Lord Marius Lynnmare

## Early Life

Marius’ life was perhaps not started in the best of circumstances. His mother, Lady Josephine Lynnmare, died when he was three years of age from a sudden and unknown illness which rendered her bedridden and sickly for weeks until she finally passed peacefully. Marius’ younger twin sisters, Lydia and Liliana, had been born only weeks prior and it was believed the childbirth had something to do with the death. As a child, Marius saw little of his father, Lord Edward Lynnmare, as the man spent months at a time in the capital, working on regaining the Imperial favour that had been bestowed upon the family for centuries and had been lost by Edward’s father.

As such, Marius was raised by nursemaids, and when he turned six, by a tutor; an elderly man named Henry. His tutor, an educated man from the Academy of the Philosophies, was cruel and stern. When young Marius misbehaved, he was rewarded with the thwacking of a wooden rod against his back. When he did well, he was rewarded with the most basic of praise and little else. During the brief times his father spent a few weeks in the familial home, Marius was given little affection, with Edward doting on his daughters and treating his son more like a business associate or project, approving of the beating dolled out to him by his tutor. Three key virtues were established in Marius by his father and tutor: dignity, sacrifice, and honour of the family. He was to do anything and everything for these virtues, and to dedicate his life to them. Beyond this, Marius was preached about the shame his grandfather had bestowed on this family when he was removed as Exarch of Coin. He was taught to fear such shame, to loath it. To desire never to let his family stoop so low in reputation again. The entire matter was exaggerated just to make a point to the young Marius.

By the time Marius was eleven, he had become something of a quiet boy. Having learned that the gamble of speaking and saying something perceived as stupid by the tutor Henry, which would be rewarded with a beating, was less preferable than simply remaining silent; he opted to only speak when it was needed. Instead, the boy dedicated himself to his studies. While he, of course, received the martial training that any noble could expect to receive, his focus was on books. Many hours were spent in the family library, pouring over books and being quizzed upon them by Henry. Correct answers were rewarded with a simple nod, while incorrect answers were punished with a verbal lashing, or sometimes, a physical one.

Marius continued to dedicate himself to proving worthy of the approval of Henry and his father, developing a complex emotional relationship with them at an incredibly young age.

## Teenage Years

As a teenager, Marius continued to study hard. Henry passed when Marius was fourteen, a funeral that Marius attended with true grief in his heart. The man was like a father to him in every way that mattered, and despite the abuse, Marius still felt grateful to the man for his education. Or at least, wanted to feel grateful. Gratitude was an easier emotion than anger.

While Lord Edward continued to spend most of his time in the capital, at the Imperial court, Marius continued his education under his own direction. He became his own tutor, replacing the beatings that Henry gave him with self-flagellation, spending many nights in the small chapel within the family home, kneeling before the altar and belting himself bloody. Nothing that could not be hidden under a shirt, however.

His complex childhood and his emotionally stunted upbringing led him to have tense relationships with his sisters, the girls generally avoiding him except at mealtime. While Marius was still quiet, he could lash out with fits of rage, especially now that Henry was gone, Marius presuming himself to be the head of the household when his father was away. Servants worked under Marius’ direction, and while he was certainly no spoiled brat, he lacked a certain humility, and was generally disliked by the servants for his bluntness and lack of charms. He saw no purpose in making pleasantries with those below him who could do nothing for him.

## Young Adulthood

When Marius was about seventeen, his father returned for a few weeks. Pleased with his son’s development, he invited Marius to come with him to the capital for his next visit. Marius, surprised and joyful, accepted the invitation and went to the Imperial court with his father. They spent months there, having Marius introduced to many important people, including the emperor himself. Marius found Emperor Medwin V to be a simple-minded fool. He could not understand why his father was working so hard on gaining the approval of that man. His entire view of the throne as this beacon of virtue, justice, and power, was shattered.

Marius, of course, hid this change in belief from his father and suppressed it, tucking it away into the same part of his mind that his anger towards Henry and his father went. No point in dwelling on something that would impact his sense of identity. Marius still enjoyed his time away from the family home, enjoying the stay, which lasted a few months.

Marius and his father returned home, feeling neither closer nor more distant than before. Marius continued to study hard, to self-flagellate, and remained a quiet man. His father left again for the capital, leaving Marius behind, and returned a few months later with a fellow noble family, including a pretty young woman. In a hastily arranged wedding where Marius was neither asked for his thoughts nor given a choice, Marius wed Alayna Wellman, the daughter of a lowly noble of some wealth. The marriage was cool at best, the couple finding little in common and disliking their weekly attempts at reproducing. Marius avoided his wife as best as possible, while his sisters were also married off over the next few years.

Marius and his father got into quite the argument at the outbreak of the Second Glyrran Revolt. Edward wanted Marius to serve, to fight, and to bring glory to the house. Marius refused, citing his status as a brotherless heir and his lack of martial experience. Edward called Marius a coward. Marius accused Edward of being too weak a man to restore his house’s glory by himself and was trying to force the duty on his son. The two men came dangerously close to a physical fight, before Marius stormed off. The argument was never mentioned again, nor was the topic of Marius fighting in war.

In 721, Marius joined his father in the capital to swear loyalty to the newly crowned Emperor Verus VI. Marius immediately preferred the man to his brother, and had a slightly renewed trust in the Imperial throne. Much like with other visits, this one lasted a few months. Marius returned home to find his wife pregnant, something which initially caused concern, but after consulting a physician it was proven that her pregnancy was advanced enough that Marius could reasonably be the father, and so joy washed over the household, mostly relief from the couple that they could avoid their disdained copulation for some months.

This joy ended a few weeks later, when Alayna died during a miscarriage. While Marius did not experience anything resembling grief, he was saddened that such an innocent and pure woman had died, and felt the emptiness of the family’s home like never before. No father, no sisters, no tutor, no wife. Just Marius and his servants. Servants, one may add, that Marius felt no emotional connection to and rarely spoke more than simple commands to.

## Recent Times

Marius continued to intermittently join his father in the capital, spending some months at home and some months at court. In 727, Marius’ father was spending some time in the family home, alongside Marius. With little other distractions, the two increasingly got on the nerves of the other over the weeks. Arguments occurred and repressed feelings on Marius’ part began to leak out, accusing his father of abandonment and negligence. However, things calmed down after a tense few days, and the next few weeks passed without issue. The day before Edward was to return to the capital, he was found dead in bed. There were no signs of any cause, and it was simply attributed to heart failure. A very brief, mostly unbelieved, rumour spread that Marius had killed his father. But such an accusation lacked proof and merit, and quickly disappeared. Marius went through a very emotionally complex period of grief, before assuming the role of Lord Lynnmare and becoming the head of his noble house. Over the last two years, he has mostly spent his time in his homelands, consolidating his leadership over them, though has recently decided to return again to the capital, desiring to be present for whatever happens with the succession crisis. Perhaps, yet again, a Lynnmare can be on the right side of an Imperial dispute. Perhaps, yet again, a Lynnmare can befriend an emperor in a true manner.