Azur Reinwald

Artwork by CarnivorousAlice

*"I knew taking up a sword would lead me to dying by one, but I will be at peace knowing my life was dedicated to protect the honest men and women of the commonry."*  - Azur

**Azur Reinwald** is a foreign nobleman first arriving at The Hales during the tensions between Aedwin and Hallengard. Heir of House Reinwald, the ruling dynasty of the faraway dukedom of Ascad, Azur, weary of the life in the isolated dukedom, ran away from home one night and boarded a ship heading for The Hales under the guise of a wandering bard and playwright.

## Story

### Arrival in Aedwin-de-Steinburg

Azur's first moments on The Hales were rather rough for the young, naive nobleman. Having left his belongings and weapons at home, he soon found himself at the odds of a group of bandits housing in the swamp near Aedwin, though was quickly released due to carrying nothing of value to steal. Rather shaken, he eventually made his way to the city of Aedwin-de-Steinburg to rest at a local inn.

The same evening he spoke with a Del Rossi, who ran the local tavern and caught rumours of a place known as the Ghost Kingdom. Having found himself a bow for protection, Azur volunteered to accompany a small expedition heading to search this strange, well-hidden kingdom. The roads were quiet for the trip and at sundown the men arrived at the edge of a forest. The path was confusing, almost maze-like and eventually Azur was separated from his companions, though soon found himself at the doorsteps of an old, ruined keep, the Ghost Kingdom.

Azur's stay was not long, however, as he was startled by what seemed to be residents of the castle and ran off with a dagger he found. Navigating the caverns below the keep and crossing the strong rapids that flowed down the mountains, he eventually emerged near Greenfields and made his way back to Aedwin.

### Serving Aedwin

Returning to Aedwin, Azur noticed something amiss, as a group of hooded individuals were running away from the city, carrying aedwinian weapons and armor. He noticed that the castle gates were left open and the city guards were nowhere in sight, so he took it upon him to climb to the walls and close the gate. The first night he spent alone on the wall, in complete solitude and silence, until at the break of the next day, a constable by the name of Ro'dan Alen arrived. The two became fast friends as they stood watch over castle Aedwin in the absence of their leaders. Azur also became acquainted with a a man by the name of Guiscard Merle, who he'd share quite the many adventures to come.

Once the higher ranking members of Aedwin returned, Azur returned back to the life of an adventurer, though remained loyal to Aedwin and now works to bring steady information on the maneuvers of Hallengard and the Ghost Kingdom to his comrades. He would begin to frequently visit Hallengard's library and acquaint himself with the local loremaster Tomas Ridgwell, a man he very much looked up to.

### Attack of the Free Titans

Azur would lend his steel to Aedwin some time later, as a group known as Free Titans from The Ostar Isles attacked. By this time, he had met up and fallen in love with a woman by the name of Victoria Wolfsburg, and fought beside her and the knight Fredrick to defend the city. Victoria was wounded during the battle and Azur dragged her to safety, before returning to the battle. It was there that he was ambushed by an enemy soldier and dealt a severe blow, knocking him unconscious.

In the aftermath, Azur woke up and managed to drag himself back into the city, before fainting once more, nearly perishing from his injuries. But something kept him among the living. Something eventually brought him back and he woke up outside Aedwin with an unfamiliar voice in his head and all of his injuries gone. Believing it was the will of those above that he still remains on this earth, he returned to the comrades he fought alongside with to celebrate their victory.

### Fall of Spiravit

*"Remember my promise? My heart belongs with you and no matter what, I shall always find my way back to you for it."* - Azur to Victoria

At the time of Hallengard's armies marching on Spiravit after the head of King Marcus II, Azur was tending to a severely ill Victoria in Aedwin. Watching the events that would lead to the fall of his new king, Azur could only pray for his own and Victoria's safety. His prayers would soon be answered, for he was discovered by none other than Lord Tomas, who helped with Victoria's condition and invited the two to come with him to Hallengard, once she was back on her feet.

After a night of rest, Azur and Victoria walked out of the eerily silent city of Aedwin and towards Hallengard, completely oblivious to the pirates that would arrive in the city right as they had left. At the gates of Hallen, they were greeted by an armed guard with bows at the ready, though with lord Tomas' help, they got in without further issues. With the rumors of pirates now raiding the southern lands, Azur took Victoria to rest somewhere safe and reunited with Tomas and the rest of Hallengrard's guard to prepare for the coming raiders.

### Treasure Hunting

Azur and Victoria's relationship would come to be tested as the two went for treasure hunting after hearing rumors of 5000 gold being buried somewhere in The Hales. Much to Azur's dismay, Victoria seemed completely ignorant of her worsening condition, which lead her to two instances of barely avoiding death. Azur ordered her to return home to rest and wouldn't take no for an answer.

Continuing the treasure hunt alone, Azur would follow the rumors into Aedwin, where he ran into Victoria again. Angered by her not listening to him again, he told her their relationship is over, though pleaded her one more time to keep herself safe before running off.

Azur would meet an old man going by the name of Seth, who turned out to be the man spreading the rumors and clues about the hidden treasure's location. He seemed very co-operative and with his help, Azur set off for the swamp to find the treasure. However, he instead ran into the scene of two characters murdering an unarmed man. They'd next turn on him and quickly forced him and Seth to yield their gold and belongings, before running off towards Hallengard. Azur would later learn that one of the men was Jack Walsh, an assassin responsible for the murder of King Marick.

With the two criminals gone, Azur would continue toiling in the swamp with Seth watching. He was once again interrupted by a group of strange men wearing green hoods, asking him very odd questions. One of them even seemed to recall how Azur lost an arm during the Free Titans' attack. Soon after, he and Seth were left alone in the swamp again and he could continue digging.

### War Against the Cultists

Azur would eventually head back for Hallengard and tell the tale of his treasure hunt to his friend Tomas and his family. The pleasantries would be cut short, however, as Azur learned of the assassination of King Marick in his absence and of the strange cult now plaguing the lands under the leadership of a man simply calling himself "Death".

With a vendetta for trespassing in his castle and kidnapping one of his sons, Tomas would rally those loyal to him in Hallengard and set off to deal with the cult once and for all. They sought help from Queen Caprica Valter in Aedwin, though were taken by surprise as the cult had already infiltrated Aedwin castle. A fight ensued, where most of the cult was immediately captured, or executed, but Death managed to slip away in the chaos.

Confident that the cult should be of no bother to The Hales for some time, Tomas and his company returned to Hallengard, where a regent would be appointed until a true heir to the throne was found. General Sion, a man very close to the late king, became the new regent as Tomas would refuse to take regency. Even Azur was suggested at some point due to his noble lineage and high education, but he refused as well, seeing it would not be right towards the people of Hallengard to have a leader not of their own kin.

### Peace Negotiations

Tensions would begin to grow once more between Aedwin and Hallengard and Azur soon set out with lord Tomas for peace negotiations with king Addy in the recent resigning of Caprica Valter from Aedwin's throne. On their way, they were attacked by three men disguising themselves in aedwinian armor and Tomas was angered from this.

With his personal guard armed, he and Azur would set out again soon, even after hearing from a spy hired by Tomas that Addy had, in fact, called for Tomas' assassination. In Aedwin, Azur was surprised of the peaceful reception and Tomas was indeed able to speak about terms of peace with Addy. It was additionally revealed that Tomas' spy had other motives to spark up conflict between Aedwin and Hallen and had thus lied about the assassination attempt.

### The Calm

Present day in Hallengard is a welcome change of pace for Azur, as with things settling down between Aedwin and Hallengard, he'd have more time to see about working on his relationship with Victoria. Having gone through a long evening of apologies and promises, Azur would learn Victoria may be pregnant, something that would weigh on his mind heavily for the coming days, as he'd try to see about setting up a wedding for himself and her.

He also had the chance to meet up again with a somewhat new acquaintance, Darvin Rodwood, and exchange stories from the long journeys on road of The Hales, as well as being present as lady Caprica would marry the young knight, Rhett.

### Meeting Cecile Gaubert

"*I'm just a noble youngster chasing a dream of knights and heroes on foreign lands... A very rich, noble youngster."* - Azur to Cecile during their first meeting

While planning him and Victoria's wedding, Azur travelled down to Aedwin to find a ring. Without much luck, he instead ran into Tomas, who had arrived to discuss with king Addy's advisor, Cecile Gaubert, a lauchette. The conversation was interrupted soon, as Tomas was sent to the castle gate to confront a group of hallengardians heckling the advisor.

While asking Cecile of help with finding a ring for Victoria, as well as new equipment for himself, he mentioned being from Ascad. To his surprise, Cecile's mannership changed to far more respectful towards him and he was quick to negotiate himself a meeting with a trader from Lauchette

### The Queen of Hallengard

Days passed as Azur waited in Aedwin for Cecile and the trader. He would soon learn that she had departed somewhere on an urgent matter. A knight of Lauchette, sir Lewis, accompanied Azur as they headed for Hallengard fearing the worst.

Arriving home, he heard from Tomas that the rightful heir had returned and a queen now rules Hallengard. It was odd for him to see Sion back to a general and remaining rather quiet about things. Heading for the door, he heard one of the guards yell at a woman bearing a striking resemblance to Cecile, asking why she was out of her cell.

Azur bolted towards the dungeon, accompanied by Tomas' son, Rickon, and from one of the cells, found Cecile. On the opposite side of the hall he found Rhett and Caprica in another cell. He could not believe his eyes. As he was trying to think of how to solve this, the Queen arrived, accompanied by one of Tomas' soldiers, Dante. Azur was driven out of the dungeon, but would soon return with Tomas and a few others.

What he witnessed there was too much for him. The things they did to Cecile were unforgivable. He was furious. But then Dante spoke of them, calling all three of the prisoners scum. Azur snapped. He roared at Dante and swung his blade in blind rage.

But the blade did not strike Dante. He soon realized that the bloodied soldier in front of him was not Dante, but Albert, another soldier loyal to Tomas. He had spilled an innocent man's blood in his blind rage. Broken by this revelation, he was put into one of the cells by Tomas. He convinced himself he belongs there and would simply cry, unable to forgive himself for what he had done.

His cell door would soon be opened again. It was Rickon and another of Tomas' men. The two convinced Azur to get on his feet and get out of Hallengard while he could. Passing by Cecile's cell, he'd unlock it and walk in, telling Cecile to come with him. If it'd mean giving his life so at least she would escape, he was ready. With the help of Tomas and his friends, Azur snuck Cecile out of Hallengard and down the road to Aedwin. He once again confronted Dante and told him they'd settle things later, before arriving in Aedwin to give Cecile to the care of Addy and his men.

Addy would soon declare war on the new Queen and rallied Tomas and his own troops to march to Hallengard to deal with her and Caprica, who Azure heard had helped in Cecile's vile treatment. He could not bear the thought of fighting his friends, Rhett and Caprica, and instead ran and hid, ashamed of himself.

### Wedding

After things started to calm down and the Queen of Hallengard had been dethroned and executed, Azur started getting over his depression. He met with Caprica and Rhett again, whom he tried to distance himself away from at first, but eventually softened up and forgave them.

Not long after, he decided to finally hold the wedding between him and Victoria, after been delayed for far too long. One of his happiest days, not only due to the special occasion, but it warmed his heart much to see many of his friends present to witness it. The sweet moment would be left short, though, as they were abruptly interrupted by the new ruler of Hallengard, Sigurd von Hoensbroeck, who was there to take Caprica into custody.

The whole church was in a complete riot, as Sigurd refused to wait until the end of the ceremony, people were gathering around Caprica to protect her and Sigurd's men were threatening and even attacking people in the crowd. One lieutenant would swing at Victoria as well, which truly angered Azur, as he shouted and cursed at Sigurd and his men, cutting any ties he had left with Hallengard and its people.

### Rise to the Throne of Aedwin

*"The mantle of a king is a poor excuse to not take up arms, when your home and people are threatened."* - Azur to Tomas after his crowning ceremony

Some time passed after the mess that was him and Victoria's wedding and Azur heard of Tomas' plans to unite Aedwin and Hallengard under one high king. With Sigurd and Vain removed from the thrones of Aedwin and Hallengard, Azur was named the new king of Aedwin under Tomas' guidance. Slowly but surely, he began to have faith in himself once more and would vow to to devote himself to Aedwin and her people.

### The Rising Sun and Caprica's Death

Rising Sun's unexpected expansion from a mercenary group to an entire kingdom came as a surprise to Azur. Owing favours to their leader, Adachi, for assisting with taking care of problems such as Jack Walsh, Azur soon found himself in a difficult situation of being obligated to send resources to aid the young kingdom. This, however, was nothing compared to what was to come.

Azur would soon hear that the Rising Sun aided in dethroning Caprica in Hallengard, but was surprised to find Adachi bringing his friends to Aedwin to be protected by him, under the guise of being his new "slaves". Later on, Azur would aid Caprica back to her throne, while dealing with a mercenary group known as the Steelcloaks, only to later learn that Sigurd had her imprisoned.

Rushing to save her from Hallengard, Azur could not save Caprica and only witnessed her execution by the Master at Arms Keil Hindruuf. Enraged, he cut down both Keil and another hallengardian soldier present, before returning to Aedwin.

### The Final Days

News would soon come that Adachi had executed Tomas Ridgwell. Convinced that Adachi would be coming for his head next, Azure rounded up what forces he could in Aedwin to confront the king. Word of Azur's advancements would reach Adachi and he had retreated into Hallengard, backed up by additional forces there.

Tensions were high between the two forces as they had met at Hallengard's gate. The negotiations between the two kings were otherwise going smoothly, if it were not for the fact that the men of Rising Sun heckled and insulted Azur, calling for his death. An arrow shot towards Azur eventually caused him to snap at Adachi and his men, as he charged right into the enemy masses.

Defeat came swiftly, for most of Azur's men had ran off right before the battle had begun. Azur was captured and was being taken away by Adachi, when he chose to throw himself off of Hallengard's cliff instead, not wishing to give Adachi the pleasure of having his way with him.

The fall was not enough to kill him, though. He found himself waking up at the lake near Greenfields and would return to Aedwin, only to find another was trying to replace him as a king. He would shoo this man, Ugo, away from Aedwin, before speaking to his subordinates of the events at Hallengard.

He was swiftly interrupted by the arrival of Adachi and the Rising Sun, who had somehow learned of Azur still being alive. This time Azur would yield without a fight, seeing as there was no way to triumph over the Rising Sun as things were. Most of his loyalists at the castle were but unarmed civilians.

Azur was to be exiled from Aedwin, Hallengard and the lands of the Rising Sun, under the threat of being executed on sight. Azur, however, chose to rather be executed here and then, seeing no point in having to live in exile in the few corners of the Hales that were not under the Rising Sun's control at this point. With his last words, he claimed that he did what he could for the people and that those he failed to protect would be waiting in the afterlife to judge him.

## Personality

In his early days on The Hales, Azur was an honorable and optimistic young lord, chasing his dreams of knights and heroes, which lead him to many a place, meeting a multitude of people. In truth, he is very uncertain and distrusting of himself and heavily relies on someone else to decide for him.

With the events and things he has seen, Azur has become more quiet and reserved, not feeling as if people truly notice of even hear him at times. He wants to hold on to the few friends he has and so is torn by the fact that many of them now oppose each other. He struggles on, though, clinging on to what little faith he has left to solve things without bloodshed.

With the passing of Cecile and Addy, who were good friends him, his only recently returned positive and optimistic nature has began to slowly fade away again.

### Hobbies and Skills

Azur grew a fascination with literature, as he spent most of his childhood reading through the stories in the castle library. One of the few things he carries with him is a small journal, in which he describes and scribbles the sights from The Hales. Epics and tales of knights and heroes alike are what inspires him to become a protector of the commoner

He has been trained by his father in swordplay, archery and horse riding. While quite nimble with a simple one-hander sword, he struggles to balance claymores and larger weapons. Having also learned dancing, he has taken to mixing a number of dance steps to his sword techniques to create a style of his own.

During his time on The Hales, he frequently visits the Library of Hallengard to read on the past of Hallengard and Aedwin, as well as to discuss local myths, legends and rumors with Loremaster Tomas. He has taken a fascination on The Conqueror, a figure that appears in the past of Hallengard and, according to Azur himself, has been sighted around The Hales.

## Trivia

- Azur's true name is Azure, a mistake that occurred during a voided event where he was killed and had to come back as "Azur". The name simply stuck from there.

- Unlike his unnamed younger brother, Azur is a bastard child and was born from a secret relationship between his father and a servant in his castle, who died giving birth to the young Azur.

- Azur's character originates from the storyline of Lemon Tart's Fire Emblem project Sons of Redemption, though is drastically altered to suit the MRP universe better. He is also one of the playable main characters in the upcoming Sapphire FE fangame.

- It is still up to debate, if Azur's hair color is natural, though claims have been made that he dyes it. His true hair color is unknown.

## Gallery

Azur in Medieval RPAzur's portrait in Sons of RedemptionAzur's new outfit after becoming advisor to the throne of AedwinAzur as the ruler of Aedwin during high king Tomas' era.