Lord William Barlon, the Duke of Marinaya

William is a melancholy and overall noble swordsman. His life is steeped heavily in legend and lore, of which he is incredibly aware but uncertain. He is from the country Quela, on the planet Sabron. In Quela, he is by far the most powerful man politically and the most skilled swordsman. His power exceeds that of the King, because, according to the law of the land, the King is held in check by the reigning Lord Barlon. He is a man above the law. However, he is not above humanity. He is always a perfect gentleman. However, his life is marked by tragedy, bad luck, confusion and rejection. He is a very lonely man, having lost his parents at age ten and being feared by most people because of his inherited status. The truth is, though, he fears people and rejection far more than they fear his judgment.

William and his (eventual) wife, Tanya

The Barlon Family Coat of Arms

Personal HISTORY: William was raised in a loving and supportive family in his early years. Of course, his childhood was still unusual, since he was raised in a manner befitting a young man of his status; that is, the heir to the oldest, most powerful and most feared family in Quela. His mother told him dramatic histories of his ancestors' heroic deeds instead of fairy tales for bedtime stories. His earliest toys were in the likeness of arms and armour. He started taking fencing lessons as soon as he could walk and hold an epee. He studied under the very finest tutors and fencing masters in all Sabron, and was found to have a supurb amount of raw talent for swordplay and tradition. In every way, he has tried to be the ideal Barlon since the moment he was alive. Unfortunately, when William was ten, his father died of pneumonia and his mother committed suicide shortly after in her grief. Because of this, William considers his father weak for allowing common illness to take him down and he idolizes his mother because he sees it as a final expression of loyalty and courage, to follow her husband even into death. However, it left William wretchedly alone, as only his fencing master ever had the courage to address him as a peer. His fencing master was dismissed about seven years later, when William had clearly surpassed him in skill and both men felt there was nothing more to be learned. William, lonely in his massive and depressing ancestral home, turned to history, his sword training and alcohol to console him. However, the alcohol mostly depresses him further because he knew that his father drank irresponsibly before his mother, in her inestimable womanly strength, forced his father to quit. Every time he drinks, it makes him feel like he's betraying his mother. At age eighteen or so, the chosen heir to the throne, Edward Serrinson, (King Tarn V had no immediate family and so chose his heir) was brutally murdered, throwing William's life into again more doubt. The reigning Lord Barlon, or anyone who might become so, according to Quelan tradition and law, may not be related to the King by any blood even so close as second cousin. That ruled out the most obvious choice for romance for William, Edward's younger sister Anne, and he was fine with that. Then, when Edward was murdered, Lord Serrinson suggested that William marry Anne to protect her from further violence against the family. William was happy to oblige, except for two things: he felt it was tasteless to ask a woman to marry when she was in mourning for her own brother and he was afraid she would reject him, since Lord Serrinson insisted that Anne had to agree to it as well. So William waited seven years before asking her to marry him, and by then it was too late. Anne wound up marrying the heir to Tarn's throne, the very man who served as the sole eyewitness in the case of her brother's death, and became queen. William accepted it, because he'd come to respect King Brian after having been defeated by him in a private duel and observing his skills at ruling, in addition to the fact that he respected Anne's judgement unquestioningly. So, finding himself depressed without wife or heir, William sought her advice on how to find a wife. She sent him on a quest abroad to find his "own fairy tale," even though most Quelans reject the idea of magic in reality. William was on his quest for six months, constantly facing rejection and defeat. He finally found his bride when, after he had given up and resigned to return in shame, a duke and duchess took him in one night. Their daughter, Tanya, lived in fear and had just lost her fiance. She explained to Will that her parents, the duke and duchess, had died over a year ago and returned as vile vampires. She implored him for his help in ridding her duchy of their menace, and he did slay the vampires, although not entirely on purpose. Grateful, she married him, both out of love and a need to start again somewhere far from the horrors her family had incurred. Together, they had a son and William was at last content.

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Sabronian Lore and Traditions: Barlon Lore Promise Stone Quelan Blades Quela and Magic What is Sabron?

Character Notes: I usually play William at the point in his life where the conflict with King Brian is resolved and he is wandering abroad in search of a wife to console him. At this point in his life, he is much prone to depression and alcoholism. However, he is always a perfect gentleman. He will suffer no man to insult his honor, and will gladly fight for it, but he will do nothing that might offend a woman. He is deathly afraid of offending women, because he was once yelled at for making a girl cry when he was very small. Thus, when addressing a woman he does not know very well (and sometimes if he does) he tends to stutter and choke up, because he is afraid. He is also prone to nightmares. He keeps a Promise Stone necklace in a pouch with him at all times, in case he meets the love of his life and needs to propose just then. He also keeps with him his first weapon, a heavily bejewelled dagger given to him as a boy. It's how he remembers his parents.