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When Ryhalt was born, it wasn't a particularly momentous day. The son of the duke's younger brother. His SECOND younger brother. People took notice a bit more when the middle brother was killed in a freak boating accident, carried off into a reef full of sharks by a jib that broke away. They started paying more attention when his uncle continued to have no legitimate heir. There were bastards about, and people knew about them, but the old duke Warwick refused to have them legitimized. Ryhalt has always just sort of assumed that it was out of meanness or pettiness, though he never got a chance to ask. As a young man, he put to sea as part of the mercantile fleet, getting to see the sights of the world, visit the Lyceum, narrowly escape being kicked out of important places, that sort of thing. Not exactly regarded as a rakehell, but perhaps criticized at home when it became clear that he was to be his uncle's heir, when stillbirth took both mother and child, leaving the duke a widower. His pursuits were not entirely flippant, however, and were purposed to give him the breadth of knowledge to make him a better duke than his uncle had ever been. He returned home, remaining at Lightsend Keep while he trained for the rest of what he would need to know - no witless inheritor would he be. Fearing a schism, and perhaps out of fondness as well, he located his uncle's eldest bastard son, Thorley Sandreef, and though he could do nothing for his legitimacy, secured him a knighthood and an apprenticeship that would one day secure the man's position as the Sword of Lightsend Keep, as well as the ascerbic sailor's his friendship. After his uncle died and he secured his rule, with the help of Sir Thorley along with his younger sister and cousin, he set about refitting the merchant fleet of Westrock Reach, as well as revising their mercantile policies into something more responsible, brokering a trade agreement with the Duchy of Laurent to trade Westrock coffee to the mainland. He has struck what might seem a curious friendship with the Wyrmguard family of the Duchy of Telmar, and he and his household have recently traveled to Arx, apparently amidst negotiations for a marriage match.

Cutting a tall figure, Ryhalt's build is long-limbed and rangy, with a narrowness that makes him seem taller than he is, though not exactly skinny. He wears his hair long, down around his shoulders mostly, and brown so dark as to be black except when caught by the light. He's in his early thirties, though in some ways his expressions make him seem younger, while the laugh lines around his clear blue eyes counter that by a few years. His jaw and lip are kept shaven save for a pair of long sidewhiskers that make a bare L at the corner of his jaw, adding some width to his narrow face. His features look like they once were a bit too fine for his demeanor, but salt and experience have hardened them, though his mouth has never quite lost it's slight resting smile.

In some ways, Ryhalt Farshaw is exactly what is thought of when it comes to the Farshaw family of Westrock Reach - Spirited, adventurous, curious, finding a joy in travel, and having a mind for trade. In other ways, he is not what people have come to expect from his family. Namely in that he is diligent, personally courageous, and has a streak that some might call 'spitefully cunning'. He is an avid reader, though does not consider himself a scholar, and enjoys fine things in the form of clothing, art, precious things, food and wine, but always manages to remind himself that these are fringe benefits and not the goal itself. He is also ambitious, wishing to pull House Farshaw out of its languor caused by being an island hold with no navy, forced to rely on the goodwill of neighbors for their defence.