Nikolai Lantsov

## Overview

Nikolai Lantsov is the Prince of Decus who as an adult ran away from his royal duties to become the captain of the sea, Casus. He went into hiding with his newfound friends Brook, Nora and Murphy, who he would soon fall in love with. After a few more run-ins with his family, Nikolai now lives with Murphy and their adopted son, Gray, in the mountains of Salutem, far away from the trouble he used to seek.

### History

Nikolai Lantsov was born the second son of King Cornelius and Queen Astra of Decus. The royal family resided in Pacem - a city of peace and prosperity, as they had done for many generations. As second in line to the throne, he wasn't given as many responsibilities as his brother Conrad, so was being raised as his mother's perfect image of a prince. The king was a lacking father figure who spent little time with his sons as he cared more for himself, his reputation and his riches. His mother gave him her time, but only when his brother was with him. If truth be told, Nikolai had always known he was the unimportant and unloved child. Prince Conrad was always the centre of attention. Conrad always got first choice. Conrad was the only prince that mattered. Nikolai didn't see much of his brother as he always, as his mother put it, was 'king training'. Nikolai had got along with his brother well, and had, despite all his brother's privileges, felt bad for him, There was a lot of pressure on Conrad to be a king fit to rule the kingdom - even though he was just a child who wasn't going to be king for decades. In her image of a perfect prince, Queen Astra raised Nikolai to be charming but strong; he must know had to handle his power and how to manipulate the public; he must be able to keep the royal secrets and become a national hero without doing anything of worth. If anything were to happen to his brother, he would be his replacement after all.

But Nikolai didn't want to be a useless figure head - he wanted to make a difference. So when at thirteen, like all of his ancestors, he was required to join the First Army, unlike all of his ancestors, he took a role on the front line where he insisted on being treated like any other soldier instead of sitting in a luxurious tent far away from the actual conflict. He earned great respect amongst his fellow soldiers and became close with many - and lost many friends. His five years in the First Army shaped him majorly and taught him the values of teamwork, loyalty, courage, discipline and how to take care of himself.

When the king was deemed to old to command the First Army, that responsibility fell to Nikolai's brother, meaning that Nikolai was left to command the Second Army at the age of nineteen. After becoming General of the Second Army, Nikolai still took on a more involved role than his predecessors. He remained on the front line whenever he could and fought along side those he commanded. He was a natural leader and led the Second Army to many great victories. His tactics were notoriously clever and this earned him trust and a famous reputation.

After only two years of serving as General of the Second Army, Nikolai's mother called him home where she told him he would have to stop fighting with his troops on the front line and start acting like a normal general would - hidden away in a safe place and planning the next move, or he would lose his role as general altogether. She told him he had other responsibilities to take on, such as finding a wife and having children who - if worse came to worse, could become the next monarch. (CON)