or may not be likely to use this. This ability, which links the two individuals, also strengthens others. After rapport, things like mind speech are easier. This requires touch contact.

 

Shields: Kelson has magical shields which enable him to defend against psychic attack. He can raise or lower them as necessary. However, like anything, shields can be worn or forced down, or by drugs that disrupt magical ability. Brute force however, is liable to leave damage, just like banging someone’s head against concrete would. As all Deryni gravitate toward a specific color for magical workings, Kelson’s shields, handfire and the like are Haldane crimson.

 

Telekinesis: Kelson has minor telekinesis, used mainly to call small objects like cups, or manipulate unseen areas like locks. We've also seen him use this ability to steer arrows away or toward a target. However, he can use this ability for more destructive means like bending bars or squeezing someone's heart until it stops.

 

Transfer Portals: Kelson has the knowledge on how to use and set up transfer portals, enabling him to go from one location to another. However, setting them up takes much more power than he has alone and he has some blanks in his knowledge.

Truth Reading: Kelson has the ability to know whether someone is lying, most likely blending psychic ability and a subconscious reading of body language. This ability is used without touch. It requires very little effort, however it has limitations. Half-truths are difficult to detect, and you have to learn to ask the right questions. In addition, if someone is magically shielded, Kelson can’t see anything. Kelson also could compel someone to tell the truth, but he wont without a very good reason, as this breaches into an ethical area he’s been taught not to go.

Warding: Kelson also has the ability to use wards, devices that act as shields to keep him or others safe when he’s unconscious or away. However, he doesn't currently have ward cubes and doesn't know how to make them.

 

Inventory: Clothing with chain mail underneath, Haldane greatsword, dagger with wrist sheath, crown, signet of Gwynedd, Sidana's wedding ring.

🦋 Personality

Option 2: You may instead choose words from the following list to expand upon as your personality section. Elaborate on what this word means to your character, specifically their thoughts about it. For Canon Characters, you can choose five words. For Original Characters, you will need to choose seven words. Keep the word count to 100-300 per choice.

Dead

Even though he's only 17, as a 12th century king Kelson has seen a lot of people die. He's been responsible for more than his fair share in the few years he's reigned. The loss of life and violence during the King’s Justice weighs heavily upon Kelson and changed him. He had to be uncharacteristically savage and ruthless during that campaign, and came across things that no 17 year old should have to see, much less be in charge of dealing with. We see him multiple times sinking into a depression or righteous anger when things aren’t perfect. He eventually learns that life is not, and that it is how we deal with those situations that defines us.

 

Long

Kelson's father, King Brion, kept the peace for almost thirty years. That's an awfully long time, especially for someone who hasn't even reached twenty yet. Kelson by contrast, had peace utterly shattered the moment he became king, if not before. All the bigotry and tensions his father had been keeping at bay shattered the moment Kelson was revealed as Deryni, and those either letting bigotry win or those who thought Kelson's age would work in their favor came at him. 

Long is also the amount of time his own mother has been praying for the salvation of his soul. It's really getting old at this point, and Kelson wishes she'd accept who and what he is (and she is, since he inherited it from her), or at the very least stop praying for him, starving herself and literally flagellating herself for giving birth to him. His conservative mother thinks he is damned to the fires of hell and it's really wearing on Kelson. At the same time he's also realized there is literally nothing he can do about it, and the only thing he can control is his own feelings about the matter.

 

Pride

As Deryni, Kelson struggles between the pride he feels, while also understanding that it terrifies people.  Kelson accepts his Deryni heritage, and champions them in his role as king. He does everything he can in order to reverse the intolerance and laws that have reduced Deryni to second class citizens, while acknowledging that the powers have been used in the past to create dictatorships and that his human citizens are legitimately fearful and scared. However, he has also learned to walk a fine line, treading between Deryni sorcerer and claiming his powers as divine right by God. He knows that in the wrong company, being a known Deryni is as good as being dead. He's spent much of his reign trying not to scare his subjects and thus doesn't use magic as openly as he otherwise might.

 

In Quest for Saint Camber he successfully convinces the church to reverse the laws stating that Deryni cannot serve as priests or nuns, which had led to many having to hide who they were in order to pursue the life they felt called to. At the moment, he prefers to do things slowly when possible, to prevent fear and unrest, choosing to champion the law preventing Deryni from entering religious orders, and waiting another year before tackling the next anti-Deryni law, give people a chance to get used to change. He knows people are afraid of change, and of what they don't understand and have been taught to be evil, having learned that intricately from his experiences with Loris and even his own mother, who briefly disowns him for his acceptance of those abilities. He knows that all change takes time. Being young, he doesn't always realize that sometimes change needs to be sudden and swift. He's still learning.

 

Fall

Kelson is a good catholic boy. But that doesn't mean he always stays within his lane. While he never outright misuses his powers, he does stray into areas that are ethically grey. He regularly assumes control of some of his vassals, ordering them to forget what they’ve heard or not say a word. This not only takes the self control out of the individuals in question but shows that he assumes they don’t have the loyalty or self control to serve him as he wishes. Instead of asking for their obedience, which most of the subjects he encounters on a day to day basis would give freely, he’s compels it. In essence, he tries to control factors by magical means when he could easily find a non-magical solution for it. Most likely this a result of his two advisers, who while being morally and ethically good people, also fall into grey areas and do not have as stringent a moral compass as some we’ve seen. He models after them, the only real role models for magical talent he has, as his father never fully embraced his abilities or was comfortable with them. This also no doubt leads his people to continue to fear magic, as he does not realize he is perpetuating their fears and doing exactly what they are afraid of. While his ethics show that he would never outright slip into something darker, you have to begin somewhere. Most likely he is too young and not self-aware enough to realize his actions aren’t completely ethical and if this was pointed out to him he’d be horrified, if more than a little stubborn in the beginning.

 

Child

Kelson never had a chance to be a child, and while he was a upright, and enthusiastic child, always doing the right and the best thing, as a older teen.....well, Kelson whines.  It's as if he's realized that he has a chance to throw fits and be the child he never got to be. Being a teenager thrust into a duty no grown adult would want, he succumbs to self pity a lot. Quite like his mother, who retreated into seclusion in a convent to pray for her and Kelson’s soul, Kelson is likewise prone to bouts of extreme self pity and whining. Unlike his mother, he’s never seen starving himself or going to extreme measures. He also has a pretty good support system that wouldn’t let him go down that route. But he does not let go easily. He’s still in love with a girl years later after she rejected him and refuses to let her go, and has mourned for years the bride he barely knew. He spirals into bouts of single-minded depression when things don’t go his way.

 

🦋 Fae Court

List your top three choices for your characters adoptive court. The mods will choose the one out of those three options that seems the most fitting based on your app.

• Autumn


• Winter


• Dusk 

Ability: Do you want your character to gain the ability of their court? (Delete the other two options.)
3) Yes, but they either have no ability of their own, or they refuse to trade theirs away; they will buy their court's ability on credit.

🦋 RP Samples

TDM