Henry Chappelle

Henry Chappelle is a soldier and former hunter that hails from Drak Yamar, but now fights for Uraka to protect the ever-expanding royal family of house Aurelian.

## Childhood

Henry Chappelle was born to Tortugan colonists from the militarily installation of Silver. While his parents were born in Rathnir, Henry Chappelle was born on a ship sailing east between the old and new world, making him a native to neither Eldham nor Rathnir. The ship they traveled upon, *The Success*, was ironically plagued with failures; the original captain died of disease less than a week after setting sail, and several mutinies resulted in the deaths of many, including Henry's father, Alexandre, just three days after his son was born.

Once *The Success* made landfall on the shores of Avalof (the continent Elastra in Traveler's Tongue) in Eldham, the crew traveled north, following the guidance of LordCorgi to the site of what would become Dragon's Perch, the first city and future capital of the land that would become Drak Yamar.

Life was harsh in the north of Eldham, and the Tortugan colonists had difficulty adapting to a climate different to their old home in Rathnir. The first winter devastated the people of Dragon's Perch, and many fell ill - Henry's mother passed just as the first signs of spring began to show, as flowers bloomed under the melting snow.

Now an orphan, Henry was raised by members of the community, old friends and colleagues of his parents. He was taught to hunt, and eventually, struggling to deal with the emotional turmoil of his parents' deaths, he began to live life as a hermit, hiding himself in the woods and living completely alone. Though villagers brought him parcels of food and clothing, he rarely touched them, seeing himself as entirely self-reliant unless desperation got the best of him.

As he reached his late teens, Henry was a skilled huntsman, and knew the wilds of northern Eldham by heart. As civilization spread further and further into his domain, he reacted violently, lashing out at villagers who had entered 'his' territory. Henry, who once hunted only animals, became a highwayman, killing and robbing several people - he only showed remorse for his banditry after seeing the face of an old family friend, two arrows now lodged in his chest, his eyes unfocused and still. With a small fortune, but blood on his hands and death still wracking his conscience, Henry left the lands of Dragon's Perch and headed east towards the land of Drak Yamar.

## Redemption

Henry migrated eastward, finding friends along the way, though guilt still pained him, and the loss of his parents still ate away at his mind. He hid his true identity, afraid that people would view him as a colonist, a savage, or a bandit, and would not want to befriend him as a result. Creating an impromptu caravan of traveling young men, but were soon set upon by a group of Barbossan pirates - thankfully, a group of Uraki soldiers traveling across the border to Drak Yamar happened to pass, and drove the pirates away. This was Henry's first introduction to Uraka, which would eventually be his home. Henry led the group to the hamlet of River's Edge, where the boys met B29 Flumina, and started making an honest living by doing work and helping him run his trading company.

Time passed, and Henry grew into a strong, honest man; he worked in the quarries some days, collecting sand and stone, other days he operated the sawmills, felling and hauling spruce logs to be cut down to size. He looked up to B29, who became a father figure to him and several of the other members of his traveling band. Never having a chance to meet his father himself, Henry began to finally come to terms with his parents' deaths, and vowed to live his life with the goal of making his parents proud, and atoning for the mistakes he has made. Henry finally learned to read, and began to learn the intricacies of language. B29 was a ladies' man himself, and Henry picked up on the nuances of his game, becoming quite the heartbreaker in the town of RiversEdge.

## Recent History

With the marriage that secured the political union of Uraka and Drak Yamar, Henry found himself welcomed with open arms by the Uraki people. After being sent to the new imperial Capital of Urak as a representative for the RiversEdge Trading Company (RETC) by B29, Henry was viewed fondly by many members of the royal family; he was adopted by Imperator Neo's daughter, Chloe (abortedmothman), and became a member of House Aurelian.

Proving himself as a capable warrior but an incapable nobleman, members of the Uraki upper class tried to teach Henry on matters of statecraft, literature, and chivalry - to little avail. Resigning from that sphere, he took up a role as a soldier for the Imperial Military, but in the times of peace experienced during the golden age of the Errine Alliance, he had little to do. He was approached by Kami, a high prince of the Aurelian house and Henry's uncle, to serve as his personal bodyguard. This was Henry's first introduction to the more lascivious side of the Uraki nobility, and House Aurelian especially - the two were wed, and now Henry serves as a personal guard of House Aurelian and the nobility of Uraka.