Prince Silas Wilem

Prince Silas Wilem is the son of Queen Minerva Wilem of Flowers and Prince Consort Damian Wilem and the father of Lady Helena Wilem II. He is the Lord of Sea Star and a former advisor to Queen Guinevere Wilem of Flowers, his great niece.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Silas was born in the early morning of the 3rd of Vilja 48 ME. His mother, the Queen Minerva, had a much easier time with his birth than his sister Lorelai's. His father, the Prince Consort Damian Wilem, allegedly took the baby Silas up, brought him out into the gardens, and cleaned him in the famous Hippocampus Fountain. It is said this impromptu baptism sparked his love for water. He was presented a year later on the balcony to the public, where the baby Silas was held up by his father and proceeded to burst into tears. In his first two years, Silas was raised by maids.
When Silas turned three, he began to be taught by his father. He expressed early on a love for the sea and ocean, so his father began to bring him on regular sailing trips. By twelve he was able to man his own child-sized yacht around the reflecting pools at Wilemberg and on the open sea when the weather allowed. By fifteen he was performing arbitrary military services, though far away from actual combat. In his teens he focused his time entirely on athletics, becoming quite muscled and skilled at foot racing, gymnasia, and sailing. As a late teen, he sailed up and down the west coast of Fayos with his cousins, sister, and father. 
Silas married at the age of sixteen to a Median woman named Mariah Damius much to the disdain of his mother. He met her while training off the coast of Pilos, seeing her bathing amongst the pools at a hidden cove. When he caught sight of her, he became enamored. When he returned to shore he searched the city for her, eventually finding out she was a fisherman's daughter from a nearby village called Lenovos. He arrived there, fell upon his face before her, kissing her feet and proclaiming his love, before begging for her hand. She did not even know he was a prince. Mariah, confused, asked why she should marry him and Silas famously responded, "No reason in this world I could give that would justify thy acknowledgement of me, but if given the chance I would everyday do my best to crawl up to thy corner of Heaven." They were married in private two days later, in the temple at Lenovos. 
When Silas returned to Fleur in 66 ME his wife was in awe of his wealth. While he had disclosed his nobility, he had not been wholly truthful of its depths. Upon their arrival at Wilemberg, Queen Minerva was enraged to see her only son married to a common foreigner. As punishment she confiscated his boats, withheld his allowance, and placed him under house arrest in Evermere. However, Silas was unswayed as he had his new bride at his side. Eventually, with the help of his sister Lorelai, he was able to win Minerva over, and an official wedding was held in 67 ME. The public was told that Mariah was a Median noblewoman. As a wedding gift, Minerva gave the couple Sea Star, a palace in southern Fleur. Of course, between his arrival and the public wedding, Mariah had given birth to the couple's only child, a daughter named Helena Wilem II.
=== As Lord of Sea Star ===
Silas was well beloved as Lord of Sea Star, especially with the villagers who live outside its walls. By this time, his sister had already married and given birth to two children, the future Queen Minerva Wilem II of Flowers and her brother Prince Johan Wilem. Silas was a popular uncle, often hosting the Crown Princess and her children over the summer, allowing Helena to grow up alongside her cousins. Later, when the children were in their early to late teens, he would take them sailing along the western coast of Fayos as his own father had done with him. He groomed his daughter to become a great sailor as well, though her ambitions lay more towards exploration that commercial and pleasure ventures. 
In 85 his mother died while fighting the pagan Sikkudians in the south at age fifty-three. He escorted her body by boat from Justainia to Wilemberg and led her procession. His sister was coronated shortly after. Silas continued to act as a second father for his nieces and nephews as well as some children of distant relations. In 96 ME his sister Lorelai, Queen of Flowers, died in her sleep after a long bout of illness. Silas had been by her side, along with her children and Helena. His niece Minerva Wilem II's coronation took place three days later. He was deeply affected by this, retreating into Sea Star for several months before returning to public life, though his most painful blow was yet to come. In 109 ME Lady Helena Wilem II left Wilemberg for Carcosa, planning in secret to sail westward into uncharted water. She was never seen again. Mariah and Silas were devastated, nearly dying of grief. Their only daughter was presumed dead and tensions were rising under Minerva II's faltering rule. Prince Johan was expelled from Fleur that same year and in response, Silas shut the doors to Sea Star, raising the drawbridge after deciding to wait out Minerva's madness in isolation.
When Minerva died in 110 ME, Silas and Mariah returned to the public, attending his grand niece Guinevere's coronation. Though now more somber than he ever was before, Silas still managed to care for the new Queen, offering support to her when needed. He helped during the Two Year War, granting some of his fleet to the crown. When Guinevere died in 116 ME, a succession crisis emerged and Fleur, forced to surrender, was under control of the High King Justin Herminov of Korevna. He placed Persepina Wilem II on the throne and pardoned all those nobles who partook in the war who swore fealty to him. Silas refused, instead loading to the treasures of Sea Star onto his ships and fleeing to Media. 
Currently, he is living in secret in Pilos. 
== Appearance ==
Silas has short cropped dark hair streaked with white. His face is soft but handsome, with dark features. He is athletic, though more muscled in his youth and lean in his old age. Silas is of average height. He wears the garb of sea captains.
Category:Fleurian Characters
Category:Wilem Royal Family
Category:Griffin