Cheltham

*You are right here in your story. Don't skip ahead.*
Massie Burnson, *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*, p. 32
**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR *THE ARCHER'S CUP* ARE AHEAD; CAUTION IS ADVISED.**

**C****aptain Cheltham** is a buck from Harbone Citadel and a captain in Lokson's army.

## Biography

### Backstory

Cheltham grew up in Harbone Citadel. In his youth, he met and befriended young Lokson, who had been sent away from his home of Blackstone Citadel following his father Lord Lokken's death. Cheltham and Lokson became as thick as thieves, playing and training together, and the pair grew up to be some of the finest archers in Natalia. Cheltham encouraged Lokson in his desire to return to Blackstone to take back the title of lord, and Lokson subsequently formed an army of archers designed for that purpose, of which he made Cheltham captain.

Around the time of the Battle of Rockback Valley, Cheltham traveled with Lokson and their army to Blackstone, where tension between Lokson's supporters and the supporters of Ronan, the current lord, grew. On top of this, a series of threatening letters from a malevolent figure calling himself Bane Graveheart began to emerge.

### *The Archer's Cup*

Cheltham is first introduced when he, Lokson, and the rest of Lokson's army, having heard of Princess Emma's arrival to Blackstone Citadel, rush to make sure she is all right. They are met by Jo Shanks and Cole and Heyna Blackstar, Emma's friends and bodyguards. Lokson introduces himself and Cheltham to the foreign rabbits, though the meeting is especially tense between Cheltham and Jo, what with the both of them being skilled archers. Lokson invites them all to breakfast with them, and Cheltham departs with him. Jo and Heyna head for the mess hall, and Cheltham gives them the rundown on various characters of Blackstone. Soon after, Cleeve Hapson joins the group with a message for Emma to meet with Lord Ronan. As Heyna leaves to convey this summons, Cheltham informs Jo that Cleeve is part of the forbidding faction led by Matron Wilder. Emma soon arrives, and Cheltham greets her cordially, thanking her for her work at his home of Harbone Citadel during the Blue Fever epidemic.

While the Lord's Council is in session, Cheltham waits at the gate of the Lord's Quadrant, and is surprised when Emma, Jo, and the Blackstars are admitted. In the midst of the council, a new Bane Graveheart letter, threatening the imminent destruction of the citadel's water gate, is found. Lokson and Cheltham make haste for the water gate, and are soon joined by Jo and Captain Truff. At the base of the dam within the gate, the bucks find a blastpowder barrel with a lit fuse. Jo tries to extinguish the fuse with an arrow, but misses, and Cheltham fires the saving shot instead. Relieved, the bucks return to the Lord's Quadrant, where they debate the identity of Bane Graveheart. After a great deal of discussion, Matron Wilder is accused and arrested. Lokson invites Emma and her entourage to join him for dinner, then he and Cheltham leave. In the mess hall, however, Cheltham observes a tongue-tied Jo take a fall in the presence of the beautiful Amber Hewson, who also happens to be Lokson's betrothed. Cheltham mocks Jo's clumsiness, the first of many jabs to be exchanged between the two archers.

Later that day, Cheltham happens upon Jo walking with his friend the famous archer Nate Flynn, and invites Jo to come shoot with him. When Jo declines, Cheltham taunts him, building on Jo's failure to extinguish the blastpowder barrel fuse and his fall in front of Amber, only to be rounded on by Nate. At first, Cheltham doesn't recognize Nate, but upon realizing who he is, quickly changes his manner. He invites Nate and Jo to come shoot with him, but they decline and walk away, commenting to one another on Cheltham's unpleasantness. That evening, Cheltham and Lokson dine with Emma and the Blackstars, with Cole reporting to Jo afterwards that the meeting contained "More reason to loathe Cheltham." Later that night, Cheltham and Lokson receive word that Matron Wilder has escaped. They take their army to the mess hall, where they split up to search for the fugitive within the walls of Blackstone.

The next morning, the day of the Ultimate Archer's Cup - an elite archery competition organized to rouse the spirits of Blackstone's citizens - Cheltham catches Jo in the mess hall and immediately begins to taunt him. Cole attempts to dispel Cheltham, but the arrogant archer only continues to deride Jo, asserting that he could never win the heart of a high-ranking doe such as Amber Hewson. During the Ultimate Archer's Cup, Cheltham continues to mess with Jo's mental game, even going so far as to bribe the official to act in his favor. Despite his attempts, however, Jo makes it past the first round and joins him in the second. Despite performing well in the second round, the shifty actions of Cheltham and the official in league with him are publicly realized, which seems to have a degrading effect on the archer.

Just as the third round is about to begin, both Jo and later Lokson abandon the competition upon hearing of a new threat from Bane Graveheart. Nevertheless, Cheltham presses on, determined to oust his only remaining rival, Nate Flynn. Despite his best efforts, however, Cheltham is ultimately defeated by Nate. The next day, as Lokson informs Jo of his intentions to relinquish his intentions on Ronan's lordship and make for Halfwind Citadel with his army, wishing the archer farewell, Cheltham seems unusually downcast.

## Physical appearance

Like the rest of Lokson's army, Cheltham dresses in all black, but adds a scarlet cape to showcase his rank as captain. He wears a bracer over one hand, and carries a bow and arrows.

## Personality and traits

**Jo Shanks**: He was on his best behavior there. Usually, and you'll find this hard to believe, he's insufferable.

—*The Archer's Cup*, pg.139 |  | ”

Though he acted for a good cause, Cheltham's motivations often came from the wrong place. Regarded as "a brat and a bully" by Jo Shanks, Cheltham had an air of self-importance about him that irked others to no end. He was outrageously prideful of his abilities as an archer, and was more than willing to lord his aptitude over those he deemed less skilled, even taking enjoyment in the act. He was stiff and even cold in his attitude towards most, but displayed an irritating amount of passive aggressiveness when speaking to those he disliked or felt in competition with, as seen in his interactions with Jo Shanks. He does hold a respect for royalty, however, as seen in his gracious initial interaction with Emma.

Cheltham's pride ultimately led to his downfall, however. The height of his ambition and spite was displayed for all to see during the Ultimate Archer's Cup, during which he openly mocked the other archers and bribed the official to act in his favor. In addition, he stayed in the competition despite knowing of potential presently-occurring dangers, as well as the forfeit of both Jo Shanks and Lokson for that very reason. After the villainous Bane Graveheart is caught and peace returns to Blackstone Citadel, Cheltham appears distressed and subdued, apparently struggling with both his loss to Nate Flynn and the consequences of his shameful actions during the competition.

## Skills and abilities

Cheltham is renowned as one of the most skilled archers in all Natalia, being ranked among even the illustrious Nate Flynn. He also has a keen eye and a good memory, being able to recount brief biographies of many of Blackstone's personnel for the sake of Lokson's leadership and safety.

## Relationships

### Lokson

Having known each other since their youth, Cheltham and Lokson shared a brotherly bond and an affinity for archery. Cheltham knows Lokson well, being able to interpret his wordless commands and exchanging sentiments with merely a glance. Though Cheltham is intensely loyal to Lokson, he does his friend a disservice when he encourages him to return to his home of Blackstone Citadel and reclaim his family's ancestral lordship, thus allowing some of his own ambition to leak into Lokson's life in a somewhat unhealthy amount. Not surprisingly in light of this fact, Cheltham supports Lokson's every move.

Unfortunately, Cheltham and Lokson appear to have something of a falling out during and subsequent to the Ultimate Archer's Cup, when Cheltham's arrogance is displayed in full force in his shameful actions during the competition. A day later, as Cheltham and Lokson are about to depart for Halfwind Citadel, Cheltham seems unusually subdued, a stark contrast to Lokson's renewed cheerfulness and graciousness at that time.

### Jo Shanks

Cheltham first met Jo when the latter arrived at Blackstone Citadel with Emma. Cheltham is cool in his attitude towards Jo, though he doubtless found him at least somewhat interesting, the both of them being adept archers. However, after Jo fails to extinguish the fuse of a blastpowder barrel with an arrow, a shot that Cheltham makes, Cheltham develops a nasty enjoyment of teasing Jo. His mockery of Jo increases the more he observes him, and although Jo tries to respond to Cheltham's taunts passively, it is clear how much they irritate him.

Come the Ultimate Archer's Cup, Cheltham's jabs at Jo evolve into an attempt to mess with his mental game. By this point, however, Jo has become used to this treatment, and refuses to let Cheltham's mockery derail his performance during the competition; ironically, the tranquility and confidence he displays seems to have an affect on Cheltham's mental game. After the Ultimate Archer's Cup, Jo bids Lokson farewell, but fails to pay the same respect to Cheltham, who stands silent and subdued nearby, apparently loth to face him.

## References

1. ↑ *The Archer's Cup*, pg.157
2. ↑ *The Archer's Cup*, pg. 143