Edmund Blackthorne

Edmund in 1076AE

Daria Bay (daughter)

Damon Woods (son)

Divana Dul-Sansiska (daughter)

Arthur & Jason Woods (sons)

Belladonna Knox (daughter)

Ethan Blackthorne (cousin)

Gwenavere Blackthorne (cousin)

Prince **Edmund Blackthorne**, commonly named as "The Dark Prince," is the former second-in-line heir to the Aradian Crown, and served as the acting Warmaster on Queen Talia I's council from 1070AE-1075AE. A member of House Blackthorne, he is regarded as the single most powerful sorcerer, warrior and war-general the bloodline has produced in generations, perhaps the most powerful since Jason Blackthorne himself. This is exemplified by his wielding of the ancient blade Drakalibur that was previously wielded by his great-uncle King Jaster I. But this reputation is countermanded by his infamy, for he is also known for his cruelty, manipulations and vicious treatment of the Aradian populace, all traits which (along with the unusual coloration of his appearance) earned him his epithet. The war crimes and atrocities he inflicted during the Brecilidian War are well-documented, and he is currently regarded with much fear in Aradian society.

Edmund is the only child of Princess Valoria Blackthorne and her husband, Caradoc Rookwood. Through his manipulative treatment of his female concubines he has fathered an estimated dozen bastard children. The eldest of these is Daria Bay, who was sired off the noblewoman Maeve Rookwood. His child with Menagerie Dul-Sansiska, named Divana Dul-Sansiska, is a member of one of the most powerful Drow noble families. From Cassandra Knox he sired the daughter Belladonna Knox who as of 1086AE is the legitimized heir to House Knox. Other notable bastards include his eldest son Damon West, his secondborn son Varli by the Vas Comorah leader's daughter, and his twins Jason & Arthur Woods. He is accused of siring a child on his cousin Gwenavere Blackthorne; the name of this girl is Iris Storm, and her mother has denied that Edmund is the father, though the Dark Prince himself never made any effort to dispel the rumors. Since his childhood, he has had a long-standing rivalry with his cousin, Gwen's brother Ethan.

He disappeared on an expedition out to the far-western seas in 1076AE. His location, as of 1086AE, is currently unknown. *"When the Dark Prince comes for his throne"* has passed into the language as a common curse, used as a shorthanded term to refer to an oncoming apocalypse-the populace fear that some day the Dark Prince will return, and wreak a terrible vengeance on them in retaliation for the events of the 1077 Revolution.

## Appearance and Character

Edmund follows a complex and often inscrutable system of personal morality. He views himself as being predisposed, cosmically, into the role of a "villain" from the moment of his birth. He does not believe in his own personhood or free will to act upon the world, and merely views himself as a "mirror" to reflect the implicit desires of his familial hierarchs back at them. He appears to have a keen sense of justice, or at least a concept of injustice. However, as he himself acknowledges, Edmund's exposure to extreme psychological, physical & sexual abuse from an early age has severely warped his ability to express morality in his actions; often, the acts he intends as kindnesses, favours or mercies caused horrific consequences and result in a great deal of human suffering. Through nature or nurture, he has inherited his mother's belief in violence as spectacle; it is not enough that an enemy suffer, they must be humiliated or made a philosophical "example" of in order to "balance out" their transgressions. Edmund appears very attached to the idea of family, but this has been warped also by his upbringing, and his means of expressing this towards his own children (even when he believes he's helping them) recreates warped reflections of his own upbringing. There are two significant gaps in the armor of his demeanour, this being his cousins. He has an intense, all-consuming hatred for Ethan Blackthorne who he views as his arch-nemesis and philosophical opposite. And he appears to be sincerely in love with Gwenavere, behaving in a protective and almost tender way towards her.

## Trivia

-Edmund's nickname is based on the real-life Edward Plantagenet, who was known as The Black Prince of England, a similarly renowned warrior in medieval britain.

-The name "Edmund Blackthorne" is a reference to Edmund Blackadder, from the popular british sitcom of that surname; Edmund is also the name of the Pevensie sibling in CS Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe who is corrupted against his brother and sisters, reflecting Edmund's status as the "bad guy" of Talia's grandchildren.