Tr'cupen

==Overview==
Prince Tr'cupen Silhen was a Prince of C'thardjia and a Regior of Tr'clan. However, he was more notable for his scholarly works, particularly his Compendium of Culture. He was a graduate and later lecturer of the University of C'thardjia, and a member of the Scholars' Collective. He faced much personal tragedy during his life, with the premature deaths of many loved ones, including his brother, sister and partner. Though, his strong friendship with fellow scholar, Forkoux Fyth, gave him purpose to continue with his works across the Continent. Cupen was honest, compassionate and gentle, yet could be eloquently assertive when needed. However, he was prone to becoming emotional in the face of adversity and was unable to cope on his lonesome. Later in life, he was involved in the Trial of Queen Tr'eulie, became the Keeper of Kontu'tala and eventually retired to be with his surviving family. In particular he grew close with Princess Tr'lyna and Prince Tr'thanir, providing guidance and wisdom to them until his last day. 
== Appearance==
Tr'cupen stood at 1.82 metres tall and had a relatively slim frame. He had a tan skin complexion, common among most C'thardji. He inherited black hair and blue eyes from his father, as did his brother. He often styled his hair back and as an adult, sported a moustache. He was regarded by many as incredibly handsome, something not uncommon in the Royal Family. In his old age, his hair greyed then whitened and he developed notably sunken cheeks that revealed defined cheekbones.
==Biography==
===Birth and early years (208-221 AG) ===
Tr'cupen was born in the early summer of 208 AG and was the first child of King Tr'orlon and Queen Tr'cyllia. Cupen was given the second name, Silhen, to honour his father's father, Regior G'silhen. Cupen's birth marked him as the first Prince of C'thardjia following the fall of the Grenthyx Dynasty. 2 years later, Cupen's sister, Tr'callie, was born. 2 years following that, Cupen's brother, Tr'tatus, was born.
As Tr'caselle's Pedagogue began teaching the young Prince, he demonstrated a keen desire to learn. As he got older he spent a lot of his time in Tr'caselle's library, though still made time to play with his siblings. Cupen's parents were pleased with his natural intelligence and saw a bright future for their son. Orlon had hoped one of his sons would become a skilled swordsman and so put his faith in the young Tatus.
Despite a four year age difference, Cupen and Tatus held a close brotherly bond. The pair had vastly different interests but both enjoyed playing with each other as children. As his father had hoped, Tatus proved to be interested in combat and became very skilled with a sword. The brothers often tried their best to teach one another in their respective fields. Cupen had no interest in sword fighting but in training with Tatus developed enough skill to moderately defend himself. Tatus found it difficult to concentrate when learning but Cupen discovered he could broaden his mind by teaching him skill games, such as chess.
===Living in Cemdalla (221-224 AG) ===
When Tr'cupen turned 13, he had surpassed the level of education the Pedagogue could provide. Orlon offered Cupen the chance to study under the tutorage of lecturers from the C'thardjia University. This had meant Cupen would move to Cemdalla, holding a similar position to a ward by living with Su'clan of Pesca'lacio. The young prince knew he would miss his family but was very eager to advance his studies.
Regia Su'jorda and Regior Su'storrom were pleased to host the Prince and Cupen grew close with their family. In particular, Cupen befriended the heir of Su'clan, Su'darva. Darva had a strong interest in wildlife and wished to one day travel the Continent doing what she loved. Darva was of a similar age to Cupen and the pair pondered the idea that the clans had hoped for the two to fall in love and marry. During his years spent in Cemdalla, Cupen felt he was in his element. His lessons with the lecturers finally gave him the chance to be challenged, as he had often breezed through the lessons at Tr'caselle. It was here he developed a strong interest in studying language and culture and became interested in the works of renowned scholar, Forkoux Fyth. 
After some time spent in Cemdalla, Cupen and Darva's relationship began to develop, resulting in the pair's first kiss. From then on, they kept their relationship a secret from Darva's parents, worried about what they would think of them living under the same roof. However, not long after, Darva left home to study what lived in the jungles of the Tressia Peninsula. She and Cupen remained in contact, sending letters detailing their experiences.
===Studying at the University of C'thardjia (224-227 AG)===
In 224 AG, Tr'cupen officially enrolled in the University, deciding to study the cultures across the Continent. He was slightly younger than the other students so struggled to make friends at first. To combat the feeling of loneliness he often met with his lecturers for further tutoring. The following year, he began to make more friends around his age such as Naako. He formed a group with Naako and two other likeminded individuals, Objar and Grenthus, called the Scholars of Cemdalla, in admiration of the renowned Scholars' Collective. The group prided themselves on being the best minds of the University. The group became close friends and were then inseparable for the remainder of their time at university. In 226 AG, Cupen and his friends were fortunate enough to attend a lecture by Forkoux Fyth regarding his recent scroll, Origins of Mo. 
He attempted to keep his royal status a secret but eventually, the word got out and people became far more interested in him. He began to be invited to social events but at times found it uncomfortable being the centre of attention. By then, Cupen had become a man and a handsome one at that. He often found himself surrounded by women who found his appearance combined with his royal status very alluring. Cupen, however, had to deny their advances, being far more interested in someone for their personality.
=== Travelling around C'thardjia (227-228 AG)===
After graduating from the University, Cupen decided to travel around the Kingdom with future plans to travel the Continent. Unwilling to travel alone, Cupen was joined by Objar. His first destination was Tr'caselle where he reunited with his family. He caught up on everything his siblings had been up to and ended up staying for a couple of weeks. Eventually, he continued on with his journey, his next destination being Dotome. Cupen spent many months meeting with each noble clan and visiting all the landmarks of C'thardjia. Eventually, Cupen came to the Tressia Peninsula, hoping to reunite with Darva. Arriving at Alyna'lacio, Cupen was told Darva had spent the last year in Tcha-Pala. He was let down but was looking forward to his stay, knowing the Tressia Peninsula had many unique traditions through their connection with Tcha-pala. Soon after, Objar left for Tcha-Pala to return to his family.
===Reuniting with Darva (228 AG)===
After nearly a month, Cupen received word from Darva that she was travelling home to visit her family and hoped Cupen could meet her there. He packed his things and returned to Cemdalla, planning to stay with a friend until Darva came home. Within the week, Darva returned to the Continent and invited Cupen to Pesca'lacio for an evening meal with her family. Cupen was very nervous as he hadn't seen Darva in years and wondered if she'd be the same girl he once knew. When he arrived for the dinner he was taken aback at the sight of Darva. She was a woman now, of course, but seeing that still surprised him and it seemed she was thinking the same thing of him. The pair hadn't seen each other for years but almost immediately fell into old routines as if they'd never been apart. After dinner, the pair spent all evening drinking together in the gardens, reminiscing and recalling their experiences.
Following their night together, the pair continued to spend time together. They took time to relax in Cemdalla for the remainder of the year. At some point, Cupen and Darva became intimate marking Cupen's first experience with a woman. To celebrate the new year, the University held a party for alumni, to which Cupen attended with Darva. As Cupen mingled he was encouraged by several lecturers to consider teaching at the University, something he had thought about before.
=== Wedding of Tr'callie and Sir Serfrey (229 AG) ===
The following day, Cupen received an invitation to the wedding of his sister. Cupen was delighted at the news and returned home a few days prior to the date, bringing Darva with him. Orlon and Cyllia were very happy to meet Darva and as Cupen presumed, Orlon claimed to have had a feeling the pair would get together. In the following days, Su'clan arrived with the other noble clans. When they reunited, Storrom and Orlon argued over which of them predicted Cupen and Darva's relationship. After the wedding, Callie revealed she was pregnant with Serfrey's child.
===Time spent in Tcha-Pala (229-231 AG)===
Cupen and Darva then spent their time living in Tr'caselle for a few weeks until Darva decided she wished to return to Tcha-Pala. Cupen had seriously been considering teaching at the University but did also plan to travel the Continent and decided to leave for Tcha-Pala with Darva. Whilst there, Darva and her team continued their research into the wildlife of Tcha-Pala, discovering many new species. In his time, Cupen took to studying the culture of Tcha-Pala and in time came to speak their language. He also reunited with Objar, who had returned home since graduating. The couple would sometimes join one another on their separate adventures. After 2 years Cupen and Darva talked of marrying once they returned to C'thardjia and spoke of one day having a family. It took a lot for Cupen to take an interest in someone and Darva was the most interesting person he had ever met. He could think of nothing better than spending his life with her.
====Darva's Sacrifice (231 AG)====
During an expedition deep into the jungle, Cupen and Darva came across a village that they decided to stay at. Tragedy struck when, in the middle of the night, flames spread across the village. Cupen and Darva did everything they could to evacuate the residents. As Cupen was assisting the elderly with reaching safety, Darva found out about some children trapped inside their burning home. She knew the risk of going in but couldn't stand idly by. Darva managed to rescue all three children at the cost of her own life. As she made her way out with the last child, handing her over to Cupen, she collapsed. She had inhaled too much of the fumes and in her last moments said goodbye to her lover before dying in his arms.
===Teaching at the University (231-237 AG)===
Following the tragic demise of Darva, Cupen returned to C'thardjia and settled back in Cemdalla. He reunited with Naako who was soon to become a lecturer at the University. To help cope with the death of his lover, Cupen thought it best to find a new purpose in life and so he too became a lecturer. Cupen felt great pride in shaping the minds of young C'thardji and continued teaching for many years.
====Death of Tr'tatus (235 AG)====
In 235 AG, Prince Tr'tatus was engaged to be married when tragedy struck. On his way to meet Cupen at Cemdalla, Tatus and his betrothed were killed in a freak accident on the road. Tr'cupen was devastated. He returned home for a short period to mourn with his family. For the first time, Cupen met his young nieces, Essa and Ellia, which brought some light into his life. Just as he did with Darva, Cupen returned to Cemdalla and threw himself back into his work to distract himself from the pain of losing a loved one.
===Finding a new purpose (237-239 AG)===
In 237 AG, during a visit to the Capital with Naako, Cupen became infatuated with the blended and unique culture there and was reminded of his dream to travel to each kingdom of the Continent. He knew he couldn't do it alone and made the proposition to his friend to join him. Naako was honoured but knew his place was in Cemdalla at the University. Cupen understood but still yearned to explore the world with a likeminded individual. Thinking back to his days with the Scholars of Cemdalla, Cupen knew his next goal in life was to join the Scholars' Collective.
After resigning from the University, the Prince of C'thardjia returned home to reunite with his family. Since he had last saw them all Callie had fallen pregnant with a third child. Cupen enjoyed his stay but knew he needed his own place to study and prepare to meet with the Collective.
The following year, Cupen commissioned a private residence to be built not far from Tr'caselle. Cupen was friendly with a young builder that had worked for Tr'clan before and tasked him with building his new home. It was completed later that year. In the months that followed, Cupen worked tirelessly to prepare work to present to the Collective. It was during this period that Cupen became acquainted with Parlynval, the keeper of Kontu'tala and Celebrant of C'thardjia. Kontu'tala was the home of the most treasured and renowned scholarly works of the kingdom and so Cupen spent a lot of time there with Parlynval. The pair grew very close, both respecting the other's keen scholarly mind.
===Joining the Scholars' Collective (239 AG)===
After months of work, Cupen's scroll on C'thardji Culture was complete. Though, in producing his scroll, he came to envision a Compendium of Culture with volumes on each kingdom's culture. That year, he was granted an audience from Forkoux Fyth to assess his value to the Scholar's Collective. Their meeting was held at Cupen's home in C'thardjia. Far surpassing the allotted time of the discussion of 1 hour, Cupen and Forkoux spoke for 9 hours from evening until dawn. The two bonded over many subjects, and by the morning already considered one another friends. Cupen was, with no doubt, accepted into the collective and the next stage in the prince's life had begun.
=== Expanding the Compendium of Culture (240 AG-) ===
==Notable Works==
===Scrolls===
*"Compendium of Culture"
**Vol 1 - "C'thardji Culture" (239 AG)
**Vol 2 - "Helmontan Culture" (240 AG)
**Vol 3 - "Chaestish Culture" (243 AG)
**Vol 4 - "Opian Culture"
**Vol 5 - "Truvenscian Culture"
**Vol 6 - "Ephellindronian Culture"
** Vol 7 - "Culture of the Llanorfolk"
**Vol 8 - "Borrosian Culture" (253 AG)
**Vol 9 - "Contran Culture"
**Vol 10 - "Mhordynian Culture"
**Vol 11 - "Velosorni Culture"
**Vol 12 - "Zerisorni Culture"
**Vol 13 - "Tcha-Palan Culture"
**Vol 14 - "Soulhavnic Culture"
* "Cultural Impact of the Uprootings" (244 AG)
*"Inquiry into the dispossessed" (252 AG)
*"Capital: A Home for Every Culture"
===Unfinished Work===
*Capital Culture (Incomplete volume of the Compendium of Culture, began in 240 AG, reworked into a unique scroll - Capital: A Home for Every Culture)
==Family Tree==
Category:Characters
Category:C'thardjia Character
Category:Scholars
Category:C'thardjia Royal Family
Category:Tr'clan