Browse wiki

When you're not in the direct line of inheritance for your noble family, you have one real choice to make in life: be a loyal supporter of the status quo, or let it all ride on the gamble that you can remove your rivals and live long enough to enjoy the spoils. Prospero chose the former over the latter. He was, simply put, too firmly placed in the cadet branch at the time to see removing the impediments to be feasible. Leonella Fidante's younger brother, Giacomo, was Prospero's grandfather (though his journal entries ended abruptly after he stumbled into the river on a night of debauchery on one of his many nights of bastard-making). This left behind three legitimate children - Allegra, Carlotta, and Anselmo. Of these, Prospero at least had the good fortunate to be the eldest of the eldest - his mother being Allegra, bearing Prospero nearly a decade before the man that would become Duke Leo. This fortunate timing of birth, Allegra would say behind closed doors, is what allowed her son to grow up with the good sense and pragmatic attitude he has today rather than getting caught up in the idyllic dreams of romantic love and honorable chivalry that the Duke has become known for. Prospero took up the mantle of protector for his house, supporting it not through being a champion of arms or a military genius; not by being a hero worthy of stories or even a knight with tales of battle to woo maidens. Rather, Prospero took the same sharp mind and quick tongue that so often got him beaten by other noble lads his age and turned it towards a study of the law. He became the foremost legal mind of Fidante and left to defend them on such grounds in the grand city of Arx. There have been no signs that Prospero has anything but the highest regard and esteem for his beloved Duke, but more than a few have noted that he is more akin to the average Lyceum noble than Leo ever was. He is the councilor bringing a pragmatic voice to his liege, and the fixer who has worked tirelessly to keep the Fidante name from being drug through the mud. The war with Lucien only highlighted the needed for strong protectors of the family from inside the family.

Many are the men of legend who stand tall - head and shoulders over other men - and broad and brawn; then there are those storied for being nimble and quick, given in stories to small statures and big deeds. Prospero fits neither mold, but falls squarely into the realm of averages - give or take a little. 6'0", he's tall without being remarkably so. His dark brown hair is curly and kept short, just shy of being allowed into the territory of unruly. A medium build keeps off the excessive paunch or softness of a sedentary life but shows no signs of exceptional muscles. He is a man pushing his late thirties, prone to crow's feet and the wrinkles caused by furrowing his brow too much.

Prospero Fidante is a man given more to cerebral pursuits than physical ones, leading many to think him one to think much and act little. This is not quite the truth; he is a man who prefers to think through his actions, and their consequences, and choose the action appropriate to the situation. His pensive nature has left him with more than a few maudlin moments, retreating either to his rooms for a few days at a time or off in the country for what most speculate are epic benders relating to past mistakes.